IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU- FACTURE OF BARRELS FOR FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1844

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
WILLIAM LUCAS SARGANT, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria,
by Her Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing
date at Westminster, the Thirtieth day of January, in the seventh year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Lucas Sargant, Her especial licence, full
power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said William Lucas
Sargant, my exors, aditiors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
William Lucas Sargant, my exors, adñiors, 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 expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise; and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANU-
FACTURE OF BARRELS FOR FIRE-ARMS," partly invented by myself and partly
communicated to me from abroad; in which said Letters Patent is
contained a proviso, that I, the said William Lucas Sargant, shall cause

page_text: a particular description of the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's
High Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and imme-
diately 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso I, the
said William Lucas Sargant, do hereby declare that the nature of the
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed,
are fully described and ascertained in and by the following statement
thereof, (reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon, (that is to say :)
The Invention relates, first, to a mode of applying cast steel in the
manufacture of welded barrels for fire-arms having longitudinal seams.
Secondly, the Invention relates to applying hollow cylinders of cast steel
obtained by casting them in the manufacture of barrels for fire-arms.
And, thirdly, the Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture
of barrels for fire-arms by subjecting cast steel to a process of decarbo-
nization when employed for or in the making barrels.
And in order that the Invention may be most fully understood, and
readily carried into effect, I will proceed to describe the means pursued
by me.
It is well known to persons acquainted with the properties of cast
steel that there is a considerable difficulty in welding two surfaces of it
together, and this difficulty is increased in the case of barrels for fire-
arms by the great length and thinness of the surfaces required to be
welded, as well as by the position of the surfaces during the process of
welding. This difficulty I overcome by selecting the best cast steel of
commerce of a mild temper, by heating it very gradually, applying to the
edges to be joined an ordinary welding powder, and passing it through
grooved rollers with a mandril inside the barrel as is commonly done in
the case of iron barrels. This process is facilitated by decarbonizing the
steel in the manner herein-after described before welding it. But in
using this steel, and more especially in using the cast steel which is
herein-after described as more suitable for the purpose of making

page_text: barrels, I prefer the following method:--With a view to strengthen and
support the steel under the pressure which it must sustain in order to
force together the edges to be welded I coat it with iron on one of the
flat sides, leaving the edges and the other flat side unprotected, and this
I do by welding a plate of iron to a plate of cast steel, using ordinary
welding powder, and then roll or hammer the mass into a broad bar,
which I cut into suitable plates or skelps for forming barrels in the
ordinary manner of gun barrel making when the welding and elongation
is by means of grooved rollers and a mandril for that purpose, as is well
force together the edges to be welded I coat it with iron on one of the
flat sides, leaving the edges and the other flat side unprotected, and this
I do by welding a plate of iron to a plate of cast steel, using ordinary
welding powder, and then roll or hammer the mass into a broad bar,
which I cut into suitable plates or skelps for forming barrels in the
ordinary manner of gun barrel making when the welding and elongation
is by means of grooved rollers and a mandril for that purpose, as is well
understood.
.:
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING.
Figure 1, shews a
ion of a shelp intended for making
musket barrel composed of one surface of iron, and one of cast steel.
I find a convenient thickness to be full one eighth of an inch of the iron
to full three cighths of an inch of cast steel; the skelp being turned over
so that the iron is outside the barrel. The length and breadth of the
skelp is the same as used in making iron barrels; or, in order to make
sure of removing the whole of the iron in the progress of manufacture,
the skelp may be cut off a little longer, and the barrel rolled somewhat
larger than common outside. The skelp being turned over so that the
edges of the cast steel come together, the skelp is to be welded by
passing between grooved rollers with a mandril within as is well under-
stood, and the edges of the skelp being welded together, it is to be
clongated into a barrel by repeatedly heating it and rolling it, with
a mandril within as when rolling iron barrels. But since at each
heating and elongation the coating of iron becomes thinner as well
from the spreading of the metal as from the peeling off of the
scale or oxide, great care is necessary in heating the barrel during the
latter part of the process of rolling, and also in afterwards heating to
make up the ends of the barrel, and to put in the lump if it is intended
for a percussion gun. Such a heat should be used as is suitable for
forging cast steel; and in the turning and welding processes also the
skelp should be heated more gradually than if it were an iron one, as is
practised in forging cast steel. And it should be stated that I have not
making a
musket barrel composed of one surface of iron, and one of cast steel.
I find a convenient thickness to be full one eighth of an inch of the iron
to full three cighths of an inch of cast steel; the skelp being turned over
so that the iron is outside the barrel. The length and breadth of the
skelp is the same as used in making iron barrels; or, in order to make
sure of removing the whole of the iron in the progress of manufacture,
the skelp may be cut off a little longer, and the barrel rolled somewhat
larger than common outside. The skelp being turned over so that the
edges of the cast steel come together, the skelp is to be welded by
passing between grooved rollers with a mandril within as is well under-
stood, and the edges of the skelp being welded together, it is to be
clongated into a barrel by repeatedly heating it and rolling it, with
a mandril within as when rolling iron barrels. But since at each
heating and elongation the coating of iron becomes thinner as well
from the spreading of the metal as from the peeling off of the
scale or oxide, great care is necessary in heating the barrel during the
latter part of the process of rolling, and also in afterwards heating to
make up the ends of the barrel, and to put in the lump if it is intended
for a percussion gun. Such a heat should be used as is suitable for
forging cast steel; and in the turning and welding processes also the
skelp should be heated more gradually than if it were an iron one, as is
practised in forging cast steel. And it should be stated that I have not

page_text: found it necessary to use welding powder when welding the longitudinal
seam.
I will describe the way in which I decarbonize this barrel after I have
shewn the mode in which I carry out the second part of the Invention.
But I will add here that if from any peculiarity in the steel used, or
from any other cause, the thickness of iron which I have mentioned is
found insufficient to protect the steel from injury during the process of
welding, a greater thickness may be used. When that thickness only
is used which I have given as the one I prefer, the whole of the iron
will be taken off in the course of the ordinary grinding, leaving an
unblemished surface of cast steel inside and outside. But when a
greater thickness of iron is used, or when the quality of the barrel is of
more importance than the saving of a small expence, I find it safer to
cool the barrel after it is welded and before it is tapered, and to grind
off a portion of the outside iron, and then to taper the barrel by means
of the grooved rollers and mandril as usual. When more iron is thus
used it is necessary to commence the process with a plate or skelp
thicker than common to allow for the reduction by additional grinding.
The second part of the Invention consists in making cast steel barrels
by means of hollow cylinders obtained by casting them hollow. These
cylinders are elongated by rolling or hammering, or partly by both
processes, and in all cases with a mandril within them. The advantage
of such barrels consists in this, that there will be no seam or weld.
The mode which I prefer is as follows:-I cast a hollow cylinder of
about the same dimensions as the cylinder formed when the skelp of a
barrel of the same size is turned over ready for welding in the ordinary
manner, or rather shorter and thicker. To accomplish the casting I use
a pair of moulds similar to those generally used for casting steel, which
moulds when banded together form a cylinder inside them, into which
I
pour
the melted steel. The hollow in my cast cylinder I obtain by
means of a core of the same kind as is frequently used in casting
iron pipes consisting of a pipe perforated with many small holes
covered with hay and plastered with adhesive mixture as is well
known. This core is placed in the centre of the moulds, and is
fixed in its place at the lower end by falling into a hollow or socket

page_text: cut out half from each mould, and is retained upright at the other
end by means of a pipe which also serves as a stopper, and which
I will herein-after more particularly describe. It is well known that
in ordinary steel casting the melted steel is poured in at the top of the
moulds, and as soon as it is poured a stopper is put on with the hand
to prevent the steel from rising. But as in casting a hollow cylinder
some difficulty exists in getting a stopper over the core and into the
moulds with sufficient quickness, I adopt the following plan:--I make
the moulds longer than the cylinders I require, and I make a hole (a),
Figure 2, in the back of one of the moulds, through which hole I pour
in the melted metal. Round the hole outside the mould is screwed on
a lip or funnel which is not shewn in the Drawing, to receive the heated
metal, from which lip the steel runs through the hole (a) into the mould,
and round the core (b) is the stopper which consists of a hollow cylinder
of iron or steel which is partly hidden in the Drawing, being placed in
the moulds as far as it can without interfering with the passage of the
melted steel through the hole (a). The core is kept in its right place
at the upper end by the stopper being placed over it, the core being
about as long as the moulds. (d,) is a weight which moves freely up and
down the rods (f), being kept in its place by a groove in it into which
the edges of the rods project. The weight is suspended by a cord or
chain running over a pulley and fixed on a peg (h). The stopper (6)
is suspended by being fastened to the weight by a cord or chain (c). As
soon as the melted steel is poured, the chain is released from the peg (h),
and the weight falling. drives down the stopper over the core on to the
melted steel in the moulds, and the steel is left to cool under this
pressure. The stopper b, may consist of one of the steel cylinders thus
cast, and the weight (d) should be of about thirty-five pounds, falling
about one foot. The steel should be poured into the moulds as quickly
as possible, and the weight let down the instant the steel is poured.
The cylinders thus cast are now to be elongated, and this may be done, .
though with difficulty, by passing them through grooved rollers with a
mandril inside as usually practised with iron barrels. I find it far better
before doing this to subject the cylinders with a mandril inside to the

page_text: action of a tilt hammer such as is ordinarily used in hammering out
steel bars. This operation closes the pores of the steel, and makes it roll
more easily. In hammering the cylinders I make use of a pair of
grooved tools, the grooves being so shallow that when the cylinder is
placed in them the faces of the tools do not nearly meet.
The grooves
should be six to nine inches long, as if they are very short the mandril
inside the cylinder is not got out so easily. The mandrils should be of
steel slightly tapered and furnished with a knob at the larger end, and
they should be taken out when the cylinder is being heated. The hole
inside the cylinder diminishes at each hammering, and therefore a
smaller mandril is required each time the cylinder is heated, and care
should be taken that the mandril fits tight in the cylinder to prevent the
cylinder from cracking in the process of hammering. The mandril
should not be put more than two thirds down the hole in the cylinder,
and one end of the cylinder should be hammered first, and then the
other. I find three or four times heating and hammering each end of
the cylinder to be sufficient. I afterwards elongate and taper the barrels
by means of grooved rollers and a mandril as commonly practised,
taking care to heat the barrels gradually as is usual with cast steel.
This I find the most economical plan of elongating the cast cylinders,
but where the additional expence can be borne it is better to elongate
the barrels still further by means of a lighter tilt hammer, using tools
furnished with smaller grooves proportioned to the reduced size of the
barrel, and it will be found that the more the barrels are elongated in
this way the better will be the quality of the steel.
The third part of the Invention consists in applying the process of
decarbonization to cast steel used for the manufacture of barrels, the
object of which is to soften the cast steel, and render it easier to be
worked. I perform this by subjecting the steel or barrels, whether
welded or cast, to heat with the inner and outer surfaces in contact with
a substance which has a greater affinity for carbon than the steel has.
Many substances will answer this purpose, particularly black oxide of
manganese, saltpetre, blacksmiths' scale, which is the substance formed
in iron when cooled in the open air, iron filings, common red brick clay,

page_text: and many others; but I find blacksmith's scale, or this mixed with iron
filings or turnings, the most convenient. I make use of a small furnace
for the purpose similar to what is employed in cementing or converting..
iron into steel, and the process is similar, simply using the decarbonising..
matters. The furnace should be so constructed as readily to allow of
the fire being so kept up as to maintain a high red or nearly white heat
to the steel or barrels, and to the substances in contact with them; a
workman after a little practice will readily judge of the correct working:
of the furnace. I have found in trying a new furnace a good test to .:
ascertain whether it will maintain a proper heat is to fill a barrel with
black oxide of manganese, and when filling the furnace to place this
barrel in the centre, that is, in the place farthest removed from the
action of the fire; and if, when the contents of the furnace are cooled
down, the manganese in this barrel is found to have assumed a green
colour, a sufficient heat has been applied; if the manganese is of a black
or brown color, the heat has been insufficient; and if the manganese..
has been burned into a cinder, the heat has been unnecessarily great..
As to the length of time during which the steel or barrels should be
exposed to heat, that must depend on several circumstances. Some
persons so much prefer having their barrels very hard as to be willing
to incur the expence arising from having to bore and finish them in this.
state, but. for ordinary use it is necessary to soften the barrels more or..
less, and the workman after a little practice will understand how long
he should keep the barrels subject to this process. The longer the pro-..
cess is carried on until all the carbon is removed, the softer will the
barrels become. In making barrels of cast steel it will be sufficient to
apply the decarbonizing process once, that is, when the barrels have
been elongated and tapered; and if a furnace containing about fifty..
barrels be used, it will be sufficient to keep the fire lighted about thirty..
hours, getting the heat up gradually as is practised in converting iron
into steel; but the processes of plating the cast steel with iron, and
welding and tapering barrels, will be more easily effected if the steel is
decarbonized before welding. When the barrels are made by elongating
a hollow cast cylinder it is advantageous to subject the cylinders to the.

page_text: decarbonizing process before they are hammered, and using the same
furnace as I have before described. It is well to subject the cylinders
with the decarbonizing substance to heat during three or four days and
nights, the time required being longer on account of the greater thick-
ness of the cylinders as compared with barrels. When these cylinders
are elongated into barrels it will be found desirable for ordinary
purposes to decarbonize them again, subjecting them to heat during
about thirty hours. When the barrels are thus prepared they are bored
and finished as if they were iron barrels, except in regard to screwing
the end to receive the breech. In performing this operation there is
considerable danger of bursting or cracking the barrel, and several
precautions should be used to avoid this difficulty. The barrel should
be left a little longer than otherwise necessary at the breach end to
allow a crack to be filed or ground out. The screw should be formed
before grinding the barrel, and with greater care than is customary in
iron barrels; and if the steel used should be found to require it, the
breech end of the barrel should be decarbonized after the chamber for
the screw is formed. This partial decarbonization is effected by exposing
that end only of the barrel to heat in contact with a substance such as
before described. As to the quality of the steel which I use in carrying
out the Invention, I find that the best cast steel of commerce is suitable
for the purpose, but as that article is expensive I prefer to use cast
steel made from English iron of that kind which is employed in
manufacturing iron spoons and forks, and this iron I convert and
manufacture into cast steel in the ordinary manner.
Having thus described the nature of the Invention, and the manner
in which I carry it out, I would wish it to be understood, that I am
aware that steel has before been used when making barrels for fire-
arms, and I mention these circumstances in order to state that the.
Invention is confined to the modes of employing cast steel herein
described. And further, I am aware that cast steel has before been
decarbonized. I therefore make no claim thereto when not used in or
for the manufacture of barrels for fire-arms; and although I have been.
particular in describing the exact details of the means pursued by me

page_text: in carrying out the Invention, I do not confine myself thereto so long
as the peculiar character of any part of the Invention is retained.
But what I claim is,-
First, the mode of manufacturing welded barrels with longitudinal
seams for fire-arms by applying cast steel.
Secondly, I claim the mode of manufacturing barrels for fire-arms
by applying cast hollow cylinders or tubes of cast steel, and elongating
them into barrels, as herein described.
And, thirdly, I claim the application of cast steel in the manufacture
of barrels for fire-arms when the same is subjected to a decarbonizing
process of cementation, as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Lucas Sargant, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this
day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-four.
W. L. (L.B.) SARGANT.
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Twenty-ninth day of
July, in the year of our Lord 1844, the aforesaid William Lucas
Sargant came before our said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery,
and acknowledged the Specification aforesaid, and all and every thing
therein contained and specified in form above written. And also the
Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the
Statute made for that purpose.
Enrolled the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
Enrolled the Thirtieth day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-four.