Thanks for the replies, do you think there was some skullduggery going on with those two patents in 1881 ?
If Monk's was truly a monobloc , would you think it was more of an action filers job to make the piece before the barrel maker fitted the tubes and ribs etc.
Maybe it was one of those many patents which seemed like a good idea at the time but didn't catch on until faster, more modern machinery appeared ? I'd imagine the tubes could end up pointing in all directions unless the bloc was precisely made, I reckon that could take time and some skilled hands.
