Cleaning My Weapon

[Charles Heath]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

At the armory, the "bright" iron/steel metal parts (versus blackened, heat blued, or color case hardened) were polished to a "sheen" by metal-on-metal burnishing.

The "metal-on-metal" mention reminds me of the CS admonitions to NOT use the rammers to burnish the barrels.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

At the armory, the "bright" iron/steel metal parts ... were polished to a "sheen" by metal-on-metal burnishing.

Curt,

This is the first I have heard of "metal-on-metal" abrasion to burnish metal. I presume we are not talking about files here... how was this done?

Interesting Stuff! Thanks!!

John

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

Hallo!

I will have to let a metal worker answer for me, but in brief and to over-generalize...

"Polishing" metal involves a "scratching" or cutting device such as a file, or abrasive device such as emory ot sandpaper, or some abrasive material such as brick dust, pumice, or rottenstone, etc.,etc.
Polishing works two basic ways. It removes material above the surface plane. And, it replaces larger gouges and scratches with progressively shallower and fine ones until the human eye can no longer perceive them and the light that is refelcted appears as a sheen or shine.

"Burnishing" does two things. First it peens down high spots and renders the surface "bright" by increasing ligth reflectivity which makes the surface look bright. Plus it hardens the surface of steel or iron.

I have been researching actual CW era arms production methods for years with not much success, IMHO.

Off the top of my head, I think the barrel burnishing machine from Springfield Armory has survived and is on static display at the museum there. I seem to remember having a picture of it, but cannot readily find it, and suspect; 1. I didn't have one, or 2. It was killed in a virus attack that ate up 60-70% of my reference images a couple of years back DESPITE some really impressive anti-virus protection software.

But, there are some period lithographs of the barrel roller burnishing machine in some books on period muskets. It was a powered, belt driven device, with a series of vertical steel rods that burnished barrels under pressure.

Because a rifle or rifle-musket barrel was typically mild "steel," as compared to the iron/mild steel of other gun furniture, when burnished it took on a different "sheen" than the other parts...

Again, I will let metal workers do a better job!

Sorry,

Curt

[Craig L Barry]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

The appearance of the barrel finish on the US 1861 rifle-muskets pictured in post # 6 do a great job showing what I was (clumsily) trying to say in posts # 3 and # 5 about the national armory bright finish. That picture looks like the so-called "Organ of Muskets" consisting of 645 pristine US 1861s on display at Springfield Armory.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

That picture looks like the so-called "Organ of Muskets" consisting of 645 pristine US 1861s on display at Springfield Armory.

Craig,

You are correct! I had the pleasure of visiting SA NHS in August during a business trip to Boston. My advice to anyone reading this:
If you get a chance to visit Springfield Armory, DO IT!!!:nerd:

[GrumpyDave]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

From Butterfields "Camp and Outpost:"

Excerpts from the Revised Army regulations.

105. ...Bright barrels will be kept clean and free from rust without polishing them; care should be taken in rubbing not to bruse or bend the barrel...

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

Hallo!

From the U.S. Ordnance Manual, Third Edition, 1862, "Cleaning of Arms," page 203:

"In cleaning the arms, great care should be observed to preserve the qualities essential to service, rather than to obtain a bright polish.
Burnishing the barrel (or other parts) should be strictly avoided, as it tends to crook the barrel, and also to destroy the uniformity of the exterior finish of the arms."

I seem to have to misplaced by Confederate version, but they echo the same...

Curt

[PvtWill]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

The Confederate ORDINANCE MANUAL 1863,

"In the inspection of arms, officers should attend to the qualities essential to service, rather than a bright polish on the exterior of the arms."

Also includes a VERY thorough description on dismantling and cleaning of arms by the individual soldier and or squad of ten.

Regards,

M Williams

[Bill]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

Guys,

Sometimes, I think we over analyze things. The answer to this question is actually pretty simple, how bright does our sergeant want our weapons to be? What I'm saying is the answer changes from time to time and from unit to unit.

It's pretty clear that it was against regulations to burnish musket barrels, but if it would keep you off the Sergeant's sh*t list, I'll bet barrels got burnished.

I've said this before, but some things in the military never change. Private Tentpeg doesn't care what they are saying in Washington or Richmond, as long as the person he reports to is happy.

In regard to those weapons at the Springfield Armory. Polished metal will dull with time. There's really no way to know if they look the same today as they did 140 years ago.

Sutlers sold rotten stone that would polish a rifle barrel as bright as anything on the market today. Somebody was buying the stuff.

[65thgainf]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

I had thought the same thing. Any item that old, will have a patina on it.

In regard to those weapons at the Springfield Armory. Polished metal will dull with time. There's really no way to know if they look the same today as they did 140 years ago.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

In regard to those weapons at the Springfield Armory. Polished metal will dull with time. There's really no way to know if they look the same today as they did 140 years ago.

Have you ever SEEN those weapons at SA? I have. And, let me tell you, if those suckers have dulled with time, then they must have been shiny as the bumper on a perfectly restored '57 Cadillac!! :wink_smil Metal doesn't dull just sitting there. It has to be exposed to something in order to dull, whether that be use, elements, or poor storage conditions.

I think there are two issues being discussed here simultaneously and interchangeably (sp?):
1) How bright were they when new?
2) How bright were they while maintained and in active use?

On Number 1: I would submit that the various weapons on display at SANHS are as good an answer as you are likely to get in this or any other lifetime.

That's my two cents. Now, I'm gonna go polish my musket! :tounge_sm

[Bill]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

John,

I'm one of those folks who polish my weapons to a high shine. I store them in a rack in a closet. It's amazing how they dull down over the course of a winter, while sitting in that dark closet. The only thing they are exposed to is air and some minor changes in humidity.

My point was pretty simple. Clean and polish your rifle to suit yourself and you will most likely be pretty much period correct. Or better yet, if you have a good sergeant in your unit, make sure your weapon passes his inspection.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

Hallo!

Yes, iron (steel) begins to take on "patina" simply because it is exposed to oxygen and water in the air. It dulls. It blackens. It browns.

I would add this though. That that is not an even process, or constant, or universal. Meaning the individual "environment" as well as the "maintenance" of the piece in the form of storage, conditions (say a wet basement versus a dry attic) and particularly maintenance oilings or greasings over time will retard, promote, or accelerating iron turning to a pile of iron oxide dust.

If one examines a decently "large" sample of "mint or minty" originals, from a decent number of sources, and the "state of shine" is the same- it might can be inferred that there is a similarity to the comon condition.

But at the same time, "who did what, when, and in in what way, over time" to our surviving pool of artifacts is impossible to qualify or quantify. But when there are features shared in common...

Others' mileage will vary...

Curt
Proud Member of the Inferences, Educated Guesses, and Assumptions Rifles

[Bill]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

Curt,

You are dead right. Any weapon, unless it's stored in an airtight case, is going to require maintenance. Does anyone know how they maintain the weapons at the Springfield Armory? Do we even know if these weapons never left the Armory, or if they were collected at a later date?

There is one constant in almost all cleaning/polishing procedures. You are removing metal from whatever you are cleaning or polishing. It doesn't matter if you are using a ramrod to burnish a rifle barrel or wood ash to clean it, both are removing, at least, some metal. I think we've all seen rifles that look to be in mint condition where the date on the barrel's breach is weak. Is that because it was lightly struck, or the weapon has been cleaned a lot?

How do I join your unit? Inferences, Educated Guesses, and Assumptions seem to be my stock in trade.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: How Bright Should "Bright Work" Be On A Rifle

Hallo!

Herr Bill...

"Inferences, Educated Guesses, and Assumptions seem to be my stock in trade."
In the end, any and all researcher's for that matter.
Just part of the weird combination of the Scientific Method and the Imperfect Past we must live with.
;) :) :)

Curt