Quote Originally Posted by enscien View Post
As I recall, tapered barrels with the 'Snakeskin' finish as above were produced on a vertical GFM cold swaging machine which was capable of hammering a tapered blank. These barrels then only required machining at the muzzle and breech ends.
Later barrels were produced on a horizontal 'Fritz Werner' machine which could only hammer a parallel blank. The barrels therefore had to be turned full length and have a normal machined finish, plus usually a stight step in the centre where they were supported by a lathe 'steady'. Some may also have polygonal 'Chordal' rifling rather than the traditional Enfield form but I do not have the dates....
Reminds me of the vertical rifling machine built at Long Branch someone was telling me about the other day, that would do six barrels at a time. I assumed it was verticial to avoid gravity acting on the broaches(?)