Whitworth Hexagonal Bore Scraper
Whitworth Hexagonal Bore Scraper
Whitworth Hexagonal Bore Scraper. Whitworth Hexagonal Bore Scraper. These are reproduction Whitworth Hexagonal bore scrapers. An original Whitworth bore scraper was used as a pattern. They have a 9/32”x 26 thread which is the usual shotgun cleaning rod thread. A lovely addition for your Whitworth rifle.
History:
The Whitworth rifle was designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer and entrepreneur. Whitworth had experimented with cannons using polygonal rifling instead of traditional rifled barrels, which was patented in 1854. The hexagonal polygonal rifling meant that the projectile did not have to bite into grooves as was done with conventional rifling. In 1856, that concept was demonstrated in a series of experiments using brass howitzers.
Whitworth believed that the same type of system could be used to create a more accurate rifle to replace the Pattern 1853 Enfield which had shown some weaknesses during the recent Crimean War.Trials were held in 1857 to compare Whitworth’s design against the Enfield. The Whitworth rifle outperformed the Enfield at a rate of about three to one in the trials, which tested the accuracy and range of both weapons. Notably, the Whitworth rifle was able to hit the target at a range of 2,000 yards (1,800 m), whereas the Enfield was only able to hit the same target at a range of 1,400 yards (1,300 m).
While the trials were generally a success for the Whitworth rifle, the British government ultimately rejected the design because the Whitworth’s barrel was much more prone to fouling than the Enfield, and the Whitworth rifle also cost approximately four times as much to manufacture. The Whitworth Rifle Company was able to sell the weapon to the French army, and also to the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
While the barrel design of the Whitworth rifle was innovative, the rest of the rifle was similar to other rifles and rifle-muskets used at the time. The rifle was muzzle loaded, and used a percussion lock firing mechanism. The lock mechanism was very similar to that used on the Enfield rifle-musket.
Whitworth chose to use a longer and more slender bullet than was common at the time, which resulted in a bore diameter of .451 inches (11.5 mm) calibre, significantly smaller than the Enfield’s .577-inch (14.7 mm) calibre bore. Whitworth’s bullets were more stable at longer ranges than the shorter and larger diameter bullets found in other rifles of the time. Whitworth also engineered the barrel with a 1-in-20-inch (510 mm) twist, quite a bit tighter than the 1-in-78-inch (2,000 mm) of the 1853 Enfield, or the later 1856/1858 variants with five-groove barrels and a 1-in-48-inch (1,200 mm) twist. The extra spin the tighter twist imparted to the projectile further stabilized the bullet in flight.
The Whitworth rifle weighed 9 lb (4.1 kg). Other long-range rifles of the period tended to have much larger and heavier barrels, which made them too heavy for standard infantry use.
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29 950 Ft
20 in stock
Whitworth Hexagonal Bore Scraper
Armaments
The Crimean war broke out in 1853 and despite being a pacifist Sir Joseph Whitworth turned his attention to the production of armaments. He believed firmly in the deterrent principle of defence. The Army Ordinance Board approached Sir Joseph Whitworth in 1854 and asked him to design and build machine tools for the mass production of their standard issue, Enfield Rifle. He carried out exhaustive test in his home grounds at the expense of the government and 20 patents relating to arms production were issued to Sir Joseph Whitworth between 1854 and 1878. Dissatisfied with the performance of the Enfield Rifle, he produced his own famous Whitworth Rifle, which used a smaller, more efficient hexagonal bore. The Times reported in 1857 on the official tests that "The Whitworth Rifle excelled the Enfield to a degree which hardly leaves room for comparison".
Despite its apparent superiority, in 1859 the Whitworth Rifle was rejected by the Ordinance Board because of its small-bore size. His rifle was however used by the Rifle Brigade and large orders were received from the French Government. The Ordinance Board later accepted the Martini-Henry rifle, which had used Sir Joseph Whitworth's basic principles, and they concluded, to his dissatisfaction, that the smaller bore size was in fact suitable for a military weapon. In 1862 Sir Joseph Whitworth developed a powerful cannon and a bitter dispute began with the Ordinance Board, when this was also rejected because it was not of the traditional design. The cannon was however supplied to France, New Zealand and other foreign governments.
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Additional information
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