IMPROVEMENTS IN REVOLVING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1866

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 31st
January 1866. A communication from abroad by Charles Mason, of
Iliom, New York, United States of America.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the "International Patent Office," No. 8,
Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN REVOLVING FIRE-ARMS," a communication; to be as
follows:
The chief object of these improvements is the adaptation of that class of
small arms known as revolving pistols to the firing of metallic cartridges, and
the said improvements consist chiefly in the employment of an adjustable
recoil block at the back of the revolving breech, and in the construction and
arrangement of the extractor for withdrawing the empty cases from the said
breech.
The recoil block is formed of a strong plate of steel or other suitable
metal, and is jointed by hinges or pivots to the frame. Space is left for
this recoil block to vibrate slightly upon its hinges between the back of the
revolving breech and the inside of the frame. The said recoil block is
operated by a spring catch or other suitable device connected with the trigger.
When the piece is fired the recoil block is pressed up by the said catch into
contact with the end of the cartridge, and sustains the entire pressure due to
the recoil of the piece at the time of firing.
When the empty case is to be

page_text: removed from the breech chamber the hammer is set at half-cock, the
revolving breech is turned on its trunnions till the empty case is brought into
position to be drawn out by the extractor. This construction and arrangement
of the recoil block prevents any difficulty in rotating the breech arising from
the bulging out of the cartridge case, where a perfectly rigid recoil block is
employed.
The extractor is by preference constructed to operate by turning upon a pin
or stud fixed in the required position on the right of the frame, a little in
-advance of the centre pin of the hammer for discharging the piece. This
extractor is furnished with a hook or claw which takes hold upon the rim of
the cartridge case, and thereby draws the said case from the breech. The
said extractor is also provided with a flange or wing, in which a groove or
channel is cut of the form of a segment of a circle struck from the centre of
the pin or stud, upon which the extractor is supported and turns. This
groove or channel terminates in a circular recess at one end of the flange or
wing, and when the extractor is thrown forward into contact with the breech,
the centre of this circular recess falls just over the centre of the fulcrum pin
of the discharging hammer. This pin or stud, upon which the said hammer
turns, carries a curved guide of the same radius, and corresponding in form
with and fitting accurately the groove or channel cut in the flange or wing of
the extractor, and of such a length as to turn freely in the circular recess in
the said flange. When the hammer is at half-cock the curve of this guide
also coincides in direction with the said groove or channel, and therefore
allows the extractor to be turned freely on its centre, which it can only do
when the hammer is in this position. When the bammer is in this position
the cartridge cases are extracted. A small countersunk hole is formed in the
exact centre of the pin carrying the hammer, and a small catch of corre
sponding form is fitted in the centre of the circular recess. This catch is
pressed up by a spring, and when the extractor is against the end of the
breech the said catch drops into the countersunk hole, and ensures the
extractor remaining in that position while the piece is cocked. When
the hammer is at full-cock the curved guide acts as a stop and holds
the extractor firmly up against the end of the revolving breech, but allows the
hammer to fall when the trigger is pulled, because the circular recess in the
flange of the extractor is concentric with the said guide. It is only when the
hammer is brought to half-cock that the curved guide comes into such a
relative position with the curved recess as will allow the extractor to be
turned on its centre to withdraw the cartridges from the breech chambers..
From the peculiar construction and arrangement of the above mentioned

page_text: curved guide and the corresponding groove or channel in the extractor, it is
obvious that except when the said extractor is pressed up against the back of
the revolving breech the hammer cannot be drawn back to full-cock, which
prevents any possibility of accidentally discharging the said piece. This
method of arrangement also prevents the extractor being drawn back except
when the hammer is at half-cock, as that is the only position in which the
curves of the recess and the guide coincide in direction. A slight modification
of parts only is necessary to adapt these improvements to any kind of revolving
fire-arms.