< Previousin the direction of the arrow as shown at B, into the posi- tion as shown at A, when the cycle of operations is con- tinued. As one case is trimmed it is forced by the follow- ing one through the sleeve l, which passes through the spin- dle. The cases pass through this sleeve and drop into a box placed under the machine. . Fig. 10. Diagram showing the Action of Forming the Head on the Case Forming the Head. -Now that the cases are trimmed to length, they are ready for the heading operation. This is accomplished in a horizontal header of the semi-auto- matic feed type as shown in Fig. 9. Here the cases are dumped into the hopper A, from which they are taken by the operator, who, by means of a shaker, transfers them to WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKthe slide B. The cases are placed in this slide with the mouth facing the punch-head C. As the cases come down the slide B, they rest in a pocket, from which they are carried by the punch into the die, where they are headed by the hunter, held in the head D. This heading operation is interesting, and is clearly illustrated in Fig. 10. At A are shown the cases a located in the pocket in front of the 'heading die b. The heading punch c and the hunter d are also shown back, out of operation. At B the heading punch c has advanced and carried the case into the die b. When in this position, the heading hunter d advances, as shown at C, and com- mences to form the head on the case. This action of the heading hunter upsets the head of the case, close to the die, so that the ·heading punch can be withdrawn, as shown exaggerated at D, and the head on the case completed. The punch and hunter now recede, and on the forward stroke of the punch it carries another case into the die, forcing the previously headed one out, which is deposited in a box placed beneath the machine. A heading machine equipped with an automatic feeding device is shown in Fig. 3. The feeding device is similar to that used on the automatic trimming machine shown in Fig. 7, so that it will not be necessary to describe it further. The feeding of the case to the die, however, is different to that shown in Fig. 9, the case in this machine being fed by two fingers, one of which carries it from the tube connected with the hopper to the other finger which transfers it to the die. This header is seldom used for 0.22 "long," its use being principally for heading 0.22 "short." Priming. -After the cases are headed, they are washed in the tubs shown in Fig. 2 and dried. They are then taken to the priming department. Here the cases are shaken into plates and a charge of fulminate, which is held in a charger, is inserted in the cases. From the charging room the cases are taken to the priming machines, where they are placed on a friction dial which carries them to a punch. This punch has three grooves filed in its end, the function of which is to distribute the fulminate to the rim of the case. As the punch is kept rotating, it forces the powder to the WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKrim of the case, by the action of centrifugal force, and locates it in a manner similar to that shown at G in Fig. 6. The fulminate is placed in the cases in a wet condition and will not discharge easily until dry. The cases, after prim- ing, are taken to what is called the "dry-house," where they are placed in sieves and left until dry in a very warm com- partment, heated by steam. This completes the operations on the case. Casting the Slugs for the Bullets.-Two principal methods are used in the manufacture of lead bullets. The oldest one is to cast the bullets into slugs in a cast-iron mold of the proper shape, and then swage these slugs to the required shape in a swaging machine; in the second method, Fig. 11. Molda In which the Sluga for the Bullets are Caat a lead wire is fed into a special machine which cuts and forms the bullets to size and shape. Both methods are used at the present time. The first method is the one employed by the firm the practice of which is here described. The second method is described in Chapter VII. When the bullets are cast into the form of a slug in a cast-iron mold and afterwards swaged to the proper shape, the slug is cast in molds made in halves, as shown in Fig. 11. The molten lead is kept at the required temperature in the pot A, and is removed from it by the operator with the ladle B. The lead is poured into the filler C, which is located on top of the mold by guide blocks D. Then a foot lever situated WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKbeneath the machine is operated, forcing the pin E forward; this pin, in turn, moves the filler in the direction of the arrow, thus shearing the metal which has remained in the filler from that which has run into the mold. The operator now moves lever F to the left, which opens the molds and allows the slugs to drop out. The lever F is then moved to the right, closing the molds, and the operation is con- tinued. This operation is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 12, where a section of the filler and mold are shown. At A the filler a is shown in line with the holes in the mold b, when the metal is being poured in, and at B the filler is in the position that it occupies in relation to the mold after the metal has solidified and the foot lever is depressed. The B JCacMnoru,N. y; Fig. 12. Diagram ahowlng how the Sluga are Caat surplus metal which is left in the filler is tapped out into the pot and remelted after the slugs which stick to the filler have been scraped off. Tumbling and Inspecting the Slugs.-The slugs as they come from the molds have fins and burrs on them, due to several reasons; one is that the operator does not close the mold tightly; another, that dirt or scrap gets in between the two halves of the mold. If the slugs were taken to the swager in this condition, they would not pass down the tube, so it is necessary to tumble them to remove the fins and burrs. This is done in an ordinary tumbling barrel which is revolved slowly. After the slugs are tumbled, they are then dumped on a bench and inspected. In this inspec- tion, "half-slugs" and imperfectly formed slugs are removed. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK"Half-slugs" are due to the molder not having sufficient metal in his ladle to fill the mold. These would make im- perfectly formed bullets of light weight. Swaging the Bullets. -After the slugs have been in- spected and all half-slugs or imperfectly formed ones have been picked out, they are dumped into a hopper A (only the lower portion of which is shown), located at the top of the swaging machine shown in Fig. 13. From this hopper they drop down a tube B into the close-wound spring C. This spring connects the tube B with the pocket or re- ceptacle D, located over the finger-slide E. From the pocket the slugs are carried to the dies by fingers, which are ·held to the slide E. This slide is actuated by a bell- crank G, which is given a reciprocating motion by a cam F, , ·fastened to a vertical shaft, and driven from the crankshaft through bevel gears. The slugs would not Fig. 13. Automatic &waging Machine COme down the Sleeve which form• the Slug Into a Bullet and spring of their own accord, so it is necessary to agitate them. This is accomplished by fastening a yoke H to the ram of the press, and attaching this yoke to the sleeve B. The move- ment of the ram carries the sleeve B up and down in the hopper, which action agitates the slugs and causes them to drop down. The bullets are removed from the die by a knockout connected to the ram of the machine by two studs I. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKThe action of swaging the bullets is more clearly shown in Fig. 15. The swaging dies are made in two pieces and are ground and lapped on the surfaces which come in con- tact. At A the slug a is shown as it drops down into the die b and is located on the die-pin c. In the position shown at B the ram of the press has descended, carrying the punch d into the die, which action forms the bullet. The punch, in fol"'lling the bullet, forces the excess material out of the vent hole provided in the upper die. This action is very interest- ing, as the excess ma- terial is gathered from the slug and forced out of the vent hole in the form of short wire. As the bullet is formed, the ram of the press again as- cends and in its ascen- sion the die-pin c is pushed up through the dies, carrying the base of the bullet flush with the top of the die. The bullet is removed from the top of the die by the fingers as they carry another slug to the die, and falls into Fig. 14. Semi-automatic Loading Machine for Seating the Bulleta In the Caaea the chute J, shown in Fig. 13. This swaging operation finishes the bullet to the exact size and also to the correct weight. The bullet for the 0.22 long-regular weighs thirty-five grains. Loading.- Now that the case and bullet are completed, they are ready for loading. Both the bullets and cases are removed to an outside building where the loading machines are located. The cases or shells are first shaken into what is called a "sheil plate," which has a baseplate doweled to WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKit. The bullets are shaken into a bullet plate, and the pow- der is then put in a charger which has holes in it register- ing with the holes in the shell plate, and slightly smaller i~ diameter than the inside of the cases. ·The thickness of these charging plates governs the amount of powder that is put in the cases. The charging plate is now located over the shell plate and tapped slightly, causing the powder to drop into the cases. The charger plate is then removed and the bullet plate substituted, being located by dowels. Both plates are now taken to the semi-automatic loader, Fig. 14. (This loader is shown with the plates removed). The plates are put on the table A, and held by the clamp- bolt B. When everything is set properly, the operator c Machiner N. Y. Fig. 15. Diagram showing the Action of Swaglng the Bullet. presses the hand lever C, thus starting the machine. He then steps back from the machine, as occasionally a number of cartridges, and, in some cases, a whole plate of cartridges, explode, making it dangerous for him to stand in close prox- imity to the press. The table A on which the loading plates are held is moved forward by means of a pawl engaging in a rack, fastened to the under side of the table. The table is moved a distance equal to the space between a row of holes for each stroke of the press. The pawl is actuated through a series of levers and the arm D which is connected eccentrically to the crank- shaft of the press. When the last row of cases in the plate has been operated on by the row of punches E, the machine WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKis automatically stopped by a trip lever at the back of the machine. A clearer idea of· the method of loading the cartridges may be obtained by referring to Fig. 16. Here at A, the cases and bullets are shown located in the shell and bullet plates a and b, respectively, ready for assembling, or seat- ing; and at B the bullets and cases are shown assembled, by the action of the seating punches c. The plates are now removed from the press, and the slip plate d removed, when the loaded cartridges drop out. After the bullets have been seated in the cases, the loaded cartridges are taken to an automatic machine, where they are crimped and cannelured. Fig, 16. Diagram ahowlng how the Bulleta and Caaea are AMembled Crimping and Canneluring. -Crimping the cartridges consists in tightening the case around the bullet, as shown at I in Fig. 6, to prevent the latter from falling out. This operation is performed in the automatic machine shown in Fig. 17. The loaded cartridges are dumped into the hop- per A through which passes a belt (inclosed in the box B) having scoops fastened to it. Theses scoops C carry the cartridges out of the hopper up to the top of the slide D. Here the cartridges drop out of the scoops into the slide. The slot in thi~ slide is slightly larger than the body of the WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKcase, but is smaller than the head, so that it' is impossible for the cases to go down the slide unless they are head up- wards. As the cartridges come down the slide D, they come in contact with the wheel E, which is rotated by a round belt F. This wheel has slots cut in it, in which the cart- ridges hang, the under sides of the heads bearing on the periphery of the wheel, and as the latter is kept rotating it deposits the cases on the revolving dial G. The guard L prevents the cartridges from dropping out before they reach the dial. As the cartridges drop out of the wheel E onto the dial G, they are guided by the block H. The dial G rotates in the direction of the arrow and carries the cart- ridges around where they are lined up by the guide I. As they continue in their travel, they pass between the station- ary segment block J and the revolving dial K, the action of which rotates the cartridges and performs the crimping and canneluring operations. As they pass around still further, they are removed from the dial by a guide and drop into a box. The canneluring is done by means of narrow knurled projections formed on the edges of the dial K and the segment block J, dial K being fastened to the dial G. The crimping is also done by forms on the above-mentioned parts. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKGreasing, Packing, and Testing.- The cartridges are now completed, as regards the manufacturing operations, and are ready for greasing and packing. Greasing is only done when the bullets are made from commercially pure lead, and not of composition of from 3 to 5 per cent tin. When made of this composition, it is not necessary to grease the bullets. The object of the greasing is to prevent them from leading the bore of the rifle. The 3 to 5 per cent composition has the same effect as the grease, but is much cleaner and of a more finished appearance. The cannelur- ing, as shown at I in Fig. 6, forms narrow knurled grooves during the crimping operation for the purpose of holding the grease. If the bullets are made from commercially pure lead, they are shaken into plateS and dipped into molten grease. The grease just sticks in the canneluring, leaving the remainder of the bullet practically clean-that is, if the grease is at the proper temperature. If slightly cooler than the correct temperature, the grease will form in clogs on the bullet, which have to be removed by wiping them with a rag. The shaker plates are now located on a packing plate. This packing plate has three hundred holes drilled through it in groups of fifty, which is the number of cartridges put in each box. The shaker plate holds only half the number of cartridges that the packing plate does, so that it requires two shaker plates to fill the packing plate. In operation, the first shaker plate is placed over the packing plate, and both plates are then turned over, when the shells drop into the packing plate. The shaker plate is then removed and a slip plate substituted for it. Another shaker plate is placed over the packing plate and the same operation repeated. This fills the packing plate and leaves half of the cartridges in the plate with their heads up, while the other half are reversed. The cartridges are now re- moved from the packing plate arid placed in a slide pro- vided with compartments, from which they are removed and placed in boxes. This packing arrangement is semi- automatic, and is considerably quicker than packing by hand. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKNext >