IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGES
Year: 1860

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Jeffries, of- the City of Norwich, Gunmaker,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR
FILLING CARTRIDGES."
Sealed the 11th January 1861, and dated the 6th August 1860..
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION. left by the said George Jeffries at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th August 1860.
I, GEORGE JEFFRIES, of the City of Norwich, Gunmaker, do hereby declare
the nature of the said, Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY OR APPARATUS
FOR FILLING CARTRIDGES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to a simple and compact apparatus for filling
cartridges for sporting breach-loading fire-arms." It consists of a vertical
standard, the lower part of which is grooved semicircularly to admit the
cartridge case. Immediately behind this grooved portion is a lug and
clamping screw for securing the apparatus to a table or stand. The upper
part of the standard is provided with a rammer and a loose or detachable box
or receptacle, into which the filled cartridge is placed for the purpose of
having its end turned over so as to secure the wadding in its place. This is
effected by means of a screwed plug working in a fixed or moveable bush in
the end of the box. A plunger works inside the screwed plug for the purpose

page_text: of driving out the cartridge when completed, and suitable means are adopted
for retaining the cartridge during the process of turning over its edges on to
the wadding.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Jeorge Geffries in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th February 1861.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
JEFFRIES, of the City of Norwich, Gunmaker, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of August, 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 George Jeffries, Her, special license that I, the said George
Jeffries, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I..
the said George Jeffries, my executors, administrators, or 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 MACHINERY OR APPARATUS FOR FILLING CARTRIDGES," upon the
condition (amongst others), that I, the said George Jeffries, 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 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 George Jeffries, 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, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
My said Invention relates to a portable and simple apparatus (capable of
being packed in an ordinary gun case) for filling cartridges for sporting breach-
loading fire-arms. It consists of a vertical standard, the lower part of which
is grooved or recessed semicircularly to admit the cartridge case. Imme-
diately behind this grooved portion is a lug and clamping screw for securing.

page_text: the apparatus to a table stand. The upper part of the standard is provide
with a rammer and a loose or detachable box or receptacle, into which the
filled cartridge is introduced for the purpose of having its edge turned inwards,
so as to secure the wadding in its place. This is effected by means of a
screwed plug working in a bush in the end of the box. A plunger works
inside the screwed plug for the purpose of driving out the cartridge when
completed,, and suitable means are adopted for retaining the cartridge during
the process of turning over its edges on to the wadding.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the
same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents a front elevation of my improved
apparatus, drawn full size; Figure 2 is a corresponding vertical section of the
same, looking at right angles to Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional plan of the
apparatus taken through the finishing box; and Figure 4 represents the box
detached; and Figure 5 represents a cartridge when completed. A represents
the body or stem of the apparatus, which may be made of cast iron or other
metal. The lower part of the stem is recessed or grooved semicircularly to
receive the cartridge case a, which rests upon the projection B. Immediately
behind this recessed or grooved portion of the stem are two lugs or shoulders
C, D, and through the lower one D is passed the pinching screw E, which
serves, in combination with the lugs C and D, to secure the apparatus to the
edge of a table or work bench F, as shewn in Figure 2. The cartridge,
which has been partially filled with powder and thick wadding, is placed in
the recess or groove above referred to, and is then ready for ramming, which
is effected by means of the rammer G being suddenly depressed by striking
the knob or handle H with the palm of the hand, and elevated again by the
helical spring I, contained within a hollow chamber cast in the stem, as shown
in Figure 2. The semicircular groove or recess referred to above ensures
the proper centring of the cartridge case beneath the rammer head. After
the wadding has been sufficiently rammed over the powder, the shot and thin
wadding are introduced and passed through the same process of ramming, and
the cartridge is then placed in the finishing box K, for the purpose of having
the end of the case turned over inwards, so as to prevent the accidental
displacement of the contents of the cartridge. This is effected by the screwed
plug L, the front or inner end of which is chambered out, and is provided
with an annular groove or recess, as shewn at 6, 6, (Figure 3) into which the

page_text: lip or edge of the cartridge case enters when. the plug is forced inwards by
turning the handle M. attached thereto. The effect of the annular groove is
to turn inwards the end of the cartridge case, as shewn at c, c, in Figure 5.
R is a screw for regulating the length of cartridge to be turned over. The
cartridge is held in position during the finishing process above described by
the cross-bar N, hinged to the mouth of the box, and held by a hook or catch d
fixed to the side of the mouth. When the cartridge is completed, the cross
bar is turned back, so as to release the cartridge, and the latter is then
expelled from the box by the plunger O. The finishing box is not cast in one
piece with the stem of the apparatus, but is made-removeable therefrom, being
held between a pair of lugs P, P, by a set screw Q. This arrangement affords
facility for the changing of one box for another suitable for a different sized
cartridge.
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 to be novel.and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by-the-herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent, is the general construction, arrangement,
and combination of apparatus for filling cartridges, as herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Jeffries, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-sixth day of January, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-one.