The best and most serviceable stocks are those made from parts of the

tree where large branches join the trunk. In these parts, too, will be

found the curled and irregular grain that is so much admired when the

stock is so made that these irregularities come in the stock a little

in front of the butt plate. When large trees are cut down, it will be

observed very often that there are portions of the stump that have a

kind of convex form, and extending downward terminate in large roots. If

these be dug out or separated from the stump by splitting them, they are

almost always of a proper shape, to have the grain run nearly straight in

the curves as given to the stock. In black-walnut and hard maple these

root portions are very firm of fibre, quite hard and have a splendid

grain that finishes up beautifully. Portions of some root pieces have a

mottled appearance and are of a different color from the wood as cut from

the trunk of the tree; this is especially the case with black-walnut. As

these stumps can be had by the trouble of removing them, the gunsmith can

very cheaply secure pieces of wood that are very valuable. Oftentimes

black-walnut stumps are found floating in the water, and on the banks

of western rivers, that are perfectly sound and so darkened by water

soaking that they make beautiful stocks.

The dryness and fitness of the wood may be ascertained by the easy

crumbling of the shavings and by the dryness of the sawdust. It is

necessary that the wood be well seasoned, for if any moisture or sap

remains in it, the barrel and portions of the lock that come in contact

with the wood, will in a short time be covered with rust.

CHAPTER XIV.

ON GUN STOCKS.

_Form of Gun Stocks._—When a customer orders a stock to be made, or has

a gun to be re-stocked, the gunsmith will observe the length of his

customer’s arms, length of neck, his height and general carriage. From

these he can gather some data as to the length and form of stock to be

made. Give him a gun, and observe his mode of raising it and taking aim,

and the manner of his holding his head while aiming, and deductions may

be drawn as to what the customer requires.

A tall, long-limbed and long-armed man requires a longer stock than

a shorter person, and a straight stock will better answer for a

short-necked, high-shouldered man than for a long-necked, low-shouldered

person. A straight stock is much more suitable for a short-necked,

high-shouldered person than a bent one, and for this reason, that, in

fast shooting the point of sight at the end of the gun would come up to

the range of the eye before the butt could be placed full against the

shoulder, and one consequence would be, when fired, a severe recoil of

the gun at every discharge. A stock rather long is much better than one

too short, and one rather crooked to one that is too straight. If a gun

be not held on a perfect level, but the muzzle higher than the breech,

the load will be carried over the object aimed at, supposing that object

to be on a level with the eye. Let a customer take a gun, such as would

be thought to be best suited to his “build,” and request him to close

both eyes and raise the gun to a level, as if to shoot thus. Have him

hold the gun immovable thus, and then request him to open his eyes, and

it is evident if he requires a stock to be made different from the one

he has in hand. If the face comes naturally to the breech and the eye

has a “fine sight” along the barrel, it is just the pattern of gun stock

for him to have. If it be too straight he will shoot over, if too much

crooked he will shoot under. In the first instance the muzzle is brought

too high by an effort of the face to find a position at the breech, and

in the other case it so readily finds a place that no further effort is

made, except by practice, to raise the muzzle to the proper level.

A tall, slim person requires a gun with a long, crooked stock, and rather

heavier and made fuller behind the small, as this will fill up his want

of a full face, and will better permit his eye a command of sight along

the middle of the barrels, supposing the gun to be a double one. For a

short individual a short, straight stock is required, and it should be

made thinner behind the small, so as to easily permit access to the line

of sight. If a person be in the habit of firing too low and behind a

bird, if the stock be made a little straighter it will prove a remedy for

the fault.

That part of the stock where the cheek comes to rest should be full, as

it gives more support to the line of fire. The heel of the stock should

be in a straight line with the upper rib between the barrels. If a single

gun, on a line with the barrel. The length of stock from the centre of

front trigger to centre of butt-plate, from thirteen to fifteen and a

half inches; a short person requiring the less measurement, while a very

tall one might require the longest one.

[Illustration: FIGURE 23.]

The cut, Fig. 23, gives a better idea of what the stock should be. Place

a rule or straight-edge upon the rib of the gun, and long enough to reach

from the sight of the gun over and beyond the butt. Be particular that

the straight-edge lies along the rib and touches it at both muzzle and

breech. The measurement from _a_ to _b_ on the butt is what is termed the

“drop,” and this may be from two and a half to four inches, according to

the requirements of the shooter. The cheek of the sportsman comes between

_c_ and _d_, and almost always touches the stock at this place when

bending his head forward over the stock of his gun to take the line of

sight. This part of the gun should command particular attention.

Another point of considerable importance to observe is, that a due regard

be paid to the proper fall of equipoise or centre of gravity of the gun

when stocked and ready for use. This centre of gravity should fall at

a point about two feet two inches, or perhaps an inch more, from the

heel of the butt. In this case the arm is easier to handle and easier to

carry. If the breech be too light, lead may be inserted to advantage in

the butt, the butt-plate being removed for that purpose.

_Dimensions for Single Gun._—The following may be considered very good

dimensions for a single gun stock: Whole length of stock, from butt

to cap, two feet two inches; length or depth of butt, five and a half

inches, with a trifling concave surface; width of stock at butt, two

inches; from point of centre of the lock-tumbler to cap, eleven inches;

width of stock before the guard, one inch and three-eighths, and made

nearly square.

_Dimensions for Double Gun._—For a double gun: Length of stock, from

butt to cap, two feet one inch; length or depth of butt, five and a half

inches, with a slightly concave surface two inches in width; from centre

of lock-tumbler to cap, ten and one-quarter inches; width of stock before

guard, one inch and three-quarters, and made nearly square.

_Laying out Gun Stocks._—Several patterns each, of double and single,

and rifle stocks are necessary. These patterns may be made of thin wood

or thick straw-board. These patterns ought to be a little larger than

the finished stock, and are intended only for a proximate measurement of

the stock when to be sawed from the rough wood. Select the wood, lay the

pattern upon it, mark around with a pencil or crayon, and then saw out by

the lines made.

With a plane, smooth one side of the wood so as to show the grain and

the direction in which it runs. This must govern the position of laying

the pattern. The weakest portion of the stock is the small, and there it

is almost a necessity that the grain should not run across the line of

the stock, but with it. If a very little divergence be made, it may not

matter, provided the wood be of a hard and close grain. If the grain run

across, or at an angle at this weakest spot, a slight blow or accidental

fall is liable to cause a breakage which can best be repaired with a new

stock. If the wood be in some places mottled, with curled or twisted

grain, or has a knot that is hard and sound, let this spot come in the

center of the butt, for by its width and thickness no accident is liable

to break it, and the rounded form gives opportunity to show off the

irregular grain to good advantage. Let the wood where the butt plate is

attached be of straight and regular grain if possible. The grain where

the locks are let in, and also where the barrel is let in, should be

straight and run in the same line as the barrel.

The planks or rough pieces for double gun stocks should be about two and

a quarter inches thick before they are reduced. Two inches for a single

gun, and about one and three-quarter inches, or a little thicker, for

rifles, depending on their weight and the taste of the customer.

It is best to have a number of stocks roughed out. Maple for rifles and

black-walnut for single and double guns. Let them lay in a dry place to

thoroughly season, and if they remain in this manner for several years,

they are all the better for it. It is claimed that it takes seven years

for a plank to season, and even then when sawed into stocks, they will be

observed to shrink and change form, and often small cracks will appear.

Unhesitatingly reject all pieces that are unsound, or have any appearance

of being brash, or with any signs of decay. Often in laying the patterns

upon the wood these places can be readily avoided, and thrown away as the

plank is cut up. Draw a straight line where the barrels will come, and

cut to this line, but be sure to leave plenty of wood where the breech

of the barrels rest, and where the break-off is set in. When the stock

is roughed out, this spot will have the appearance of a rise or swell

with a sharp curve in front, down on to the line which is just below the

centre of the line of the barrels for double guns, and on the centre for

single guns and rifles. Except in the case of some who may fancy the old

Kentucky rifle, all guns will probably be made with half-stock. It would

be hardly advisable to keep only a very limited stock of full length

stocks on hand. If such are to be roughed out, pay particular attention

to have the grain of the wood as straight as possible the full length

where the barrel is to be let in.

_How to Stock a Gun._—Stocking a gun is the most difficult portion of

the gunsmith’s trade. The change from iron work to the manipulation of

wood is so great that many workmen refuse to work at both branches of

the business. Then again, if the stock be not well done and the parts

well fitted, they show a greater per cent. worse than perhaps they really

are. The letting in of the barrel and locks should be done with care

and nicety, and no apparent openings between wood and metal should be

visible. The parts should be closely adherent to the wood, yet easy to

be removed and returned to place. Where straight lines of the wood work

are required, as along the line of the barrels and other places, let the

lines _be straight_. Where the convex lines of the breech and butt occur,

let the lines be graceful and of even proportions.

_The First Operation._—After receiving the rough formed stock, as roughed

out for seasoning, the first thing to do is to plane it to a thickness,

and there are two places to measure for this thickness. One is the

thickness of the butt, which in double guns may be two inches, and the

same width in heavy single guns, and a trifle lighter if it be a light

gun. The other place for measurement is across where the locks are to

be let in. Observe how the locks are to rest, against the break-off or

against the barrels. Note this measurement and add the thickness of the

locks. This may be an inch and three-eighths to an inch and a half for

single guns, and an inch and five-eighths to an inch and three-quarters

for double guns, yet as the formation of the breech and style of locks

differ so will these measurements vary from the measurements given. When

these measurements are made, and the stock reduced to the proper width,

draw a line both on the upper side of the stock as well as the under

side, exactly between the breech and lock measurements, and continue this

line from the end of the butt to the end of the fore-stock. Cut down to

a straight line the stock where the barrels are to be let in, and fit in

the break-off. Take pains to fit it well, for on the fitting of this in

a great measure depends the life of the stock. If the barrels be loose

fitted, each recoil of the gun on firing tends to loosen the break-off

from the barrels, and the joint soon becomes open and shackling.

When this part is snugly fitted and the strap let in, put in temporary

screws to hold it for a season. Cut out the groove for the barrels,

keeping in mind all the time that the central line between the barrels

must be on the line as drawn on the centre of the stock. If a single gun,

this line must pass directly through the axial line of the bore.

_Letting in Barrels._—When it is thought that wood enough has been

removed to admit the barrels, rub oil on them on the under side where

they come in contact with the stock, put the hooks in the break-off, and

with the hand press the barrels to place—the oil will show on the wood,

on removing them, and then, with gouge or float, remove this portion and

again put the barrels in place, observing the oil marks, and reduce the

wood again until the barrels lie in their beds evenly and solidly, and

the joining at the break-off is in place, square and true. The heel of

the stock should come in a straight line with the middle of the rib, and

will come so, if observance of the lines first drawn has been made.

_Measure for the Stock._—Now measure for the drop of the stock, which is

illustrated in Fig. 23. From the line _a_ to _b_, which is a continuation

of a line along the top of the barrels, may be, for instance about three

inches. Cut the stock away on top to this measurement, and fit on the

butt plate. To get the length of the breech, measure from the spot where

the end of the front trigger will come, and this measurement extended,

straight back to the centre of the butt, gives the length. For a person

with long arms about fifteen and a half inches is enough; about fourteen

and a half for a person with ordinary length of arm, and thirteen and a

half or thirteen and three-quarters for a person with short arms.

_The Butt._—The depth of the butt for a double or single may be about

five and a half inches, but for a light single gun a little less but not

very much.

_Letting in the Locks._—The locks should now be let in their proper

places, and, while so doing, have great care that no more wood be

removed than is necessary. See that the lock-plates have all the

support possible where they fit into the wood. Cut out enough for full

play of the mainspring and sear-berg spring carefully, do not remove

wood where the edges of the lock-plate come, so as to leave open spaces

for admission of water, dust or moisture. In letting in the locks the

portions of wood to be removed can be ascertained by touching the

prominent parts of the lock with oil, or holding the lock over a smoky

lamp, so as to have soot adhere, then observe where it touches, on

pressing the locks into place. Observe if the cup of the hammer comes

squarely on the nipple, and put in the side bolts as they are to remain.

_Letting in the Trigger-Plate._—Let the trigger-plate into the stock so

that the arm of the sear bears wholly on the thick of the trigger, and

not on the outer end. For this reason, if it engages the outer end, on

being pulled to disengage the nose of the sear from the tumbler notch,

it produces a sort of “twisted leverage” which does not work quick and

strong enough to properly disengage the sear without some effort on

account of this. If the arm of the sear bears only in part on the thick

of the trigger, it works hard and stiff, and the parts soon wear each

other. Observe if the arm of the sear be not too short, for it might

happen that the trigger will slip off at the end upon a quick pressure

being applied, leaving the parts disengaged and the hammer standing at

full-cock.

_Letting in the Trigger._—The trigger should be so disposed in the

plate that a distance of an inch and about three-eighths exist between

the right trigger and the front of the trigger guard, and an inch and

three-sixteenths or more between the two triggers, and a sufficient space

between the rear of the left trigger and the guard behind it to admit of

free movement of the trigger. Observe if the triggers do not come too

close to each other; if they do they may so rub upon each other that the

action of one will compel the other to follow its motion, and the result

will be a descent of both hammers at the same time.

Observe if the curves of the two triggers are at sufficient distance from

each other so that the left barrel can be fired without the projecting

and inner edge of the right or first trigger hurting the finger that

pulls the trigger.

_Secure Fastenings._—For a secure fastening of the break-off, and, at

the same time, to bind the stock together and prevent splitting through

where the locks are let in, insert a screw through the tang of the

strap and have it received in the front end of the trigger-plate. Have

a good thread where the screw goes into the trigger-plate, and have the

plate firmly drawn to its bed in the wood. Fit the guard, observing the

measurements for space in front and rear of the triggers.

_Fitting Bolt-Loops._—To ascertain the position of the loop where the

bolt or wire goes through to hold the barrel in place, insert a fine

steel needle through the wood until it strikes the hole, and then enlarge

around it to accommodate the hole and the loop. If for a bolt, a slender

tool made like a saw will enlarge the hole in the wood, letting the tool

follow in the loop and act as a guide to shape the hole. The finishing of

the hole in the wood may be done with a bolt float, shown in Fig. 24.

[Illustration: FIGURE 24.]

_Hints for Finishing._—In finishing up the stock have the part where the

cheek rests in firing made pretty full. Make it rather long than short,

and have it more straight than curved. The length of a stock, be it

double or single gun, from butt to front end of stock, may be from about

two feet to two feet two inches; from the centre of the hammer-screw to

front end of the stock, from ten to eleven inches.

_Fitting the Break-off._—On good fitting of the break-off depends, in a

great measure, the lasting quality of the gun. If this be not properly

fitted to the hooks of the breech, to the breech itself, and into

the stock, the gun is soon “kicked” to pieces by its own recoil. The

extension of the break-off that is let into the stock toward the breech

is called tang, strap or tail, and these are of two lengths, called the

long and the short. These lengths usually correspond with the lengths

of breech pins. The smallest diameter of break-off is one inch, and

increases by eighths of an inch up to two inches.

_To let in Escutcheons, etc._—Do not fit in an escutcheon until that

part of the stock is finished or made to form. Then, after the bolt is

fitted to its place through the loop, remove the bolt, make the hole

in the escutcheon so that the bolt slides easily through it. Hold the

escutcheons on the stock in the place they are to occupy and put the bolt

through them. Mark around them with the sharp point of a knife and remove

them. Cut out the wood of a depth to correspond with the thickness of the

escutcheon with a bottoming tool. Put them in place and fasten them. They

can now be finished down with a file even with the stock.

It is well to have escutcheons with the ends long enough to admit of

small screws being inserted to hold them. They are more permanent than

those that are held by a wire-like extension that goes through the wood

and is clinched a little. By using the screws the workman can make his

own escutcheons. Sheet iron, brass or German silver may be used. The slot

can be cut with a punch or drift, and finished with a thin, flat file.

The handles of old German silver spoons make very good escutcheons. If

too thick, hammer out thinner. Heat them to soften so that they will not

crack in hammering.

In putting escutcheons to place where they are to remain, heat them quite

warm, smear with gum shellac and, while soft and melted, press into

place. If done expertly, a neat job will be the result.

_How to Cast Tips on Fore-end of Stock._—Tips are cast on the fore-end

of half-stocked single guns and rifles for the purpose of preventing

the stock from splitting, and, at the same time, give it a finished

appearance. After the stock is finished to shape and the rod fitted, put

the barrel in place, and put a short piece of wood in the rod groove,

the same as the rod would be if put there. Let the piece project from

the wood four or five inches. It serves a double purpose, preventing the

metal from flowing into the hole and making a hole to receive the rod.

Now, wind thick, smooth paper—manilla paper is best—around the stock and

barrel where the tip is to be cast, confining it with a cord, taking care

to have all tight so that no portion of the metal will escape. See that

the space between the paper and wood is left large enough, so that the

metal can be dressed down a little; little notches may be cut in the wood

to have it hold the better.

Fix the gun so as to stand upright, so that the metal will pour evenly.

Heat the metal pretty hot and pour carefully into the paper, and pour in

more than is wanted for the length of the tip, as the dross will float to

the top and can be removed when cold by sawing off a little of the tip.

File up and finish to suit the taste.

The best metal for tips is pure block tin, as it remains white. If it be

wished to make it a little harder, add a very little antimony, but this

is hardly necessary. Old type, when melted, make a very good material for

tips when pure tin cannot be obtained. Tin has the advantage of always

retaining a clear white color, which when alloyed with lead, it will not

do.

_Chequering._—To lay out the work preparatory for chequering, take a

piece of card—a firm pasteboard, cut it to the shape of the spot to be

chequered; mark around it with a lead pencil. If it be the small of a gun

stock, place it at the other side from that first marked and mark that

place. See that both places are marked alike. Then place the paper on, so

that when it is used as a guide the tool will cut a groove where the line

was drawn. Cut outlines in the same manner, the paper serving as a guide

for the tool. After one groove is cut, this is a guide for grooving the

space inclosed by the outlines.

To finish the cuts or grooves, fold a short piece of fine sand-paper

and run the folded edge along the cuts. Be careful not to cut down too

much with the sand-paper. A fine-cut, three-square file can be used to

finish up the grooves made by the chequering-tool. Be careful to select

a file that has very sharp corners. If one of the flat surfaces of the

file be ground smooth, the teeth on the corners will be found to be very

sharp, and will answer first-rate for finishing. The same may be used for

finishing the shading or outside lines around the chequered surface.

_Coloring Gun Stocks._—Gun stocks are colored with linseed oil in which

alkanet root has been placed. The oil will then be of a bright red

color. The oil may be applied cold or warm, as most convenient. After

the application let the stock stand for a day or two until the wood has

absorbed all the oil possible. Four ounces of the alkanet root to half a

pint of the oil are sufficient. Unboiled or raw linseed oil is generally

used. It may take five or six days to color, after the root is put in. It

may be put on the work four or five times, with a bit of sponge or a rag.

_To Stain a Maple Stock._—Mix an ounce and a half of nitric acid with

about equal quantity of iron turnings or filings. Wait until all the gas

evolved has evaporated, and then dip a rag in the liquid and wash the

portions of the stock to be colored. When this is dry, wet with the oil

and alkanet root.

_Another Method._—A stock may be oiled and then passed over a brisk

flame, as that made from dry shavings, until the oil is scorched off, and

then lightly rubbed down with fine sand-paper and then finished in the

usual way.

_To Color a Maple Stock Brown._—Dissolve a few grains of sulphate of

manganese in water; wet the stock and hold over the flame of an alcohol

lamp so as to scorch it. By heating some parts more than others the color

can be variegated. Oil with raw linseed oil, and polish with a piece of

hard wood. The oil and polishing will develop the color, which may be

dull at first.

_To Color a Reddish Brown._—Brush the wood with dilute nitric acid, and

when dry apply the following with a brush: Dragon’s-blood, four ounces;

common soda, one ounce; alcohol, three pints. Repeat if not dark enough.

_To Color a Black._—Boil half a pound of logwood chips in two quarts of

water; add one ounce of pearlash, and wash the work with it while hot.

Then, when dry, go over the work with the following: Boil half a pound

of logwood in two quarts of water; add half an ounce of verdigris and

green copperas, in which has been put half a pound of rusty steel or iron

filings.

_Rosewood Stain._—Boil half a pint of logwood in three pints of water

till the mixture is very dark red; add salts of tartar, one-half ounce,

while boiling hot; and while still in this condition apply to the wood,

repeating the application two or three times, as the previous application

becomes dry. Rub over with a soft cloth when the last application has

dried, and set away for a day or so. In the meantime boil one pound of

logwood in four quarts of water until of a deep color, then add one

pint of vinegar, heat hot and apply to the wood already stained, with a

suitable brush, streaking on in imitation of rosewood. When thoroughly

dry rub off all loose matter with a soft cloth, and varnish.

_Black-Walnut Stain._—Put together gum asphaltum, one pound, and

turpentine, half a gallon. Dissolve by gentle heating, taking care not to

heat so as to ignite the turpentine. Rub over the wood, and when dry, if

not sufficiently dark, repeat the operation. Having the shade to suit,

polish down by rubbing hard with a woollen cloth, followed with a bit of

soft wood, then varnish. A stain, not quite so good, but cheaper and more

simple, is burnt umber, such as can be bought at any paint shop, ground

in oil, thinned with a little turpentine. It should be put on very thick,

and then rubbed off to the proper shade with a woollen cloth. Dry and

varnish.

_Mahogany Stain._—It is not often that guns are stocked in mahogany, but

the gunsmith ought to know how to stain in imitation of that wood, should

occasion happen to call for it. Put together, water, one half gallon;

madder, four ounces; and fustic, two ounces. Boil. Lay on the wood with a

brush while hot; and while yet damp, but not wet, rub off with a woollen

cloth; then, when dry, go over with a second coat in streaks to imitate

the grain of mahogany. Rub off all loose matter when dry, and varnish.

_Cherry Stain._—Put two ounces of annatto in half a gallon of rain water.

Boil until the annatto is dissolved, then add half an ounce of potash.

This preparation is intended for wood of a light color. It may be bottled

and kept for use when wanted. Nothing to do in the application but rub

over the wood, let dry, and then varnish.

_Oil Finish for Gun Stocks._—Mix common Spanish whiting with some kind of

coloring material until it is exactly the shade of the wood you desire to

finish. For instance, if it is walnut to be finished, the coloring agent

will be dry burnt umber. Having the whiting ready, give the wood, which

has been well finished up with fine sand paper, a coat of raw linseed

oil, then sprinkle the whiting mixture over it, and with a woollen cloth

rub thoroughly and hard. This forces the colored whiting into all the

pores of the wood. Lastly, rub down heavily with a piece of soft white

pine, and then set away to dry. It may be left in this condition, or it

may be varnished, when dry, if thought desirable.

_Varnishing and Finishing._—After the stock is shaped and sand-papered

so that the surface is smooth and free from any marks of the rasp

and scratches of sand-paper wipe it over with a cloth a little moist

with water, this will raise the grain of the wood a little, when dry,

sand-paper it off smooth. With a small brush, such as is used by painters

and called a sash brush, apply the varnish. Shellac varnish is the kind

generally used by gunsmiths. It will dry in a little time, but ought to

stand about twenty-four hours before being rubbed down. This is done

with fine sand-paper the same as finishing the stock, the object being

to fill the pores of the wood as much as possible. It may require two,

three or even four coats of the varnish to do this, each one after it is

thoroughly dried, being sand-papered down to the wood.

The last coat of varnish is laid on with a flat varnish brush made of

soft fine hair; see that the varnish be free from dirt or specks and not

too thick; put it on evenly and quickly. See that it does not run down

so as to show in streaks. When this coat is thoroughly dry, rub it down

smooth with powdered pumice stone applied with a rag wet with water. Take

care not to cut through the varnish so as to show the wood underneath,

as the pumice powder cuts very fast. When the surface is made smooth and

even, wash off all traces of the pumice powder with a wet cloth, and wipe

it dry. Now go over it with powdered rotten-stone applied with a rag

moistened with oil. Rub until the varnished surface shows a finish or a

glassy appearance, then wipe off all trace of rotten stone and oil. If a

little flour be dusted over, it will better remove the oil traces that

may remain; with the hand rub the surface until it presents a gloss. The

hand must be soft to do this and must be free from dirt.

[Illustration: FIGURE 25.]

_The Varnish for Gun Stocks._—Some workmen use copal varnish because

it is cheap and convenient, but it is objectionable on account of its

softness and its disposition to crack when exposed to the sun. There

are a number of special varnishes recommended to the gunsmith, but for

general use perhaps good coach varnish, will answer in many cases. It

should be made quite thin with turpentine, and be put on lightly.

_Varnish Can._—A very good form of varnish can is shown in Fig. 25. The

essentials are to have a cover with a stem to receive the handles of the

brushes, and a bridge crossing the can a little distance down from the

top. The cover never sticks, no varnish collects around the sides, and

it is always clean and tidy. The can is round and made of tin. The cover

shuts over the outside at the top. In wiping the brush across the bridge,

be careful not to get any upon the outside of the can where the cover

comes in contact. The size of can maybe made according to the needs of

the mechanic, but the stem of the cover must be wide enough as well as

long enough to receive the brush handles.

CHAPTER XV.

ON GUN BARRELS.

_Long and Short Barrels._—A long barrel may be preferable for several

reasons: 1st. A longer distance between the sights is given and the

back sight can be put farther from the eye, so that finer sighting is

possible; 2d. A long barrel is steadier in off-hand shooting; 3d. It

permits a slower burning powder to be used, so that the charge starts

more slowly and yet allows the full strength of the powder to be used

before it leaves the barrel, getting a high initial velocity with but

little recoil.

The short barrel has an advantage over the long one inasmuch as it can be

handled with greater quickness and the sight can be brought to bear more

readily, especially if the game be moving. If the barrel be long enough

to give the charge the full benefit of the propelling power of the powder

it may be deemed all sufficient. Yet, as to this, tastes and experience

may so differ as to raise many conflicting opinions.

Except in some localities, as in case of districts where the

old-fashioned Kentucky rifle is used, long barrels have been pretty much

abandoned. A few years ago it was not uncommon to find barrels three

and even four feet long, now the lengths will range from twenty-six to

thirty-two inches. The length of the old Government musket barrel was

originally forty inches, but has been lessened about seven inches. With

the long barrels, a coarse, slower burning powder may be used and get a

good result, but as a general thing cut off the barrel to a convenient

length for off-hand shooting and moving game, use a finer-grained powder,

which will be quicker burning and just as good results are obtained.

A gun having barrels over thirty inches in length, must needs be made

with heavy barrels, and is very fatiguing to carry in an all day hunt. A

gun of this kind, to be safe and well-proportioned, ought to weigh nine

or ten pounds.

If fine and quick-burning powder be used in a long barrel, the powder is

flashed into propelling gas, instantaneously, and beyond a certain length

of barrel has no further expansive power, and the result is a friction

of the charge in escaping, that affects the shot and consequently the

pattern on the target. If slow burning powder be employed in a short

barrel, the whole of the powder cannot be so instantly flashed into the

propelling gas and some portion of it is, as a result, driven unconsumed

from the muzzle of the gun.

This fact can be very readily ascertained by firing a gun over a bed of

clean snow or over a spread of white cloth. The unconsumed grains can

be readily seen on the white ground. If a less charge be used in order

to consume all the powder, less velocity will be given to the projected

charge, and weak shooting and a poor, scattering effect on the target is

the consequence.

_Proof of Barrels._—In consequence of the bursting of guns of an inferior

quality, all barrels of English manufacture that are intended for home

use, and also those designed for exportation, except a certain class of

arms, are required by law to be proved and stamped with the proof-mark

and also what is termed a view mark, which is a stamp or impress of the

inspection after the barrels were grooved. There are two of these proofs

called, respectively, the London and the Birmingham proof. In 1855, an

Act was passed by the English Parliament, called, “The Gun Barrel Proof

Act,” which enacted that all barrels should be proved, first, in the

rough, and was called the provisional proof, and afterward when the

barrels were put together, breeched and percussioned they were proved

again, and this was called the definitive proof.

The arms to be proved are to be divided into classes, and the first class

comprises single-barrelled military arms of smooth bore, and they are

not qualified for proof until they are fitted and complete to be set up

or assembled. The second class comprises double-barrelled military arms

of smooth bore and rifled arms of every description, whether of one or

more barrels, and constructed of plain or twisted iron. The fourth class

comprises double-barrelled guns for firing small shot, and these are

subject to the two proofs, provisional and definitive. For provisional

proof, if of plain metal, the barrels are to be bored and ground to

size, the vent hole drilled of a size not exceeding one-sixteenth of

an inch diameter, and a vent enlarged to one-tenth disqualified it for

proof. Notches in the plugs, instead of drilled vents, also disqualified

them. If the arms are of twisted metal, they are to be fine bored and

struck up, with proving plugs attached, and vents drilled the same as in

plain barrels.

For definitive proof the barrels, either plain or twisted, must be

finished ready for assembling, with break-offs and locks fitted. The top

and bottom ribs have to be rough struck up, pipes, loops and stoppers

on, and the proper breeches in. The same finished condition is required

for rifles, but, in addition, the barrels must be rifled. The third

class comprises single-barrelled shot guns, and for proving they are to

be finished ready for assembling, with breeches in; and all barrels,

with lumps for percussioning, are to be proved through the nipple hole.

The fifth class comprises revolving and breech-loading arms of every

description and system, and for revolving arms are to have the cylinders

with the revolving action attached and complete. The barrels for

breech-loaders are subject to provisional proof, according to the class

to which they belong, and to definitive proof, when the breech-loading

action is attached and complete.

Barrels made by the United States Government, or barrels made for the

Government, are subject to severe proofs. At the armory at Springfield,

the barrels submitted for proof are loaded, first, with a 500-grain slug

and 280 grains of powder, and afterward with a slug of the same weight

and 250 grains of powder. An inspection of the barrel is made after each

firing, and other inspections after rifling, browning, etc.

Probably the most severe proof of barrels was made with the Turkish

Peabody-Martini rifles as made for the Turkish Government by the

Providence Tool Co. The barrels were first proved for strength, and were

loaded with 205 grains of powder and 715 grains of lead. The regular

cartridge for service contains only 85 grains of powder and 480 grains of

lead.

[Illustration: FIGURE 26.]

_Proof Marks on Gun Barrels._—The marks applicable to the definitive

proof are the proof and view marks of the two English companies, viz.:

the London and the Birmingham. The provisional proof marks consist

of, for the London company, the letters G. P., interlaced in a cypher

surmounted by a lion rampant, and for the Birmingham company the letters

B. P., interlaced in a cypher surmounted by a crown. The London marks are

shown in Fig. 26, and the Birmingham in Fig. 27.

The method of affixing the proof marks in arms of the first and third

classes, the definitive proof mark and view mark is impressed at the

breech end of the barrel, and, if the barrel be designed for a patent

breech, the view mark is also impressed upon the breech. In arms of

the second, fourth and fifth classes, the proof mark is impressed at

the breech end of the barrel; the definitive proof and view marks

are impressed upon the barrel above the provisional proof marks. If

the barrel be made with patent breech or with revolving cylinders

or chambers, the view mark is impressed upon the breech or upon the

cylinders or chambers, as the case may be.

[Illustration: FIGURE 27.]

On all barrels the gauge size of the barrel is struck both at the

provisional and at the definitive proof. These gauge marks are readily

recognized, as shown in the cuts of the proof marks.

Barrels stamped with London marks are not always made in London, for

some gunmakers send their barrels to London to be proved, because guns

so marked find a readier sale. Barrels with foreign proof marks are

exempted, except in case of being marked as of English manufacture.

Old muzzle-loaders, if of English manufacture, intended for conversion

into other styles of guns, must be subjected to both provisional and

definitive proof.

It is said to be a fact that the proof marks of both companies are forged

and imitated, both in England and in Germany, and many cheap guns so

stamped are exported to this country. A cheap gun, with the stamps

mentioned, may be looked upon with suspicion as to its really having been

in the official proof-houses.

The proof marks employed by the inspectors in the U. S. Government

armories, and placed on all arms inspected by them, even if made in

private armories, are V for viewed, and P for proved, together with the

initial letters of the inspector’s name, and are found stamped on each

barrel. On many guns of the old model arms will be found, in addition to

these marks, the head of an eagle. This is the mark that indicated that

the barrels were made at the armory at Harper’s Ferry, when those works

were in operation.

_Gauge of Gun Barrels._—Guns are gauged by numbers, and these numbers

were originally designed to express the number of round balls to the

pound that would fit the bore of the barrel. Thus a ten gauge, a ball of

which ten made a pound, would fit the bore, etc. Ten and twelve bores are

generally used by sportsmen, especially those who use breech-loaders. The

twelve, perhaps, is the one most employed.

The following list shows the sizes of various gauges, the values of the

numbers being those adopted by the English proof companies. The diameters

of bores being expressed in decimal thousands of an inch:

Number Diameter

of of bore

Gauge. in inches.

1 1.669

2 1.325

3 1.157

4 1.052

5 .976

6 .919

7 .873

8 .835

9 .803

10 .775

11 .751

12 .729

13 .710

14 .693

15 .677

16 .662

17 .650

18 .637

19 .626

20 .615

21 .605

22 .596

23 .587

24 .579

25 .571

26 .563

27 .556

28 .550

29 .543

30 .537

31 .531

32 .526

33 .520

34 .515

35 .510

36 .506

Muzzle-loaders are of almost every variety of gauge, while breech-loaders

are made of a limited number of sizes. The sizes of this class of guns

are 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 20, and are limited to these sizes, there

being no intermediate sizes. The 10 and 12 bore are mostly in use, the

12 being in especial demand. The calibre or bore of military guns during

the Revolution was 75 hundredths of an inch, and has been reduced by

successive stages until now it is but 45 hundredths. Down to 1856 the

calibre of the Springfield musket was 58 hundredths. In 1856 it was

changed to 50 hundredths or one-half inch; and again, in 1873, it was

changed to the present calibre of 45 hundredths.

_Bursting of Barrels._—Bursting of barrels may result from three causes:

Poor quality of iron of which the gun is made; an excess of charge;

or some obstruction in the barrel so as to form an air space between

the charge and the obstruction. Of poor quality barrels, and excess

of charge it is needless to make mention. The instances of bursting

from obstructions forming the air space or chamber may be mentioned

in military guns, firing the charge but neglecting to remove the

wooden tompion from the muzzle of the gun. In sporting guns snow may

accidentally get into the muzzle or a lump of dirt may “somehow” get in

so as to fill the bore, and when the gun is fired, it will probably, yes,

most certainly be blown off or blown open where the obstruction exists;

the muzzle of a gun being thrust into water for a couple of inches or

more will have like effect. The gas formed by burning the powder finds no

outlet of escape, and the whole expansive force concentrates itself on

the weakest portion of the barrel, and as a result it is forced apart. In

good guns the portion toward the muzzle is the thinnest, and obstructions

are generally at or above this place, and it is in this proximity where

most guns are burst. If within three, four or five inches from the

muzzle, the portion so destroyed can be sawed off, the barrels squared up

and it will not always seriously affect the shooting of the gun.

In loading a gun be careful that there be no air space left between the

charge and the ball or shot cartridge. In double guns, frequent firing

the right barrel, which is the one fired the most, the recoil will often

cause the ball or shot charge in the left barrel to be thrown forward

from the powder, and when it is fired may either strain or burst the

barrel. Even if there be a small air space between the powder and the

ball or shot cartridge it will affect the shooting. Every one using

double guns should accustom himself to the use alternately of both

barrels, not only for safety but for good shooting. A barrel is often

said to be a poor shooter, when its bad qualities may be wholly ascribed

to the air space produced above the powder by the recoil occasioned by

firing the other barrel.

_To Prevent Gun Barrels from Rusting._—Heat the barrel to about the

temperature of boiling water, no higher, and then cover it with a

good coating of copal varnish. Let it stand at same temperature about

half an hour, then rub off the varnish while still hot with a soft

cloth. In this process the varnish will enter the pores of the metal

sufficiently to prevent rusting, but will not show on the surface after

having been carefully rubbed off as directed. A polished surface like

that of a finished gun barrel, is not much liable to rust, and, indeed,

seldom begins to rust, the rust starting in the pores of the metal and

finally working outward. This being the case it will readily be seen

that sheltering the pores by filling them with some kind of substance

impervious to moisture cannot do otherwise than act as a splendid

preventive.

_Protection from Rust._—It sometimes happens that finished up articles

in steel or iron must be laid away for a considerable length of time, in

which case it is desirable to employ some means for protecting them from

the effects of rust. One of the most common things is to either grease

them or wrap them in a greasy rag. This may answer in many cases, but

it is not nearly so good as to paint them over with a mixture of white

lead and tallow in equal parts, the white lead to be such as has been

ground in oil for the painter’s use. In this simple mixture will be found

an effectual protection; and as the tallow will prevent drying, it may

be entirely removed at pleasure by rubbing with a little kerosene or

turpentine.

Where it is desirable to protect an article that must be handled a great

deal, as gun-barrels on sale in a store, for instance, a very good plan

is to heat the article sufficiently hot to readily melt beeswax brought

in contact with it, then rub it thoroughly with the wax. Let it stand

until the wax is about ready to harden, then rub off with a coarse woolen

cloth. The wax remaining on the metal will not show, but there will be

enough left to protect it from rust.

CHAPTER XVI.

ON WORK ON GUN BARRELS.

_Boring Gun Barrels._—The tool used for this purpose consists of a rod

a little longer than the barrel to be bored, with a cutter head at one

end. This cutter is about one-half or three-quarters of an inch long,

and of a diameter a little larger than the bore that is to be enlarged.

It can be made to be pulled through the barrel or to be pushed through

when cutting. In the armories where many guns of the same calibre are

made, a portion of the shank, next to the cutter, is made of the bore of

the barrel, and the cutter made of the size the bore is to be enlarged.

The portion that fills the bore acts as a guide, so that the cutter is

forced to follow after it, and the enlarged bore is in the same line as

the boring previously made. The cutting edges of the tool are, of course,

next to the enlarged portion. As the tool is pulled through the barrel,

the cuttings are left behind it as it advances; oil is to be supplied

while cutting, and care must be exercised not to let it get clogged with

cuttings, as a tearing of the surface of the barrel would be the result.

When the tool is made to be pushed through while cutting, the cutting

edges of the tool is on the end, and it operates like a reamer. This

cutting end should be bevelled off so as to follow the bore to be

enlarged.

_How to make Cutters for Boring._—One way to make these cutters is like

a many-fluted reamer, with five, seven, or more cutters. The odd numbers

will operate better than even ones. If made with too many cutting edges,

there will not be clearance enough for the chips, and clogging will be

the result. Then again, the cutters must not be too long, or there will

be too much friction, and the barrel will become very hot in working.

Also, if the friction is too great, the barrel may be bent and sprung in

consequence.

One form of cutter is made like the cherry to make an elongated bullet,

or like the cherry of a Minie bullet. They may also be made in form of an

egg. A common twist drill welded to a steel rod has been used for small

bores. A small fluted reamer welded to a rod will do where the enlarging

is quite small. When the tool is to be pulled through the cutter may be

made like a short twist drill not over an inch long, with the cutting

edges next the rod, and not on the end, as these drills are generally

made.

_Quick-Boring Gun Barrels._—The way to bore gun barrels by hand is this:

Make a steel rod with a square bit about six or eight inches long on

one end, and a little less in diagonal diameter than the bore of the

barrel. The whole rod should be a little longer, say a foot or so, than

the barrel to be bored. Harden and temper the bit end. See that it is

true and perfectly straight when ground. The grinding should be done by

drawing the bit across the face of the grindstone, and this will leave

the sides of the bit a little hollowing, and the edges quite sharp. Pack

up one side with a thin strip of soft pine until it will just enter the

breech end of the barrel. By means of a strong bit stock, or a handle

affixed like an auger, turn it around, at the same time forcing it toward

the muzzle, until it has cut its way through the entire length of the

barrel. While the cutting is going on keep the interior of the barrel

plentifully supplied with good oil. Now, as the bit will be a very little

smaller than the bore of the barrel, remove it and take off the little

strip of wood and place between it and the bit a strip of writing paper

of the length and width of the side of the bit where the wood was placed;

then insert the bit again at the breech and bore through to the muzzle.

Repeat the operation again by inserting a second slip of paper, and so

proceed, using plenty of oil, until the bore or calibre of the barrel is

sufficiently enlarged.

_Proving the Size during Boring._—A method of proving the size of the

interior of the barrel and at the same time test its being perfectly of

the same size throughout, is to cast an ingot of lead about an inch long

in the muzzle, and with a rod forcing it through.

If the work be well done the interior of the barrel will present a bright

mirror-like appearance, and will need no further finishing.

_Draw-Boring._—Draw-boring is done with a rod that nearly fills the

bore of the gun, and at one end of this rod is fitted a tool made like

a short piece of file, but with the teeth made a great deal coarser and

larger. This tool may be about an inch long, and of a round form on the

cutting side, to fit the curvature of the bore. This tool is put on the

end of the rod and worked back and forth, also turning it around, so as

to present the cutter to all sides of the bore in which it is to operate.

When it will cut no more the cutter is removed from its seat, a slip of

paper put under it, and it is put in place and the operation repeated,

and so continued until the bore of the gun is sufficiently enlarged.

Pieces of thin files, broken to length and with the ends ground to fit

the rod, have been used for draw-boring, but the best and most effective

tool is a bit of steel filed up to shape and properly fitted. One half

of the cutting teeth should point forward and the other half backward,

so that the cutter will remove some of the metal as it works in either

direction, forward or back. If the cutter be an inch long, about three or

four teeth may point one way, and as many the reverse direction.

In using these tools, keep them well oiled, to prevent tearing into the

metal.

_Choke-Boring._—The method of making a choke-bore is similar to

quick-boring, except the cutting end of the rod does not go quite through

the barrel, being withdrawn and again inserted with a slip of paper

placed between the slip of wood and the cutter. This is worked not quite

so far as the previous boring, being withdrawn and another slip of paper

placed between the wood and the cutter, and this is worked in as far as

desired. Care must be taken that the choke be gradual and even. A finish

can be given by folding a piece of fine emery cloth or emery paper around

a rod, and by turning this in the barrel, equalize any unevenness that

may occur.

To enlarge the interior of a barrel, boring it choked at both breech and

muzzle, push the rod to the distance from the breech the enlarging is to

commence, and then commence boring, leaving off where the muzzle choke is

to commence.

If the bore of a barrel is made to taper from muzzle to breech, it

will scatter. If made to taper too much from breech to muzzle, it will

compress the shot, and by so doing mangle or deface them so that they

will “shoot wild,” while at the same time the effect on the gun will be

to spring the barrel, and, if it be thin at the muzzle, as generally

made, there is danger of enlargement of the bore at this portion of it.

_Choke-Dressing a Gun Barrel._—A very slight variation in the size of

the bore of a gun-barrel at one of its ends often has a marked effect

on its shooting. In case where a shotgun is disposed to “scatter” too

much, the remedy lies in enlarging the bore at the breech. Choke-boring

would be the means resorted to where such an operation was convenient;

but where not, choke-dressing may be made to answer a very good purpose.

This consists in dressing out the breech with fine emery paper or cloth,

wrapped upon a round wooden rod. A little oil should be used in finishing

the dressing, which need not extend above half the length from the breech

to the muzzle. No particular attention need be given as to the slope, as

the size of the bore, under this operation, is sure to be left largest at

the breech.

_Barrels most Suitable for Choke-Boring._—Laminated steel barrels are the

most suitable for choke-bore guns, being harder and more tenacious than

Damascus, and, therefore, resist the repeated strain of heavy charges

better; they will be found to be more durable, and lead less than barrels

of softer material. Barrels of plain steel, or decarbonized steel, so

called, should never be used for choke-bore guns, as they are unsafe for

guns with light muzzles. Decarbonized steel is most suitable for rifles,

where great strength of metal is employed. The finest pattern in Damascus

is not always desirable, as the excessive twisting necessary to make the

fine pattern often weakens the fibre of the metal.

_Freeing Gun Barrels._—It is often desired to free a barrel at the

muzzle, or at both breech and muzzle; and the amount to be removed is so

very little that it is hazardous to insert the boring bit for fear of

removing too much. It is easily accomplished in this manner: Select a

straight wood rod that does not quite fill the bore of the gun and saw

a slit with a fine saw at one end, for about three or four inches, and

parallel with the length of the rod. Cut strips of fine emery paper, or

emery cloth, the width of which should be the same as the length of the

slot, insert one end in the slot and wrap the projecting part around the

rod, introduce this end into the barrel and work it up and down, if it be

desired to finish the barrel that way, or turn it around by means of a

bit stock or lathe if the finish is to be thus done.

Many gunsmiths cast soft lead at the end of a rod, using the muzzle of

the gun as a size mould, and after removing from the barrel, apply oil

and fine emery, and with this work the inside of the barrel.

[Illustration: FIGURE 28.]

_Another Method._—There is another plan. Make a rod of soft pine wood

that almost fills the bore and make a small hole, say about one-eighth

of an inch diameter at the point where the saw kerf is to terminate.

Cover this portion of the rod with good glue, made thin, and then roll

it in the emery, the same as making an emery wheel or a buff-stick. When

dry use it in the same way as the other forms of rod. When desired to

increase the size, which will be necessary, a thin wedge can be inserted

in the saw-kerf and pressed deeper in as the bore increases, or near as

the rod diminishes its size. By wrapping the rod with fine twine where

the hole is made there will be no danger of splitting the rod when the

wedge is pushed in. The same form of wedge can be used in the rod first

described, and at the same time the wedge will help keep the emery cloth

or paper in place. The cut, Fig. 28, shows the rod as ready to receive

the coating of emery.

_Finishing Muzzles of Gun-Barrels._—To shorten a barrel, the general

custom is to cut it off with a three-square file, by filing a groove

around it, or else saw it off with a hack-saw; the latter method being

preferable, as by sawing completely through the barrel the piece is

removed with no temptation to sever it by bending, as is often the case

when cutting off with a file.

[Illustration: FIGURE 29.]

After the piece is removed use a tool like the one shown in Fig. 29, to

square up the end. This tool has a cutting part an inch in diameter and

about an inch long. It is turned smaller back of the cutting portion, to

make it lighter or better to handle. A hole, three-eighths of an inch

diameter, is made centrally in the cutting end, and in this hole are

inserted iron or brass plugs made to fit, and the other end of a size to

fit the bore of different guns. After the barrel is squared up, bevel the

inner edge of the muzzle with the tool, Fig. 30, which is nothing more

than a common “rose-head,” and is made with similarly formed cutting

teeth. About sixteen teeth are sufficient for these tools. The rose head

tool has the cutting end about an inch diameter and nearly the same

length, one-half the length being taken up by the pointed cutting end.

[Illustration: FIGURE 30.]

_Old Method of Straightening Barrels._—The old-time method of

straightening a gun-barrel was by means of a fine thread of black silk

or a hair, which was passed through the bore of the barrel. This line

was drawn tight by being stretched from two ends of a rod of wood or

spring steel, the elasticity of which kept it taut, and the workman

looking through turned the barrel round so as to bring the thread of hair

into coincidence successively with every portion of the inner surface.

If there existed any concavity in any part of this surface, the thread

would show it by the distance which would there appear between the thread

itself and its reflection in the metal.

_The New Method._—There is another process of straightening barrels which

was explained by a writer in a scientific paper a few years ago, which is

termed “straightening by the shade,” and by this method barrels can be

straightened with a greater degree of precision than by any other known

process. The principle is something like this: If we examine a plane

mirror for the purpose of ascertaining whether its reflecting surface

is a true plane, we cause objects to be reflected from it to the eye at

small angles of incidence. If under these circumstances every part of the

mirror gives an image true to nature, he pronounces it perfect; for the

slightest deviation from a true plane would cause a manifest distortion

of the image. In the process of straightening barrels by the shade,

crooks in the bore are detected upon the same principle. The internal

surface of the barrel is a mirror, and whatever objects are reflected

to the eye from any portion of it that lies beyond a certain distance,

will be reflected under very small angles of incidence. As the interior

surface of the barrel is not a plane mirror, the reflected image will not

be true to nature. If the bore be straight, the image will have a normal

distortion, which is due to the transverse or cylindrical curvature of

the mirror; while if there be longitudinal flexures or crooks, there will

be an abnormal distortion of the image, which will reveal the defect.

[Illustration: FIGURE 31.]

When the eye looks into a gun barrel the interior surface appears to be

spread out into a plane circular disk, as far from the eye as the other

end of the barrel. Through the centre of this disk is a circular orifice,

and surrounding this at equal distances from it and from each other,

respectively, are several well-defined concentric circles, dividing the

disk into as many bright concentric rings, each of an apparent breadth,

precisely equal to the diameter of the central orifice which is the

other end of the bore as seen by direct vision. The several concentric

circles are so many images of the end of the bore reflected to the eye

from different points along its length. The first of these circles,

or that nearest the central orifice, is an image formed by light once

reflected. The second, third, fourth, etc., respectively, are images

formed by light reflected two, three, four, times, etc. In order to

see how these images are formed, and to find their respective points

of location in the bore, consider that a ray of light from each point

in the end of the calibre, as shown at _a_, Fig. 31, may pass to same

point _b_, on the other side of the bore, and be thence reflected to

the eye, thus forming at _b_, an image at the end of the bore, of one

reflection. Another ray from the same point may pursue the route _a_,

_c_, _d_, _e_, forming an image at _d_ of two reflections. Another ray

may take the route, _a_, _f_, _g_, _h_, _e_, forming an image at _h_ by

three reflections, and so on for the other images since in the formation

of each of these images, respectively, the angles of incidence and

reflection are equal, it follows that the focus, or point of place of

the image _b_, formed by one reflection of light, is at one-third of the

distance from the eye to the further end of the bore; that formed by two

reflections _d_, is one-fifth; that by three reflections is one-seventh,

and the succeeding ones, one-ninth, one-eleventh, etc., of the same

distance.

Therefore, it will be observed that all these images are located within

the third part of the length of the bore nearest to the eye. Consequently

there are two-thirds of the entire length of the bore in which none

of these images appear. It is to this part of the bore, only that the

workman directs his attention, for it is here only that he can cause the

“shade” to appear which discloses the crooks in the bore if any exist.

When this part is straightened, he inverts the barrel and works from the

other end.

[Illustration: FIGURE 32.]

The practical application of the process is made in this manner: the

workman has a rest, generally consisting of an upright strip of board

of convenient height with a V cut in its upper end for convenience in

resting the barrel in case of rotating it. Across a window opposite,

at almost any distance, say about ten or twelve feet, is nailed

horizontally, a strip of board like a common lath, as the horizontal

bar of the window sashes where they come together at the middle of the

window (provided there be upper and lower sashes) will answer nearly as

good a purpose. Now place one end of the barrel in the V of the rest,

look into the bore, directing the eye to the lower side of it and to the

point just beyond the image _b_; gradually depress the end held in the

hand, bringing the direction nearer and nearer to the horizontal strip,

or the sash bar as the case may be, and a dark shade is soon seen as

shown at _m_, Fig. 32. This is the reflected image of the horizontal

strip, or sash bar, the curved part of the outline being the image of

the straight-edge. Depress the end more and more and the shade lengthens

to _n_, _o_, _p_, etc. If the bore be perfectly straight, the shade will

always maintain a true and symmetrical parabolic form, growing more

and more pointed at its apex, until it reaches the further end of the

bore. But if there be even the slightest flexure or crook in the bore

the parabolic figure of the shade will be distorted. If a distortion

be discovered, the barrel is slowly revolved about its axis as it is

retained in the rest; at the same time slightly elevating and depressing

the end held in the hands, until the shade assumes a form in which the

two sides near the apex are equally drawn in toward each other as shown

at _q_. If the crook be considerable the two sides may be drawn quite

together, cutting off a portion of the shade of the apex as at _r_.

This tells that there is a crook at _q_, and also tells that the bore

is concave downward at that point. It will require some experience to

tell how far that point is from the eye, but when that is learned, the

fore-finger placed upon this point on the under side of the barrel tells

where the blow must be given to straighten it as it ought to be.

_Another Method._—Another method to ascertain if a barrel be straight, is

to insert a slip of card into the muzzle of the gun and then look through

the bore to the light. If the slip of card be properly placed the “shade”

can readily be seen. The card slip need not be more than one-quarter of

an inch in width and in length to just fit the muzzle so that it will be

retained in place. It must be placed with the edge of the card toward the

eye.

_Fitting Barrels Together._—When selecting a pair of gun barrels,

preparatory to joining them for the purpose of making a double-barreled

gun, it is necessary to ascertain if the barrels be of the same length,

and have the same size at breech and muzzle, and also at points between

the breech and muzzle. Nearly all shot-gun barrels are ground, or made

some smaller at the centre of their length than at other portions. Any

one who is not conversant with this may be somewhat surprised on placing

a straight-edge along the side of a barrel, a common musket barrel, for

instance. Place the straight-edge on the top or bottom side, as the right

and left hand sides are flattened, near the breech, and, of course, on

these sides the hollowing of the centre is not so readily observed.

As the musket barrel has been mentioned, it may be inferred that two of

these barrels are to be joined together. The first step is to cut them

off at either end, to make them of the length desired, for as issued from

the armories for army use, the barrels are too long to make a gun to be

handled with ease and convenience. If they are cut down to the length

of thirty or thirty-two inches they will be long enough for sporting

purposes. According to the weight of gun desired, cut from either end;

cut off the breech if a light gun is wanted, or cut off the muzzle to

make a heavy gun.

The first step after cutting off and truing up the ends of the barrels,

is to select the two sides to be joined together and file these two

sides flat, more at the breech and less at the muzzle, until the smaller

diameters at the middle just touch each other, without being so filed.

When you have in this way both barrels flattened as nearly alike as

possible and as straight as can be done by testing with a straight-edge,

lay both barrels on a level surface, and see that the flattened places

touch each other true and evenly. To know if the flattening has been done

parallel with the outside flats at the breech (supposing these to be

left on the barrels) place a small square on the same surface on which

the barrels are laid, letting the upright arm of the square just touch

the outside flat. If the square touch the flat alike from top to bottom,

then the flats are parallel, but if there be an open space to be seen,

then file away the flat to be joined until the square indicates that both

inner and outer flats are parallel. Be particular in regard to this,

as it is easier to correct the inner flattened surface than to make

parallel the outer one.

If the same amount be taken from the breech as from the muzzle, the point

of divergence will not be sufficient for accurate shooting. More must

be taken from the breech to allow of this divergence to be extended a

greater distance. The flattening at the muzzle does not require to be

very great, yet must be done to some extent; but, as before remarked,

this will depend upon the smallness or size of the middle portions of the

barrel.

It is very doubtful if any two gunsmiths will agree as to the inclination

of a pair of barrels. Perhaps it would be almost foolishness to insist on

any definite or certain inclination, so that the converging lines would

come to a point. As an instance, let the point of divergence be two and a

half yards, it follows that at forty yards the right barrel, if the gun

were rigidly held as if fixed in a vice, would throw its charge about six

inches to the left of the mark, and the left barrel, _vice versa_.

Let it be supposed that two barrels are each thirty-two inches in length

and one-sixteenth inch thick at the muzzle and three-sixteenths thick

at the breech, it requires the difference four-sixteenths be multiplied

by the times the length of the barrels are contained in the forty

yards, this being forty-five, to ascertain what distance the point of

the different lines are from each other. In this case it is eleven and

one-quarter inches, or five inches and five-eighths of an inch from

the centre or line of sight. It may be remarked that if the point of

convergence be forty yards it will be productive of as good results,

perhaps, as any other.

_Joining Barrels Together._—After the barrels are fitted together so that

they are parallel, touching each other their entire length and equally

in a vertical line, the next thing in order is to fit the top and bottom

ribs. Fit the lower thimble or pipe through which the cross-bolt goes

and cut the under rib to fit both above and below it, as this thimble

is soldered direct to the barrels, not to the rib. Mark along the sides

of the ribs with a sharp scriber, so as to leave a distinct line on the

barrels to indicate their location. File bright and smooth the parts of

the pipe and ribs where they are to be joined to the barrels and tin

with good soft solder. Also tin the barrels where they are to be joined,

and where the ribs come in contact. This is easily done by using a clear

charcoal fire and heating the barrels and ribs quite slowly. Use muriate

of zinc for flux, and apply the solder with a common soldering copper.

If the copper be quite heavy and well heated the ribs can be tinned from

the heat of the copper, as there is no need of putting these parts in the

fire. If the barrels be properly heated and the solder beaten out thin on

an anvil, it may be rubbed on the barrels without the aid of the copper.

When it melts and flows, wipe off the surplus with a woolen rag which has

been slightly moistened with oil.

When the barrels and other parts are nicely tinned, let them cool,

and then fasten them in place in the manner they are to remain with

binding-wire. Put a rod of iron through the lower thimble, and also

through the upper thimbles, if they are to be fastened at this time. The

reason of putting in this rod is twofold: it serves to keep the thimbles

straight with the barrels, so as to properly receive the ramrod, and at

the same time tends to hold the under rib firmly in place.

Before fastening the parts with binding wire, fill the space between the

top rib and barrels with small pieces of solder, or what is better, a

small rod of solder like a wire, but not large enough to interfere with

the rib fitting close to the barrels.

_Soldering Barrels Together._—Now begin to carefully heat the work,

commencing at the breech, and when sufficiently hot, don’t heat too fast

nor too hot, apply solder, using the muriate of zinc as a flux, to the

joinings of the ribs and barrels. If the solder be hammered quite thin it

will be readily melted by the heat of the barrels, and will be “sucked

in” until the space between the different pieces is completely filled.

Proceed carefully in this way until the entire length of the barrels is

gone over. Turn the work often in the fire, so that all portions are

evenly heated. At the muzzle fit and insert a small piece to fill the

interstice between the barrels and the top rib.

It is necessary that all the space between the top rib and the barrels be

completely filled with solder, or rust will form there, which will prove

of serious detriment to the barrels, and in time work under the ribs,

throwing them from the barrels if even a little torsion or springing of

the barrels should ever take place.

During the progress of soldering, see that the parts are kept pressed

close together, and that they do not spring away from each other by their

expansion during heating. A small iron clamp screw placed at the breech

and also one at the muzzle, is very convenient, as by tightening the

screw there is less danger of the parts springing apart. When the breech

is soldered and somewhat cooled, the clamp there placed can be removed.

These clamps, made of malleable iron, can be obtained at the hardware

stores.

When the work is soldered and is cool, wash it well with warm water,

using a stiff brush to remove dirt and all traces of the acid flux that

may remain on the work. With a chisel or scraper remove all superfluous

solder and brighten the work with emery cloth or paper of different

grades. Begin with the coarser and finishing with the fine or with flour

and emery.

_Why not Braze Barrels?_—It was formerly the practice to braze barrels

together, with spelter solder, at the breech or at both breech and

muzzle, but good workmen condemn the practice, as heating the barrels to

a high heat in order to melt this solder somewhat diminishes the strength

of the metal, and as it is also necessary to again clean and brighten the

work after brazing, and to perfectly brighten the flats where they lie

together is not so easy a matter. In the life of the gun, it was found

to be of no real benefit to thus braze them, as the parts were securely

held in place if well soldered with soft solder, and of late years but

very few barrels have been thus brazed.

Select solder of good quality, put the work well together, and the

barrels will remain firmly and rigidly in place, and will not be

separated except by unfair means.

_Percussioning._—The term Percussioning is used to designate the

operations of drilling, and finishing the cone or nipple seat, tapping,

putting in the tube or cone (by some called nipple) and otherwise

finishing up the parts bearing relationship to the cone seat.

The first operation, after ascertaining the locality where to drill the

hole for the nipple, is to drill this hole. If a double gun the nipples

must be inserted as near the centre of the breech as possible to get

them and have a direct communication, with no unnecessary angles, in the

passage-way of the flame of the cap to the powder in the chamber. From

the bottom of the hole drilled for the nipple a small vent, as small as

can conveniently be made, must or ought to communicate directly to the

powder chamber. The nipple ought to be seated or screwed to the bottom of

the hole and the vent be an unbroken continuation of the opening through

the nipple. Let there be no chamber or reservoir between the bottom end

of the nipple and the bottom of the hole in which it is screwed.

[Illustration: FIGURE 33.]

But to return to the drilling. From the axial or central line of the

barrel, this hole must be drilled at an angle of forty-five degrees so

that the nipple when inserted shall stand at that angle. In the cut Fig.

33, _a_ represents the central line of the barrels, _b_ a line at right

angles to this, and _c_ the angle of forty-five degrees. If the workman

have no lathe and is necessitated to use a bit-stock or breast drill, a

piece of iron can be fitted to lay upon the barrels with one end elevated

three or four inches with the end turned at an angle in a hole drilled in

this end to receive the drill, which should fill the hole. By clamping

this upon the barrels, inserting the drill in the hole and having a prick

mark where the hole is to be made for the nipple, it forms a reliable

guide to insure the correctness of the hole, and also to get any number

of holes alike. To insure the hole to be tapped or threaded properly the

guide can be kept in position and the hole tapped after being cupped to

form the seat.

If a lathe be used to drill the hole, a piece of wood or an iron forging

can be fitted to the spindle against which the work is held and when made

of the proper angle and the barrel confined upon it to drill the hole,

no guide is necessary, as the drill being held in the spindle and the

spindle running in its bearings operates upon the same principle as the

guide clamped upon the barrels. An upright drill can be fitted with a

forging or casting to hold the barrels in the same manner.

The size of hole to be drilled ought to be that of the smaller sized

nipples, as in time frequent re-tappings to insert new nipples will

enlarge the hole. Perhaps a broken nipple may necessitate drilling or

cutting out and the thread may be injured somewhat, so that it may have

to be bored out and a new thread made to receive a larger nipple.

[Illustration: FIGURE 34.]

After the hole is drilled it is cupped or a seat formed for the shoulders

of the nipple to rest upon. This is done with the tool shown in Fig. 34.

The guide is used to get the proper angle of this seat, the same as in

drilling. The stem at the end of the cutting portion of the tool, enters

and fills the hole drilled, which insures the correct formation of the

seat. The tap is held in the guide in the same manner and it follows that

the thread has been made at the same angle that the hole was drilled.

_Finishing Nipple Seat._—The filing and finishing of the nipple seat is

one in which tastes differ or the price of the work may demand. This

hint may be given, the seating tool must cut a seat large enough to

receive the nipple and in filing keep this seat full size, taking care

not to allow the file to take away or reduce any portion of it. A study

of this portion of different guns that may come under the observation

of the workman is the best guide for forming and shaping these parts.

The first effort may be to form a nipple seat from a piece of hard wood

shaped like the barrel with its lump, using the drill, the seating tool

and even the tap, then finish up with files, as if it were iron, and

insert the nipple. Better to correct a fault in a “sham” of wood than

spoil a good barrel breech.

_The Vent, in Percussion Gun Barrels._—When the old flint-lock was

pushed to one side by the introduction of the percussion principle, it

was thought by many that there was a difference in shooting and that the

flint-lock shot “smoother” than its substitute. In the percussion gun

there was thought to be more recoil than in the other form of gun. It was

supposed that the hermetically closing of the breech, as the firing took

place, was the cause of this, and to remedy the matter a small vent was

drilled near the locality of the vent or “touch-hole” of the old-time

arm. A few gunsmiths and many users of arms cling to the vent and could

“not do without it.” Some claim that this vent is of use, as it enables

air to circulate through the barrel, after the ignition of the charge.

While both these theories are doubted by others, one thing is quite

certain, it increases the certainty and also aids the rapid ignition of

the charge, as the air contained among the powder and held there in a

more or less state of pressure, being so forced and held by the wadding,

retards in some measure the entrance of the fire from the percussion cap.

The vent allows this confined air to escape, and that is the only real

and apparent good that can be accredited to it. In making these vents

make them very small, and in no instance let them exceed a thirty-second

of an inch. To prevent their being closed by rust or the debris of burnt

powder, drill a larger hole, tap a thread in it and screw in a silver

wire and then drill the vent through the wire after it has been finished

to conform to the shape of the parts adjacent.

_The Patent Breech._—The patent breech has been the subject of much

discussion and much experimenting, some experts claiming one form to be

superior to others, and then again there are those who set the patent

breech aside and claim that the old flat-faced breech-pin is as good

as any ever yet made. The formation of the base of the breech-loading

shell has been called up as evidence in favor of the latter claim. The

two forms are called in question, and then the query is made, “Does

not the breech-loader shoot better or as well as the patent-breeched

muzzle-loader?” But the patent breech is in favor with the mass of those

who use the muzzle-loader, and no doubt has its advantages. The attempt

has been made to form the interior base of a cartridge for breech-loaders

upon the model of the interior of a patent breech, but thus far has not

come into very extensive use.

_Form of the Chamber or Cup._—While many forms of the chamber or cup

of the patent breech are in use, the most simple form, and the one

easiest to make, is that of an inverted elliptical cone. This form may

be represented by the shape of an acorn if it were cut off even with the

top of the cup. The shape is also one that will not weaken the breech nor

affect the strength of the thread where it enters the barrel. The tool

to shape it is easy to make. Turn a piece of steel the exact shape the

“cup” is to be and then make a cutting tool of it by filing a groove on

two sides, exactly like a flat drill of the required elliptical form, but

with a “bulge” or cheek left on each side, and then file a groove mid-way

in this cheek from point to base, and make it so as to form two cutting

edges on each side of the cut first made. Each prominent part must be

formed into cutting edges, like the cutting edges of a conical-shaped

cherry to cut out bullet moulds. The cut, of bullet cherry, Fig. 71,

Chapter XXVII, shows the way to make this tool.

With this form of “cup” there is great solidity of breech, and there need

be but little fear of miss-fire or hang-fire in shooting, if the gun be

properly loaded.

CHAPTER XVII.

TOOLS FOR BREECHING GUNS.

_Breeching Reamers._—The form of breeching reamers is shown in Fig.

35. The extension is supposed to fill the bore of the gun, and when it

does so the tool will make a cut that is straight and true. When this

extension does not fill, then slip a brass ferrule or a piece of tubing

on it, or it may be even wrapped with a piece of card or strong paper, as

mentioned in case of taps that have extensions smaller than the bore of

the gun.

[Illustration: FIGURE 35.]

The size of these reamers must be to suit the taps; that is they must

be of a size corresponding to the tap if the thread were removed. The

length of the extension may be about an inch, and the cutting portion of

a length to correspond to the length of the breech-pins, for when using

them where the reamer has entered the barrel until it is flush or even

with the length of the cutting part, it is evident that it has penetrated

as far as it ought to go. Be careful to keep the reamer well oiled when

using it to ream out a breech.

In making these reamers, turn them to the size and shape, and then file

four spiral flutes, equi-distant from each other, with a small round

file, but remember to file them “right hand,” like a right hand screw

thread. About a quarter’s turn in the length is sufficient. The end where

the cutting is done must be “cut back” between each flute, so as to make

a cutting edge, or lip. The flutes serve to carry the chips away from the

work, and prevent clogging. Above the end of the cutting portion, the

reamer may be turned down to a size a little larger than the extension,

and it will be then a very easy matter to nicely cut the flutes with a

round file, as directed.

_Breeching Taps._—The usual diameters of rifle breech pins are

three-eighths, one-half, and five-eighths of an inch; of shot guns

three-quarters and seven-eighths of an inch. The thread of the rifle is

generally fourteen to the inch, and the shot gun sixteen to the inch. The

breech pins of military arms vary. Some are made with coarse thread and

some with fine thread, ranging from ten to eighteen threads per inch.

There is no arbitrary rule for breeching guns, and excepting English made

guns, almost every conceivable size and thread may be found in guns that

are brought in to be repaired. In rifle and shot guns the fourteen and

sixteen thread will be found to predominate. In unbreeching guns that

have been made by “experts” of some country town, who built the arms “to

order,” or in overhauling guns that have been repaired at the same kind

of establishments, it will not be uncommon to find threads in the barrels

that have been cut with a blacksmith’s taper tap, and the pin tapered to

suit the thread so formed. It will be nothing uncommon to find a breech

that is made to one side of the bore, or made with a crooked thread. If

tapped with the taper tap, the thread may be found to be ten or twelve to

the inch, according as a tap to fit the breech could be found.

Let the workman discard all such ways of breeching guns. Let him procure

a set of taps of the sizes and threads as noticed at the beginning of

this article, and “stick to these sizes.” If the thread in a gun be worn,

and the pin be loose or leak fire, then ream out the old thread, cut it

anew, and put in a new pin.

[Illustration: FIGURE 36.]

Breeching taps should be made in pairs, one tapered a little and its

mate made straight and with a full thread, so as to cut full at the

bottom where the thread terminates. If the first tap be not tapered a

little, the thread should be nearly all removed at the end, and gradually

increased for five or six threads, when it will be of full size. A

stem or projection is made as shown in the cut, Fig. 36, which enters

and fills the bore of the gun and so serves to insure a thread straight

with the barrel. If the bore be larger than the extension, slip over it

a piece of brass tube or a ferrule of some kind, until it fits a little

snug in the bore. If but little be wanting to make the fit, a piece of

writing paper or a bit of card may be wrapped around it. Old-fashioned

gunsmiths have been known to wind tow around an extension to make a fit.

[Illustration: FIGURE 37.]

The diameter of these extensions must be that of the smallest bored gun

in which they will be used. The extension of the shot-gun tap may be

about half-inch diameter. The length of the extension may be about an

inch for rifles and an inch and a quarter for shot guns, the thread about

an inch in length. The whole length of rifle taps may be about three and

a half inches, for shot-guns about four inches.

_Breech Pin Formers._—These tools are made of steel and have holes

drilled through them and cutting teeth formed on one end (as shown in

Fig. 37). In use it may be held stationary, and the breech-pin turned in

the hole until the teeth form it to size and remove enough in length for

the screw to be cut on the pin. Eight teeth are enough for the smaller

sizes of these tools. If made with more teeth they are consequently

finer and shallower and do not operate so well, or cannot be ground to

an edge or sharpened with an oil stone if they become dull. The sizes

must correspond with the size of the breech taps, or a little less

than this size, as the dies used in cutting generally “raise” a thread

a little larger than the work. The length of these tools may be about

three-fourths of an inch or an inch, as may be best to make them. In use

they can be held in a lathe chuck and the pin presented to them while

running, or the operation may be reversed, the pin being rotated and the

cutter held stationary. If to be used by hand, hold them in a vise or

clamp, or make a fixture to hold the pin, using a bit-stock for turning

them for cutting.

The advantage of these tools is that the work is done quick, the body of

the pin is of the same diameter, and the shoulder where it abuts against

the barrel is true with the body; using a file for the work, it is

difficult to produce these requirements.

CHAPTER XVIII.

TOOLS FOR CHAMBERING BREECH-LOADING BARRELS.

When chambering barrels for breech-loaders, the utmost care should be

observed to make the chamber exactly concentric with the bore, and have

it smooth and well finished. Do not trust to a drill or a flat reamer;

neither will a half-round or a common fluted reamer answer the purpose.

Take, for instance, a bore for a thirty-eight cartridge. Fig. 38 shows

the tool for chambering, and Fig. 39 the tool for recessing for the head

of the cartridge. The diameter of the tool for chambering is thirteen

sixty-fourths. The tool for recessing for the head is seven-sixteenths.

The body of the cutting portion is about seven-eighths or an inch long.

An extension is formed beyond the cutting part which must exactly fill

the bore of the barrel and serves as a guide to insure the cutting part

making the chamber in proper relation to the bore.

[Illustration: FIGURE 38.]

The neck or recess in front of the cutting part is for a three-fold

purpose; it forms a receptacle for the chips or cuttings, which otherwise

would clog the tool as soon as the teeth were filled, and would probably

result in a rough surface by being forced between the wall of the chamber

and the tool back of the teeth; it also serves to produce a better shaped

tooth, which is done with a fine cut three-square file, and finally by

the teeth being made below the surface of the extension a square cut is

produced with no feather edge where the chamber terminates.

[Illustration: FIGURE 39.]

The cutting teeth of the chambering tool are made so as to produce a

bevel at the end of the chamber, and by this means avoid shaving the

ball, as would be the case if it passed over a sharp angle. The recessing

tool is made square on the cutting end.

[Illustration: FIGURE 40.]

For larger bores than a forty-four, the tools may be advantageously made

a little different, as shown in Fig. 40. The shank of the tool may be

made of a cheaper grade of steel and the extension much smaller than the

bore of the gun. At _a_, is shown a steel thimble that is turned to the

proper size and has teeth cut on the end. This is tempered and is put on

over the extension and held by a wire or pin passing through both thimble

and extension. At _b_ is another thimble, made preferably of brass, that

fits the bore. It can then be worked in the barrel with less fear of

scratching the barrel, as might be the case if it were of steel or iron.

The space left between the brass thimble and the teeth forms a recess to

receive the cuttings. The diameter of a twelve gauge chambering tool will

be about forty-nine sixty-fourths, and the diameter of the chambering

tool will be about twenty-seven thirty-seconds. The length of the cutting

thimbles can be about one inch. The brass thimbles about three-quarters

of an inch. The cutting thimbles should rest against a shoulder, as at

_c_. These thimbles should be fastened, a finish turned on the shanks on

which they are to remain, after the shanks are turned. The brass thimbles

are held by being driven on the extension, and should be turned up true

after being driven in place.

When making these tools, form the cutter for the chamber about

one-hundredth of an inch larger than the bore of the cartridge to allow

for easy extraction. The brass thimbles ought to be of the size of the

interior of the cartridge, which is supposed to be exactly the same as

the bore. The tool for recessing the head may be a trifle larger, say

about a thirty-second, than the diameter of the cartridge head. If it be

made one-sixteenth larger it will not matter. Eight cutting teeth are

enough for these tools.

CHAPTER XIX.

ON GUN RIBS.

_How to Straighten a Gun Rib._—Gun ribs, as received from the

manufacturer or dealer, are more or less crooked and winding and must be

made straight before being fastened to the gun barrel. Sometimes this

straightening can be done with the hands alone, by bending and twisting

the rib. If there are short crooks, the hammer must be used. Select a

hammer that has a flat pene and this pene must be “across” or at right

angles to the handle. See that the pene is not too sharp, but smooth and

rounded at its edge. Place the rib to be straightened on a piece of hard

wood plank, or what is better, get a piece of two-inch plank about a foot

wide and long enough to reach from the floor to a height a little above

the work-bench, say about the height of the top of the vise. It may be

held in an upright position by means of a screw passing through it into

the bench, or it can be so held by setting it on the floor and clamping

one side between the jaws of the vise. On this hold the rib, lengthwise

with the end of the plank, and using the pene of the hammer, strike blows

on the inner or curved side of the rib. Do not strike hard enough to

dent or bruise the rib so as to show on the opposite side. By a little

practice a rib can be made very straight and true.

_How to Fit a Rib._—Sometimes one side of a rib is longer than the other.

Fit it into a properly shaped groove in a piece of board, clamp it so as

to hold firmly and file away the longer side so as to match the narrow

one. The clamps can be made of two pieces of wood placed on each side of

the part to be filed, holding them and the rib with wood screws, the rib

being moved along as a portion is filed.

_How to Fit a Rib to an Octagon Barrel._—To fit a rib to an octagon

barrel, file the portion where it comes in contact, square across so as

to have all the surface possible to touch the barrel. To fit it to a

round barrel, file lengthwise with a half-round file, and so file that

the outer edges will fit close, leaving the inner edges a little open,

or not quite touching the barrel. A half-round file for fitting ribs to

round barrels should have the tang bent toward the flat side so that when

the file handle is put on, it will not interfere with filing.

_How to Solder on a Rib._—The inner edges of the rib must be filed bright

and smooth, so must that portion where it touches the barrel. Bear in

mind that solder will not adhere, unless the surface is made bright. This

being done wet a short length of the rib with soldering acid, warm it

to a proper heat in the forge fire, and with a common soldering copper,

also properly heated, tin or cover the melted surface with solder. With

the acid wet another distance, say about three inches, heat and tin this,

and so repeat until the entire length of the rib has been gone over. Be

careful to have plenty of solder adhering to the inner sides. Also be

very careful not to heat the rib so as to blue or blacken it, for when so

done no solder will adhere, and the surface so made must be brightened up

again before going any further with the tinning.

The next thing to be done is to draw-file the gun barrel where the rib is

to be fastened on, and care must be taken to have the surface bright and

clean, or the solder will not adhere. Place the breech end of the barrel

in a clean charcoal fire and carefully warm it sufficiently, wet with the

acid, and with the soldering copper tin over where it was draw-filed.

Two tests can be applied to learn if the barrel be sufficiently heated.

One is that when a drop of acid is put on it will “sizzle” or boil; the

other test is to hold it close to the cheek and if a warm “glow” of heat

is felt from it, it is hot enough.

When the surface is tinned, and before the barrel is cold enough so as

to harden the solder, wipe off the surplus with a rag, and if the rag be

slightly oiled, it will operate all the better. The solder used is common

soft solder such as used by tinsmiths. Repeat the process of heating

and tinning three or four inches at a time, until the entire length of

the barrel has been gone over. Then, after it is cool, place the rib in

position, confining it in place with binding wire, putting it round both

rib and barrel, twisting the ends pretty firmly together. Fasten the rib

in this way, at intervals of about six inches, being careful that the rib

is held evenly, closely and firmly to the barrel.

Now commence at the breech, heat both barrel and rib carefully, avoiding

all smoke and soot, wetting the joint on each side of the rib with the

acid, touching the part with solder taken up on the point of the heated

soldering copper. The surplus solder on the inner surface of the rib will

flow down to the joint, between the rib and the barrel, as it is heated,

and by touching the joint with the copper charged with solder, the outer

edges of the joint will be completely filled, and both barrel and rib

be perfectly united. So continue until the rib is soldered its entire

length. When cool remove the binding wires, and wash thoroughly with warm

water. This will remove the acid, which would otherwise rust the bright

surface. Wipe dry and if the work is to stand for any length of time, oil

it lightly by rubbing it over with a rag that is moistened with oil.

The best way to remove the surplus solder at the joints is by means of

scrapers. Take an old flat file, about six inches long, grind the teeth

clean off on each side for an inch or two at the end, and also grind the

end “square.” By using this tool in the same way that a chisel is used,

it is very effective. A scraper made of an old three-square file with the

teeth ground away at the end is also a good tool. Carefully remove all

traces of solder or it will show after the barrel has been used a little.

If the work is to be browned, the browning will not “take” where the

solder remains.

_How to Re-solder Ribs._—It often happens that double guns are brought

in that have the top rib loosened from the barrels at the breech, and

sometimes the soldering of the barrels, also at the breech, has been

broken, so that they are quite separated. The cause of this is generally

an effort to remove the patent breeches by some one who has not the

proper appliances for the work. The barrels being caught in a vise, and

a monkey-wrench, or some similar kind of wrench, applied, and as the

breeches fit very tight, perhaps being rusted somewhat, considerable

force is applied, and the torsion or twisting so occasioned starts and

separates the parts as described.

To re-unite these parts, remove the breeches, carefully raise the rib

as far as can be done without bending it, and hold it thus in place by

inserting a slip of wood so as to retain it. Use a slim-pointed scraper

and scrape bright and clean the surface of the rib, and both barrels,

where the rib comes in contact. Tin the parts with a heavy soldering

copper, but do not put them in the fire to heat them; rely solely on

the heat of the copper, taking time to do the work. When nicely tinned,

put the rib in place, confining it with binding wire, and finish the

soldering in the forge fire, the same as when putting on new ribs.

Before putting the rib in place, fill the space between the rib and

barrels pretty full of solder, cut in strips, like pieces of wire. If

necessary, use the copper to assist the soldering, as they are being

worked in the fire.

A scraper for such work may be made of a small three-square file, say

about four inches long; grind the sides so as to remove the teeth, and

sharpen to a point.

As a precaution against starting the rib from the barrel by heating, put

pieces of binding wire tightly around, both above and below, twisting

them tightly. With this security there will be no harm done even if the

solder be melted between rib and barrel, in proximity to the thimble.

_Height of Ribs._—The only way to ascertain the proper height of a gun

rib, when put on the barrels, is to take the length of the barrels, and

from this length make the calculation, as different lengths require some

difference in height of rib. It is to be supposed that forty yards is the

distance from the shooter to the object fired at, and at this distance

a heavy charge of shot will drop about twelve inches. As the sights on

shot guns are fixed, it is necessary that the rib be so elevated as to

compensate for this dropping of twelve inches. Of course a lighter charge

of shot will not drop so much as the heavy one, but the calculation may

be based on the heavy charge.

To ascertain the elevation at the breech, take the thickness of the

breech and muzzle and multiply the difference by as many times as the

length of the barrels is contained in the forty yards. This gives the

elevation of the barrels without the rib, and the difference must be

made out by elevating the rib. Many shooters complain that when their

barrels have been shortened the shooting is not the same, and they

lay this fault to the barrels being cut shorter, when it is often due

to the difference of elevation from that they were accustomed to use.

Suppose a pair of barrels were to be shortened, say, four inches, at the

same elevation there will be more lengths in the forty yards, hence a

difference in the sighting and consequently in the shooting.

The calculation for the elevation of ribs is the same as that given for

fitting barrels together, and the same principles there given will apply

to this subject.

CHAPTER XX.

ON THIMBLES.

_How to Make Thimbles._—What is called a thimble by gunsmiths is the

short tube, soldered, or otherwise attached to the gun barrel, which

retains the ramrod in place when not in use. To make these thimbles, form

them on a piece of steel about a foot long, turned tapering; the large

end being about nine-sixteenths, and the small end about five-sixteenths

of an inch in diameter. This will answer for about all sizes of wooden

rods as they are purchased. These rods are generally, the largest of

them, about five-eighths of an inch diameter at the large end and about

three-eighths at the small end.

The thimbles may be made of brass, iron, or German silver, according

to taste, but iron is generally preferred. Take common sheet or Russia

iron, the same as used for making stove-pipe. The best thickness is about

twenty-two or twenty-three, by the English gauge. For convenience, get

the sheet cut in strips from an inch to an inch and a-half in width—the

tinsmith’s squaring shears being a ready means to cut up the sheet

into strips. Generally make the upper thimble about an inch and a half

long, and the lower or middle thimbles, be these one or two, a little

narrower, say, about an inch. For permanency and looks a long thimble

is preferable. Cut off pieces from the strips of sheet-iron, just long

enough to go around the ramrod, then roll them up like a tube by bending

them around a tapered steel rod, using a small hard wood mallet for the

purpose, holding them in the vise to assist in the operation.

For rifle rods, which are not tapered, the thimbles may be rolled up on

a straight piece of steel, a trifle larger than the rod, so that the rod

will slide easily within when put in place. Take pains in forming them,

so that the fold or joint will come evenly and squarely together.

_How to Put Thimbles on Barrels._—File bright and tin the thimbles where

they are to be joined to the rib. Observe if the thimbles fit the rod

properly by putting the rod in them and then inserting the rod in place

in the gun stock. Mark the place on the rib or barrel where the thimbles

are to be fastened, and remove both rod and thimbles from the gun. If to

be attached to a rib, file a spot the length of the thimbles where it

was marked, and file it of a depth equal to the thickness of the metal

of which the thimble is made. Too deep filing may cut through the rib,

and too little filing will leave the thimble projecting above the rib, so

that the rod will hit or rub as it is being pushed down in place. Also

let the joint of the thimble come in the centre of the rib when it is

soldered in place. Tin the places filed, by heating the barrel carefully

over the forge fire, using the soldering acid as for tinning the

thimbles. A common tinner’s soldering copper is best to apply the solder.

When the barrel is cool enough to handle put the thimbles on the rod,

and the rod in place as it is intended to be when finished. Confine the

thimbles to the barrel with pieces of binding wire, using two pieces to

a thimble, one at each end. By putting the rod into the thimbles and

confining them thus, there is no danger of their being “askew” after

being fastened, and by putting on two wires there is less danger of their

moving while being soldered to the barrel.

Make a clear fire in the forge, using charcoal if it can be obtained,

heat the barrel very carefully until small pieces of solder will be

melted when placed on the inside of the thimble. Have the soldering

copper heated, and by using it and applying the acid an even amount of

the solder can be applied to the joint outside the thimble where it joins

the barrel. When all are soldered let the barrel cool, remove the binding

wires and wash with warm water to remove the acid flux, which would rust

the work. A stiff brush is best to wash with. Scrape off the superfluous

solder, rub the thimbles bright with emery-cloth, or let them remain the

black color, as may be desired.

CHAPTER XXI.

ON RIFLING OF GUNS.

_Importance of Rifling._—In a rifle the grooving is of the utmost

importance; for velocity without accuracy is useless. To determine

the best kind of groove has been, accordingly, the object of the most

laborious investigations. The ball requires an initial rotary motion

sufficient to keep it “spinning” up to its range, and is found to gain in

accuracy by increasing this rotary speed; but if the pitch of the grooves

be too great, the ball will refuse to follow them; but being driven

across them, “strips”—that is, the lead in the grooves is torn off, and

the ball goes on without rotation. The English gun-smiths avoided the

dilemma by giving the requisite pitch and making the grooves very deep,

and even by having wings or lugs cast on the ball to keep it in the

grooves—expedients which increase the friction in the barrel and the

resistance of the air enormously.

The American gun-makers solved the problem by adopting the “gaining

twist,” in which the grooves start from the breech nearly parallel to

the axis of the barrel, and gradually increase the spiral, until, at the

muzzle, it has the pitch of one revolution in three to four; the pitch

being greater as the bore is less. This gives, as a result, safety from

stripping, and a rapid revolution at the exit, with comparatively little

friction and shallow groove-marks on the ball, accomplishing what is

demanded of a rifled barrel, to a degree that no other combination of

groove and form of missile ever has. There is no way of rifling so secure

as that in which the walls of the grooves are parts of radii of the bore.

They should be numerous, that the hold of the lands, or the projection

left between the grooves, may divide the friction and resistance as much

as possible, and so permit the grooves to be as shallow as may be. Fig.

41 represents grooves cut in this way, but exaggerated to show more

clearly their character. In the Kentucky rifle this law is followed,

except that for convenience in rifling, the grooves are made of the same

width at the bottom and top, as shown in Fig. 42, which is, for the

grooves of the depth of which they are generally made, practically the

same, the depth in the cut being two or three times that generally used.

[Illustration: FIGURE 41.]

_U. S. Rifling Machines._—The rifling machines in use by the U. S.

Government at the Springfield Armory for cutting their grooved rifles

may thus be described: The barrel is placed in a horizontal position in

an iron frame, and held there very firmly. The grooves are made by three

short steel cutters placed within three mortices, made to receive them,

near the end of a steel tube which is moved through the bore of the barrel

by slow rotary and progressive motion. The cutters are narrow pieces of

steel having upon one side three angular shaped teeth about one-sixteenth

of an inch in height, and of the width of the groove, ground to a very

sharp edge at the top. It is these which produce the rifling. The three

cutters, when inserted in the tube, form upon their inner surface a small

opening which decreases toward the inner end. Into this is inserted a

tapered steel rod, and is so controlled by a connecting cog-wheel that

this rod is pushed, at every revolution, a little further into the

tapered opening formed by the inner edges of the three cutters. The

effect of this is to increase the pressure of the cutters upon the inner

surface of the barrel, and thus gradually, at each stroke of the machine,

deepen the cuts as produced by the rifling. The rod makes about twelve

revolutions in a minute and it occupies about thirty minutes to rifle a

barrel.

[Illustration: FIGURE 42.]

_Old-Fashioned Rifling Machine._—But the gun-maker who builds rifles

to order, and perhaps then but a single one at a time, uses quite a

different apparatus for rifling, although the principle involved is the

very same. Many of the old gunsmiths made their own rifling machines.

The simplest form was a common joist, two inches thick and six inches

wide. The length about twice that of any barrel to be rifled. At one end,

on the narrow side, was fixed in two bearings, one at each end so as to

turn freely, an old rifle barrel. At the other end of the timber, in a

line with the barrel was fixed two standards in which to firmly fasten

the barrel to be rifled. At the end of the old rifle barrel, and on

the end nearest to the end of the timber was fixed a circular plate of

iron, like a wheel which was made with divisions on its circumference,

and had a catch which was fastened to the wood, and when the end of

this catch engaged one of the divisions it would firmly hold the barrel

in place. When this plate was turned the barrel also turned. Inside of

this barrel was placed a rod of iron, around which was cast some soft

metal, as babbit metal or old type metal, or even lead. This was done by

putting the rod in the barrel and then pouring in the metal when melted.

A handle, similar to an auger handle was fixed transversely to one end,

but in such a manner as to turn around freely on the rod. As the rod was

pushed back and forth the soft metal followed the rifling grooves, and

this caused a turn, first in one direction and then in another. By the

rod being loose on the handle the hands were held in the same position.

The rifling rod was attached to the opposite end of the rod in the old

barrel and carried a cutter let into a narrow groove made in the extreme

end of the rifling rod. Very often these rods were made of wood like a

straight ramrod. It is evident if a barrel be placed in the clamps and

the rifling rod bearing a suitable cutter be entered in the bore of the

barrel and the rod thrust forward by pushing it with the handle, that a

faint spiral like cut will be the result. When the cutter had done its

work, or done all that it would cut, the plate was turned one division,

rotating the old barrel with the rifling rod just that amount, the barrel

to be rifled, of course, not being turned at all. Another cutting was

done like the first one, then another, and so on until the complete

circle of the divisions had been made, and a certain number of faint

rifles made in the fixed barrel. The cutter was then removed from its

slot, a slip of writing paper placed in the bottom of the slot and the

cutter put in place and a repetition of the same operation gone over

again, and then repeated until the rifling was of the desired depth. Oil

was supplied to the centres while going back and forth in their work.

_Gain Twist Rifling Machine._—What is called a gain twist was made with

a slightly different apparatus. What is termed a “lead” was fixed so

as to revolve in standards, and at the same time be capable of being

thrust forward and pulled back to its starting place. This lead carried

at one end the rifling rod. At the opposite end the handle for operating

it, was fixed. The lead was several inches in diameter and the holes

in the standards that supported it of like diameter. One make of lead

had a groove cut spiralling in its surface and exactly the same as the

rifling to be made. In one of the standards a stud was fixed that entered

the groove and compelled it to turn according as the groove was made.

The barrel to be rifled was fixed so as to turn as needed to make the

different rifles or grooves. Another make of lead had a rib made of a

strip of hard wood that was bent around the rod and was held in place by

screws. This rib was the counterpart of the rifling and was received in a

mortice cut for it in one of the standards, the management of the rifling

rod being the same in all cases.

_Re-rifling._—One method of re-rifling is to make a rod with a mortice in

one end to receive a rifling cutter or “saw” as some term them, and fix

at the other end a handle like an auger handle, but so fixed that the rod

will turn around freely no matter how the handle may be held. This rod

is inserted in the barrel to be re-rifled and the cutter forced through

one of the rifles, which must be deep enough to force it to follow its

direction when pushed forward and pulled back until it would cut no more,

it would be placed in another rifle and so continued until the circuit of

the rifling is made. A slip of paper is then put under the cutter and a

repetition of the process made and continued until the rifles are cut as

deep as desired.

If it be feared that the rifles, opposite to those where the cutter is at

work, will be injured by its bearing upon them, a dove-tailed groove is

made across the rod opposite where the cutter is placed, and in this is

fitted a slip of wood that is cut to fit the curvature of the base of the

barrel. If a bit of half-round file or a cutter be made to be inserted

in place of the slip of wood, the lands can be finished at the same time

that the grooves are being cut deeper.

When barrels are so worn that the rifles have not depth enough to hold

the tool described for re-rifling, another process must be resorted to.

Make a rod of hard wood about six or seven inches long and so as to slide

easily through the barrel. In one end of this fix the cutter. Around the

other end cast lead or other soft metal so as to fill the rifles. It is

evident if this short rod be forced through the barrel by means of a

longer one, that it must turn with the rifling, being so forced to do

by the soft metal engaging the several rifles. The operation of working

being the same as previously described.

CHAPTER XXII.

ON GUN LOCKS.

_Quality of Locks._—It is impossible to judge the quality of a gun lock

by a mere examination, for if the metal be not the very best and the

workmanship be also good, some portions, as a spring, may grow weak and

in an unguarded moment give way. If the mainspring be not thoroughly

tempered it may break the first time it be used on a frosty morning. It

is well to see if the attachment of the stirrup or swivel be well made

and fitted, as this controls the movements and play of the mainspring.

The fitting of the sear spring on the sear is important. If too much

cramped, it may give way; if not enough cramped, then it may grow weak

and there will not be that sharp, clear click that the admirer of a good

lock likes to hear.

On the hanging of the swivel or stirrup depends the smoothness of play

of the mainspring. On the placing of the hole for the sear-pin depends

the sweetness of the sear operating on the tumbler. On the pitching of

the sear depends the cutting of the notches of the tumbler, and on the

formation of the first notch depends the liability of the lock catching

at half-cock when the trigger is made to be easily pulled from the full

cock notch. On the formation of the half-cock notch depends the safety

of carrying the arm at half-cock.

_The Back Action Lock._—There are various forms of gun locks, and each

form has its admirers. The back action shown in Fig. 43 admits of the

arm being put together more strongly and securely than any other plan.

Other advantages claimed for it are that the mainspring can be made

longer and will therefore be less liable to break, and by such length

has a smoother working motion to the hammer. As the lock plate is almost

entirely surrounded by the wood of the stock, there is less liability of

wet getting into the interior, and this may especially be the case as the

hand, in carrying the gun, covers some portion of the lock.

[Illustration: FIGURE 43.]

_The Bar Lock._—This lock, Fig. 44, is so called from a bar formed at the

breech end of the barrel, and to this bar the lock is fitted. The great

advantage of this lock is that it admits of the stock to be so shaped

that the grasp of the hand naturally tightens as the gun is raised to the

shoulder. The objection raised by some to this lock is that it is more

pervious to wet than the back action lock.

This lock possesses the advantage of having an arm of the tumbler so made

that by the swivel or stirrup being hung upon that when the lock is at

full cock the weight of the spring force is lessened by the arm acting as

a lever to bring the moving force in the immediate vicinity of the axis

on which the tumbler turns, and when the spring is bringing the hammer

down on the nipple, increasing that force by divergence. It is sometimes

called the Full Bar Lock.

[Illustration: FIGURE 44.]

_Side Action Lock._—In Fig. 45 is shown another form of lock, commonly

called a side action. The mechanism and arrangement is similar to the

full bar, but it has a shoulder that fits up to the barrel. If the gun

be fitted with a plug or cylinder a suitable half round recess is cut in

this shoulder to receive the plug.

[Illustration: FIGURE 45.]

_The Wesley Bar._—The Wesley bar shown in Fig. 46 differs from the

common bar lock by being of different shape at the fore end, and this

end does not fit up to the barrel like the bar lock. By the wood almost

surrounding the plate, the interior is pretty well protected from wet. It

has the same merit of the stock being so shaped as to tighten in the hand

when raised to take sight. This lock has one objection, the wood between

the lock-plate and barrel has to be cut so thin that the recoil of the

gun is very apt to break and splinter it.

_The Central Lock._—There is a grade of guns made with locks enclosed

in the breech, or a continuation of the breech, in the same manner as

common revolvers and other pistol locks are made. A view of this lock is

given in Fig. 47. The principle is much the same as the back action lock

when the hammer is placed on one side as in the back action lock. One

side of the frame has the same office as the lock plate, and the other

side supports the tumbler and other parts the same as the bridle. The

formation of the tumbler is such that no sear is necessary, the trigger

bearing directly against it; the point of the trigger having the same

office as the nose of the tumbler, a small spring keeping it to place to

catch in the tumbler notches. Generally this form of lock has the hammer

placed directly in the central line of the bore of the barrel, and when

so placed the lower end of the hammer has the same office as the tumbler

and is shaped and has notches cut as in a side lock tumbler. As this form

of lock has few parts, and has a long feather-like mainspring, it is easy

and pleasant to operate.

[Illustration: FIGURE 46.]

_Cleaning Locks, etc._—While the gunsmith will be called upon to clean

and repair various parts of fire-arms, the lock is the part with which

he will have considerable to do. And, in most kind of guns, it is the

most complicated part, and, consequently, the most difficult part to

manage. Not a few gun-owners look upon it as a kind of mystery without

the range of ordinary comprehension, hence they carry it to the shop, not

only at the slightest indication of “something wrong,” but so often as it

would seem to need thorough cleaning and oiling. This is all well enough,

for the gun as much as anything comes clearly within the application of

the rule which admonishes that “a stitch in time saves nine.” All of

which being the case, one of the earliest things that the gunsmith will

be called upon to study will be

[Illustration: FIGURE 47.]

_How to Take Down a Lock._—Having removed the lock from the gun, set the

hammer at full-cock. Apply the hand-vise, or mainspring clamp, if he has

one, to the mainspring, having first placed a bit of chamois skin or

felt between the jaws of the vise and the spring to prevent bruising or

scratching the polished surface of the latter. Turn up the vise gently

until the hammer feels loose. Now press upon the sear-spring and let down

the hammer. The mainspring is now entirely loose, and may be lifted out

with the vise. This ends the complication of the lock; it is now only

a plain machine, with parts held into position by screws, which may be

removed one at a time until every piece has been taken from the plate.

In taking down a lock the beginner should work slowly and cautiously,

thinking in every case before acting. His screwdriver should be pressed

well-down in the notch of every screw to prevent damage to the head,

and if he apprehends the slightest danger of getting “things mixed,” he

should lay each screw and its piece in different places upon his bench.

Of course, there will be no such necessity after a few locks have been

taken down, but such a necessity might exist at the very beginning; at

least there is no harm to grow out of taking what is known to be the safe

side in every case.

The directions given for taking down, refer to the common lock, while

locks of some of the modern guns will be made on plans quite different.

But the principle will be the same, and hence there is no reasonable

demand for going into further detail. The first object will be to get

control of the mainspring so that it can be lifted out with ease. This

attained, and all the rest of the work is easy enough.

_To Clean and Oil the Lock._—Botches usually wipe the old oil and dirt

from the parts with a rag, put on fresh oil, and then put the lock

together again. This is a poor way, for a portion of the old gummy oil

will be left to combine with the new, thus soon making it about as bad

as the old. Every part should be thoroughly cleansed and dried before

any new oil is used. First wipe the dirt and old oil off as thoroughly

as possible with a piece of cloth or felt, and then rub it over with

powdered chalk or Spanish whiting. Next brush off and rub with a stiff

brush such as is used by jewelers or watchmakers. This will remove all

the old oil, after which the new oil may be applied.

Cases may turn up in which the lock has been long neglected, and the oil

and dirt have gummed together so badly as not to admit of wiping off. In

such cases the parts should be soaked for a short time in kerosene or in

benzine, which is still better. This will dissolve the gum and render it

easy of removal.

In oiling, only oil enough should be applied to lubricate the parts—there

is much more danger of getting on too much oil than too little. It should

be put on with a stubbed camel’s hair brush or pencil, as the painters

call it, and with extreme lightness. And there is but one kind of oil fit

to be used on a lock, the very best “watchmaker’s oil” obtainable. Such

an oil is comparatively costly, but a single bottle, costing 25 cents,

will oil hundreds of locks, hence the cost is really not entitled to

consideration, on account of its being so decidedly superior to any other

oil in use.

_How to Put up a Lock._—In taking down the lock the last thing removed

was the sear-spring, perhaps—it is most convenient to make that the last

thing. Now, in putting up the lock, that is the first part to claim our

attention. Screw the sear-spring into position, then the sear; next put

in the tumbler, and then put on the bridle. Having this all right, screw

on the hammer and let it down. Then take the mainspring, clamped as it

was at the taking down, hook it on to the swivel, and bring it up until

the little steady-pin is in its hole in the plate. Now unscrew the vise

and the lock is ready for work.

It will be necessary to always handle the mainspring with care. It is

the first thing to come off in taking down, and the last to go on in

putting up the lock; and the vise or clamp must be turned upon it only

just enough to bring it loose, and no more. If more, it may be damaged,

possibly broken.

Handling the parts of a lock with chamois skin or paper, is a good idea,

while brushing off the chalk and rubbing them clean with the brush,

and it is also a good idea not to touch them with the naked fingers

afterwards. Few gunsmiths would be inclined to take this precaution, but

it is worthy of consideration if one desires to be ranked among the very

best and most careful of workmen; as handling with the naked fingers

is apt to leave the parts in such a condition as will cause them to

eventually rust, slightly at least.

CHAPTER XXIII.

ON FITTING GUN HAMMERS.

_To Fit a Hammer on a Tumbler._—To file the hole in a gun-hammer so that

it will rest firmly and evenly upon the squared end of the tumbler,

has tested the skill and patience of nearly every gunsmith. The usual

practice is to drill a hole nearly the diameter of the square of the

tumbler, then file this hole until it fits the square, and unless

skill and patience are brought into requisition, and a nice fit be the

result, the hammer soon works loose, then needs refitting. The remedy

then generally is, remove the hammer from the tumbler and close the

hole a little by cutting around the squared opening, a little distance

back from the edge, with a sharp cold chisel, thus throwing some of the

metal inward, closing the hole a trifle. The hammer is then put upon the

tumbler, and if it be a little tight is driven to place with a hammer.

After some usage it becomes loose again, and has to be again refitted.

It is evident that unless what might be called a “perfect fit” be made,

that the sudden arrest of the hammer upon the tube or cone, as it

descends by force of the mainspring, will cause some slight displacement

of metal where the hammer and tumbler come in juxtaposition. A repetition

of these sudden arrests increases the displacement, and often there is

considerable looseness of the parts.

[Illustration: FIGURE 48.]

_The Drift for Squaring the Hole._—The remedy for this is very simple,

and can be performed with but little labor. After the hole in the hammer

is drilled introduce the end of a square drift, and drive it steadily

through with blows of a hammer. The drift will cut a clean hole, the

exact counterpart of its form, and this hole will need no finishing, if

the drift be properly made to insure its correctness as to being smooth

and true. Bear in mind that while driving the drift, the work must

rest evenly and solidly upon some firm support, but in such a way that

the tool will easily pass through. The drift is shown in Fig. 48. In

construction it is a rod of steel filed or so shaped that its transverse

section is of the precise form that the hole is to be made, and too

great care cannot be taken to insure its being as correct as possible.

The entering end of the tool should be made round, and almost fill the

hole as drilled in the hammer, and it should increase gradually in size

until it arrives at the full proportions and then gradually decrease to

the upper end, so that it will readily pass through the opening made by

the larger portion. On the sides of this tool are cut teeth that extend

around it, being continued from side to side after the manner of a screw

thread upon a bolt. It will be observed by reference to the cut that the

teeth commence on each side of the square and resemble a four-threaded

screw, with saw-shaped teeth, made upon a square rod. A file is the most

ready tool to cut these teeth. Forge the steel carefully, temper equally,

and do not leave too hard. When properly made it will last for an untold

amount of work.