Rules for Dismounting the Rifle Musket,

  MODEL OF 1855.

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1st. Unfix the bayonet (19).

2d. Put the tompion (55) into the muzzle of the barrel.

3d. Draw the ramrod (6).

4th. Turn out the tang-screw (5).

5th. Take off the lock (21): to do this, first put the hammer at half-cock, then unscrew partially the side-screws (26 a, be), and, with a slight tap on the head of each screw with a wooden instrument, loosen the lock from its bed in the stock; then turn out the side-screws, and remove the lock with the left hand.

6th. Remove the side-screws (26 a, 6), taking care not to disturb the washers (49).

7th. Take off the upper band (43).

8th. Take off the middle band (44).

9th. Take off the lower band (45).

Note.- The letter U, on bands, is to indicate the upper side in assembling.

10th. Take out the barrel (1). In doing this, turn the musket horizontally, with the barrel downward , holding the barrel loosely with the left hand below the rear sight (7), the right hand grasping the stock by the handle; and if it does not leave the stock, tap the tompion in the muzzle gently against the ground or floor, which will loosen the breech end from the stock. This is preferable to lifting the barrel out by the muzzle, because if the tang of the breech-screw (2) should bind in the wood, the head of the stock (36 c) would be liable to be split by raising the muzzle first.

The foregoing parts of the rifle musket are all that should usually be taken off or dismounted.

The soldier should never dismount the band‑springs, guard, side-screw washers, butt-plate, rear-sight, cone, and cone-seat screw, except when an officer considers it necessary. The breech-screw should be taken out only by an armorer, and never in ordinary cleaning. The lock should not be taken apart, nor the bayonet-clasp taken off, except when absolutely necessary in the opinion of an officer. If proper and regular care be taken of the arm, this will be very seldom necessary

The musket being thus taken to pieces, as far as it should ever be done by the soldier under ordinary circumstances, proceed.

TO CLEAN THE BARREL.

1st. Stop the hole in the cone (3, e) with a peg of soft wood; pour a gill of water (warm, if it can be had) into the muzzle; let it stand a short time, to soften the deposit of the powder; put a plug of soft wood into the muzzle, and shake the water up and down the barrel well; pour this out and repeat the washing until the water comes out clear; take out the peg from the cone, and stand the barrel, muzzle downwards, to drain, for a few moments.

2d. Screw the wiper (50, c) on to the end of the ramrod (6, e), and put a piece of dry cloth, or tow, round it, sufficient to prevent it from chafing the grooves of the barrel; wipe the barrel quite dry, changing or drying the cloth two or three times.

3d. Put no oil into the vent (3, e), as it will clog the passage, and cause the first primer to miss fire; but, with a slightly oiled rag on the wiper, rub the bore of the barrel, and the face of the breech-screw (2, e), and immediately insert the tompion (55) into the muzzle.

4th. To clean the exterior of the barrel, lay it flat on a bench, or board, to avoid bending it. The practice of supporting the barrel at each end and rubbing it with a strap or buff-stick, or with the ramrod, or any other instrument, to burnish it, is pernicious, and should be strictly forbidden.

5th. After firing, the barrel should always be washed as soon as practicable; when the water comes off clear, wipe the barrel dry, and pass into it a rag moistened with oil.

Fine flour of emery-cloth is the best article to clean the exterior of the barrel.

TO CLEAN THE LOCK.

Wipe every part with a moist rag, and then a dry one; if any part of the interior shows rust, put a drop of oil on the point or end of a piece of soft wood dipped into flour of emery; rub out the rust clean and wipe the surface dry; then rub every part with a slightly oiled rag.

TO CLEAN THE MOUNTINGS.

For the mountings, and all of the iron and steel parts, use fine flour of emery moistened with oil, or flour of emery-cloth.

For brass, use rotten-stone moistened with vinegar, or water, and keep free from oil or grease. Use a hard brush, or a piece of soft pine, cedar, or crocus-cloth.

Remove dirt from the screw-holes by screwing a piece of soft wood into them.

Wipe clean with a linen rag, and leave the parts slightly oiled.

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 arm.

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It is not essential for the musket to be dismounted every time that it is cleaned; for, after firing it in fine weather, or when there has been no chance for the wet to get between the barrel and the stock, it can be perfectly cleaned in the following manner.

Put a piece of rag or soft leather on the top of the cone, and let the hammer down upon it; pour a gill of water into the muzzle carefully, so that it does not run down the outside; put a plug of wood into the muzzle, and shake the gun up and down, changing the water repeatedly until it conics out clear. When clear, withdraw the leather, and stand the musket on the muzzle a few moments; then wipe out the barrel (as given in the second rule for cleaning), and also wipe the exterior of the lock and the outside of the barrel around the. cone and cone-seat, first with a damp rag, and then with a dry one, and lastly with a rag that has been slightly oiled. In this way, all the dirt due to the firing may be removed without taking out a screw.

If, however, the hammer is observed to work. stiff, or to grate upon the tumbler, the lock must immediately be taken off and the parts cleaned and touched with oil.

TO RE-ASSEMBLE THE MUSKET.

The parts of the musket are put together in the inverse order of taking them apart, viz. :

1st. The barrel. Drop the barrel into its place in the stock, and squeeze it down with the hand; give the butt of the stock a gentle tap against the floor to settle the breech end of the barrel against the bead of the stock (36, c).

2d. Put on the lower band with the letter U upward, being careful not to mar the stock, or barrel, in sliding it into it, place; apply the thumb to the band-spring to see that it plays freely.

3d. Put on the middle, and,

4th. The upper band, in the same manner.

5th. The lock. 1st, half-cock the hammer; take the lock in the right hand, with the main spring and sear toward you, holding the stock with the left hand by the swell, with the butt between the knees. Enter the lock fairly into the lockbed, taking care to keep the arm of the sear clear of the trigger; press the plate well down into the wood, and then turn the musket over, holding the lock and stock together with the left band.

6th. With the right hand, turn in the side-screws, after having touched their screw-threads with oil. Observe that the point of the rear-screw is flat, and should not project beyond the plate, to interfere with the hammer. The front screw has a round point.

7th. Turn in the tang-screw, after having oiled the screwthread. Be careful to see that each of these screws are turned firmly home, but not forced. Observe that the lock plays freely, without friction, and that no limb is bound by the wood.

8th. Return the ramrod.

9th. Refix the bayonet, after having oiled the clasp and socket to prevent chafing.

10th. Replace the tompion. Oil the stock well with sperm or linseed oil; let it stand a few hours, and then rub it with a woollen rag until the wood is perfectly dry. Repeat this from time to time, and it will produce a polish which moisture will not affect.

Linseed oil is the best for this purpose, and it should be used while the arm is dismounted.

RULES FOR THE MORE COMPLETE DISMOUNTING OF THE

RIFLE MUSKET, WHEN CLEANED BY AN ARMORER.

1st. The parts which are specially assigned to be dismounted by an experienced armorer will be stated in their regular order following No. 10, viz. :

11th. Unscrew the cone, keeping the wrench well down on the square of the cone, to prevent the corners from being injured.

12th. Take out the cone-seat screw (4).

13th. Take out the upper, middle, and lower band-springs (46, 47, 48), using a wire punch of proper size.

14th. Take out the guard-screws (42).

Note.--The guard, butt-plate, and side-screw heads have concave slits, for which the screw-driver is adapted: this lessens the danger of the stock being marred by accident or carelessness in letting the screw-driver slip out, while in the act of turning the screw: great care should be observed to prevent injury in this particular.

15th. Take out the guard, using care to prevent injuring the wood at each end of the guard-plate (39).

16th. Take out the side-screw washers (49) with a drift punch.

17th. Take out the butt-plate screws (37) with the largest blade of the screw-driver, and remove the butt-plate (37).

18th. Remove the rear sight (7), by turning out the leafspring screw (12), which will release the sight from the barrel.

19th. Turn out the breech-screw (2), by means of a “breech-screw wrench" suited to the tenon (b) of the breechscrew (2 ). No other wrench should ever be used for this purpose, and the barrel should be held in clamps fitting neatly the breech (1, a).

In re-assembling the parts, the armorer is to observe the inverse order of taking them apart, viz. :

1st. Breech-screw to be screwed into the barrel after being oiled;

2d. Rear-sight to be affixed;

3d. Butt-plate and screws

4th. Side-screw washers;

5th. Guard;

6th. Guard-screws;

7th. Lower, middle, and upper band-springs;

8th. Cone-seat screw;

9th. Cone.

The remaining parts follow as given for the soldier, commencing with the barrel (see page 24).

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ORDER IN WHICH THE LOCK IS TAKEN APART.

1st. Cock the piece, and put the spring vice (53) on the mainspring; give the thumb‑screw a turn sufficient to liberate the spring from the swivel (27) and mainspring notch (22, c). Remove the spring;

2d. The sear-spring screw.

Before turning this screw entirely out, strike the elbow of the spring with the screw‑driver, so as to disengage the pivot from its mortise: then remove the screw and spring;

3d. The sear-screw and sear ;

4th. The bridle-screw and bridle

5th. The tumbler-screw;

6th. The tumbler. This is driven out with a punch inserted in the screw‑hole, which at the same time liberates the hammer.

7th. Detach the mainspring swivel from the tumbler with a drift punch.

8th. Take out the feed-finger and spring. The magazine cover should never be taken off except when absolutely necessary.

9th. The catch-spring and screw.

The lock is re-assembled in the inverse order of taking apart, viz. :

1st. The catch-spring;

2d. The feed-finger and spring;

3d. Mainspring swivel;

4th. Tumbler and hammer;

5th. Tumbler-screw;

6th. Bridle and screw;

7th. Sear and screw;

8th. Sear-spring and screw;

9th. Mainspring.

Before replacing the screws, oil them slightly with good sperm‑oil, putting a drop on the point of the screw; also on the arbor and pivot of the tumbler; between the movable branches of the springs, and the lock‑plate; on the book and notches of the tumbler. After the lock is put together, avoid turning the screws in so hard as to make the limbs bind: to insure this, try the motion of each limb before and after its spring is mounted, and see that it moves without friction.

When a lock has, from any cause, become gummed with oil and dirt, it may be cleaned by being boiled in soapsuds, or in pearlash or soda water, to loosen the thick oil; but heat should never be applied to any part of it in any other way.

As rust and dirt are produced by exploding caps or primers, although the charge be fired, the parts of the barrel and cone exposed should be carefully wiped and oiled after such practice.

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Besides all the precautions in dismounting, remounting, and cleaning, which have been pointed out in the foregoing pages, habitual care in handling the arms is necessary to keep them in good and serviceable condition.

In ordering arms on parade, let the butt be brought gently to the ground, especially when the exercises take place on pavements or bard roads. This will save the mechanism of the lock from shocks, which are very injurious to it, and which tend to loosen and mar the screws and split the wood‑work.

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Rifled arms should not have the ramrod. sprung in the bore with unnecessary force. It batters the head of the rod and wears injuriously the grooves. The soldier should let the rod slide down gently, supported by the thumb and finger; and the inspecting officer can satisfy himself of the condition of the bottom of the bore by gently tapping with the rod. 'The face of the breech can be polished, after washing, by means of a cork fixed on the wiper or ball-screw; the polished surface can be seen if the muzzle is turned to the light.

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In stacking arms, care should be taken not to injure the bayonets by forcibly straining the edges against each other. The stack can be as well secured without such force being used.

No cutting, marking, or scraping in any way, the wood or iron should be allowed; and no part of the gun should be touched with a file. Take every possible care to prevent water from getting in between the lock, or barrel, and stock. If any should get there, dismount the gun as soon as possible, clean and oil the parts as directed, and see that they are perfectly dry before re-assembling them.

TO PLACE A COIL OF PRIMERS IN THE MAGAZINE.

Let down the hammer; open the magazine, by pulling back the bead of the cover-catch with the thumb‑nail of the left hand, while the thumb-nail of the right hand is pushed under the cover at the bottom. Remove the covering paper from the coil of primers; separate any parts that may happen to stick together; unwind about one inch; place the coil in the magazine, and the free end of it in the groove, flat-side towards the cone, and one primer beyond the end of the feedfinger; close the magazine.

Should an exploded primer fail to ignite the charge, there must be moisture, or some obstruction, in the vent; or the gun may be improperly loaded. After a night in a damp place, a drop of moisture sometimes collects in the vent, and, unless removed prevents the first primer, or cap, from igniting the charge.

If, by accident, a coil of primers becomes softened by dampness, it can be made good again by a short exposure to a dry warm atmosphere.

Should the cocking of the hammer fail to feed out properly the primer, open the magazine and notice, while working the hammer, the cause of the difficulty. It can generally be readily corrected. 

MR. DINGEE'S DIRECTIONS FOR REBLACKING BELTS.

Brush them with a hard brush to clean the surface; if they are very greasy, use a wire scratch-brush; then, with a soft brush or sponge, apply the following mixture, viz. : One gallon of soft water, two pounds of extract of logwood, half a pound of broken nutgalls, boiled until the logwood is dissolved. When cold, add half a pint of the pyrolignate of iron-made by dissolving iron filings in pyroligneous acid, as much as the acid will take up.

The dye thus prepared should be well stirred, and then left to settle. When clear, decant it free from sediment and keep well corked for use.

Dry the belts in the shade; then apply a little sperm or olive oil, and rub well with a hard brush.

Should any bad spots appear, scratch up the surface with the wire-brush, and wet two or three times with a simple decoction of gallnuts, or shumac, and again apply the dye as above.

The addition of the logwood is not essential; and a solution of copperas may replace, but not so well, the acetate of iron.