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War Department Notes - Barrels Pattern/53 G.C. Holden, Assistant Superintendent of Stores |
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| Reproduced from a hand written set of notes made in 1866, this sample from War Department Notes appears courtesy of Adrian Roads. |
Manufacture of Barrels Pattern/53 The Barrel is made of the best wrought iron. From a mould or "Skelp"* weighing 8 1/4 lbs. The dimensions of the skelp are 10 1/2 inches long. 5 inches wide at the top, 5 3/8 inches at the bottom, and a little over 1/2 an inch in thickness. The object of having it wider at the bottom than at the top, is to bring two edges together when bent up. * The following are the weights of various "Skelps" for
barrels Bending The first operation consists in bending the skelps so as to bring the two longitudal edges nearly together. This is done to ensure there not being the slightest particle of grit between the edges when welded together. The least bit of grit would make an unsound weld. The bending is done in 5 operations. The skelp being raised to a welding heat, and passed through 5 pairs of rollers - each pair having a different taper - so as to bring the edges up gradually. The bottom rollers are concave and the top convex rolling in opposite directions. Welding The next process is welding. A mandrel is passed through the skelp to preserve its hollow state, & it is then placed under rollers by which means, in two operations, the two edges are pressed together. Drawing out to length This is done in 5 or 6 operations - each drawing it out a little longer than the one before it. The iron is heated between all these operations and a steel mandrel is inserted each time to keep the tube. A smaller mandrel is used in succession as the barrel gets longer. After being drawn out to its requisite length, the barrel is straightened in a machine called the barrel press. This is the 13 operation. Making up the Butt This is done by heating the breech end of the barrel and knocking the end hard on a piece of iron let into the floor. This thickens the metal at the end ready for receiving the lump for the nipple. Welding on the Nipple Lump The lumping iron for the nipple is of the same description as the barrel, and is valued at about 26 pounds per ton. The lump is welded on by heating both barrel & lump, being first raised to a welding heat. After this it is stamped out to the proper form under a die called the "tilt hammer". The barrel is now cut to the proper length at the muzzle and then leaves the rolling mill. The lumping is the 15th operation. |
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