Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Philip · 11th August 2010, 07:37 AM

Screw-in breechplugs are not the norm on many Oriental barrels. Usually, the plug is installed as you suggested: it's a shrink-fit, and occasionally a cross-pin is driven through a hole on one side to be sure it stays put. Of course, removing a plug of this type is something you don't even want to think about. I've wondered why the threaded plugs which are almost universal in the West were never popular in many regions. My research indicates that in most of the Far East and SE Asia, the screw is a foreign concept. Although the Chinese, Tibetans, and Sumatrans made twist-forged gun barrels, the use of spiral-thread fasteners was introduced from abroad. Even when they had imported products as models, the Japanese and Malays simply abhorred the thought of cutting threads so as a consequence, their gun locks are all assembled with mortises and pins, and thus are typically made of brass which is easy to work. Even in the Near East, which knew the Archimedian screw from antiquity, threaded breechplugs were not universal and it's remarkable to note that even on the better Turkish and Persian gun locks, the quality of thread-cutting leaves a lot to be desired, at least by French and English standards from the 17th cent. onward.

It's interesting to note that many barrels from Asia also lack the tang attached to the plug, which on Western guns also has a hole which houses a vertical screw that pins the breech end of the barrel firmly in its channel. Traditionally, many Oriental barrels have a small square tenon emerging from the breechplug which fits in a corresponding mortise in the rear of the barrel channel in the stock. The marked taper of the barrel, and the tightness of the capucines (or, cross-pins through the fore-end in the Japanese design), keep the barrel from sliding forward in the channel. In many cases, there isn't even a tenon since the projecting priming-pan serves quite well to lock the breech firmly to the stock. In cultures whose traditional technology was heavily influenced by Europe (Ottoman Empire, parts of India, and Vietnam), tanged breechplugs do appear from the 18th cent. onwards.

11th August 2010, 07:37 AM	#10
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	breechplugs Screw-in breechplugs are not the norm on many Oriental barrels. Usually, the plug is installed as you suggested: it's a shrink-fit, and occasionally a cross-pin is driven through a hole on one side to be sure it stays put. Of course, removing a plug of this type is something you don't even want to think about. I've wondered why the threaded plugs which are almost universal in the West were never popular in many regions. My research indicates that in most of the Far East and SE Asia, the screw is a foreign concept. Although the Chinese, Tibetans, and Sumatrans made twist-forged gun barrels, the use of spiral-thread fasteners was introduced from abroad. Even when they had imported products as models, the Japanese and Malays simply abhorred the thought of cutting threads so as a consequence, their gun locks are all assembled with mortises and pins, and thus are typically made of brass which is easy to work. Even in the Near East, which knew the Archimedian screw from antiquity, threaded breechplugs were not universal and it's remarkable to note that even on the better Turkish and Persian gun locks, the quality of thread-cutting leaves a lot to be desired, at least by French and English standards from the 17th cent. onward. It's interesting to note that many barrels from Asia also lack the tang attached to the plug, which on Western guns also has a hole which houses a vertical screw that pins the breech end of the barrel firmly in its channel. Traditionally, many Oriental barrels have a small square tenon emerging from the breechplug which fits in a corresponding mortise in the rear of the barrel channel in the stock. The marked taper of the barrel, and the tightness of the capucines (or, cross-pins through the fore-end in the Japanese design), keep the barrel from sliding forward in the channel. In many cases, there isn't even a tenon since the projecting priming-pan serves quite well to lock the breech firmly to the stock. In cultures whose traditional technology was heavily influenced by Europe (Ottoman Empire, parts of India, and Vietnam), tanged breechplugs do appear from the 18th cent. onwards. Last edited by Philip; 11th August 2010 at 07:58 AM.