Brass button

“ The object of this is to make a lateral pressure also effective in forcing down the bolt—a result accomplished by attaching to the short arm of the lever a greased cord, which, after passing horizontally through a fairleader, runs through an eye (see Fig. 117) in the straight lever, and has its extremity fastened so that a horizontal movement of the short lever draws the other down. A very important part of the apparatus is the safety key, f, Fig. 115, a wedge which passes through a slot in the exploding bolt, and resting on the brass-work of the priming-case, retains the muzzle 1 in. ”

“ R, Roller of wood covered with brass. Top of magnet and springs of commutator omitted.
The brass of which the supports are made should be about [Pg 25] 1⁄8 inch thick, and must, of course, be drilled in the center with a hole to admit the axle of the armature. To keep it exactly in the right place while revolving, a piece of circular brass tube, with a bore the size of the hole made to admit the armature, should be soldered to the brass supports in front of the hole; that for the pulley end of the axle should be 1⁄2 inch long. One at the other end is not necessary, but looks neater ”

“ Fifth, the top brass may be made a handsliding fit to the strap without springing the strap open, which being already under a tension because of the spring due to the bottom brass, will be more rigid and permit of a tighter degree of top brass fit, without springing open and away from the rod. ”

“ The keys made by me have levers 1 inch wide and 5-1/2 inches long, oak being chosen as material, on account of its toughness. K is in each case a small wooden knob on a piece of 3/16-inch brass rod; O a 1-1/2-inch brass screw; A a piece of sheet brass 3-1/2 inches long, marked off carefully, drilled 1/8 inch from the centre of each end for the pivot screws, and in four places for the holding-down screws, and bent up at the ends to form two standards. If you do not possess any brass strip, the lever may be supported on wooden uprights glued and screwed to the base. ”

“ By another press the edge was scalloped, and by a third press the open work was effected. The next process was that of so pressing each disc to such an extent that the scalloped edges of two might meet, and thus form a round button of pretty design when united, and a shank fastened in the centre of one of the blanks.
Military buttons, like many others, are made of two discs of metal, the impression on the outer ones being produced by a sharp blow in a stamp, the under ones having two holes pierced in them for the shanks, which are put through and bent flat on the inside. ”

“ The scale passes through a slit in a piece of steel, with which it is connected by a screw, forming a pivot on which the scale can vibrate laterally. This piece of steel terminates in pivots, by means of which the pendulum is supported on the seat attached to the gun, and is at liberty to vibrate in the direction of the axis of the piece. The seat is of metal, and is fastened to the base of the breech by screws, so that the centres of the steel pivots of vibration shall be at a distance from the axis of the piece equal to the radius of the base-ring. ”

“ When heat, elongating the balance ring, causes it to vibrate more slowly, the brass, expanding more than the steel, bends the free ends of the cut rim toward the center, thus decreasing the diameter of the balance and quickening the vibration. On the other hand, when cold, contracting the ring tends to quicken the vibration of the balance, the contraction of the brass rim draws the free end outward, making the diameter larger and the vibration slower in consequence. The compensation balance is also made with brass as the inner metal and aluminum outside. ”

“ After starting the machine he merely sits behind the shield, which protects him from the enemy, directing it, as it keeps on firing automatically so long as the bands of cartridges are supplied and a finger held on the trigger or button. By setting free a couple of levers with his left hand, and pressing his shoulder against the padded shoulder-piece, he is able to elevate or depress, or train the barrel horizontally, without in any way interfering with the hail of missiles. ”

“ A crank pin cannot wear oval if the brasses are kept adjusted to fit it, because in that case the brass bore must wear it round; but if there is any play it wears oval, because the pressure of contact between the journal and the brass bores is least when the pin is at and near the points of dead centre, and the most when it is at and near half stroke. ”

“ To resist fuselage distortion the spar must be suitably braced in a lateral direction, the outrigger carrying the bracing wires being situated just forward of the centre of the spar. No. 35 s.w.g. is quite strong enough for fuselage bracing. Silk fishing-line or Japanese silk gut is admirably suited for wing bracing, and is not so [Pg 123] liable to stretch as the tinned iron or brass wire sometimes used. Piano wire is generally used for elevators, tail planes, chassis, and propeller shafts, of a gauge ranging from No. ”

“ Porta, in his “Natural Magick,” folio, English edition, 1658, gives an account, in the 12th Book, how “A brass gun once fired, may discharge ten times.” He says, “It is a new invention, that a great brass-gun, or hand-gun, may discharge 10 or more bullets one after another without intermission. ”

“ If it touches the bell, a thud instead of a ring is the result; if it is set off too far, the ring will be too weak. The armature can now be released, by removing the wood or cork, and the set screw Q driven forwards or backwards until the best effect is produced when tested with the battery. The tension of the armature spring must be carefully looked to in these single stroke bells. If it is too strong, the blow will be weak; if too weak, the hammer trembles, so that a clear single stroke is not obtainable, as the spring chatters.
Fig. 33 B.
Fig. ”

“ Fig. 122.—Diagram showing how to connect a Bell, Battery, and Push-Button. A little experimenting with the bell will soon enable one to find its best adjustment. Figure 122 shows how to connect a bell to a battery and a push-button. A push-button is simply a small switch which closes the circuit when pressed. Do not make the armature spring too weak, or the hammer will move very slowly and with very little life. Each time that the armature moves toward the magnets, it should barely touch the iron cores before the ball strikes the bell. ”

“ In the battery, instead of a single gun, were found mounted one long 24-pounder, three brass twelves, an 8-pounder, and a field-piece. The latter was quickly turned against the Spaniards, who had fled into the woods, and were still lurking there ”

“ This catch is a simple little affair, and consists of a thin piece of spring brass, in one end of which a hole has been made, while at the other a little knob handle is riveted. One end is attached to the door, and to the hood beside the door a catch of thin brass is riveted fast, into which the lever catch can drop.
To stiffen the door, the edges should be bound with narrow brass strips, securely fastened with small rivets, or escutcheon pins, that can be adapted as rivets by cutting them to the required length. ”

“ The rough-bored gun is placed upon a lathe which revolves slowly, drawing on to it from a reel mounted at one side a continuous layer of steel ribbon about a quarter of an inch wide. On a 12-inch gun there is wound some 117 miles of this wire! fourteen layers of it at the muzzle end and seventy-five at the breech end. Heavy weights regulate the tension of the wire, which varies for each layer, the outermost being at the lowest tension, which will resist a pressure of over 100 tons to the square inch. ”

“ His hands twinkle over the keys, and the brass dies fly into place. When a key is depressed a die shoots from the magazine on to a travelling belt and is whirled off to the assembling-box. Each die is a flat, oblong brass plate, of a thickness varying with the letter, having a large V-shaped notch in the top, and the letter cut half-way down on one of the longer sides. A corresponding letter is stamped on the side nearest to the operator so that he may see what he is doing and make needful corrections.
As soon as a word is complete, he touches the “spacing” lever at the side of the keyboard. ”

“ Other varieties of brass holders are those secured by ordinary locks or strong thumb-screws. In cases where the rods have no spikes (which are not recommended) or buttons, or which do not lie in grooves, it is advisable to have on them two stout rubber rings, which will keep the papers firmly pressed in their places, and so prevent slipping. A half-inch beading along the bottom of the slope is sometimes useful in preventing doubling down and slipping. ”

“ When the velocity of shot from a shot-gun has to be found, a thin wire stretched across the muzzle takes the place of the first screen, and a thin sheet of metal or cardboard carrying an electric contact, or a Branly coherer, the conductivity of which is restored by means of an induced current, takes the place of the second screen. The electric firing circuit is provided with a safety key attached by a cord to the man who loads the gun and prepares the electric fuse. ”

“ For domestic purposes, however, the bells are arranged so that the hammer strikes a series of strokes, continuing so long as the push-button which closes the electric circuit is pressed. A light spring is provided against which the armature rests when it is not attracted by the electro-magnet, and the current is arranged to pass through this spring and the armature on its way to the magnet. ”

“ So for active service I should certainly recommend that percussion firing should be regarded as the first and principal method to be used with guns on the move, carrying also the electric gear for use if guns are left for any time at fixed spots as guns of position. I may here remark that when firing with electricity from a field carriage the battery has to be placed on the ground, clear of recoil, and therefore the wire leads must be adjusted in length accordingly. I am uncertain whether our other 12-pounders used mostly electric or percussion, but I think on the whole, percussion ”

“ I suggested. "If your magnet is so strong as all that, you would have your own broadside boomeranging back upon you."
"Not a bit of it! There's a big difference between a shot flying away from you with all its muzzle velocity, and another one which is coming towards you and only needs a slight deflection to strike the magnet. Besides, by breaking the circuit I can take off the influence when I am firing my own broadside. Then I connect, and instantly become invulnerable."
"And your nails and screws?"
"The warship of the future will be bolted together by wood." ”

“ To throw a good light upon the target the same inventor has devised a small electric lamp and projector, which is placed on the barrel near the muzzle by rubber bands, the battery being held at the belt of the marksman, with such connections that the act of pressing the butt of the musket against the shoulder completes the circuit, and causes the bright cylinder of light to fall on the target, thus enabling him to get as good a shot as in the day time. ”

“ A series of holes along the edges of the brass strip engage the teeth of pinions which feed the strip forward as the piston A moves backward and forward. The cartridges are fired from their clips by fingers, and drop into position when the bolt is withdrawn. Thirty cartridges are mounted on one strip, which is fed into the slot s, from the left side. The trigger must be kept down by pressure all the time, otherwise the spring o cannot operate to return the block forward. ”

“ Instead of having a lining that is compressed by means of sleeves or jackets, many big guns are wound with wire which is pulled so tight as77 to compress the lining. The gun-tube is placed in a lathe, and is turned so as to wind up the wire upon it. A heavy brake on the wire keeps it drawn very tight. This wire, also, is put on in layers, so that each layer can expand considerably without exceeding its elastic limit. Our big 16-inch coast-defense guns are wound with wire that is one tenth of an inch square. ”

“ It would also be well to bear in mind that we have, as a matter of fact, not even become accustomed to the numerous ammunition columns of our rapid fire artillery.
“In the cavalry, the necessity of dividing a machine gun battery for the purpose of assigning the parts thereof to brigades, and of assigning machine guns to reconnaissance and other independent detachments, must be reckoned with. When we bear in mind that single machine guns are to be used only in exceptional cases, the machine gun battery intended for the cavalry cannot well be made smaller than four guns.” ”

“ Turn gun over and remove right-hand plate in same manner. Turn gun so as to bring bottom plate upward. Raise gas lever slightly with left hand, and lift bottom plate out. Raise gas lever again and pull out slide pin. Push slide to rear until it remains. Remove retracting spring tubes by pulling nearest tube toward you and pushing other away from you. Pull or push out gas lever bracket pin, then lift gas lever and connections out of bracket. Push carrier pin out with pointed end of screwdriver and lift carrier out of receiver. Unscrew locking screw and belt guide screw in belt guide. ”

“ Transfer retracting apparatus to right spring-rod, retract gun about 1⁄4 inch, remove split pin and spring-rod key, ease gun into battery until spring-rod rests against spring-cylinder cover, and detach retracting mechanism.
Note.—In this position full pressure of springs is against cylinder cover and gun is free to slide in ways. Men should be kept from in front of spring-cylinder and care must be exercised to prevent tipping of cradle to the rear, which may cause gun to slide off. ”