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**Mike Irwin** · July 17, 2017, 07:45 AM

"Singer (sewing machines) made aerospace components, up to including the moon missions & nuclear bomb triggers..."

And that has WHAT to do with brass drawing technology in the 1860s and 1870s?

NOT. THING. ONE.

Stick to the time frame in question.

And regarding your comments about "Bessemer Process" steel being made in the United States, as far as I can tell, any such innovation in Pennsylvania involving blowing air through the iron to make steel was of extremely limited impact, had almost 0 market presence, and puddling remained the dominant method of steel manufacture in the United States until the introduction of the ACTUAL Bessemer process AFTER the Civil War.

Air blowing to reduce carbon content in molten iron has been known since the 1100s, possibly even earlier, but the results it produced were never consistent, and the process never provided enough output to make steel useful for anything other than highly specialized items. What Bessemer did was make a process that was highly repeatable and precise.

In any event, I've reached out to a friend for some more information on the supposed use of steel barrels in Sharps Civil War era rifles. He should know, or he should be able to point me to someone who knows, considering that he's the senior curator at the NRA Firearms Museum.

July 17, 2017, 07:45 AM	#46
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	"Singer (sewing machines) made aerospace components, up to including the moon missions & nuclear bomb triggers..." And that has WHAT to do with brass drawing technology in the 1860s and 1870s? NOT. THING. ONE. Stick to the time frame in question. And regarding your comments about "Bessemer Process" steel being made in the United States, as far as I can tell, any such innovation in Pennsylvania involving blowing air through the iron to make steel was of extremely limited impact, had almost 0 market presence, and puddling remained the dominant method of steel manufacture in the United States until the introduction of the ACTUAL Bessemer process AFTER the Civil War. Air blowing to reduce carbon content in molten iron has been known since the 1100s, possibly even earlier, but the results it produced were never consistent, and the process never provided enough output to make steel useful for anything other than highly specialized items. What Bessemer did was make a process that was highly repeatable and precise. In any event, I've reached out to a friend for some more information on the supposed use of steel barrels in Sharps Civil War era rifles. He should know, or he should be able to point me to someone who knows, considering that he's the senior curator at the NRA Firearms Museum. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.