IMPROVE- MENTS IN AMMUNITION FOR FIRE-ARMS, AND IN PACKING THE SAME FOR TRANS- PORT, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Shedden, of Ardgartan House, in the County
of Argyle, North Britain, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AMMUNITION FOR FIRE-ARMS, AND IN PACKING THE SAME FOR TRANS-
PORT, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN."
Sealed the 28th May 1861, and dated the 1st December 1860.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Shedden, at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
1st December 1860.
I, THOMAS SHEDDEN, of Ardgartan House, in the County of Argyle, North
Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN AMMUNITION FOR FIRE-ARMS, AND IN PACKING THE SAME FOR
TRANSPORT, AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," to be as follows, that
is to say :-
This Invention relates in the first place to the arrangement and construction
of cartridge shells or cases, the present improvements being founded to à
certain extent on an Invention of a somewhat similar kind, for which Letters
Patent for Great Britain were granted to Mr. Thomas Shedden, numbered 389,
and bearing date the Thirteenth day of February One thousand eight hundred
and sixty.
According to the present Invention, the backward end of the cartridge shell
is composed of a small cylinder of hard wood, metal, earthenware, vulcanite,

page_text: or other suitable material. The diameter of this cylinder is somewhat less
than that of the chamber of the gun or cannon with which it is to be used,
and in the central part there is formed a small recess or chamber to receive
the cap or primer, by means of which the cartridge is fired. The paper of
which the cartridge shell is to be formed is cut of the exact length of the
cartridge shell, but somewhat broader than the length of the circumference of
the cylinder. This paper is pasted, gummed, or otherwise cemented along
two of its sides; the narrow fillet or boarder forming the pasted surface extends
longitudinally on one edge of the paper and across one end. The paper is
caused to take a cylindrical form by means of a mandril, which corresponds in
diameter to the end cylinder, and has on one extremity a projection which fits
the chamber framed in the end cylinder of the cartridge. The end cylinder
being placed on the mandril the two are laid on the paper, which is rolled
smoothly round the mandril and the end cylinder. When the paste or other
cement has hardened to some extent the mandril is withdrawn and the shell is
laid aside to dry thoroughly. A hole is bored into the chamber of the end
cylinder at right angles to the axis of the cylinder, and the shell is then ready
for loading and capping in the ordinary way. The manufacture of these shells
for cartridges may be wholly or in part effected, if preferred, by means of
machinery. The following mode of capping these shells in place of the one
generally in use is proposed :-Instead of selecting a wire for the pin of a size
proper to enter the mouth of the cap, and one rather larger in diameter than the
external diameter of the cap is taken. Having cut off a portion of the wire of
the usual length, a part of the metal is removed from one end for a distance
exceeding the depth of the cap. The strip of metal that is cut off is of such a
thickness that the remaining cylinder is somewhat less than the internal
diameter of the cap that it will just enter it without bursting it open. The
mouth of the cap is then dipped very lightly into melted wax or into a mixture
of wax and tallow; it is placed on the end of the wire in the same
way as a cap is usually placed on the nipple of an ordinary gun, and is
pressed on, care being taken that no wax gets between the percussion powder
in the cap and the point of the pin. The strip of metal removed from the
end of the pin may be conical, so as to leave the end conoidal, and in this case
no wax need be employed; the hole in the cartridge shell at right angles to
its axis being bored of such a size that the pin fits it pretty tightly, and allows
the cap which is of less diameter than the pin to pass freely, and thus both
may be inserted in the cartridge shell at one operation without any special
Instrument for capping. When the "Lefancheux" or the above cartridges
or any others of a similar nature in which the cap or primer is fired by a blow

page_text: upon a wire are carried in the pouch or pocket, or have to be transported in
large quantities in ammunition waggons, or on board ship, or in any other
similar way, there is a danger of their being exploded by an accidental blow
upon the wire, and thus causing great damage and loss of life. In order to
obviate this they are packed in the following manner :-To provide against the
pin receiving an accidental blow, a block of wood, metal, earthenware, or
other sufficiently hard substance is placed upon it; this block is thicker than
the length of the portion of the pin which is outsidge the cartridge, and is
pierced through its thickness with a hole into which the pin fits very easily, or
even loosely. The pin is thus effectually protected from any blow in the
direction of its length, which alone can fire the cap or primer. In order to
facilitate the packing of the cartridges so protected, the block is made with a
curved surface to fit the cartridge which it protects on one side, and a semi-
circular surface of the same radius as the surface of the cartridge on the other
side. The top is hollowed slightly, so that it will fit the point of the bullet
used in the cartridge, and the bottom of the block is in the same plane with
the bottom of the cartridge. The breadth of the block is equal to the diameter
of the cartridge. Two cartridges protected by such blocks are placed together,
and these pairs are arranged side by side with paper between them, if required,
and packed afterwards in the usual manner.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Shedden in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
31st May 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
SHEDDEN, of Ardgartan House, in the County of Argyle, North Britain,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the First day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty, in the twenty-fourth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Shedden, Her special license that I, the said Thomas
Shedden, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said Thomas Shedden, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

page_text: Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE
MENTS IN AMMUNITION FOR FIRE-ARMS, AND IN PACKING THE SAME FOR TRANSPORT,
AND IN THE APPARATUS EMPLOYED THEREIN," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said Thonias Shedden, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of one of
then, 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, the said Thomas Shedden, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to
the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates, in the first place, to the arrangement and con-
struction of cartridge shells or cases, the present improvements being founded,
to a certain extent, on an Invention of a somewhat similar kind for which
Letters Patent for Great Britain were granted to me, numbered 389, and
bearing date the 18th day of February 1860. According to the present
Invention the backward end of the cartridge shell is composed of a small
cylinder of hard wood, metal, earthenware, vulcanite, or other suitable mate-
rial. The diameter of this cylinder is somewhat less than that of the chamber
of the gun or cannon with which it is to be used, and in the central part there
is formed a small recess or chamber to receive the cap or primer by means of
which the cartridge is fired. The paper of which the cartridge shell is to be
formed is cut out of the exact length of the cartridge shell, but somewhat broader
than the length of the circumference of the cylinder. This paper is pasted,
gummed, or otherwise cemented along two of its sides; the narrow fillet or
border forming the pasted surface extends longitudinally on one edge of the
paper and across one end. The paper is caused to take a cylindrical form by
means of a mandrel, which corresponds in diameter to the end cylinder, and
has on one extremity a projection which fits the chamber formed in the end
cylinder of the cartridge. The end cylinder being placed on the mandrel, tho
two are laid on the paper, which is rolled smoothly round the mandrel and the
end cylinder. When the pasto or other cement is hardened to some extent
the mandrel is withdrawn, and the shell is laid aside to dry thoroughly. A
hole is bored into the chamber of the end cylinder at right angles to the axis
of the cylinder, and the shell is then ready for loading and capping in the
ordinary way. The manufacture of these shells for cartridges may be wholly

page_text: or in part effected, if preferred, by means of machinery. The following mode
of capping these shells, in place of the one generally in use, is proposed; instead
of selecting a wire for the pin of a size proper to enter the mouth of the cap,
one rather larger in diameter than the external diameter of the cap is taken;
having cut off a portion of the wire of the usual length a part of the metal is
removed from one end for a distance exceeding the depth of the cap. The
strip of metal that is taken off is of such a thickness that the remaining
cylinder is much less than the internal diameter of the cap that it will just
enter it without bursting it open. The mouth of the cap is then dipped very
lightly into melted wax, or into a mixture of wax and tallow; it is then placed
on the end of the wire in the same way as a cap is usually placed on the
nipple of an ordinary gun, and is pressed on, care being taken that no wax
gets between the percussion powder in the cap and the point of the pin. The
strip of metal removed from the end of the pin may be conical internally, so
as to leave the end conoidal; in this case no wax need be employed; the hole
in the cartridge shell at right angles to its axis being of such a size that the
pin fits it pretty tightly, and allows the cap, which is of less diameter than
the pin, to pass freely, and thus both may be inserted in the cartridge shell at
one operation without any special instrument for capping. When "Lefan-
cheux," or the above cartridges, or any others of a similar. nature, in which
the cap or primer is fired by a blow upon a wire, and carried in the pouch or
pocket, or have to be transported in large quantities in ammunition waggons,
or on board ship, or in any other similar way, there is danger of their being
exploded by an accidental blow upon the wire, and of thus causing great
damage and loss of life. In order to obvinte this they are packed in the
following manner :-To provide against the pin receiving an accidental blow' a
block of wood, metal, earthenware, or other sufficiently hard substance is
placed upon it; this block is thicker than the length of the portion of the pin
which is outside the cartridge, and is pierced through its thickness with a
hole, into which the pin fits very easily, or even loosely. The pin is thus
effectually protected from any blow in the direction of its length, which alone
can fire the cap or primer. In order to facilitate the packing of the cartridges
so protected the block is made with a curved surface, to fit the cartridge which
it protects on one side, and a semicircular surface, of the same radius as the
surface of the cartridge, on the other side. The top is hollowed slightly, so
that it will fit the point of the bullet used in the cartridges, and the bottom of
the block is in the same plane with the bottom of the cartridge. The breadth
of the block is equal to the diameter of the cartridge: Two-cartridges pro-
tected by such blocks are placed together, and these pairs are arranged; side

page_text: by side, with paper between them if required, and packed afterwards in the
usual manner.
And in order that my said “Invention in Ammunition for Fire-arms, and in
Packing the same for Transport," may be properly understood, I shall now
proceed to describe the several Figures on the explanatory Sheet of Drawings
which I have hereunto annexed, for the purpose of showing certain modifica-
tions under which my improvements may be judiciously carried out in practice,
that is to say:-
Figures 1 and 2 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings are front views of
the cylindrical discs which form the ends of my improved cartridges; Figure 3
is a vertical section of the disc; Figure 4 is a plan of the paper envelope; and
Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of the cartridge shell, showing one of the
primers in position; Figures 6, 7, and 8, represent modifications of my
improved modes of capping or priming cartridges; Figures 9 to 12 illustrate
my improved mode of packing capped cartridges to ensure safety in transport,
and also in handling the same.
According to the present improvements, instead of making the cartridge
shell of several pieces as usual, or of one or two, as in the Letters Patent
granted to me, and bearing date the 18th day of February 1860, numbered
889, the cartridge shell is formed of two pieces only in the following manner :-
A-cylinder or disc A, Figures 1 and 2, is formed of hard wood, metal, earthen-
ware, or other suitable material, of such a length that if it were placed in the
barrel by itself, capped in the usual way in which the "Lefancheux" cartridges
áre capped, and the cap fired by a blow of the hammer, it would not alter its
position in the barrel. The diameter of this cylinder is slightly less than that
of the chamber of the gun or cannon with which it is to be used, to admit of
the paper which forms the cartridge shell or case being rolled round it. In
this cylinder a circular or rectangular chamber B is formed for the reception
of the cap or primer. Having selected a paper of suitable stiffness and thick-
ness, according to the size of the cartridge to be made, it is cut to the exact
length of the cartridge shell, as shown at C in Figure 4, and somewhat broader
than the length of the circumference of the cylinder. Dissolved gum or other
suitable cement is then applied to one side of the paper along the edge and
across one end, as shown at c in Figure 4. Being provided with a smooth
cylindrical mandrel or former of the same diameter as the cylinder A, but
longer than the cartridge, and with a projection at the end, which fits the
chamber B in the cylinder, the operator places the diso A on the end of the
mandrel, and holding it there with the finger, he lays both on the edge of the
paper C, and then rolls the paper round the mandrel and cylinder A. Care

page_text: is taken that the paper forms a perfectly smooth cylinder, and that the back-
ward edge corresponds accurately with the backward plane of the disc A.
When the gum, paste, or cement is sufficiently hard, the mandrel is with-
drawn, and the cartridge shell is laid aside to dry thoroughly. When dry a
hole D is bored down into the chamber in the cylinder at right angles to the
axis of the shell. If the disc A is made of metal or earthenware the aperture
D is previously formed therein, and in this case the paper shell only requires
to be perforated. Any of the foregoing operations may be performed either.
wholly or in part by the aid of suitable machinery. The cartridge sbell so
formed may be capped and loaded in the usual way, and so become a cartridge.
As these cartridge shells are light, and may be torn or injured. before it is
loaded unless care be taken, and as the usual mode of capping the shells
requires a good deal of manipulation, which is likely to injure the shells made
in this way, preference is given to the following mode in place of the one
generally in use. A piece of wire E, Figures 5 and 6, and rather larger in
diameter than the external diameter of the cap F, is taken, and having cut off
a portion of the wire of the usual length, a part of the metal is removed from
one end for a distance exceeding the depth of the cap F as shown at G. The
portion of metal which is removed is of such a thickness that the remaining
cylinder shall be so much less than the internal diameter of the cap F that it
will just enter it easily without bursting it open. The mouth of the cap is
then dipped very lightly into melted wax, or into a melted mixture of wax and
tallow, and it is then placed on the end of the wire in the same way as a cap
is usually placed on the nipple of an ordinary gun. The cap is pressed on:
firmly, care being taken to avoid any wax getting in between the percussion'
powder in the cap and the point of the pin.
Another mode of preparing these exploding wires is shown in Figure 7. of
the accompanying Drawings. The portion of metal removed from the end of
the pin E is conical internally, so as to leave the end of the wire of a conical:
form, as shown in Figure 7. The smaller end of the frustrum forms the point:
of the pin, and enters the month of the cap E easily, whilst the latter fits
tightly on to the base of the cone in the same way as on the cone of a gun
nipple. In this mode of manufacture no wax need be employed. The hole
Din the cartridge shell at right angles to its axis is bored to such a size that
the pin E fits it pretty tightly, and allows the cap, which is of a somewhat
smaller diameter than the pin, to pass-freely, and thus both may be inserted
in the cartridge shell at one operation without requiring the use of any special
instrument. Another modification of this part of my Invention is to employ,.
instead of wood, metal, or other materials previously mentioned, circular pieces.

page_text: of felt or pasteboard, or other suitable material, for punching into cylindrical
discs, and if requisite, to employ two or more such discs for the breech end of
each cartridge case. Theso discs are placed end to end, and the adjacent sur-
faces cemented with gum or other suitable cement or adhesive preparation.
The chamber for the percussion cap or end of primer is formed entirely in ono
of these discs, or in more than one of them, as may be found best. The breech
part being formed of one or more of such discs, the cartridges are finished in
the same manner as with the breech of wood or other material herein-before
described.
Another modification consists in a breech formed of a cylinder of wood, and
of one or more of such discs, the chamber for the percussion cap or end of the
primer being formed in this modification as in the last, and the cartridge case
completed in the same way. I also propose to employ for the ignition of the
powder in such cartridge cases, besides the original modifications herein-before
described, the primer or percussion cap, used by Boche, Fabricant d'Outil de
Chasse, Paris, and called by him capsulés a tige. When the "Lefancheux,"
or the above cartridges, or any other of a generally similar kind, in which the
cap or, primer is fired by a blow upon a wire, are carried in the pouch or
pocket, or have to be transported in larger quantities in ammunition waggons,
or on board ship, or in any other similar way, there is a danger of their being
exploded by an accidental blow on the primer E, and of thus causing great
damage and loss of life. In order to obviate this preference is given to the
following mode of packing to ensure their safety, whether in carrying them
about the person or in transporting them from place to place in quantities.
To provide against the pin E receiving an accidental blow it is protected by
means of a block of wood, metal, earthenware, vulcanite, gutta percha, or
other sufficiently hard substance. This block is longer than the length of that
portion of the pin which is outside the cartridge, and it is pierced through its
thickness with a hole, into which the pin fits very easily, or even loosely. The
pin is thus effectually protected from any blow in the direction of its length,
which alone can fire the cap or primer. Figure 9 on the accompanying Draw-
ings is a vertical section of one of these blocks; Figure 10 is a plan of the
same; Figure 11 is a partially sectional clevation, showing the protecting
block applied to a cartridge; and Figure 12 is a plan showing two cartridges
packed together. The block H is made, by preference, of the form shown in
Figures 9 to 12; it has an inwardly curved surface I to fit the cartridge; the
outward end of the block is formed of a semicircular figure, which it protects
on one side, and of the same radius as the surface of the cartridge on the other
side, as shown at J. The upper surface is hollowed slightly at K, so that it

page_text: will fit the point of the bullet used in the cartridges, and the bottom of the
block is in the same plane with the bottom of the cartridge. The breadth of
the block is equal to the diameter of the cartridge, and extending through the
block is a tubular passage L, to receive the projecting part of the primer E.
The block is slipped over the primer, and two cartridges are placed together,
as shown in Figure 12, and any number of such pairs are arranged side by
side, with paper between them if required, or they may be bound together by
a band of paper passed round them and the edge of the band pasted down,
and packed afterwards in cases or other receptacles. In this way these duplex
cartridges may be carried with safety about the person without fear of an
explosion from the primer being struck; they may also be packed with safety
in ordinary cases, and transported from place to place without danger.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is,―
"
First, the system or mode of manufacturing cartridge shells or cases which
are formed by the combination of discs or end pieces with paper shells or cases
for holding the charge of powder and projectile, as herein-before described and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
Second, the system or mode of capping or priming cartridges in which the
cap is securely attached to the exploding wire, thus obtaining facility of capping
the cartridge shell, ensuring the certainty of its firing the charge when struck
by the hammer of the gun, as herein-before described and shown in the accom-
panying Drawings.
Third, the system or mode of preventing the accidental explosion of cart-
ridges made with projecting primers or exploding wires by means of blocks or
projecting end pieces, which are also formed so as to admit of the cartridges
being readily and safely packed for transport, as herein-before described and
shown in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Shedden, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of May, One thousand eight
hundred and sixts-one