The Damascus being rolled into rods of 11-16ths broad forms a spiral with the appearance shown in the accompanying woodcut.
The fancy steel barrels and others, where the rod is formed of more than one piece, such as the stub Damascus, &c., is of rather greater breadth, like the representation below.
The iron made from stubs and steel, and plain fibrous steel, is invariably rolled down into rods of 6-16ths broad, forming a spiral, as below.
A proper attention to the fineness of the spiral will always enable an amateur to detect any attempt at imposition.
The spiral formed from the rod of charcoal iron has a somewhat different appearance; but in cases where it is intended to supply the place of the real stub iron it is of corresponding dimensions, and in general very difficult to detect without a very intimate knowledge indeed of the nature of iron. When honestly intended, it forms a similar spiral to the accompanying one.
The wideness of the twist, or the angular direction of the fibres, will enable the most uninitiated to recognise a barrel made from threepenny skelp iron: the very few welds required, is one cause of the cheapness of barrels made from it. Judgment may be formed of it from the following representation.
Twopenny, or Wednesbury skelp is coarser in the spiral still, and running so angular as not to be very difficult to detect.
All iron formed in spirals, as a matter of certainty, forms _twist barrels_--the parties whose use they are intended for, seldom know or care for anything further than having “a twist barrelled gun.” The advantage of _sham damn_ iron being twisted is all imaginary: if used at all, it may be twisted; but those who value their safety would consult it best by tying a large stone to such a gun and sinking it fathoms deep. But to satisfy those who may fancy such things, I give a woodcut of the spiral ready for welding.
The spirals being thus formed, the welders commence their day’s work. The batch consists of a foreman, one on whose skill all depends, and two subordinates, whose duty it is to blow the bellows, strike, &c.
They proceed to weld probably a dozen long common barrels for the American trade; which are generally composed of the inferior iron mentioned before, rolled into two lengths of different thicknesses. These skelps are heated, and beaten on a groove until they form a tube half closed. They are then heated again, and closed with one edge over-lapping the other; as a brazier would over-lap the edge of a tin pipe, for boys to blows peas with.