open sea

Chapter 77
The drilling machine consists of a four-foot-long wooden rod and a four-foot-long iron drill rod. A small piece of metal drill is hung on the drill rod, and the whole is placed on the ten-foot-long drilling machine.

There are four oblique dents evenly distributed on the thick round wooden rod, which looks like it has been precisely measured. It is stuck on the wooden card with the same convex mark in the middle of the drill press. Push the wooden rod through the wooden card. Its own shape rotates evenly, driving the drill bit on the iron drill rod to carve rifling on the inner wall of the fixed gun barrel.

Chen Mu was very surprised. With this thing, it is not surprising that the rifling has been drilled in half a day, but...he is very clear about the tools of his craftsmen. They have regular utensils such as rules, squares, and calipers, and charcoal pencils are also carried with them.

But can this drilling machine be made by craftsmen in this era?
If this drilling machine was made by Guan Yuangu, Chen Mu might not be so surprised. After all, the old craftsman has been immersed in this skill all his life. Although it is a bit strange, it is still within the acceptable range.

But Guan Zun's class is too young, Chen Mu can only sum up all this as his whimsy for a while.

"This dent is tangent, how did the second child do it?"

The old craftsman Guan Yuangu didn't know very well. After looking at it, he said in a daze, "Isn't this made with paper folded obliquely and lined on a wooden stick? I don't know, I have to ask my second son about it." .”

"Don't ask, let him recuperate." Chen Mu is now basically disappointed with the drilling of the rifling line. The effect is not that great, and it also affects the reloading speed. Why waste time, but he saw that this drilling machine has a new idea. , pointing to the wooden bed and asked: "Carpenter Guan, do you think it will be faster to replace the iron rod with a drill bit and fix the barrel to drill the bore?"

This was Chen Mu's first thought when he saw the drill press, and he drilled the rifling asshole. If you have this thing, you should use it to drill the bore!
An experienced craftsman like Guan Yuangu can drill out one gun barrel in one month. This efficiency is already very high, but manual work is difficult to achieve standardization. An excellent craftsman drills out twelve gun barrels a year. It is possible to form a rougher standard between the tubes.

However, ten excellent craftsmen drilled 120 gun barrels a year, and it is absolutely impossible to achieve standardization.

"Borehole?"

The old craftsman Guan Yuangu was stunned for a moment, he had been annoyed before, when Chen Mu said this, he stepped forward to push and pull the drilled wood and tried twice, the sad expression on his face gradually diminished, and he turned to move here, to play get there.

Interested.

Chen Mu waited for a while, only to see Guan Yuangu stand up contentedly, patted his chapped palm and said with a smile: "The second child really made a good thing, with this, ten days, at most ten days, can drill the gun barrel. Come out, even if it is polished, fifteen days are enough."

The efficiency can be improved, Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction, and then asked the question he cared about most, "Guan Jiang, if we use this, can we make all the gun barrels the same width, melt the same lead pellets, and put the same gunpowder?"

standardization.

"this is not OK."

The old man waved his hand directly, swayed the drill stick up and down with his hand and said: "The second one is rough, there is only one wooden card, and the wooden stick is not stable. If it swings up and down and drills on the gun, there is a difference of two or three points."

But after finishing speaking, Guan Yuangu looked up and saw the disappointment in Chen Mu's eyes, and hurriedly said: "However, if I let the old man process it for two more days, I should be able to make a gun bed within one point. Please see the general flag, the wooden card is replaced by iron Then add an iron clip on the front drill rod, and fix the two places so that it will not shake up and down; cast an iron mold at the place where the gun tube is placed, and follow the new gun tube shape set by the general flag. The front is narrow and the back is thick. Hexagonal fixed."

Guan Yuangu became more and more excited as he spoke, regardless of whether Chen Mu could understand or not, he kept expressing the wonderful ideas that belonged to the craftsman in his heart one after another. After he finished speaking, he realized himself, and said cautiously and apologetically: "Don't be offended by the general flag, As the little old man grows older, he will talk more."

"It's okay, Mr. Chen probably understands what you mean. The outer wall of the gun barrel is in the shape of six edges, which is easier to fix in the iron mold, but this way the iron will cost a little more. Carpenter Guan calculates how much iron a gun barrel will use. ?”

"Fifteen catties of iron and five catties of wood, you can't use iron from Qingyuan, you can't use yellow iron from Qingyuan, and you can't make a barrel. White iron can barely try, but you have to use charcoal to burn it again. Coal cakes are not good, and it costs more. It’s better to buy Fujian wool iron directly, and when you bring it back, the little old man can play guns.”

"Twenty catties!"

Chen Mu was surprised, didn't he say that forty catties would be broken into eight catties?Could it be that what I heard from Bai Yuanjie was wrong?Chen Mu asked: "Fifteen catties of iron, can it be made well?"

"It's enough, the little old man even has a margin. But in this way, although it is not easy to explode and durable, the gun will weigh two or three catties." Guan Yuangu said to Chen Mu: "What do you think the general flag will choose? "

This is really a big question of trade-offs. The objects on the blunderbuss player are not light at all. It is already inconvenient to carry a blunderbuss of seven or eight catties. Now the blunderbuss weighs three catties, although it is safer, but it is also extremely heavy. The earth tests the gunslinger's physical strength.

"If the gun barrel is a foot shorter, how about it?"

The bird guns of this era are all four feet long, but it is difficult to form a standard for the repair of the gun tubes. Some guns can be fired farther, and some can be shot closer, but generally speaking, fifty or sixty steps can hurt an unarmored enemy. Compared to that, the maximum range of two hundred paces does not seem to matter much.

"Short by one foot, well, Zongqi, this little old man can't say for sure."

Guan Yuangu seemed to be worried that Chen Mu would not be happy with the finished product, and said: "If the general orders, the little old man will make a three-foot gun with a six-point eye. If it is feasible, it will be customized, how about it?"

Chen Mu nodded, and then simply took charcoal pencils and wood chips from the blacksmith workshop, drew the shape he wanted, and said, "Make a three-foot short gun and try to ignite gunpowder with flint, but this one doesn't work." If you can’t get it out for a year or so, it’s useless if you get it out and you won’t get angry, remember this matter, old man, don’t forget to think about it!”

Chen Mu, who is used to matchlock guns, can understand the principle of the flintlock gun, but if he really wants to do it, the biggest difficulty is to ensure a strong and durable spring.

Although this is only a small problem, it is not easy to solve and has become a pass.

Handing the wood chips to Guan Yuangu, Chen Mu stood up, raised his head but remembered again, and asked, "I asked you to recruit some more craftsmen, did you find them?"

"Rice will be harvested in October, and their banner officials will not let anyone go. They have to wait until the busy farming season is over." Guan Yuangu raised three fingers and said, "The three craftsmen are all about thirteen or four. , when they come over, by the beginning of spring next year, as long as Tie can keep up, at least ten good guns will be shot for the general flag!"

"Wait until they come over. Mr. Chen has something new for you to try when they come here. Don't forget to engrave the name of the gunsmith on each gun."

Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction. He added ten new and more reliable bird guns in winter, which basically met his expectations. Doctor Cheng is here, Chen will come to see the second child again."

　Ah, sorry friends, I just woke up after a long sleep today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)