GUN BARRELS. 17 



Damascus and wire twist are now made by " piling " 

 plates of iron and steel alternately. The plates are about 

 three inches broad and a quarter of an inch thick. From 

 sixteen to twenty are piled on top of each other; they are 

 then placed in a furnace and raised to a welding heat, 

 drawn down under a forge hammer, and rolled into square 

 rods, 3-8, 7-16, 1-2 and 9-i6-inch, according to the size of 

 the barrels required. The wire twist is rolled so as to show 

 the edges of the different plates on the flat of the strip, so 

 that when it is welded together it looks like a coil of wire 

 from one end of the barrel to the other. The Damascus is 

 rolled into square rods; these are cut into suitable lengths, 

 heated white hot, and twisted until they become round like 

 a screw. Two or three of these are welded together, and 

 then rolled down to rods of the size required. These are 

 then coiled round a mandrel and welded in the usual way. 



There is another iron, called silver steel. It was first 

 made about forty years ago, I believe, by Mr. Whitehouse, 

 of Wednesbury, by laminating Swedish iron and steel, like 

 Damascus, but not with so many layers. It is very good. 

 The figure is not much better than the iron that is 

 now called single iron Damascus, but it was a very 

 strong iron. The silver steel that is now made is rolled into 

 a square of 7-16 inch, and worked like Damascus. Two 

 rods are welded together and rolled down to the size re- 

 quired, and welded in the same way as other twisted bar- 

 rels. This iron is now made both at Adams' and J. Clive's. 

 There is not so much used as formerly. 



About forty-five years ago J. Clive began to make iron 

 for gun barrels, and the best iron is now made by Mr. G. 

 Adams and J. Clive, who may be said to be indeed the 

 only makers of "best twist " gun iron. The iron now in 

 use is of six qualities 1st, skelp twist, price 2d. per Ib. ; 

 2d, iron twist, 3d. per Ib. ; 3d, fourpenny stub, 4d. per Ib. ; 



