Also known as: finishing shells.
| Operations | Turning to size, boring and threading the fuze hole, fitting sabots |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Uniform, true projectiles that fit the bore |
Finishing the projectile
A rough casting was not yet a serviceable projectile. Shells and rifled projectiles were machined to bring them to true size and shape: turned on a lathe, their fuze holes bored and threaded to take a plug or fuze, and their sabots or bands fitted or trued.
This finishing made the projectiles uniform enough to fit the bore properly and to fly true, an important step as the demands of rifled artillery grew.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- CivilWarArtillery.com research archive: manuals, reports, and manufacturing references.
- Benton, James G. A Course of Instruction in Ordnance and Gunnery. 2nd ed. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1862.