IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GUN BARRELS AND APPARATUS THEREFOR.
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Clement Swinnerton Dyer, of Westhope,
in the County of Salop, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF GUN BARRELS AND APPARATUS THEREFOR.
"
Scaled the 11th June 1875, and dated the 13th April 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Clement
Swinnerton Dyer at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with his Petition, on the 13th April 1875.
I, HENRY CLEMENT SWINNERTON DYER, of Westhope, in the County
of Salop, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GUN BARRELS AND APPARATUS THEREFOR,"
to be as follows :—
This Invention relates to a method and apparatus for finishing by
For this purpose
turning the exterior of gun barrels true with the bore
after the barrel has been truly bored I mount it between centres on a
framing, which is preferably vertical, these centres being formed in true
plugs inserted at each end of the bore. About the middle of the barrel
I enclose it within a cylinder or piece of tube turned true on the outside,

page_text: an annular space being left within this cylinder around the exterior of
the barrel. The said cylinder is mounted on the framing in bearings,
the axis of which corresponds exactly with that of the bore. Into the
annular space of the cylinder I pour a filling of molten metal, plaster of
Paris, cement, or other fluid or semi-fluid material which will set therein
I prefer.for this purpose fused sulphur, because its heat being moderato
it does not tend to distort the barrel, and because it can be used again
and again without material waste When the filling has firmly set I
remove the barrel with the cylinder on it to a lathe having bearings for
the reception of the cylinder, and I turn on the barrel several places,
which are thus made true to the bore I then take off the cylinder, and
applying steadying bearings to the turned parts of the barrel, I turn
the rest of it to the desired profile, which is thus made true to the
bore.
I
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, 1
filed by the said Henry Clement Swinnerton Dyer in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 8th October 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
CLEMENT SWINNERTON DYER, of Westhope, in the County of Salop,
send greeting
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the thirty-
eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Henry Clement Swinnerton Dyer, Her
special license that I, the said Henry Clement Swinnerton Dyer, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henry Clement Swinnerton Dyer, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to
time and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed,
should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands,
and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE Manufacture
OF GUN BARRELS AND APPARATUS THEREFOR," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henry Clement Swinnerton Dyer, my executors

page_text: or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, tho said Henry Clement Swinnerton Dyer, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to the
accompanying Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and lottors marked
thereon, that is to say
-
This Invention relates to a method and apparatus for finishing by
turning the exterior of gun barrels true with the boro. For this purpose
after the bariel has been truly bored I mount it between centres on a
framing which is preferably vertical, these contres being formed in truc
plugs inserted at cach end of the bore About the middle of the barrel
I enclose it within a cylinder or piece of tube turned truc on the
outside, an annular space being left within this cylinder around the
exterior of the barrel The said cylinder is mounted on the framing in
boarings, the axis of which corresponds exactly with that of the borc.
Into the annular space of the cylinder I pour a filling of molten metal,
plaster of Paris, cement, or other fluid, or semi-fluid material which will
set therein. I prefer for this purpose fused sulphur, because its heat
being moderato it does not tend to disort the barrel, and because it can
be used again and again without material waste. When the filling has
firmly set I remove the barrel with the cylinder on it to a lathe having
bearings for the reception of the cylinder, and I turn on the barrel
several places which are thus made true to the bore. I then take off
the cylinder and applying steadying bearings to the turned parts of the
barrel, I turn the rest of it to the desired profile which is thus made true

page_text: breech, and the upper bracket C is provided with a plug c fitting the
bore of the barrel at the mouth This plug c is made to slide in its
bracket C, and is linked to a lever by which it can be moved up or down.
Near the middle of the standard A is fixed another bracket D forming a
semi-cylindrical saddle piece with adjusting screws, against and between
which the hollow boss B can be pressed by means of an eccentric lever E
mounted on springs, the adjusting screws being so set that the boss B
when pressed against them has the axis of its exterior surface exactly
in line with that of the centres c, c². The interior of the boss B is made
larger than the barrel b, and is preferably made with ribs or irregularities
to prevent the filling material from turning round within it. The
barrel is passed through the boss B and centered on the plugs c, c²,
and the cementing material (which as I have previously stated, is pre-
ferably fused sulphur) is poured into the annular space of the boss B
around the barrel b. When the material has set the plug c is withdrawn,
the eccentric E released, and the barrel is removed with the boss B
adhering to it, and presenting a cylindrical outer surface truly concentric
with the bore of the barrel.
The operation of spotting or turning truc parts on the barrel is
effected in a lathe, of which Fig 4 is a side view, Fig. 5 a plan, and
Fig 6 a transverse section to an enlarged scale On the bed of this
lathe is fixed a strong bracket B¹ with a cap B² jointed to it, the bracket
and its cap presenting semicircular recesses, which receive the boss B,
and form a bearing for it to revolve in true with the centres of the
lathe. On one sliding rest F are mounted three tool holders f, f, f, 2
which are jointed to the rest, and have their tail ends provided with
setting screws, by which they can be canted forwards so as to set the
cutting tools which they hold more towards the axis of the lathe.
Each tool holder is pressed by a spring bearing against a stud on its
tail, the said spring having the effect of drawing the tool away from the
axis when the screw' is unscrewed The barrel with the boss B on
it being placed between the centres with the boss B lying in the hollow
of the bracket B¹ the cap B² is folded down and secured by a catch
lever B being turned in under a notch in the upper part of the
bracket B'. The lathe is put in motion and the three tools turn on 3
different parts of the length of the barrel, three spots or parts truc with
the bore, as shown in Fig 7, which represents the barrel b after these
parts markeds have been turned on it, and after the boss B has been

page_text: removed from it by molting the sulphur or other fused material which
bad been used, or breaking up the cement or plaster if such substance
had been employed for filling the annular space in the boss.
The barrel spotted as shown in Fig. 7 is then rough turned to very
nearly its finished exterior form in a lathe, a side view of part of which
is shown in Fig. 8, a plan in Fig. 9, and a transverse section in Fig 10,
four turning tools being employed so as to effect the work rapidly. Tho
barrel is steadied by its spots s being held between jaws G mounted on
the lathe bed, and having the bearing formed in their front part adjusted
truc with the lathe centres. Only one pair of the jaws G is shown in
Figs 8 and 9, but it is to be understood that there is a pair employed for
cach of the spots 8. In order to hold the barrel between the jaws G the
lower jaw has two side checks g, g, projecting upwards on each side of
the upper jaw, and presenting eyes through which a key g¹is passed
after the barrel has been introduced and the upper jaw folded down.
The tool holders are like those described for spotting the barrel, all
jointed to one sliding rest F, and are provided with setting screws f¹ in
their tails, but those setting screws have at their lower ends washers.
which bear on a strip of metal II fixed on the lathe bed below the rest F.
The upper face of the strip H is made to slope a little with such slight
curvature as is required to give the barrel its desired tapering outline,
and thus serves as a pattern, making a slight change in the position of
the turning tools relatively to the axis of the barrel as their set screws
f¹ slide along the face of the pattern I.
The barrel thus rough turned to shape is finished in a lathe, of which
a side view is shown in Fig 11, a part plan in Fig 12, a cross section in
Fig 13, the poppet head being shewn in Fig. 14. In this lathe one tool
1s employed to take the finishing cut along the whole length of the
barrel, and so to obliterate any irregularities in its appearance arising from
the spotting or the partial turning by several different tools. A steadying
bearing of peculiar construction to suit the taper of the barrel is employed
to follow the tool as it travels along the barrel. The tool holder fas
already described is jointed to the sliding rest F, and has a set screw f¹ in
its tail with a washer travelling along a pattern strip H fixed on the
lathe bed, this pattern being made to the finished shape of the barrel.
The steadying rest which follows the tool as it advances consists of a
plug ppressed upwards and forwards at an angle of about 45° against

page_text: one side of the barrel by a helical spring, and of an angle picce ", which
bears on the other sides of the barrel. This angle piece is fixed to a
slide worked by one arm of a bell-crank lever, the other arm of which
is linked to an arm 7 projecting from the tool holder f. A spring få
presses this arm upwards. The arms of " and of the tool holder fare
so proportioned that as the tool is made by means of the pattern H to
approach to or recede from the axis of the barrel the angle rest is in
like manner made to approach to or recede from the axis, and con-
sequently whatever be the diameter to which the tool turns the barrel at
any part of its length the steadying rest is always set so as to fit the
same part as it travels along the barrel, the front plug p yielding
clastically.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, I claim,—
First. The combined process, substantially as herein described, for
turning the exterior of gun barrels true with their bore, such process
consisting of the successive operations of centering by means of a boss
temporarily attached to the barrel, spotting or turning true parts while
the barrel is steadied by the said boss, rough turning by several tools
acting simultaneously, and guided on a pattern strip while the barrel is
steadied at its spotted parts, and finishing by a turning tool and steadying
rest, both guided as they travel by a pattern strip.
Second The use for centering gun barrels truc with their borc of
apparatus constructed and operating substantially as herein described
in reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the accompanying Drawings, by which
apparatus a hollow boss mounted concentrically with the bore is tem-
porarily attached to the barrel.
Thurd. The use for spotting gun barrels or turning thereon parts true
with the bore of lathe fittings constructed and operating substantially as
herein described in reference to Figs. 4, 5, and 6 of the accompanying
Drawings, such fittings consisting of a steadying rest for the centering
boss and several turning tools mounted on jointed holders.
Fourth. The use for rough turning gun barrels of lathe fittings con-
structed and operating substantially as herein described in reference to
Figs. 8, 9, and 10 of the accompanying Drawings, such fittings com-
prising several steadying rests for the spotted parts of the barrel, and

page_text: several turning tools mounted on jointed holders, and guided by a
pattern strip.
And I hereby declare that I make no claim to any of the apparatus
referred to in the above second, third, and fourth claims when such
apparatus is constructed for the use of Her Majesty's Government.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Clement Swinnerton Dyer,
have hereunto set my hand and scal, this Eighth day of October,
in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
fivo.
HENRY CLEMENT SWINNERTON DYER. (L.S.)