Building the Coffee Mill Gun

I started working on the Union Repeating Gun/ Ager Gun/ Coffee Mill Gun. This gun was used by the union troops in the Civil War, Lincoln nicknamed it the Coffee Mill Gun. A friend of mine works at the museum at Quantico Marine Base and has one in their collection that they let me take pictures of and take measurements off us as much as I could without taking the gun apart. I got a lot of basic measurements and pictures. I am going to post some pictures of the original gun and some of the stuff I have already done. Dr. Gatling stole the idea for the chambers from this gun and the carrier too for this gun back in 1862 to build his first Gatling, and was sued in court over it. This gun was invented in the 1850\'s, and is a close relative of a Gatling, and I thought it was pretty cool. It used the same chambers as my 1862 Gatling, which is one of the reasons I wanted to build it so I could use the same chambers as I had.

 

[attachment=9585:Building the Coffee Mill Gun.htm]

 

[attachment=9671:MG-1-033-3 Ager Pic (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9668:2 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9669:3 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9670:4 (Medium).jpg]

The 4\" round stock drilled for the carrier groves and the base plate cut out from 1/2\" plate.

:?: I don\'t know way the pix\'s are so big.

[Dave]

I cant wait to see more!!!!

Where can I go to get a description of how it works? I may need another project someday :-)

Don

Cutting the carrier

 

[attachment=9630:5 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9628:6 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9629:7 (Medium).jpg]

[quote name=\"DonV\"]Where can I go to get a description of how it works? I may need another project someday :-)

Don[/quote]
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/MG/I/MG-2.html

[epps1919]

Where can I go to get a description of how it works? I may need another project someday :smile:


Don

How it woks video http://youtu.be/DG-M7u-jwok

[Dave]

Glad to see you back!

[Bill Akins]

Epps, I have read that some of the coffee mill guns used a shroud over the barrel that forced air over the barrel to cool it. Not sure if it had a fan driven by the muzzle blast within the shroud with the bullet firing through the center of the fan as the muzzle blast turned the fan, (like firing a bullet through a hole made in the center of a pinwheel so the muzzle blast will turn the pinwheel and pull in fresh air from the rear of the shroud over the barrel).....or if it worked on a vacuum/forced air induction created by the muzzle blast going forward and thus pulling in fresh air from the rear of the shroud (like the WW1 Lewis gun barrel cooling shroud works), but I do remember reading there was some kind of an apparatus like that for helping to cool the single barrel. But haven\'t been able to find out much online about how it worked nor any pics of it. In your studies of the coffee mill gun, I\'m sure you\'ve also heard about what I\'m talking about. Do you plan on trying to replicate that forced air barrel cooling shroud like was used on some of them back in the day? 

 

Bill. 

[epps1919]

The original gun had a one piece cast receiver, and I am making mine out of plate steel and I am going to bolt it together and once I get it all working I am going to weld it all together to make it look like one piece cast. This is some pictures of the receiver I am building.

 

[attachment=9623:8 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9624:9 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9625:10 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9626:11 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9627:12 (Medium).jpg]

[epps1919]

One pix of the original gun and making of the lifter.

 

[attachment=9631:13 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9632:14 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9633:15 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9634:16 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9635:17 (Medium).jpg]

[epps1919]

The wedge and making the cam and cam follower. The first pic is of the alinement rod, dummy barrel and the detent ball on spring steel to hold the carrier in place when firing

 

[attachment=9636:21 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9637:22 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9638:23 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9639:24 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9640:25 (Medium).jpg]

[epps1919]

The cam and lifter and wedge.

 

[attachment=9641:26 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9642:27 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9643:28 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9644:29 (Medium).jpg]

[epps1919]

Reaming barrel support, the dummy barrel for alinement for the support and the gusset for the support.

 

 

[attachment=9648:33.jpg]

 

[attachment=9647:32.jpg]

 

[attachment=9646:31.jpg]

 

[attachment=9645:30.jpg]

[epps1919]

Turning and threading the Green mountain barrel to fit the support.

 

[attachment=9650:34 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9651:35 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9649:36 (Medium).jpg]

 

 

[epps1919]

Receiver all welded up,still need to clean up the welds and barrel fitted to the gun. installed the crank hubs

 

[attachment=9652:007 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9653:008 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9654:009 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9655:010 (Medium).jpg]

[epps1919]

Making the crank handle, milling the key way in the shaft and the finished crank, handle,shaft and cap screw.

 

[attachment=9656:11 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9657:12 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9658:13 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9659:14 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9660:15 (Medium).jpg]

[epps1919]

Making the shield using 3/8 plate and 1/2\" plate for the support. Cutting the site slot and making the rivits from 3/8\" carriage bolts.

 

[attachment=9661:16 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9662:17 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9663:18 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9664:19 (Medium).jpg]

[epps1919]

The finished shield and a light coat of flat black paint

 

[attachment=9665:20 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9666:23 (Medium).jpg]

 

[attachment=9667:24 (Medium).jpg]