ART OF MAKING GUN-FLINTS. 



95 





gravity of the mafs. The form and fize of the hammers of 

 different workmen vary a little, but this difpoiition of the 

 points is common to them all, and is of confequenee to the 

 force and certainty of the blow. 



3. A little inftrumen tnamed Roulette (roller) which repre* Roulette, 

 fents a folid wheel, or fegment of a cylinder, two inches and 



one third in diameter. Its weight does not exceed twelve 

 ounces, it is made of fleel not hardened, and is fixed on a 

 fmall handle fix inches long, which pafles through a fquare 

 hole in its center. 



4. A chiilel bevelled on both fides, feven or eight inches ChifleU 

 *ong, and two inches wide, of fleel not hardened ; it is kt on 



the block of wood which ferves as a work bench, out of which 



it rifes to the height of four or five inches. To thefe four in- 

 to , 



ftruments we may add a file, for the purpofe of reftoring the 

 edge of the chiffel from time to time. 

 The procefs ; 

 After felecting a good mafs of (ilex, the whole operation Manipulations, 

 may be divided into four manipulations. 



1 . To break the block. The workman being feated on the Break the block, 

 ground, places the flint on his left thigh, and ftrikes it gently 



with the larger hammer, Fig. 1 . to divide it into portions ac- 

 cording to its fize, that is to fay, of about a pound and a half 

 each, with broad furfaces nearly fiat. He is careful not to 

 crack or produce fhakes in the flint by flriking it too hard. 



2. To cleave the flint, or break it into fcales. The prin- Cleave or fcale 

 cipal operation of this art is to cleave the flint well : ^that is to the fli " t# 

 fay, to feparate from it pieces of the length, thicknefs, and 



figure, adapted to be afterwards fafhioned into gun-flints ; and 



in this part the greateft degree of addrefs, and certainty of 



manipulation are required. The flone has no particular di- No particular 



recYion in which it can be moil eafily broken. The courfe of f ra a ure . 



its fracture depends entirely upon the choice of the workman. 



In this procefs he holds a piece of flint in his left hand, not 



fupported, and ftrikes with the hammer, Fig. 2. on the broad 



faces produced by the firfi fracture, in fuch a manner as to 



chip off the white coating of the ftone in fmall fcales, and to 



lay bare the filex in the manner repreiented, Fig. 5. ; after 



which he continues to ftrike off other fimilar portions of the 



pure filex. Thefe pieces are nearly an inch and a half wide, 



two inches and a half long, and one fixth of an inch thick in 



the middle. 



They 



