I've been doing some calculations on how long it would take to weld a twist damascus barrel. I've based my calculations on the barrel being made in the 1924 video. The process thus being timed is for a barrel in a 3 iron crolle pattern.
Mentioned earlier in this post was Lemoine's statement about barrels undergoing 300 heats. Examining the statement closely, I believe the 300 heats mentioned was actually for two barrels; 150 heats for each tube. Based on my recent calculations, 150 heats per tube may be slightly on the high end. Unless perhaps, Lemoine was also counting all of the heats required to process the damascus rod stock into a barrel.
Numerical calculations suggest that a 36 inch riband coil could be welded into a solid tube in about 50 heats; IF everything went perfectly. I think a fair estimate of the actual number of heats is closer to 100. This figure falls between the calculated minimum and the 150 heats given by Lemoine. So 100, is the number of heats that I used for the time estimates.
My calculations are based on all of the work going perfectly. The smith/smiths are at their best and working efficiently (not too many beers the night before). The forge fire is absolutely perfect and heating the metal in the shortest possible amount of time. Seldom do all of these things come together at once..
I've started the calculations at the twisting of the damascus rods. Six rods would be required. The six rods would be welded into two ribands. The two ribands wound on a mandrel and scarf welded together near the center of the spiral coil. The coil then welded into a solid barrel tube.
Total time required to go from damascus rod stock to welded barrel tube; 11 1/2 hours.
Note that as there were two, or more, smiths working on a barrel at the same time, this equates to a total of 23 man hours.
I've got my calculations hand written on several pages of note pad. I can supply the breakdown of individual times, if anyone wishes to see them.
These estimates are ONLY the actual amount of time that the material would be in the forge, or on the anvil. There is no time included for building the forge fire and the necessary maintenance of the fire during the entire forging process. No time is allowed for the smiths to take breaks/lunch. Also not included is the time for the oft mentioned cold hammering of the barrel tube to improve the metal. I expect the cold hammering process to take at least one hour per tube.
This lock will be used on the project that I am building, to include the damascus barrel mentioned earlier in this thread.
This lock is totally my design and is the first flint lock that I have ever built. All of the pivot points and geometry are based on my calculations. All of the major parts of this lock are made of damascus steel. After spending so much time making this lock out of damascus, it was a real relief to have it function perfectly on the first test.
I'll post pictures of the lock when finished, as well as updates on the project build.
This is great stuff! Steve - thanks for posting your work, and thanks to the other lights in the thread for so much valuable and interesting commentary.
I wanted to add this information to this thread, to show where the damascus barrel that I made wound up. It was utilized in this combination weapon. This style of weapon is often called a "Cut-N-Shoot", in the custom knife circles. This project took about six months to complete. I fired it for the first time on April 22, 2013. Below are some photos that I took in my studio and a video of the first two shots fired from the completed piece. I will soon have professional photos taken of it.
This is the first combination weapon that I have built. The completed piece was test fired on April 22, 2013. Except for the top jaw screw, all of the damascus parts are made of 1084 and 15N20 steel. The top jaw screw is 1084 and 1018 steel.
The barrel is 3 1/2 inches long, in .50 caliber. It is a spiral welded barrel in the damascus pattern, two iron Crolle. The breech plug is also damascus steel, with ladder pattern in the tang.
The flint-lock mechanism was designed and built by me. All of the exterior lock parts are made of damascus steel. The lock plate damascus pattern, matches the damascus pattern used in the knife blade. The only parts of this lock that are not damascus are the tumbler, sear, bridle, main spring, sear spring and internal screws.
The 12 inch long blade is in the Woodhead pattern. In this style of blade, the spine slopes downward towards the point. This provides for the blade to be out of view when aiming the pistol, so that it is not a distraction. The blade's tang is sculptured to resemble the lock mortise on the opposite side of the pistol stock. The lower portion of the tang lies flush with the surface of the pistol grip. The blade damascus is w-pattern, that has been pressed with West Texas Wind dies.
The pistol stock is made from fiddle-back maple. It is styled after French dueling and target pistol stocks of the late 1800s. The fluting on the grip is reminiscent of decorations commonly found on French pistols of this era.
The damascus steel ramrod screws into the ladder pattern damascus butt cap and stores in the grip of the pistol stock.
The trigger guard is in ladder pattern damascus. It was forged to shape and hand sculptured to its final form. The trigger and trigger plate are also damascus steel.
Each of the screws used on the exterior of the piece have been engraved with a flower design.
The overall length of this piece is 17 1/4 inches. The overall height is 6 3/8 inches, from the top of the cock to the bottom of the pistol grip.
Below is a link to a video of the first two shots fired from the finished piece. The load was 26 grains of FFF black powder. .490 round ball with a .015" patch. FFF powder was also used in the flash pan.
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