Finally made it to Sherman Bell's recent DGJ article. He certainly articulates the difficulty in defining
Pattern Welded Shotgun Barrels, but his use of terms probably only adds to the confusion. As he mentioned, the technology and terms certainly changed between W. Greener's 1835 book and W. W.'s in 1910. At this point we're all a bit like Justice Potter Stewart trying to define porn in 1964, "I know it when I see it." Unfortunately, Bell did not discuss the
THIRD form of
Pattern Welded Shotgun Barrel - Laminated Steel. As has been discussed previously, Laminated Steel differs from Damascus Steel in that:
1. Laminated Steel has a higher steel : iron ratio, with higher quality steel.
2. Laminated Steel starts with the iron and steel mixed together (puddled) in a semi-molten state (the bloom) which is then hammered or rolled into rods. Damascus starts with individual strips of iron and steel.
3. Laminated Steel rods are twisted less than Damascus (but may have a pattern and the barrels are then referred to as "Laminated Damascus")
No one source is adequate to define the 3 forms of
Pattern Welded Shotgun Barrels, but this is probably the best from a mid- 19th century perspective:
Engines Of War: or, Historical and Experimental Observations on Ancient And Modern Warlike Machines And Implements, Including the Manufacture of Guns, Gunpowder, and Swords with remarks on Bronze, Iron, Steel, &c.Henry Wilkinson, M.R.A.S. London 1841
p. 70 Part III On The Manufacture of Fire-Arms, And Modern Improvements.
http://books.google.com/books?id=0XJeF_o...w3u60I#PPA70,M1 Starting on p. 87 Forging of Gun-Barrels A description of Stub, Stub-Twist, Wire-Twist, Damascus-twist, Stub-Damascus, Charcoal iron, Threepenny skelp iron, Two penny or Wednesbury skelp, and Sham-damn skelp.
The most approved modern method of converting…(horse-shoe nails)…into (
Stub-Twist) gun-barrels after carefully sorting and picking the, to see that no cast-iron or impurities are mixed with them, is first to put about half a hundred weight into a large cast-iron drum or cylinder, crossed internally with iron bars, through the centre of which a shaft passes, which is connected by a strap with a steam-engine, and the revolution of the drum actually polishes the nails by their friction against each other; they are then sifted, by which every particle of dust is removed. The steel intended to be mixed with them is clipped by means of large shears, worked by the engine into small pieces, corresponding in size to the stubs, and afterwards cleansed by a similar process. About 40 lbs. are thrown on to the inclined hearth of an air-furnace, where they are puddled or mixed together with a long iron rod, and withdrawn in a mass called a bloom, almost in a state of fusion, to be welded under hammer of three tons weight, by which it is formed into a long square block: this being put in, at another door of the same air-furnace, is raised to a bright red heat, and drawn out under a tilt hammer of a ton and half weight, into bars of proper size to pass the rollers, by means of which it is reduced to rods of the required size.
p. 95 Possibly a description of what was later termed
Laminated Steel For the finest description of (Stub-Twist) barrels, a certain proportion of scrap steel, such as broken coach-springs, is cut into pieces and mixed with the iron by the operation called puddling, by which the steel loses a considerable portion of its carbon, and becomes converted to mild steel, uniting readily with the iron, and greatly increasing the variegation and beauty of the twist. In whatever manner the iron may be prepared, the operation of drawing it out into ribands for twisting is the same. This is effected by passing the bars, while red hot, between rollers until extended several yards in length, about half an inch wide, and varying in thickness according to whichever part of the barrel it may be intended to form: these ribands are cut into convenient lengths, each being sufficient to form one-third of a barrel: one of these pieces is made red hot and twisted into a spiral form, by placing on end in the prong of an iron rod, which passes through a frame, and is turned by a handle, the riband being prevented from going round without twisting by means of an iron bar placed parallel to the revolving rod. The spiral thus formed is raised to a welding heat, and dropped on to a cylindrical rod, which being struck forcibly on the ground (called jumping) the edges of the spiral unite, and the welding is then completed by hammering on the anvil. The other spirals are added according to the length of the barrel, and the forging is finished by hammering regularly all over. The ends of the spirals should be turned up and united at each junction of spirals, to avoid the confusion in the twist occasioned by merely dropping one spiral on anther; but this is rarely done. Wire-Twist, of any degree of fineness, may be obtained by welding alternate laminae of iron and steel, or iron of two qualities, together; the compound bar thus formed is drawn into ribands, and twisted in the same manner as the preceding.
p. 96 The iron called
Damascus, from it’s resemblance to the celebrated Oriental barrels and sword blades, is now manufactured in great perfection in this country, as well as in France and Germany, and may be varied in fineness or pattern to almost any extent, according to the various manipulations it may undergo. One method is to unite, by welding 25 bars of iron and mild steel alternately, each about 2 feet long, 2 inches wide, and ¼ of an inch thick; and having drawn the whole mass into a long bar, or rod, 3/8 of an inch square, it is then cut into proper lengths of from five to six feet; one of these pieces being made red hot is held firmly in a vice, or in a square hole, to prevent it from turning, while the other end is twisted by a brace, or by machinery, taking care that the turns are regular, and holding those parts which turn closer than others with a pair of tongs, the rod is by this means shortened to half it’s original length, and made quite round. If only two pieces are employed to form the riband, one is turned to the right, and the other to the left; these being laid parallel to each other are united by welding and then flattened; but if three square rods are used, the centre one is turned in a contrary direction to the outside ones, and this produces the handsomest figure. By these operations the alterations of iron and steel change places at every half revolution of the square rod composed of twenty-five laminae; the external layers winding round the interior ones, thus forming when flattened into a riband, irregular concentric ovals or circles. The fineness of the Damascus depends on the number and thickness of alterations; but when wound into spiral form, and united on its edges by jumping, the edges bend round and the figure is completed.
If there is one thing that I hope to accomplish with my personal investment in time, money, and an increasingly limited intellectual reserve
, it would be to create a common language of
Pattern Welded Shotgun Barrels so we can communicate effectively. Our illustrations and Pete M's movie shows the HOW of damascus production. The method of twisting and the arrangement of the iron and steel strips in the 'lopin' or 'billet' primarily determine the pattern that is produced however. My approach is to define those patterns, so we are at least talking about the same thing.
