IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN PARTS OF SMALL FIRE ARMS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Enos James, trading as Enos James and Company, of
Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, for an Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CERTAIN PARTS OF SMALL
FIRE ARMS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Enos James at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th November 1881.
ENOS JAMES, trading as Enos James and Company, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer. " IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF CERTAIN PARTS OF SMALL FIRE ARMS."
My Invention has reference to the combined body, break off, and tang of breech
loading small fire arms, and to the fore end iron of breech loading small fire arms,
and to the tang and break off of muzzle loading small fire arms, and my said
Invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in manufacturing the
same.
In the ordinary method of manufacturing the combined body, break off, and
tang of breech loading small fire arms, the said combined parts are made of one
piece of iron by stamping the two slots required in the body for the reception
of the lumps on the barrels being first roughly formed by the process called
"machining," and afterwards completed and their sides made parallel by the
process called "drifting."
In making the said combined body, break off, and tang according to my Invention
I employ the process of stamping, but instead of forming the said combined parts
without the holes in the body for the reception of the lumps on the barrels,
I insert in the upper stamping tool or make in one piece therewith two projections
somewhat less than the holes to be made in the body, the said projections being
slightly taper; I also make in the lower stamping tool or fixed die projections of a
size and shape suitable for making the depressions in the underside of the body
called the spring hole and furniture hole. Any other recesses required may be
made in a similar manner. After the combined body, break off, and tang, with the

page_text: holes and recesses described have been made by stamping, I perfect the shape of
the taper holes in the body while the iron is still hot by drifting. The sides of the
said holes are thereby made parallel.
In making a fore end iron according to my Invention I employ tools having the
ordinary shape, excepting that they are provided with the requisite projections and
recesses for making the slot in the said fore end iron.
In making the tang and break off of muzzle loading small fire arms I employ
the stamping process, the stamping tools I employ being of a size and shape proper
to make the break off with the holes or "huts" therein by which the barrel or
barrels are hooked to the break off. The part of the stamping which is to be
made into the tang is formed in a position nearly parallel to the face of the break
off. The said part is subsequently brought into a position nearly at right angles
to the face of the break off by hand forging.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Enos James in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th April 1882.
ENOS JAMES, trading as Enos James and Company, of Birmingham, in the
County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE
OF CERTAIN PARTS OF SMALL FIRE ARMS."
My Invention has reference to the combined body, break off, and tang of breech
loading sinall fire arms, and to the fore end iron of breech loading small fire arms,
and to the tang and break off of muzzle loading small fire arms, and my said
Invention consists of the improvements herein after described in manufacturing the
same.
In the ordinary method of manufacturing the combined body, break off, and
tang of breech loading small fire arms, the said combined parts are made of one
piece of iron by stamping the two slots required in the body for the reception of
the lumps on the barrels being first roughly formed by the process called
'machining," and afterwards completed and their sides made parallel by the
process called "drifting."
"
In making the said combined body, break off, and tang according to my
Invention I employ the process of stamping, but instead of forming the said
combined parts without the holes in the body for the reception of the lumps on the
barrels, I insert in the upper stamping tool or make in one picce therewith two
projections somewhat less than the holes to be made in the body, the said pro-
jections being slightly taper; I also make in the lower stamping tool or fixed die,
projections of a size and shape suitable for making the depressions in the underside
of the body called the spring hole and furniture hole. Any other recesses required
may be made in a similar manner. After the combined body, break off, and tang
with the holes and recesses described have been made by stamping, I perfect the
shape of the taper holes in the body while the iron is still hot by drifting. The
sides of the said holes are thereby made parallel.
In making a fore end iron according to my Invention I employ tools having the
ordinary shape, excepting that they are provided with the requisite projections
and recesses for making the slot in the said forc end iron.
In making the tang and break off of muzzle loading small fire arms I employ the
stamping process, the stamping tools I employ being of a size and shape proper to
make the break off with the holes or "huts" therein, by which the barrel or barrels
are hooked to the break off; the part of the stamping which is to be made into
the tang is formed in a position nearly parallel to the face of the break off. The
said part is subsequently brought into a position nearly at right angles to the face
of the break off by hand forging or otherwise.
I will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawings
the manner in which my Invention is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents in plan of upperside; Figure 2, in plan of underside; and
Figure 3, in side elevation the combined body, break off, and tang of a drop down
gun made according to my Invention.
+
Figure represents in vertical section the pair of stamping tools which I employ
for making the said combined body, break off, and tang, Figures 1, 2, and 3;
Figure 5 is a side elevation of the upper tool of the pair of tools Figure 4;
Figure 6 is a plan of the acting face of the said upper tool, and Figure 7 is
a plan of the acting face of the lower tool.
a is the body; b, the break off; and c the tang of the combined article. In the
upper side of the body a are two holes e, f, for the reception (when drifted) of the
lumps on the barrels, and in the lower face of the body a are depressions g, h,
called the spring hole and furniture hole. On the underside of the body a two

page_text: knuckles i, i, are also made. These knuckles are for the purpose of jointing the
locking bolt lever to.
In order to make the lump holes e, f, in the body a I form on the upper stamping
tool which is secured in the ram or bolt of the stamp two taper projections I, I,
and for producing the depressions g, h, in the underside of the body a I form
projections m, m, on the face of the lower tool p, which is fixed on the bed
of the stamp. For forming the knuckles i, i, on the underside of the body a,
depressions 9, 9, are made in the face of the lower tool p.
When the two tools k, p, are brought together they enclose between them a
space having the configuration of the combined body, break off, and tang,
Figures 1, 2, and 3, together with the necessary holes, depressions, and lumps,
as represented in Figure 4, where the two tools are represented closed upon one
another with the combined article between them.
As the stamping process is conducted by the use of the pair of tools k, p, in the
manner commonly practised when ordinary tools are employed, I do not consider
it necessary to describe the details of the said stamping process.
After the combined parts have been fashioned by the stamping process the shape
of the taper holes e, f, in the body a are perfected while the iron is still hot by
"drifting" in the ordinary way, and the depressions and knuckles i, i, are machined
or otherwise shaped in the ordinary way.
When depressions of other shapes than those represented in Figure 2 and
marked g, h, are required on the underside of the body of the gun, projections on
the lower stamping tool are made of a shape the counterpart of the depressions to
be produced. For example, projections of the shape required to form the depressions
r, r, represented in the underside of the body, Figure 8, or to form the depression's
in the underside of the body, Figure 9, may be formed on the lower stamping
tool 2, or the said lower tool may be so fashioned as to form the depression t and
the circular recess u, in the body, Figure 10, for receiving the head of the locking
lever, Figure 11, and also the peg von which the head of the said lever, Figure 11,
turns.
This part of my Invention is however applicable to the formation by the
stamping process of any other recesses which may be required in the body of the
gun or small fire arm.
Figure 12 represents in side elevation and plan of upperside the fore end iron of
a drop down gun made by the stamping process according to iny Invention.
Figure 13 represents in section the pair of stamping tools c, d, which I employ
for fashioning the said fore end iron, Figure 12; Figure 14 represents a plan of the
acting face of the upper tool c; and Figure 15 represents a plan of the acting face
of the lower tool d.
The bar of the fore end iron is marked a and the abutment or joint end of the
said bar is marked b; 2 is the slot in the abutment or joint end b, the said slot
being formed by the projection e on the upper stamping tool c. It will be seen
that those parts of the tools c, d, which shape the abutment b of the fore end
iron are situated at different levels from those parts which shape the bar a.
The heated iron being placed upon the lower tool & the upper tool c is brought
down upon it so as to shape or fashion between them the fore end iron together
with the slot d², the part a of the bar a near its junction with the abutment b
being bent nearly at right angles to the other part of the said bar by the stamping
process, as seen in Figure 13.
After the fore end iron is removed from the stamping tools the "fraze" or waste
metal is cut away by clipping tools and the bar a is straightened, as illustrated
in Figure 12, and the fore end iron is finished in the ordinary way.
The tools, Figure 13, slightly modified may be used in the manufacture of the
lever, Figure 11. In this case a recess is left in the tools of a shape suitable for the
fashioning of the head of the lever, a peg for forming the central hole in the said
head being made on the lower tool.
Figure 16 represents in plan, and Figure 17 in side elevation partly a combined

page_text: tang and break off for a muzzle loading gun made by stamping according to
my Invention; Figure 18 represents in section the pair of tools which I use for
stamping the combined tang and break off; Figure 19 represents a plan of the
acting face of the upper tool, and Figure 20 represents a plan of the acting face of
the lower tool.
fis the break off and g is the tang, the said break off being provided with
partly made holes or "huts" h, h, by which the barrels are hooked to the break
off; is the upper stamping tool, and the lower stamping tool. In the upper
tool are two projections 1, 1, and in the lower tool are two similar projections m, m,
the said pairs of projections 1, 1, and m, m, being used for forming the recesses or
partly made holes or "huts" h, h, in the break off.
Those parts of the two tools i, k, which fashion the break off f are situated in
different planes from those parts which fashion the tang g By the operation of
the tools i,, the heated iron is shaped into the combined break off and tang, as
illustrated in Figure 18, the tang part g being formed in a position nearly parallel
to the face of the break off part f. By the action of the two pairs of projections
1, 1, and m, m, on the tools, the break off is pierced nearly through, as represented
in Figures 16 and 17. After the removal of the combined tang and break off from
the stamping tools the clipping operation is performed and the tang g is brought
into a position at right angles to the face of the break off f, as illustrated in
Figure 17. The thin webs in the depressions in the break off f being removed
the combined break off and tang is finished in the ordinary way.
Having now described the nature of my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that
I claim as my Invention of "Improvements in the Manufacture of certain Parts
of Small Fire Arms,"-
First. The improvements in manufacturing the combined body, break off, and
tang of breech loading small fire arms herein before described and illustrated in
Figures 1 to 10, both inclusive, of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say,
forming the slots or holes in the upper side of the body of the combined article for
the reception of the lumps on the barrels, and also forming the depressions or
recesses required in the lower side of the said body by the stamping process by
which the combined body, break off, and tang is made, substantially as described
and illustrated.
Secondly. The improvements in making the fore end irons of breech loading
small fire arms, hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures 12, 13, 14, and 15
of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say, forming the said fore end iron
together with the slot in the abutment part of the same by the stamping process
as described and illustrated, also forming the locking handles of breech loading
small fire arms together with the heads and central holes of the said handles by
the stamping process, as herein before described.
Thirdly. Making the combined tang and break off of muzzle loading small fire
arms together with recesses in the break off at which the holes or "huts" are to be
made by the stamping process, as hereinbefore described and illustrated in Figures
16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Enos James, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and nighter t
Witness,
GEORGE SHAW,
ENOS JAMES. (L.S.)