Cylinder (firearm)

“ For this reason the cylinder should be filled with the greatest care, a commissioned should, himself, verify that the cylinder is full and that no air is left in it, exception of the void noted below. It is far easier to fill the cylinder when it is disassembled from the cradle. If assembled in the cradle, bring the gun to its maximum elevation and remove both filling and drain plugs. It is necessary that the drain plug holes should be lubricated on top of the cylinder. Fill through the hole in the piston rod. ”

“ Cradle mechanism, cylinder, springs et cetera.
All work upon recoil cylinders, sights, and other optical equipment should be done in the presence of a commissioned officer. The recoil cylinder should never be clamped in a vise, but when necessary to hold it from turning, a spanner applied to the front end of cylinder should be used. Never remove the cylinder end stud nut when the piece is at an elevation. See that proper kind of oil is used in cylinders and for lubrication. ”

“ During the first movement of the trigger in cocking the revolver, the nose of the bolt is withdrawn, allowing free rotation of the cylinder. The object of the bolt is to prevent rotation of the cylinder in transportation The hand is attached by its pivot to the trigger, and, as the latter swings on its pin when the hammer is being cocked, the hand is raised and revolves the cylinder, and also serves to lock the cylinder in position at the time of firing. ”

“ The weakest part of the cylinder is the axial region, which is removed by being bored out; but still the weakest parts of the completed gun are its inner surface and breech, the very parts against which the greatest force of the exploding charge is exerted. With such a gun the limit of safety is exceedingly uncertain. ”

“ In the stock of the gun is the cylinder, in which an accurately fitting and hollow piston moves. A powerful helical spring, turned out of a solid bar of steel, is compressed between the inside end of the piston and the upper end of the butt. To set the gun, the catch is pressed down so that its hooked end disengages from the stock, and the barrel is bent downwards on pivot P. This slides the lower end of the compressing lever towards the butt, and a projection on the guide B, working in a groove, takes the piston with it. ”

“ The grain of the wood lies in regular waves, presenting a most beautiful appearance when nicely [323] dressed up. It is very popular for fine gun stocks.
Cylinder.—That part of a revolver in which the charges are placed. In the older make of percussion lock guns a short plug screwed into the side of the barrel at the breech, in which was placed the cap-tube or nipple, and through which the fire from the cap was communicated to the charge. ”

“ Figures 23 and 24 represent cast iron shot "of very peculiar shape, intended apparently, as a substitute for the rifle groove. They were cylinders of about four inches diameter, with a flattened spherical head from which three spiral openings communicate with the open interior of the cylinder. The cylindrical part was formed with grooves...."
The Modern Type of Gun
From these earliest examples the development of artillery has been gradual until the present day of the built-up gun with an energy and range undreamed of in the earlier days. ”

“ As explosive charges more and more powerful were employed, these guns gave way, the pressure of the exploding gases stretching the metal at the bore to rupture, before the outer metal could add its resistance. A modern built-up gun is made up of a series of, let [253] us say, four cylinders: the first, of comparatively small bore and thickness, is innermost. It is cooled to as low a temperature as possible, when a second cylinder is slipped over it red-hot to form a tight fit. Both masses of metal are now slowly cooled, when a third red-hot, closely fitting cylinder is passed over them. ”

“ All three united masses are now cooled, when the fourth and widest cylinder of all, red-hot, is passed over these three inner tubes, and the whole gun is allowed gradually to fall in temperature. When this process is completed the inner parts of the gun, by virtue of the shrinkage in the metal as it cooled, are under severe compression, while the outer parts are in as extreme a state of stretch or tension. When such a gun is fired its inner cylinders oppose much greater resistance to the outward pressure of the exploding gases than did the walls of the old-time guns. ”

“ The cylinder cannot be made gas tight, as that would prevent its revolving, or coincide absolutely with the calibre of the barrel, consequently a revolver can never be as accurate as a single-shot pistol. ”

“ The gun is kept at the front part of the slide by means of a powerful spring, which is compressed when the gun is fired but which, as the force of the recoil is spent, pushes the gun back to its original position once more. The spring is often reinforced by a cylinder and a piston with compressed air or water behind it, acting after the manner of those door checks with which we are all familiar, its function being to steady the motion of the gun and to let it go gently back to its place without slamming, just as the door check prevents a door from slamming. ”

“ Traveling lock stud is bolted through a lug at the rear and below the cylinders. Firing-shaft bracket is riveted to the left side and range-scale bracket to the right side of the cylinder at its rear end. Shoulder guards are pinned in sockets in both firing-shaft and range scale brackets to prevent contact of the gun during recoil, with the cannoneers. Trunnions are riveted and keyed to the cylinder near center. Elevating arc is bolted to lugs on the bottom of cylinder at trunnions. Piston-rod bracket is riveted to projections on the cylinder above the gun slides near the front end. ”

“ When on half-cock, the cylinder revolves freely. Since Colt s time great improvements have been made in these handy weapons ; the trigger was made to cock the hammer, turn the cylinder, and fire the charge by one continuous draw ; this arrangement enabled the shooter to fire all the shots very rapidly without lowering his hand : the strength of mainspring required, however, rendered it very difficult to shoot with any degree cf accuracy, especially as the exact moment when the hammer would fall was hard to estimate. ”

“ I see nothing peculiar about it excepting this cylinder from which the barrel projects. Is that a magazine?”
“It is,” answered the professor; “it accommodates twenty cartridges. But that is not the most extraordinary thing about it. Can you discover the method of firing the weapon?”
“No,” answered Vasilovich, “I cannot. I was about to ask you as to that.”
“It is perfectly simple. Permit me,” remarked the professor, in the easiest and most matter-of-fact tone imaginable. And, so saying, he took the pistol from Vasilovich’s unresisting hand. ”

“ Well, to begin with, it would be useless to fit a needle to the projectile unless the latter was made to travel with the point forwards; but there is direct evidence that the barrel was rifled. You notice the little square projection on the back surface of the cylinder. That was evidently made to fit a washer or wad—probably a thin plate of soft metal which would be driven by the pressure from behind into the grooves of the rifling and thus give a spinning motion to the bullet. ”

“ A laniard passing through the wad enables the gun to be at all times unloaded with facility; and if the cylinder were used for loading, the rapidity of firing would be increased, as it would require only once ramming home with a short rammer; indeed carronades might be loaded without the use of a rammer by this invention; and all accidents by fire being left in after spunging, be entirely prevented. The cylinder may be used for shells and hot shot. The saving of cordage and powder by the use of the cylinder would be very considerable. ”

“ When a hollow cylinder is subjected to an interior pressure the walls of the cylinder are not uniformly strained throughout their thickness, but the layer at the bore is much more severely strained than that at the outside. This can be readily seen if we consider a cylinder of rubber, for example, with a bore of 1 inch and an exterior diameter of 3 inches, which are about the proportions of many guns. If we put an interior air pressure on the cylinder until we expand the bore to 2 inches, the exterior diameter will not thereby be increased 1 inch. ”

“ The empty case is withdrawn from the barrel by an extractor attached to the cylinder containing the firing-pin. With each revolution of the crank the 1-inch gun fires once, and the 1⁄2-inch gun three times. The 1⁄2-inch gun is reduced to caliber .45 inch, in order to use with it the projectile of the breech-loading musket. ”

“ How natural, then, is it, that many sporting authors should be so far deceived, as to fancy the best guns are bored a true cylinder, and therefore, argue in its favour. This relief has the effect of making the gun shoot as close as it can do, compatibly with the strength and quickness required, which should, however, be increased as much as possible by the best constructed breechings. ”

“ The "cylinder full of oil" for checking the recoil of a small boat-gun, which is referred to above, is noteworthy as the prototype of the almost universal system now in use both ashore and afloat, though in the Minotaur none of the big guns were fitted with this very effective apparatus. ”

“ Gas-operated rifles, like the Hotchkiss and Colt machine guns, have fixed barrels and are worked, by a portion of the powder-gases which is allowed to escape from the barrel through a small hole near the muzzle, thence entering a cylinder and working a piston in connexion with the breech mechanism. ”

“ An inspection of the arms under such conditions not infrequently reveals the fact that center-fire arms are loaded with rim-fire ammunition, and vice-versa. The mechanism is often so badly rusted that the cylinder will not revolve and the barrel so corroded as to seriously impair its accuracy. When occasion requires the use of the arms under such conditions, accidents almost invariably result, either to the policemen who attempt to fire the arms, or to the innocent bystanders and property. ”

“ But with the cleaning found necessary to secure accuracy even with this arm, [Pg 53] it seems to require less cleaning than other revolvers; and accurate shooting has been secured repeatedly, even after firing a hundred shots, by simply swabbing out the barrel with a brush or cleaning-rod with a cloth drawn through a slot, and without removing the cylinder, which worked well after firing two hundred shots. ”

“ The axis of the steel cylinder or barrel was terminated by an endless screw composed of twelve threads, above which was placed a small arm of copper, with a steel stud made to fit the threads of the worm, which, by its vertical motion, was continually pushed forward. Hence, if a lever was moved, by a peg placed on the cylinder, in any one revolution, it could not be moved by the same peg in the succeeding revolution in consequence of the lateral motion communicated by the worm. ”

“ 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. ”

“ We shall now describe the process of making the Fraser 9 in. gun. The parts of the gun as shown in the section, Fig. 94, are: 1, the steel barrel; 2, the B tube; 3, the breech-coil; 4, the cascable screw. The inner steel barrel is made from a solid cylinder of steel, which is supplied by Messrs. Firth, of Sheffield. This steel is forged from a cast block, the casting being necessary in order to obtain a uniform mass, while the subsequent forging imparts to it greater solidity and elasticity. ”

“ Making the Cylinder Slide and Valve.—The cylinder barrel must be perfectly cylindrical and free from any dents. Mandrel-drawn brass tubing, 1/16-inch thick, may be selected. If you cannot get this turned off at the ends in a lathe, mark the lines round it for working to with the aid of a perfectly straight edged strip of paper, 2-13/16 inches wide, rolled twice round the tube. The coils must lie exactly under one another. Make plain scratches at each end of the paper with a sharp steel point. ”

“ A hot barrel may be dipped in water, but all traces of latter must be removed from barrel bore and gas cylinder, by blowing through same, by means of cleaning rod, or by firing two or three loose cartridges.
Until all water is blown out of gas cylinder, the gas pressure may be insufficient for ensuring automatic action.
USE OF THE REGULATOR. In order that the working of the gun may be regular, sufficient power must be available to ensure complete recoil of the piston. The amount of power necessary must vary because of insufficient oiling, dust, or fouling in the mechanism, &c. ”

“ Six drachms of powder is the full service charge for a flint musket, and four drachms of a percussion musket; yet this immense pressure can be resisted by a cylinder of iron not more than one quarter of an inch thick, and not iron of the best quality.
Experiment 2.—A good musket barrel had a cylinder of brass, three inches long, turned to fit the muzzle, and soldered in, so as to close it air-tight. The plug, or breech-screw, was removed, and a felt wad was pushed in with a short piece of wood, marked to the exact depth the charge would occupy, to prevent the ball rolling forward. ”