Page:Miscellaneous Papers on Mechanical Subjects.djvu/178

 The complete musket is put together in three minutes. All parts are so exactly alike that any single part will, in its place, fit any musket.

The general principle adopted in the construction of these machines is that of guiding the cutter in its course, by a shaper or "former," that is, a pattern made exactly of the form in which it is required that the work should be shaped.