There are about six grades, say Nos. 00, 0, 1, 1½, 2 and 3, which may be selected. To use on plain surfaces cut the sheet up in small, convenient pieces, fold a piece around a file and use as if using the file. In using a finer number, be careful to remove all the marks left by using the previous number. If moistened with oil, a fine, soft-appearing, dead finish is obtained. To use in a lathe, run the work with fast speed and hold the cloth to place with the hand, or put it around a file and so hold it. After the pieces are somewhat worn, they can be used to finish with.
In selecting by the numbers remember that 00 is the finest, and is called flour of emery cloth, or paper; 0 is a little coarser, and then follow the different grades in numerical order.
Uses of the Alcoholic Lamp. How to make Small Springs.—An alcohol lamp is almost indispensable to the jobbing gunsmith. Suppose a small bent spring is to be made, a little trigger spring, for instance, such as is used in many kinds of revolvers, it can be easily formed in this manner: Take a bit of old watch-spring, heat it in the lamp until it is blue, then, with the snips or hand-shears, divide it lengthwise to the necessary width; heat in the flame of the lamp, and, with a pair of pliers, bend to the required shape. It is not always necessary to temper these springs, but if it be necessary to do so, heat until red in lamp, using a blow-pipe if the heat be insufficient, harden in oil, and then draw the temper to suit. The whole operation can be done without moving from the bench, and much quicker, and certainly better, than could be done at the forge.
How to make Small Drills.—Then, again, to make small drills of steel wire, use the lamp for heating and tempering. If a small drill be broken, draw the temper in the lamp preparatory to forming it anew. Drills of larger size may be hardened in the forge fire, brightened by grinding or rubbing on a piece of fine emery cloth, and the temper readily drawn in the lamp. The same process may be applied to tempering small screw taps. Small screws can be readily blued in the same manner.
Advantages of the Alcohol Lamp.—The lamp has this advantage over the forge-fire; it draws the temper very evenly, and the temper color can be readily seen, as the flame of alcohol makes no smoke to obscure it. Even for small tempering, when once employed, no gunsmith will think of discontinuing its use.
The Soldering Copper.—The soldering copper for the use of the gunsmith should be about one and a half pounds in weight. The length of the copper should be about four or five inches, of octagon form, with a square pyramidal shaped point. It is fixed to an iron rod about eight inches long, on the end of which is a wooden handle.
How to Heat the Copper.—When heating the copper for use, the best way to ascertain the proper heat is to hold it near the face, and if a bright warm glow is felt, it is hot enough for use. If heated too hot the tinning will be burned off, and it will not work satisfactorily. To replace the tinning, heat it warm enough to just melt the solder, and file the surface to be tinned bright and smooth, then place a little solder and a bit of resin on a piece of sheet-tin, and in this rub the heated copper until the brightened surface has received a coating of the solder, the resin acting as a flux during the operation.
How to Tin the Copper.—Another method to tin a copper is to put the solder and the resin on a brick, heat the copper and rub until it receives the tin coating. The common soldering acid may be used instead of the resin for a flux. During the operation the point of the copper may be dipped in the acid to facilitate the tinning. It will be found that a too free use of the acid, if used as a flux, for general work, will soon destroy the point of the copper. When this is the case file off the roughness and heat the copper quite warm, and draw it out to shape on the anvil, the same as if working a piece of iron. When so shaped, file smooth and re-tin as directed.
To Prevent Gun Barrels from Glimmering.—It sometimes happens that gun-barrels are disposed to throw off a kind of glimmer without any apparent cause, thus seriously interfering with the hunter or sportsman in getting a correct sight. Of course, the gunsmith would remedy the evil by browning the barrel, but the sportsman in the woods could not do this. Had his friend, the gunsmith, known that such a thing was going to happen he would have told him to get a green hazel-nut pod, crush it, and rub the juice over the barrel, which would produce a beautiful non-glimmering brown. If a green hazel-nut pod could not be had, a green wild plum or a green wild crab-apple or a bunch of green wild grapes would answer the same purpose reasonably well. In the absence of these an unripe black-walnut crushed and rubbed over the barrel would stop the glimmering; and early in spring, when no kind of fruits had yet appeared, a young sprout of wild grape-vine crushed and rubbed over the barrel would make a very good substitute. These were the means resorted to by the “hunters of Kentucky” in the long-gone days of backwoods life, when “Old Kentuck” was young.
Repairing Shot-Chargers.—Very often the stud that holds the lever of a shot-charger will become loose or be forced from its position. The best method to repair it is to remove the lever with its spring and the cutters, put the stud back in place, wet the joint on the inside the charger with soldering acid, and, holding it with the stud downwards, put a bit of soft solder upon the joint, and hold it over an alcohol lamp until the solder melts. If well done it will “stay put.”