CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE FOR MILITARY, NAVAL, AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to James Thompson, of Bilston, in the County of
Stafford, Manufacturer, for the Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE MANUFACTURE OF FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE FOR MILITARY, NAVAL, AND
OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 15th July 1864, and dated the 19th January 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Thompson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
19th January 1864.
I, JAMES THOMPSON, of Bilston, in the County of Stafford, Manufacturer,
5 do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE FOR MILITARY, NAVAL, AND
OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in taking a bloom or block of iron, steel, or other
metal of the desired shape and size for the purpose required, either for fire-
arms or ordnance; this piece of iron, steel, or other metal I place in a
heated state in a suitable machine fitted with a punch or punches so arranged
that a repeat or succession of blows may be rapidly given or imparted to the
metal under operation by such punch or punches, whether taper or otherwise,
the action of such punch or punches being directed to the displacement of
the metal from the centre, and forcing it radially into or partially. through
the body of the said bloom or block, which I purpose confining on the
outside. in an adjustable die or support while the operation of punching is

page_text: being performed. If not completed at one heat it may be reheated and
reversed, and the operation continued according to the depth or size of the
block of metal on which I desire to operate. And in cases where the hole
is not required through the block, as for-muzzle-loading ordnance, I purpose
using one punch only, and punching the hole to a required depth. From
this condition, say, for a gun barrel, I take the block so punched through,
which I shall now designate as a mould, and place it under a suitable press or
other mechanical equivalent arranged for forcing through it a suitable punch,
or if necessary I may employ for this purpose two punches acting in contrary
directions for regulating the size and clearing the hole, in which condition it
will be ready for reheating, and being placed on a mandril for the purpose of
being hammered or swaged, which will have the effect of elongating,
stiffening, and improving the quality of the metal by condensation, and while
under this operation any part, as, for instance, the solid breech ends of gun
barrels, may be provided for by leaving a lump or part of the mould unreduced
or shaped in a die or swage of the required size for that purpose. From this
stage I proceed to reduce a gun barrel or ordnance to the required shape and
length by passing the same through or between suitably grooved rolls, the
said grooves being of the necessary form by progressive graduation to reduce
and impart to the gun barrel or ordnance the form required, observing that
in a Patent granted to me on the 24th of April 1863, No. 1023, I have
described an arrangement of rolls with sunken recesses constructed for giving
form to the breech end of gun barrels so as to leave them with what are
technically termed solid lumps at that part. From this general description
of my improvements it will be seen that I obtain the important desideratum of
making barrels for fire-arms or ordnance without a weld or seam of any kind,
and moreover to so form them that the required lump or lumps may be
formed and shaped of the solid mass in the process of rolling or hammering.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Thompson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 30
19th July '1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
THOMPSON, of Bilston, in the County of Stafford, Manufacturer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters 35
Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said James Thompson, Her special license that I, the said
James Thompson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said James Thompson, 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
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FIRE-ARMS AND ORDNANCE_
FOR MILITARY, NAVAL, AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said James Thompson, by an instrument in writing
under my hand and seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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, the said James Thompson, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in taking a bloom or block of iron, steel, or other
metal of the desired size for the purpose required, either for fire-arms or
ordnance; this piece of iron, steel, or other metal I place by preference in a
heated state in a suitable machine fitted with a punch or punches so arranged
that a blow. or. a repeat or succession of blows may be rapidly given or
imparted to the metal under operation by such punch or punches, whether
taper or otherwise, the action of such punch or punches being directed to the
displacement of the metal from. the centre, and forcing it radially into or
partially through the body of the said bloom or block, which bloom or block I
purpose confining on the outside in an adjustable die or support while the
operation of punching, piercing, or perforating is. being performed. If not
completed at one heat it may be reheated and reversed, and the operation
continued according to the depth or size of the block of metal on which I
desire to operate; and in cases where the hole is not required through the
block, as, for instance, in muzzle-loading fire-arms or, ordnance, I purpose
using one punch only, and punching the hole to a required depth. From this
condition, say for a gun barrel, I take the block so punched through (which
I shall now designate as a "mould") and place it under a suitable press or

page_text: other mechanical equivalent arranged for forcing through it a suitable clearing
punch, or if necessary I may employ for this purpose two punches acting in
contrary directions for regulating the size and clearing the hole, in which
condition it will be ready for reheating, and being placed on a mandril for the
purpose of being hammered or swaged, which will have the effect of elongating,
stiffening, consolidating, and otherwise improving the quality of the metal;
and while under this operation any part, as, for instance, the solid breech
ends of gun barrels, may be provided for by leaving a knob, lump, or part of
the "mould" unreduced by the "mould" not being hammered in the part
desired to be left large, or such desired enlarged part may be shaped in a die
or swage of the required size for that purpose. From this stage I further
proceed to reduce the mould whether for a gun barrel, ordnance, or other
fire-arm to the required shape and length by passing the same. through or
between suitably grooved rolls, the said grooves being of the necessary form
by progressive gradation to reduce and impart to the gun barrel or ordnance
the form required, observing that in a Patent granted to me on the 24th of
April 1863, No. 1023, I have described an arrangement of rolls with sunken
recesses and regulating stops constructed for giving form to the breech ends
of gun barrels, so as to leave them with what are technically termed "solid
lumps" at that part. From this general description of my improvements it
will be seen that I obtain the important desideratum of making barrels for
fire-arms or ordnance without a weld or seam of any kind, and moreover to so
form them that the required knob, lump, or lumps may be formed or shaped
from the solid mass in the processes of hammering, swaging, and rolling.
But as my Invention will be more completely and thoroughly understood
by referring to the Drawings hereunto annexed, I will proceed to describe the
same, reference being made to the various figures and letters marked thereon,
observing that to prevent elaboration I have simply illustrated the fabrication
(on my improved principle) of gun barrels, nevertheless the same plan and
general details have only to be enlarged and necessarily varied according to
the weight and description of ordnance, gun. barrels, or fire-arms, to be
manufactured in like manner.
Fig. 1 represents a cylinder or block, say of steel or iron, cut off from an
elongated bloom, block, or ingot of the size and proportions for manufacturing
a military gun barrel, and Fig. 2 is the same after the hole has been punched
or pierced through its centre, both Figures being drawn to about one-half the
size required.
.
Fig. 3 represents in a side view a machine or apparatus which I have
found to be practically convenient for effecting the operation of punching,

page_text: piercing, or perforating before referred to, arranged to be put to work by
steam power,
but of course hydraulic or other convenient power may be used;
Fig. 4 represents a top view of the bed portion of Figure 3, and Fig. 5 a
vertical section of the last Figure taken through the dotted line A, B. This
machine or apparatus is nothing more than an ordinary steam hammer
adapted for giving effect to the portion of my Invention to which it appertains,
namely, punching or striking out the metal from the centre of the cylinder or
block under operation radially into the body of the same, so as to form a
.tubular gun barrel or ordnance without weld or joint.
The arrangement of this machine will be understood from the following
description:-The parts C and D, Figure 4, are united together in a solid
mass below, and formed with lugs, as here shown, for receiving the screws p, q,
by which the parts E, F, are held to it, and through the part E the set
screw G works, and is fixed to its setting by the lock nut H, by which means
the part I is adjusted and held in position, while the part J is provided with a
traversing motion by means of right and left handed screws a, b, working in
collars or other equivalent means through the plate F, the two screws being con-
nected by the two pinions c and d, put in motion by the wheel K. It will be
seen from this that by means of lateral projections or nuts fixed or applied to
the sides of J for the screws a and b to work through, and corresponding. grooves
being formed in C and D, by turning the wheel K forward or backward a.
traversing motion will be imparted to the part J, thus it follows that the part I
being adjusted so that the hole marked e in Figure 5 shall be centrally beneath
the punch M, which is portably attached to the lower end of the piston rod Y,.
and which part is represented broken in Figure 5, with the punch M centrally
placed over the hole e, as indicated by the vertical dotted line, the operator
has only to place the cylinder of metal, as represented in Figure 1, in position,
and by means of the wheel K. advance the part J until it is securely held and
clipped between the corresponding circular parts of I and J, and by placing.
the spring lever L in the position shown, which opens the valve or steam way
for admitting the steam into the cylinder A¹, which, according to the position
of the parts, would permit the steam to act on the top of the piston within-
the cylinder, but not shown, and by the time its force has been exerted to the
driving down of the punch M, the steam will have been cut off from above,-
and admitted on its lower side, an operation effected by a small roller fixed at.
the top end of the piston rod Y, by its working through the curved slot in the
lever O, which working on the fulcrum P, and being connected with the rod Q.
which actuates the slide valve, and the steam is admitted above or below the
piston, thus as long as the lever L remains in its present position, so the

page_text: punch M will be forced up and down, repeating its blows, until it is fairly
driven into or through the piece of metal under operation, when the lever L
may be elevated for the purpose of cutting off the supply of steam, which
stops the action of the punch, and permits the piece of metal (which now
assumes the form as exhibited at Figure 2) to be removed and another
applied; in a general way for punching such cylinders as may be required for
small arms barrels, three or four blows I have found sufficient. During the
performance of this operation I prefer laying over the hole e in the bed shown
in section, Figure 5, a steel disc marked g, represented separate, and in flat
view at Fig. 6, with a hole in the centre, but slightly in excess of the size of
the lower end of the punch I may at the time be using. And again 'the parts
I and J may be divided, so that the circular part for clipping 'the cylinder 'to
be operated on may be varied as required, and I prefer using the punch
slightly taper, as it assists the comterpressure of the steam to lift the punch
from the metal it had been driven or forced into, nevertheless a cylindrical
punch may be used if preferred. Thus it will be seen that by using the disc g
the punch may be allowed to descend, so as to thoroughly perforate or go
through the metal cylinder, and render the necessity for the clearing the hole
unnecessary, but, if preferred, a suitable cylindrical punch may be driven into
or through the hole to clear it out, and remove any slight portion that may
remain protruding from the bottom side.
The next operation, viz., that of stiffening and partially elongating the
"billet or piece of metal exhibited at Figure 2 is so simple and commonly used
in the fabrication of various articles, that I have not thought it necessary to
exhibit the necessary appliances in the Drawings beyond the effect of its
operation, which is exhibited at Fig. 7, notwithstanding I am not compelled
to adopt the uniform cylindrical form as here shown, as the same may be
formed with an enlarged part at one end, as exhibited at Fig. 8. The
succeeding operation I perform by rolls suitably grooved and geared together,
exhibited in transverse section at Fig. 9, the novelty of which consists in
forming a sunken cavity or recess in one or both rolls, in connection with
stops for regulating or defining the position for presenting the billet (either
Figure 7 or 8, as desired,) to the operation of the revolving rolls, so that by
means of the same grooved rolls I can either roll a barrel gradually taper
from end to end, as exhibited at Fig. 11, or with a projection' on one side of
the breech end, as exhibited at C, Fig. 12. To produce the barrel as
exhibited at Figure 11, I remove the stop marked T in Figure 9, and apply,
say, the stop, Fig. 13, in its place, which would extend beyond the cavity sunk
in the top roll marked V; and if I wish to produce the barrel as exhibited at

page_text: Figure 12, no stop is required, as the difference between the larger diameter
of the groove marked E' and F for forming the breech .end and the
diminished size of the groove which gives form to the muzzle end of the
barrel forms a. stop of itself; and if it is desired to form a projection on each
side, as indicated by the dotted line D¹; then a corresponding sunken cavity
to that of V in the top roll must be formed in the bottom roll; and if it is
desired that the projections should not be so long as exhibited at Figure 12,
the stop T may be used, fixed in the position here shown, which will have the
effect of shortening the projections C and D¹ to the extent of from r to s,
and if a shorter or smaller barrel is required without projections, I effect the
same in the grooves, as exhibited at Figure 9, by applying the stop exhibited
detached at Fig. 14; but when a barrel is required with a continuous
enlargement for the breech, either in the form exhibited at Fig. 15 or 16, a
shape that may be generally adopted, as the superfluous metal not required
opposite to the projection may be removed by a shaping machine, or otherwise,
as desired, the grooves in both rolls must be shaped alike in the largest
circumference, as indeed in their semicircular continuation around each roll.
And now having stated the use and object of the stops marked T, Figure 9,
as also G and H¹, Figures 13 and 14, it will readily occur to any practical
mind that the lengthening or shortening of these stops will alter the starting
point in the process of rolling, and .ary the size of the barrel rolled accordingly;
but for the sake of clearness I will sufficiently describe this operation of rolling
as comprehended in my improvements; and, for example, I will suppose that
it is desired to roll a projection on one side of the barrel only, as, at C',
Figure 12; for this purpose I take a billet, as exhibited half size at Figure 7,
and place it in a heated state in front of the rolls on the mandril R, as
indicated in dotted lines S, S, having: first removed the stop T; this billet I
push up against the ends of the grooves E¹ and F¹, and the rolls revolving in
the-direction of the arrows the contracting surfaces of the grooves will be
brought to bear on the billet so as to partially form. and elongate it, leaving a
fin on each side caused by the meeting. of the rolls, but which I purpose
thisplacing by having a series of corresponding taper grooves on the same
pair of rolls, as will be understood by referring to Fig. 10,. which, represent
as much as necessary of a pair of rolls in section to illustrate my plan o
working; and in this view it will be seen that I provide or form collars; the
top roll marked k, k, and corresponding parts in the lower rolls, which may be
reversed if necessary, that is, the projecting collars may be formed on the
Hower roll and the sunken recesses on the upper rolls without altering the
effect, which is that of preventing any lateral action or movement of one roll
on

page_text: with the other. To do. away with the fin generated in the process of rolling
before referred to, and to graduate the operation of rolling, I begin the
operation by passing the billet first through the groove J', which will have the
effect of partially forming the required projection in the cavity marked h, h,
and as soon as the heated billet has gone through that groove, the operator
will receive it back from the other side of the rolls, to again present it (but
this time at right angles to its last position) to the groove K¹, of which
Figure 9 is a section, taken through the dotted line A¹ and B' of the latter
Figure; the groove K' is slightly smaller than the groove J¹, and as the billet
or heated iron in each case has the benefit of an internal mandril during the
time that the rolls are squeezing and lengthening it out, so its desired form is
gradually imparted as the operation proceeds, for from the groove K¹
proceed to pass it through the groove L', again reversing it, and in like
manner passing it through the finishing groove M³, observing that in a
general
way I have found the four operations to effect the object desired, viz., that of
giving complete form to the gun barrel I desire to make; but it may be
necessary to remark that more or less strain will be imparted to the rolls by
the greater or less degree of heat given to the billet before starting, and by
the activity of the operator during the process of rolling. I will further add
that in all cases the billet as it is being elongated and drawn out into a gun
barrel, it is at the same time drawn off from the mandril R, which rests in a
notch formed in the stay U by the projection t coming in contact with it, and
preventing its being pulled through or between the rolls with the billet or
barrel, thus I obtain the great, although usual, advantage of internal pressure
during this operation.
Having now given a general description of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same may be carried into effect, it will be obvious to any
practical operator acquainted with the forming and working of rolls for the
manufacture herein comprehended, that much diversification or degrees of
alteration from what I have exhibited and described may be effected without
eparting from the spirit of my Invention; as, for instance, moulds for gun
parrels, though formed by welding, may be further operated on by rolling and
elongating, as herein described, as well as applying the same process to
seamless moulds, or moulds formed by punching, piercing, or perforating, as
herein fully referred to; but what I claim as of my Invention, and wish to
protect by these my in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
Firstly, the general manner herein described and exhibited of commencing
and forming (without weld, joint, or seam of any kind)
heals and ordnance
moulds
for gun

page_text: Secondly, I claim the manner of rolling gun barrels and ordnance as herein
described and exhibited, by which means I am enabled to form projections on
the same, and to regulate or modify, such projections by the use of stops of
various lengths, according to the shape or size required.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Thompson, have hereunto 'set
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of July, in the year of our Lor
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
Witness,
WILLIAM LOACH,
Clerk to James S. Cockings,
Patent Agent,
Binningham,
JAMES THOMPSON.