THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
0
Rifles of Delicate Parts
Being Used by Oar Boys
CoprrHht 1918. by The International ;
Rifles were not put to any serious
... for mlHtry operations until the
!!a of the sixteenth century, although
Zt invention dates back nearly one
Sred year, previous, when they
re used for sporting purposes. The
ILntases of the weapon In point of
France and range were well known,
but for some reason they were not
nuarded as of much value by mill
M men until 1680, when the French
omlry were equipped with them.
Early m the seventeenth century they
were used by certain regiments of the
Danish and Bavarian troops. The dim
filty of forcing Hie tight fitting bullet
down into the barrel against the
pooves so retarded the loading opera
tion that rapid Are was out of the
qoentlon, and the old smooth bore
-.nckfif. whose bullet dropped Into
place easily was the favorite for the
ervlce.
Used in American Revolution
The final triumph of the rifle came
in the eighteenth century, when the
hunter found one type which was es
pecially accurate in Its range. During
the Revolutionary war It was used
with such success that Napoleon
armed some of his troops with it, but
after a time he gave it up as he con
sidered Its firing too slow and declared
that It was only fit for sport. After
the war of 1812 with the United States
the British authorities formed a rifle
brigade and armed It with a kind of
rifle carrying a spherical bullet, which
had to be driven in with a wooden
mallet. In this day of rapid fire guns
one can scarce'ly imagine a soldier
topping after every shot to hammer
In the bullet and carrying a mallet for
this purpose, yet certain troops of the
British army used this type for many
years. In 1836 the lsrunswick rifle,
a percussion rifle with a bore over
twice as large as the present weapon,
was nut into use, and for a time efforts
were made to overcome the difficulty
in loading. Finally the Minie ball,
such a favorite during our Civil war,
came into existence, being introduced
into the British army In 1851. But
this was not satisfactory and the in
ventors kept up their work until the
i J1 a
Ball
While they last we are giv
ing away absolutely FREE
official D. & M. Football
and Basketball Rules for
1918-19.
Ask the Hardware
Department
"ucnzcl G
Enfield rifle of England and the
Sprlnflfleld and Winchester rifles of
the United States came Into use.
United States Model 1917
From all of these was evolved the
famous "United States rifle model
1917," which Is now being used by
our boys over there and which Is be
ing turned out by the thousands In
this country today. It Is a modlled
Enfield, a British weapon altered to
fit American made 30 calibre car
tridges. Since the United States en
tered In the war more than two and
one-halt millions of rifles have been
turned out from our factories. Not all
of these were for us as some were
made for our allies, but all for the
same purpose to kill the Huns.
During the early part of the war
when England was In as much or a
state of unpreparedness as we were
on April 6, 1917, several IWtlsh agents
were sent to this country :o purchase
munitions. They brought with them
a single Enfield rifle a weapon known
at that time as an emergency rifle.
About 1.200 of these hn1 been hur
riedly made in England and the
agvnt-s were anxious to have a large
number of them made In this coun
try. England was hard pressed at that
time and the agents were willing to
pay big prices to anybody who would
take contracts. Many manufacturers
who were engaged In making shot
guns and sporting rifles enlarged
their factories and took the contracts
at once. Then the military men of our
country began to quietly look into the
qualities of the rifle and It was finally
decided upon for our army. At pres
ent more than 5,000 rifles, the best
ever carried by a soldier, are being
turned out each day by one plant
alone to say nothing of several oth
ers who are vying with this factory
in the work.
The rifle is a delicate machine and
as complex as a tiny watch, and while
much of it is turned out by machinery
Us making requires huidreds of skill
ed laborers.
Making The Rifle
Rifles are made of the highest grade
of nickel, steel and walnut, and like
the hogs that go into the big meat
packing places in Chicago at one end
of the plant and come out as sausages
at th other end. so this steel, nicKei
and walnut go through the big build
ings and are turned out at the other
end as rifles. The present war has
been so overpowering in the slaughter
of men, the destruction of property,
the number of weapons used, the man
ner in which they are rushed to the
front and the colossal cost, that the
average person gives no thought to the
extraordinary work required in malt
ing each weapon. From beginning to
end rifle making seems to be one long
series of measuring, testing and gaug
ing. What is known as the rifle "body"
ia made of steel and comes to the fac
tory in bars and rods. The principal
part of the rifle is the body the bar
rel and the receiver the mechanism
which receives the cartridge and
thrusts It into the barrel for firing.
Uncle Sam's official description of the
manufacture of this arm is perhaps
the most lucid to a layman. "The
body" component begins with a rough
forging of the steel which comes to
the machinists to be worked into
shape. Something like 225 to 230 dif
ferent operations are necessary to
perfect it and about 775 guages to
keep its dimensions within the stand
ard limits as the work goes on. A
barrel at the beginning is a piece of
steel about nine inches long and one
and three-quarter inches in diameter.
This is heated to a high temperature
and run through a circulth forge,
which. squeezes It out to a length of
thirty inches. The neated metal Is
then straightened and cooled before
it goes to the tools that machine out
the bore. The receiver is a similar
piece of metal, square Instead of round
and goes through a number of opera
tions and measurements, as In the
nt the barrel. One machine after
another is used, the first one makes a
long cut through the top of the steel
while another smooths off each side.
Various gaugings follow for the parts
must bo accurata to the one thous
andth part of an inch.
Must Be Perfect
After this part has been found to be
perfect, other cuts are taken, holes are
bored, grooves made and screw
threads turned out by machinery.
So A To G MEN
The Misfits of the "Issue"
are unavoidable
I And then again, the government's
"Issue" may not exactly suit you as
to quality.
i
In that event you will find our Sol
diers Requisits most complete, in
cluding Serge, O. D. and Khaki Uniforms
Stetson and Mallory Army Hats, Straps and
Cords
Regulation Army Shoes, Canvas, Cuff and Leather Puttees
Army Shirts, Sweaters, Hose, Belts, Gloves
Collar Devices, Cheverons, and Comfort Kits
i
I
Each one is so perfect that there must
not be a hair breadth difference from
the pattern of the rifle. They must
also be a minute given distance from
the other threads and holes. One of
the difficulties of rifle making lies in
the fact that if one man makes a
mistake all the work that has gone
before is useless ana tne rine uuuy
ruined. In manufacturing a barrrel
and receiver alone even the most tiny
hole is measured again and again, its
diameter its circumference and its re
lations to the other cuts and holes.
The limits of accuracy seem to the
laymen as infinitesimal.
Home of t he "Homestyle"
rlLLER'S
Prescription
HARR1ACY
N. S. CAFE
139 South Eleventh
BEST PLACE TO EAT
ORPHEUM CAFE
Spec
1418 O
ial Attention to University
Students
The tools used are cleverly contriv
ed instruments made so that the part
to be measured can be slipped into
them and a lever pulled or a screw
turned and the proper dimension
shown on the machine.
Millions of Measurements
It has been estimated that In mak
ing 4.000 rifles alone, nearly three
million measurements must be made
in the making of the barrels and re
ceivers, to say nothing of the work of
the men who are skilled In assembling
the weapons. . No machine has yet
been invented to straighten barrels,
this being done by hand power alone.
The central gauge room with its
curious looking machinery is most in
teresting to the visitor who at first
(Continued on page 4)
No matter what you say
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CARSON HILDRETH, 95 and '96