doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Damascus explained

Alot of them are here
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=16082038
but I've got a Word document which is much more detailed and user friendly and I'd be happy to send it to anyone if they will e-mail me at revdoc2@cox.net
I'm off to Ben Avery out in the frozen desert but will send it to you when I return Raimey.

Thanks Drew.

I think that a clear definition or description of each type with a pic or two would be most benefical. If it is assistance you require, I'd be happy to oblidge.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

More horse-shoe nail talk and possibly an answer as found in "Engines of War: ... " Henry Wilkinson(grandson of Henry Nock) - 1841 from one of Drew's last 1/2 dozen posts.

He mentions an arsenal in Dresden "where there is an old Buchse(u w/ double dot) during the time of Henry VIII which used pyrites on a matchlock. So, is there any additional info on the old arsenal at Dresden?

Engines of War:… - Henry Wilkinson -1841

“In order to make stub-iron, old horse-shoe nails, called stubs, are collected, then packed closely together, and bound with an iron hoop, so as to form a ball about ten or twelve inches in circumference; which, being put into a furnace or forge-fire, and raised to a welding heat, is united by hammering, and drawn out into bars of convenient lengths, for the purposes intended. This method is adopted for the locks, furniture, and breechings of all best guns, and is to a certaint extent practiced for barrels, … immense numbers of horse-shoe nails are imported from France, Holland, Sweden, and other parts of the continent, in casks containing from 16 to 18 cwt. each.” From here he describes the process of tumbling and cleaning the nails so that “every particle of dust is removed.”

Maybe the truth about horse-shoe nails:
“It need hardly be remarked, that the advantage to be derived from the use of the horse-shoe nails does not arise from any virtue in the horse’s hoof, as some have imagined, but simply because good iron is, or ought to be, originally employed for the purpose, otherwise the nails will not drive into the hoof; and the iron, being worked much more, is freed from its impurities, which can only be effected by repeated workings.”

“Stub Damascus is merely one square rod of Damascus iron twisted and flattened into the riband for forming the barrel.”

“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.”

“The iron called Damascus, from its 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, ….”

He goes into detail of the number of bars for the riband that one be twisted opposite the other. If 3 are in order, the center is twisted opposite the outside two bars. And finally he states: “The fineness of the Damascus depends on the number and thickness of the alterations;

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

From the Beretta Arms Collection. Gardone barrel makers working, circa 1550. Notice the completed canon to the left. Very interesting anvil design.



Pete

I know that it was hot, but I don't if I would have been in my knickers, or shirtless, whalin' on a piece of extremely hot pig iron. I don't guess that had FRCs back then.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

PeteM, I believe the Catalan furnace is what we would refer to as a bloomery. They were indeed used into the nineteenth century here. The reasons for this include the low cost of construction and the fact that they could produce high quality wrought iron.
Google Tannehill State Park. In the seventies they rebuilt an old blast furnace and produced iron. The Tannehill iron works started as a bloomery. Peter

Peter,

Thank you very much for educating me and perhaps a few others. http://www.tannehill.org/tsphist.html WOW! 22 tons of iron a day circa 1863. So, logically, they were familiar with the design. We can assume there were other Catalan Furnaces in operation.

Pete

Peter B. & PeteM:

Excellent info and that is worth a visit. So, were there barrel making centers at each Catalan site or was it just for rail and the like? Is there an island associated with the name Catalan where it might have its origin, maybe propagated by the Moors? And I am constantly amazed at the depth and wealth of knowledge within this board.

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse

It is a language. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_language Yes, there are islands where it is spoken.

Pete

So, with that, it would begin to explain the Italians and Spanish's(and don't leave out the French) influence and knowledge of barrel making and muzzle-loading arms. If you locate the Catalan furnace sites(there may be thousands) and their source for raw materials, could you then trace the barrel making technology regarding Damascus or twist?

Kind Regards,

Raimey
rse