CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DIS- CHARGING ORDNANCE, MUSKETS, FOWLING PIECES, AND OTHER FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1840

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, Iņ
JOSHUA SHAW, of Goswell Street Road, in the County of Middlesex,
Artist, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Royal Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
bearing date at Westminster, the Seventeenth day of November," in
the fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors; give and grant unito nie, the said Joshua Shaw, Her especial
license, full power, sole privilege and authority; that I, the said Joshua
Shaw, my executors, administrators, or assigns, and such others as I,
the said Joshua Shaw, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully
might make; use, exercise, and vend, within England; Wales, and the
Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and in all Her Majesty's Colonies and
Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN DIS-
CHARGING ORDNANCE, MUSKETS, FOWLING PIECES, AND OTHER FIRE-ARMS;" in
which said Letters Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said
Joshua Shaw, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal;

page_text: particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be inrolled in Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference. being
thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
37
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said Joshua Shaw, do hereby declare that 'the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same is to be performed; is par-
ticularly described and ascertained in and by the following description
thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
In making the discharge I ignite the powder constituting the charge
by means of a percussion cap. charged with fulminating powder in the
ordinary way, but when used for the discharging of small arms, I
employ percussion caps of a size considerably smaller than those in
ordinary use, and for the discharge of cannon they need not be larger
than those now employed with small arms. A distinguishing feature
of my Invention is the manner of employing or using these caps, which,
under all the modifications thereof, is by placing them upon one end of
a cylindrical rod or wire of steel or other metal, which rod or wire,
for distinction sake, I will call a piston, and inserting the said piston,
with, the cap on the end thereof, into a cylindrical opening, occupying
the place of the ordinary nipple, or otherwise conveniently situated, the
said opening being adapted in size to the piston which is to slide freely
but closely within it. The cylindrical piston is to be a trifle larger
in its diameter than the outside diameter of the cap which is to be
placed upon it, its end being turned down or reduced in size, so as to
pass. into and to be embraced by the cap. The hole or opening into
which the piston is to pass is to contain in some part of it a piece
or pieces of leather, cork, or other clastic substance or material, which
is to embrace the piston, and thus render the passage air and water
tight, whilst at the same time the said material will serve by. its
elasticity to bold the piston in its place, or the piston may be retained
by a spring. In small arms the hole or opening through which the

page_text: piston passes may be of equal bore or diameter throughout, as the
piston is, in some cases, to be of sufficient length to enter the chamber
of the barrel, and to extend across it, so that the percussion cap which
is placed upon its end may be brought into contact with the interior
of the chamber on the side opposite to that at which it entered; and it
is manifest that if 'the outer end of the piston be then struck by a
hammer or mallet the percussion cap will explode, and the gunpowder
will be ignited. In pieces of ordnance there are sundry objections to
the allowing of the piston to extend across the chamber of the gun, and
from the thickness of the breech in arnis of this description a sufficient
depth is obtained in the solid metal for the operation of the piston,
without its entering the chamber of the gun. In using my piston, with
the percussion cap at its end, for the discharging of pieces of ordnance,
I bore a hole in the manner and generally in the place of the ordinary
touch hole, such hole being of the size of the piston intended to be
used, say of three sixteenths of an inch in diameter, more or less, and
extending down nearly to the chamber of the gun, say within a fourth
or half of an inch thereof, and through this remaining part I drill a
hole of much sinaller size, say one sixteenth of an inch, more or less,
in dianieter until it enters the chamber. The piston must be of such
length as to extend down to the bottom of the larger portion of the
bore, and to rise to a sufficient height above the top of it for the action
of the hammer by which it is to be struck. Its lower end, or that
which enters the bore, is, as above stated, to be turned down, so as to
form a nipple for the reception of the percussion cap. The percussion
cap which I use under this modification of my Invention I have in-
proved in such a manner as adapts it especially to the object in view.
This improvement consists in the making a small hole, say of one
sixteenth of an inch in diameter, through the centre of what in the
ordinary cap is its closed end, this being done before the cup is charged
with percussion powder. When the piston is inserted in the bore,
having a percussion cap of the kind just described on its lower end,
f the pistón be struck by a mallet or hammer on its upper end the
cap will explode, and the ignited percussion powder will pass through
he hole in the head of the cap and through the small part of the bore

page_text: under it into the chamber of the cannon, where it will ignite the
powder: I sometimes drill a small hole in the end of the piston in
the direction of its axis, which hole may be from an eighth to a fourth
of an inch'in depth, and of the same size with that in the percussion
cap, and also with that leading into the chamber of the gun; this hole
is to be filled with common gunpowder which will be: ignited by the
percussion powder.. By using this device the percussion caps may be
very lightly charged with percussion powder, the gunpowder greatly
aiding in causing the discharge of the cannon. This is a is a point of
considerable importance, as the destructive influence of the percussion
powder upon the parts with which it is in direct contact is thereby.
to a considerable extent obviated. It may also be remarked that
the percussion cap which remains upon the piston after the dis-
charge, has the effect of protecting it and the adjacent parts from
injury by the percussion powder. I will now exemplify, by reference
to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in which my improve-
ments may be carried into actual operation. Figures 1; and 2, repre-
sent modes-in which it may be conveniently applied to small arms.
In Fig. 1, a, is a perforated screw nut. which screws into the barrel
at the place usually occupied by the nipple, or in. any other preferred
situation; the end of this screw is to be flush with the inside of the
chamber; b, is a screw on the upper part of this nut, upon which
there is fitted a screw cap c; the cavity in this cap is somewhat deeper
than the length of the screw b, in order to admit of the insertion of a
piece of leather, or of some other elastic substance, through which the
stem of the piston d, e, is to pass. This stem is to be made perfectly
cylindrical, and the holes in the nut and cap through which it passes
are to be made perfectly true and adapted nicely to it in size, so that
such pistoris may slide in and out easily, and yet have no shake. Fig. 6
is a section of Fig. 1, showing the piston d, and e, and the piece.o
leather, cork, or other suitable material g, for the purpose of retaining
the piston in its proper place. Fig. 2, is another method of applying
my Invention, but more simple in its construction than Fig. 1. a, is
screw nut which screws into-the barrel, but does not pass through inte
the chamber, there being a solid portion of the barrel below it, with

page_text: the exception of an opening of such sizo only as to admit the piston to
pass through it. The elastic material g, under this arrangement is
placed beneath the screw a, and is pressed between it and the part of:
the barrel beneath it. The head f; of this screw nut, together with its
screw part a, receives the piston d, e, as in Fig. 1, its, whole con-
struction and operation being substantially the same. The length of
this piston is under this arrangement to be such as to extend across the
chamber of the piece to be discharged. The small percussion cap is
received on its inner end e; and this must be, as before remarked, some-
what smaller in diameter than the piston; these percussion caps are
in other respects constructed in the ordinary way: Any required number>
of these pistons, armed with their caps, may be conveniently carried. by
arranging them in holes prepared for their reception in the stock or
breeching part of the gun or pistol, or they may be disposed of in any
way that will admit of their being readily applied when wanted. Fig. 3,
is a section through the touch hole part of the breech or vent field of a
piece of ordinance, 'showing the manner in which I drill or bore through
this part for the insertion of the piston and the exploding of the cap;
and Fig. 4, is the piston; 9, 9, is the part of the bore which is to re-
ceive the cylindrical piston, Fig. 4; and 'h, the lessened aperture leading
from the lower end of 9, g, into the chamber of the gun, thus leaving
a shoulder at i, i, against which the percussion cap is to be forced when
the discharge is to take place. I have said that the bore g, g, should
be perfectly cylindrical, and this is true, excepting that there is a slight
contraction at its lower end, in the part which embraces the percussion
cap at the time of the explosion, this part being made slightly conical
to the height of from' an eighth to a fourth of an inch, which causes
it to embrace the cap the inore. closely after the blow, and still allows
it to be readily withdrawn, as the slightest motion relieves it from the
conical termination:. I have, in the application of my improvement to
cannon, devised a very simple mode of using an elastic substance through
which the piston is to pass, and by which the entrance through the
opening g, g, is rendered air and water tight. I make a countersink
1,1, at the upper end of the bore g, g, in which I insert a piece of cork
having a hole through the middle of it, through which hole the piston

page_text: will pass and by which it, will be closely. embraced. This cork may be
firmly held in its place by small asperities on the sides of the counter-
sink by widening the countersink a little towards its bottom, or in
various other ways. If preferred, an clastic substance may be held
down by means of a perforated screw nut inserted in the vent field; but
I think that the cork, inserted as above described, is preferable, as I
have found it to be perfectly efficient, and it may be readily and
instantaneously renewed. I prefer in all cases to make the piston of
tempered steel, but hard drawn brass wire, or, iron, will do very well,
and they are accurately turned and ground and fitted to the perfora-
tions prepared to receive them. In Fig. 4, n, is a section of the
copper cap which is to be placed on the lower end of the piston m, m;
this cap is perforated at o, prior to its being charged with percussion
powder, the opening being equal in size, or nearly so, to the perforation
at h; the lower end p, of the piston is turned down to receive the cap,
and it is diminished in diameter at the part q, so as to leave a shoulder
at r, above which the copper cap rises, and the upper edge of the cap
is to be slightly bent inwards, so as to embrace this shoulder, and this
may be easily effected by holding a piece of steel, say one of the pistons,
or a tool kept for the purpose, upon the edge of the cap after it is in
place, and rolling it over upon a table; by this means it is made to
embrace the piston so firmly as to ensure its being withdrawn with it
after the discharge, whilst without this precaution it would be liable
to be left behind. The dotted lines at the lower end of the piston at
p, shew the perforation sometimes made for containing gunpowder.
The discharge is made by allowing a hammer to strike on the head d
of the piston, and this may be done by hand, but it will usually, be
effected by means of a lock, constructed in any convenient manner and
adapted to the piece to which it is to be applied. Having described
the manner in which I apply my piston and its percussion cap for the
discharge of pieces of ordnance, I will now observe that I intend some-
times, and shall probably prefer, to adopt a similar arrangement in
small arms (that is to say), to use a piston which shall not enter the
chambers of such arms, but which shall be contained entirely within
the tubular screw nuts represented in Figures 1, and 2, or within

page_text: tubular pieces analogous thereto. In this case I shall use also the
perforated percussion cap, like those used for the discharge of cannon,"
and allow the percussion powder to pass therefrom into the chamber of
the pistol or gun, through a perforation smaller than that which receives
the piston, the whole arrangement of the apparatus being in this.
case, substantially the same with that described in my application of it.
to cannon, the main difference being in the size only of the respective
parts. From the smallness of the openings through which the discharge
is made from the percussion cap into the powder forming the charge, or
from the smallness of the section of the piston used in small arms,
when the said piston is allowed to pass through the chamber, the re-
action from the discharge tending to throw the piston out will be but
small, and it will be lield down by the force of the spring acting upon
the hammer of the lock when a lock is used. When the piston is to
be struck by hand, as is the case in ordnance, a button attached to the
vent field of the gun, and bearing on the piston near its upper end, may
be used for checking the rise of the piston from the force of the dis-
charge. Fig. 5, shews the manner in which this button may be affixed;
d, is the head of the piston, and immediately under this head there is
a shoulder r, made by turning the shank of the piston so as to form
a neck, sinaller than the shank; s, is a steel button which turns on a
screw at t, and passes under a catch u, at its opposite end. The neck
of the piston is embraced by the notch in the button s, and is thus held
from being blown out. The neck is of sufficient length to give the
requisite play to the piston; which can be drawn out when the button is
turned back. I. now proceed to describe a third modification of my
Invention, in which I dispense with the cap as constructed and applied
in the manner hereinbefore described, in place of which I make a
cavity in the lower end of the piston; about the twentieth part of an
inch in depth, and nearly as large as the diameter of the piston will
admit of, leaving but a slender rim to receive and retain the fulmi-
nating powder with which it is filled, and which is further secured
in its place by wax, varnish, or other means convenient for the pur-
pose; this piston when applied to sinall.arms is about one eighth
of-an inch in diameter, and about five eighths, more or less, in

page_text: length, and for distinction sake I now denominate it the priming cap.
When this priming cap is placed in the priming tube or nut pre-para-
fory to discharging the priming at its lower end resting immediately
over the vent, the instant it receives the blow of the cock on its upper
extremity the slender edge or rim retaining the fulminating powder
gives way, bulging upwards, and as the matter ignites and the intensity
of its fire increases, the bulging of the metal increases, so as to-be
capable of resisting any escape of fire otherwise than by passing through
the vent in the bottom of the nut or priming tube into the chamber of
the gun, whereas in the ordinary mode in which the priming caps are
discharged, it is effected by projecting a nipple or a slightly projecting
fillet of metal into their cavity, which allows in most cases the escape of
one half of all the fire generated, driving. off portions of the cap, to the
imminent danger of the eyes, or otherwise creating dirt and rust about
the lock and breech of the gun. The nut or priming tube employed to
receive and to operate in combination with this priming cap I construct
in the same way as the one previously described, Fig. 1, with this
difference, that the cylindrical bore is not continued entirely through.it,
but only to about four fifths of its entire length, or to within an eighth
or the sixteenth of an inch of its lower end, and leaving a flat bottom
for the priming cap to rest upon, below which a smaller perforation. is
continued, and which constitutes the vent leading into the chamber of
the gun, which vent is made conical, terminating in the smallest possible
point where it enters the chamber of the gun, by which means the. re-
turn of fire of the charge is cut off, as shewn in Fig. 7, which is a section
taken through the vent hole. On applying these improvements to
practical use the nut or priming tube is screwed into the breech of the
gun, the priming 'cap or piston is then introduced, and on being struck
on its upper extremity by the cock of the lock the cap is exploded and
the 'gün discliarged. Fig. 8, is a sectional view of the several parts of
my-third modification, constructed in the manner just described, the
parts being shown detached to avoid confusion. This construction of
primer somewhat resembles that shewn in Fig. 1, except that in Fig. 1;
that end of the piston which contains the detonating powder is passed
through the nipple into the magazine, whereas in the present instance

page_text: such, is not the case, the detonating powder being exploded at the lower
end of the tube and the fire generated thereby blown directly into the
magazine through the small aperture formed in the lower end of the
tube for that purpose, as scen in. Fig. 7... Fig. 9, represents a section
of the piston, showing the recess formed at. the lower end thereof, con
taining the detonating powder. Sometimes, instead of the disc of leather
or cork g, used for the purpose of keeping the piston in its proper place
and preventing the escape of fire or smoke from the nipple, I employ a
small spring formed on or attached to the nipple, and which as.it presses
I raise a burr upon
against the piston prevents it from falling out, or
the side of the primer, which effects the same object. This, if preferred,
may of course be applied to cither of the modifications above described.
In cannon and other fire-arms,. constructed as herein described, the
vent is not only rendered air and water tight, but the escape of fire and
smoke through it is effectually prevented, as has been proved by
numerous trials.
.
my
Having thus fully described the nature of my improvements, and
shewn the manner in which I carry the same into operation,, what I
claim as constituting my Invention, and desire to secure by Letters
Patent,.is; the effecting of the discharging of fire-arms;-Firstly, by
placing a percussion cap on the end of a cylindrical piston or rod, formed
for the purpose in the manner herein set forth, such piston with its
cap being made to pass through an opening adapted thereto; cither in
through tubular
the body of the breech of the piece to be discharged or
pieces screwed into or otherwise attached thereto, the said piston being
of such length as shall adapt it to the respective modifications of":
apparatus, as above described, (that is to say,) I claim the passing of
such a piston through a tubular opening, allowing it to reach across the
chamber, as in my first described modification, or I pass it into a cylin-
drical opening extending nearly to the chamber, where a shoulder is
formed by diminishing the size of the aperture in the manner and for the
purpose set forth, the respective parts concerned in the discharges being
Constructed and operating substantially as herein fully made known. I
claim likewise the improvement in the percussion cap, consisting of the
5 perforation through the middle of what is usually its closed end, in the

page_text: manner and. for the purpose described. And, secondly, I. claiin.the
method shown in Figs 8, and 9, of applying, adapting, or 'containing the
detonating powder in a recess formed at the lower end of the piston, on
which the slender edge or rim inclosing the fulminating powder is made
.so thin that on receiving the blow of the cock it swedges upwards, and
progressively giving way as the matter becomes ignited, drives all the
fire before it into the chamber of the gun, allowing none of it to escape,
by which means any accumulation of dirt or rust about the lock. or
breech is entirely prevented, insuring quickness and safety, at the same
time the fire being. generated within the sixteenth of an inch.of.the
magazine and upon a level with it. And I also claim as new and useful
the nut or priming tube, Fig. 8, made to receive and secure the primer
containing the detonating powder in its proper place, and from the
effects of rain or moisture, and for the purposes herein-before set forth
and described; but more especially, do I claim as my Invention the
priming cap, constructed-to operate in the way above stated, and acting
in combination with the priming nut or tube.
In witness whereof, I, the said Joshua Shaw, have hereunto.set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-ninth day of April, in the year
of our Lord One' thos
11
JOSHUA (L.S.) SHAW.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-ninth day of April,
in the fourth year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, the said
Joshua Shaw came before our said Lady the Queen, in Her Chancery,
and acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every thing
therein contained and specified, in form above written.
And also
the Instrument aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made in the fifty-fifth year of the reign of His late. Majesty
King George the Third.
Inrolled the Seventeenth day of May, One thousand cight hun-