# Making a model Cannon



## bazmak

Many,many years ago as an apprentice i made on the side a pirates chest,
approx 6" x 4" x 4".Made in steel with the edges banded in brass angle,
escutcheon plts,handles hinges etc in brass.It was veneered in teak and had a miniature hasp and staple with miniature padlock,working with key.
The inside was lined with silk and fitted with a musical box.Presented it to my girlfriend (now my wife) She used it for many years for her jewelry ???
Sadly it disappeared over the years of travelling.Anyway to the point,for my next project i would like to make a simple model cannon.With a lifetime in engineering and woodworking as a hobby,it should be within my capacity
Does anybody have any drawings,photos or designs to help me.
Probably cast iron barrel with brass trim,wooden wheels and base etc
Any input would be most welcome


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## Cogsy

Just be a little careful Baz - here in Western Australia if your model cannon has a bore and a source for ignition (like a flash hole) the cops will/do consider it a firearm and possession of it would be a serious offence. I've thought about making something similar myself and come to the conclusion that the 'bore' could only be around 10mm deep so it stays definitely legal.

Not sure about where you live but here even pvc 'spud guns' are considered a firearm and the authorities take it very seriously when they catch you with one. We just can't have any fun any more!


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## Bluechip

If you want drawing/plans for relatively simple but attractive models of some examples you could look for:

Scale Model Cannon by Stewart & Heyes

ISBN 0-7195-3888-2

Not a large book, some 60 or so pages. 

Published London, John Murray, 1982.

I doubt if you can buy one but maybe a Library can locate a copy.

Dave

Surprisingly  one on UK Amazon ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0719538882/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Yeah, I know ... fat lot of good there etc etc


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## deverett

Some links to the best designs (FREE!) to get you started:

http://www.replicaplans.com/CivilWarCannon.html

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/blackp...eacoast-artillery/model-cannon-plans-website/

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/blackp...y-seacoast-artillery/k-i-s-s-golfball-mortar/

Dave
The Emerald Isle


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## fourstroke

Hi Baz
Here are a couple of pictures of a little cannon I made a few years ago, I searched online for cannon drawings, found one that I liked and copied that. 
The carriage and limber are oak, the barrel is clear but has no touch hole, like a previous poster commented, here in Scotland the rozzers would take a dim view of anything that could be considered a firearm
The last pics are of a slightly larger model of a WW1 railway gun I made and a model of a coastal defence gun
Regards
Dougie


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## deverett

Like your model of Bill, Dougie.

Dave
The Emerald Isle


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## fourstroke

Thanks Dave
There is a video of it running on this site
Regards
Dougie


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## dennisa49

Hello Dougie,
May I ask the overall dimensions of the railway gun please?
A great job, beautifully engineered.
Thanks,
Dennis


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## fourstroke

Hi Dennis
The gun is built to 3.5" guage sizes
Its 35 inches long buffer to buffer, 7.5 inches wide and the barrel is 27 inches long
It has a working, interupted screw breech but no clear barrel, the barrel elevates and rotates as per the full size and the recoil system is functional
I sent copies of the drawings I made to someone in Australia who was going to do a cad version and send me a copy but I never heard any more from him
Thanks for your comments
Dougie


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## MachineTom

I have made a few cannons. NJ is likely the toughest state for firearms. These a 10ga black powder blanks. The bores are stepped, no projectile.  The bronze barrels look the best in my opinion. Photos
R 

View attachment 1464312858423.jpg


View attachment 1464312915845.jpg


View attachment 1464312966081.jpg


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## bazmak

Very impressed They look really nice.Roughly what size overall?


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## MachineTom

The first one has. A 24 " barrel,  the overall is about 40, the next is a 22 about 28 overall, and the last 21 and 27 overall. The first is a breach loaded, with an intermittent thread, the other two have a vertically dovetail breech block.


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## dennisa49

Hello Dougie,

I have searched high and low for artillery plans and have been unable to source any.
May I ask where you sourced the defence gun plans please?
Thanks and regards,
Dennis


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## AlbertdeWitte

I would also love to make some of them one day

John Viggers has done a great job on his at this link: https://johnsmachines.com/category/1779-model-naval-cannon/

He might share with you


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## dennisa49

Hello Albert,
If you search with Google for "model cannon plans" and open the images page of the results, you will see pages of plans. Mostly cannons, no field or naval artillery.
Some have dimensions also cannon ratio reference tables.
Worth a look.
regards,
Dennis


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## AlbertdeWitte

dennisa49 said:


> Hello Albert,
> If you search with Google for "model cannon plans" and open the images page of the results, you will see pages of plans. Mostly cannons, no field or naval artillery.
> Some have dimensions also cannon ratio reference tables.
> Worth a look.
> regards,
> Dennis



Thanks Dennis I will do that


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## fourstroke

Hi Dennis and Albert
The coastal defence gun I found in the book " model engineering" by Henry Greenly
It wasnt a complete set of drawings but did have a scale and a couple of views.
It was a quick firing naval gun but my research showed they were used on land as well. I used this drawing and searched for coastal defence guns on the net and found quite a few good pics of guns that are still in place, quite a few of them in your part of the world Dennis
Hope this helps
Dougie


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## Naiveambition

I had made a small cannon of sorts.  I used measurements of a short cannon or cannonade I  think they are called.  I used a tough stainless as the body( ruined all my drills and carbide cutters getting the bore) .     I had modeled after the "thunder mug" , but having a small lathe only at the time, I downsized to the " thundercup"    Has a .750 bore and a 3/8 chamber.   

I haven't fired it yet but is made for black powder. First firing will be from a hole dug in ground and a long fuse for testing purposes. It will not fire projectiles at all but a heck of a noisemaker


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## valentin

I grew up reading magazines like Popular Mechanics and Hobby. From this one I scanned an old set of plans for a naval cannon. I am working in my own one and it is going nice, but my daily work don´t let me go to workshop since months :-/
I know that there are many people looking for this kind of plans thru the web, so I´m glad for sharing this stuff and encourage to everyone to spread them. BtW, this is my first contribution to this site. 

View attachment escanear0001.pdf


View attachment escanear10001.pdf


View attachment escanear30001.pdf


View attachment escanear40001.pdf


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## dennisa49

Good day Albert,

Check this link to Wikipedia.
There is a comprehensive list of WW11 artillery.
Photos and specs.
Would allow you to go to blue prints and match the pdf. to the piece.
Should allow an opportunity to scale back.
Regards,
Dennis

Blue prints offer free PDF. sheets. You will need to sign up. Check Weapons tab.
http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_artillery


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## AlbertdeWitte

dennisa49 said:


> Good day Albert,
> 
> Check this link to Wikipedia.
> There is a comprehensive list of WW11 artillery.
> Photos and specs.
> Would allow you to go to blue prints and match the pdf. to the piece.
> Should allow an opportunity to scale back.
> Regards,
> Dennis
> 
> Blue prints offer free PDF. sheets. You will need to sign up. Check Weapons tab.
> http://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprints/
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_artillery



Thanks a lot for all your effort!!


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## scroc

Maybe a bit late on this thread, but just completed the Christmas Cannons for all the men in the family, sons, grandsons, nephews.
These were constructed of 1021 cold rolled for the barrels and wheels, brass for the axles and fittings and copper for the trunnion holddowns and white oak for the carriages. 
I did a batch of silver and gold bracelets for all the ladies in the family a couple of christmas's ago, but thought cannons were more fitting for the men so started this project in June. Seems age takes its tole as it sure takes longer to get stuff done these days 
Has been a fun and learning project, lots of specialized tooling had to be built along with trying to have them completed by this christmas.
scroc


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## Shipdisturber

Great job they all look uniform and I'm sure will be a welcome gift. Here's one of my cannons.


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## scroc

That carriage and those wheels of your field gun look like works of art. Beautiful work on those spokes and rims, the offset on the wheels must of taken lots of time and love.
Great job, scroc


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## jayville

Hi shipdisturber...lovely work..I have the editions No 12 and 20 from antique ordnance which covers artillery for the land service of the United States 1849-1865...I have made barrels for napoleon and 12 pdr field howitzer but the dished wheels have always had me stuffed,any info on the construction of these would would be very much appreciated...fine wood work is not my best pastime...is your cannon a parrot...once again excellent work...cheers clem


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## Shipdisturber

Thanks Scroc and Jayville! It's supposed to be a 1873 Parrot Rifle (I think) I made it from pictures and specs I found on the net, no plans. The dished wheels are made from laminated oak stair steps, I turned them on the lathe. The spokes were cut with a scroll saw then hand sanded smooth, the banding is copper tubing pounded flat and epoxied in place. The touch hole is filled with clear epoxy so it can't be fired. The cannon in this picture can be fired, my son has a gun permit so it's going to be his Christmas gift.


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## mp409mm

fourstroke said:


> Hi Baz
> Here are a couple of pictures of a little cannon I made a few years ago, I searched online for cannon drawings, found one that I liked and copied that.
> The carriage and limber are oak, the barrel is clear but has no touch hole, like a previous poster commented, here in Scotland the rozzers would take a dim view of anything that could be considered a firearm
> The last pics are of a slightly larger model of a WW1 railway gun I made and a model of a coastal defence gun
> Regards
> Dougie
> 
> View attachment 77748
> 
> 
> View attachment 77749
> 
> 
> View attachment 77750
> 
> 
> View attachment 77751
> 
> 
> View attachment 77752


Hi, very nice guns, thank you for sharing. Would you be kind enough to tell/show how to make the eye loops for the cannon carriage please?
Thank you.


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## coulsea

I am going to cast a cannon in the next couple of days, I have drawn up a pattern and printed it on a 3d printer, given it a couple of coats of spray putty and a gloss top coat. the picture shows a gap between the two halves but it does go together properly.




I will cast it in the same material as the flywheels in the picture
you can scale the .stl files up or down to change the size.


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## stanstocker

If your interest is in U.S. cannon and artillery up to the Civil War two good sources for information are "Round Shot and Rammers" by Petersen and "Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War" by Hazlett, Olmstead, and Parks.  Lots of details and dimensions from original examples, but not detailed plans.  Sort of useful to get muzzle swells just right and such.

Antique Ordnance Publishers had very detailed plan and drawing books for many field pieces as well.  Not sure if they still exist, there's a facebook page but not much else to be found it seems.  Great detail though, used them several times to get some detail just right on full scale work.  Been away from reenacting for quite a few years now, so I'm not really up to date on it these days.


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## stanstocker

Sorry for the second post, but Jerry Howell did a plan set for a 1779 Naval 24 pounder.  Usual superb quality, with helpful build information as well as the drawings.  Sadly Jerry is no longer around, but his family keeps his plan sets available.

I still miss seeing Jerry and Bob Shores at Cabin Fever!



			1779 24 Pounder Naval Cannon Plans


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## packrat

I turned a cannon barrel at trade school a long time ago, {on a large lathe} used a 37 mm tank barrel that was torch cut, threaded it and made a breach out of 
5 or 6 inch round stock a friend made all the wood parts, wish I know where it went to ?


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## Chris Roberts

Hi.Here is a Gettysburg American Civil War cannon I made during lockdown.Plan downloaded from the internet,(not a very good plan to download).


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## oliomio

StanStocker, I also made the 1779 24 pounder from Jerry Howells plans, and then a carronade, then an Ottoman Bombard,  All 1:10 scale.  The bombard is 515mm long.
The photos are my latest model cannon, also 1:10.  It is an Armstrong 1866 RML.  I spotted the original at Port Fairy, Victoria, Australia and spent several sessions measuring and photographing it and drawing up the plans..  The model barrel is also rifled, the gear trains, brake, clutch all function.  The build was detailed at johnsmachines.com


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## Courierdog

I have always wondered if anyone has ever made a French 75 scaled such that it uses a 22 LR. it would prove an intricate design challenge


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## somniosus

AlbertdeWitte said:


> Thanks a lot for all your effort!!
> [/QUOTE
> 
> 
> Courierdog said:
> 
> 
> 
> I have always wondered if anyone has ever made a French 75 scaled such that it uses a 22 LR. it would prove an intricate design challenge
> 
> 
> 
> Great work on this site! Links to drawings are rally valuable.
> I would really like to see detailed scaled drawings of the iconic British WW 1 Ordnance QF breech loading 18 pounder cannon , its my ultimate goal to build one with working breech and elevation/traverse in about 1:10 scale .
> 
> I scratch built a few models through COVID based on drawings in books like Roundshot and Rammers. There is also a great book on the Lyle lifesaving gun, “The life saving guns of David Lyle” by J Barnett with original scaled drawings and our local marine museum has one so I was able to get and check original dimensions for the model. see attached images of Lyle life saving gun 1:5 scale, coehorn mortar (both turned from bar stock and fabricated parts) and carronade and howitzer ( petrobond cope and drag cast barrels). The turned pieces have silver soldered trunnions let in to the sides of the barrels.
> 
> Anyone with good detailed scale drawings of breech loading WW 1 artillery especially the 18 pounder , I would happily pay for access to these. The best reference detail drawings I have found on the 18 pounder QF was from the Vancouver Gunners website, 18 Pounder.
> 
> Good to see fellow model artillerists out there, the quality of the work is amazing.
> all the best Chris
Click to expand...


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## SmithDoor

Great work
The a working copy K5 would great front yard. The neighbors would say great or not.

Dave

First project that was cannon  it size to the lathe.
It was a South bend 9" x 18" cc lathe aka 9x36 South bend.
Most of was done by Father's some by older brother.  But did get start to model building.
Today I have made parts for both old and new  Catapiler engines.



fourstroke said:


> Hi Baz
> Here are a couple of pictures of a little cannon I made a few years ago, I searched online for cannon drawings, found one that I liked and copied that.
> The carriage and limber are oak, the barrel is clear but has no touch hole, like a previous poster commented, here in Scotland the rozzers would take a dim view of anything that could be considered a firearm
> The last pics are of a slightly larger model of a WW1 railway gun I made and a model of a coastal defence gun
> Regards
> Dougie
> 
> View attachment 77748
> 
> 
> View attachment 77749
> 
> 
> View attachment 77750
> 
> 
> View attachment 77751
> 
> 
> View attachment 77752


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## Courierdog

Just a side comment on all the excellent work by everyone involved.
My reason for the choice of the French 75 is it is the original and many subsequent development such as the Sherman M4 75, T34 75, of WWII were direct descendants.
The French 75 was one of the first to have a hydraulic recoil system which in itself is a huge step in development. 
The simplified rotational interrupted screw breach loading was another development while not the first, the French simplified the mechanism to be extremely fast to operate for a manual and eventually an automated loader was developed.
A very interesting piece in the study of artillery pieces.


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## f6bqi

Hello ,
First, excuse me for my english.
Since 2011 y work on a French 75 in a 1/10 scale.
You can see the job here : WWW.usinages.com/threads/canon-de-75-modele-1897.33068

Michel


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## pramodisha

f6bqi said:


> Hello ,
> First, excuse me for my english.
> Since 2011 y work on a French 75 in a 1/10 scale.
> You can see the job here : WWW.usinages.com/threads/canon-de-75-modele-1897.33068
> 
> Michel



Hello Michel,
I am from India. Very nice model. Have you designed a 3D model on computer 1st and then built the Cannon?
Can we communicate via email please? I am planning to build several different Cannon Models.
Thanks.
Pramod S. Agrawal.


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## oliomio

f6bqi said:


> Hello ,
> First, excuse me for my english.
> Since 2011 y work on a French 75 in a 1/10 scale.
> You can see the job here : WWW.usinages.com/threads/canon-de-75-modele-1897.33068
> 
> Michel


Magnificent!!


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## coulsea

I have cast the cannon in aluminium bronze from the pattern that i posted earlier.





Now i have to do the carriage.


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## pramodisha

Here are a few pictures of the Cannon that I made. It is a 1779, 18 pounder Naval Cannon Model in 1/16th scale.


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## dalem9

fourstroke said:


> Hi Baz
> Here are a couple of pictures of a little cannon I made a few years ago, I searched online for cannon drawings, found one that I liked and copied that.
> The carriage and limber are oak, the barrel is clear but has no touch hole, like a previous poster commented, here in Scotland the rozzers would take a dim view of anything that could be considered a firearm
> The last pics are of a slightly larger model of a WW1 railway gun I made and a model of a coastal defence gun
> Regards
> Dougie
> 
> View attachment 77748
> 
> 
> View attachment 77749
> 
> 
> View attachment 77750
> 
> 
> View attachment 77751
> 
> 
> View attachment 77752


Wonderful work!


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## lantain1982

In the magazine , The Model Engineer of January 1944 there is a detailed explanation and drawings of a coastal quick firing cannon.   The scale is 3/4" =1 foot. and can be used as a guide for modelling from the outlines etc  given.   It makes a good project with a diverse range of machining involved.     The photos attached will give you some idea. The overall lenght including the breach is about 11 inches.


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## Bentwings

dalem9 said:


> Wonderful work!


Wonderfull work


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## Brian Hutchings

The book by C.Nepean Longridge entitled "The Anatomy of Nelsons Ships" contains a couple of useable drawings of cannons from HMS Victory. One is a standard 32 pounder and the other is a Carronade.
Brian


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## Bentwings

Brian Hutchings said:


> The book by C.Nepean Longridge entitled "The Anatomy of Nelsons Ships" contains a couple of useable drawings of cannons from HMS Victory. One is a standard 32 pounder and the other is a Carronade.
> Brian


I assume you fire these occasionally. Do you use black powder?  How do they sound. One of the car guys I used to hang around built full size cavil war cannons in his reinactment group. He fired one several times behind his garage for us.  It was pretty spectacular. I don’t remember the caliber or size but he did fire a can of water it was much more complicated than you would expect. He had a ram rod that was necessary to make sure there was no glowing powder left in the barrel between shots.  They had yearly meetings where many fired their projects.
Nice work on your unit.

byron


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## packrat

Yes, black powder only its 0ne F or FG, the largest granulation made.


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## lkrestorer

I love these models. They can range from the very basic to extremely detailed and the examples here are very good. A few years ago I was "between projects" and looking for something interesting to build. I put my models on the more basic end of the spectrum but they do shoot.

The first one is a Civil War cannon that is strikingly similar to the one built by Chris Roberts. Mine has a 16" long barrel made of 303 stainless and it shoots a .750" ball. I have to admit that I cheated on the wheels and bought them from an Amish wheel shop that has many stock sizes and will make whatever size you require. The rest of it is simply my own design from pictures I found and sized to fit the piece of stock that I had on hand

The second one is a "Golf Ball Mortar". I took a look at several different models of that sort and just put my own spin on it. Again, this is 303 stainless and sized to fit what was in my scrap (er, "raw material") box. This has only been fired with black powder and a wad because I wouldn't want to have a golf ball land on a neighbor's house.

The third one is a model of a Civil War "Coehorn Mortar" and is maybe about 7/8 size of the real thing. Supposedly they were about 7" O.D. and I had a piece of 5" steel. This will nicely hold a soda can.


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## pramodisha

lkrestorer said:


> I love these models. They can range from the very basic to extremely detailed and the examples here are very good. A few years ago I was "between projects" and looking for something interesting to build. I put my models on the more basic end of the spectrum but they do shoot.
> 
> The first one is a Civil War cannon that is strikingly similar to the one built by Chris Roberts. Mine has a 16" long barrel made of 303 stainless and it shoots a .750" ball. I have to admit that I cheated on the wheels and bought them from an Amish wheel shop that has many stock sizes and will make whatever size you require. The rest of it is simply my own design from pictures I found and sized to fit the piece of stock that I had on hand
> 
> The second one is a "Golf Ball Mortar". I took a look at several different models of that sort and just put my own spin on it. Again, this is 303 stainless and sized to fit what was in my scrap (er, "raw material") box. This has only been fired with black powder and a wad because I wouldn't want to have a golf ball land on a neighbor's house.
> 
> The third one is a model of a Civil War "Coehorn Mortar" and is maybe about 7/8 size of the real thing. Supposedly they were about 7" O.D. and I had a piece of 5" steel. This will nicely hold a soda can.



Very beautiful Models.


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## Rocketrob

I love all these fine examples, I am working on a 1857 Napoleon 12lb. cannon with a .50" bore.  Will try to post a few progress photos.


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## pramodisha

Rocketrob said:


> I love all these fine examples, I am working on a 1857 Napoleon 12lb. cannon with a .50" bore.  Will try to post a few progress photos.



Would love to see.


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## pramodisha

Rocketrob said:


> I love all these fine examples, I am working on a 1857 Napoleon 12lb. cannon with a .50" bore.  Will try to post a few progress photos.



Which plans/drawings are you referring to? Can you please share?

Thanks.


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## MIKE4444

Hi great  work , keep it up MIKE


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## bufferbrown

Here is my first piece.  It's a Victorian mortar all made of steel and can easily launch a golf ball 500m across my field.


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## scottyp

Nice, I like the idea of the golf ball cannon.  A little out of scope here, but I think a bowling ball cannon would be awesome. Maybe someday…


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## pramodisha

bufferbrown said:


> Here is my first piece.  It's a Victorian mortar all made of steel and can easily launch a golf ball 500m across my field.
> View attachment 127982
> 
> View attachment 127985
> 
> View attachment 127987
> View attachment 127988



Very beautifully made. What is this cannon called and where was it used?

Thanks.


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## bufferbrown

Thanks for your kind comments,  It is a Land Service Mortar, if you google this you shoud see loads of them.  It was used all over the world wherever the Victorians went and got someones land they wanted to hang onto.  It could be put into a fortress to drop shells down onto attackers or used to lay siege to an enemy fortress and drop things down onto their heads!


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## pramodisha

bufferbrown said:


> Thanks for your kind comments,  It is a Land Service Mortar, if you google this you shoud see loads of them.  It was used all over the world wherever the Victorians went and got someones land they wanted to hang onto.  It could be put into a fortress to drop shells down onto attackers or used to lay siege to an enemy fortress and drop things down onto their heads!



Thank you very much for your kind reply. I tried but could not find plans/drawings on the internet. Someday, I would love to make this 1/10th scale.  
Thank you once again.


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## Courierdog

In its original size, that would have been a real beast to move from place to place.


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## bufferbrown

Yes I'm sure it was but here is one way.  With a slightly different carriage but it shows their ingenuity.  Clever how they got the wheels off I think.


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## awake

scottyp said:


> Nice, I like the idea of the golf ball cannon.  A little out of scope here, but I think a bowling ball cannon would be awesome. Maybe someday…


I remember seeing a YouTube (? or similar) video a few years ago where someone made a bowling ball cannon out of a decommissioned gas cylinder of the sort used for argon, CO2, etc. They had it set up somewhat like a mortar, and launched a few bowling balls.

Obviously one would want to be absolutely certain of what is downrange. I don't know what the range was in the video, but as I recall it was considerable - half a mile? A mile? The few times I have done some target shooting with a rifle, there was a an earthen berm (e.g., hillside) to keep the projectiles from traveling their full range; not sure if one could arrange that with a cannon, especially not one that is designed to be more of a mortar.

On edit: there are a BUNCH of videos out there on bowling ball cannons ... and you probably already knew that. Sorry for stating the obvious! But just in case anyone has not thought it all the way through, here is one video that might be worth watching - damage and a horse killed half-a-mile away:


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## pramodisha

Hello Friends,
I have made a few modifications to my model. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. 

Thanks.
Pramod S. Agrawal.


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## SmithDoor

Looks great for office.
If the meeting on engines goes bad it handy having a Canon on desk for fast corrections..

Dave



pramodisha said:


> Hello Friends,
> I have made a few modifications to my model. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.
> 
> Thanks.
> Pramod S. Agrawal.


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## pramodisha

SmithDoor said:


> Looks great for office.
> If the meeting on engines goes bad it handy having a Canon on desk for fast corrections..
> 
> Dave



Ha ha ha. True.....


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## SmithDoor

One first machine project's was watching my father and brother make Canon. 

Ok my father and brothers got more than I did on that day. 
But in few years I was machining engine parts. 

The my father and mother said made all parts for motorcycle they would buy wheels. 
I finished the project. 

It gave me great views what took a engine. 

FYI my father and mother was terrified I completely my part.. they purchased wheels from Honda and payed. 

Dave 



pramodisha said:


> Ha ha ha. True.....


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## pramodisha

SmithDoor said:


> One first machine project's was watching my father and brother make Canon.
> 
> Ok my father and brothers got more than I did on that day.
> But in few years I was machining engine parts.
> 
> The my father and mother said made all parts for motorcycle they would buy wheels.
> I finished the project.
> 
> It gave me great views what took a engine.
> 
> FYI my father and mother was terrified I completely my part.. they purchased wheels from Honda and payed.
> 
> Dave



GREAT!!!!!


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## Lyle-project

Somniosus, I really like the 1:5 Lyle Gun. I have a small pile of brass I'd like so cast and recently started daydreaming about making one of my own, half scale would be just about perfect for a golfball, but smaller would be better for a desk. Would you be able to share the Lyle dimensions you collected?


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## Bentwings

Lyle-project said:


> Somniosus, I really like the 1:5 Lyle Gun. I have a small pile of brass I'd like so cast and recently started daydreaming about making one of my own, half scale would be just about perfect for a golfball, but smaller would be better for a desk. Would you be able to share the Lyle dimensions you collected?


Our car group travels back roads. One of our favorite places is a cannon guy he has fired his big 3 or 5” for us several times. It’s always a fun blastLOL HE DIT IT LAST FAL TO BLOW THE REMAINING LEAFS OFF HIS TREES SO HE SAID.  That it did the smoke cloud was huge apparently there are events he goes to as he has quite a large trailer for his cannons.  I’ve wanted a small cannon for years. I’m totally wrapped up in this steam thing for now.  But good luck on your project. Please post pictures.


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## dnalot

A friend gave me a black powder cannon with a one inch bore years ago. I set it up between my house and my shop building. Put some powder in and rammed it tight with a toilet paper wad and no projectile. When I lit the fuse I stood back and there was a BIG Boom followed by the noise of breaking glass as all the windows on one side of my shop and all the windows on two sides of the house were blown out. Live and learn. I gave it to a friend. 

Mark T


----------



## somniosus

Lyle-project said:


> Somniosus, I really like the 1:5 Lyle Gun. I have a small pile of brass I'd like so cast and recently started daydreaming about making one of my own, half scale would be just about perfect for a golfball, but smaller would be better for a desk. Would you be able to share the Lyle dimensions you collected?



hi Lyle Project:

I had a lot of fun building this piece. I found the original David Lyle patent drawings online and will try to attach these. There is a great book from South Bend Replicas called David Lyle and His life saving gun that is comprehensive and well illustrated with the original drawings in it. The dimensions are  little hard to see in these and you kind of need to mock it up using a photocopy printer  as an enlarger to produce plans to scale. 
The first 1:5 I made was lathe turned brass bar stock from 3 inch diameter stock with a .75 bore and I milled in to attach the trunnions with silver solder. The second one was a 1:10 with a 32 cal bore and that one I cast in brass using petrobond in a  muzzle facing up cope and drag. I have attached the key illustrations from Lyles patent drawings, good luck on this one!


----------



## Bentwings

dnalot said:


> A friend gave me a black powder cannon with a one inch bore years ago. I set it up between my house and my shop building. Put some powder in and rammed it tight with a toilet paper wad and no projectile. When I lit the fuse I stood back and there was a BIG Boom followed by the noise of breaking glass as all the windows on one side of my shop and all the windows on two sides of the house were blown out. Live and learn. I gave it to a friend.
> 
> Mark T


That is so funny
I have t tell you eat I did many years ago . I bought a new Winchester model 70 in .300 win magnum. I just had to try it out but the range as. Long ways away. Our shop was 250 feet from the table in the tiny lunch room about the size of picnic table. We had big oak stup across the shop for various pounding. So I set up a piece of 2x6 1/4 wal tubing sss target across the shop i it was middle of the night totally dark but I had a portable spot light on the target. I could see it clearly in the scope. So I loaded a round and sat at the table. Not thinking it was like being in a closet. When I let it rip there was a huge muzzle flash and a shower of sparks by the stump dust was falling from all over the shop but my hearing was gone in an instant  it took a whole week to get most of it back. To this day I have a hard time hearing . The bullet went through both sides like it as been drilled and 11” into the stump. So don’t shoot guns or cannons in close quarters .LOL
BYRON


----------



## Tug40

I made this “Mole Cannon” years ago.
Large moles are a problem where I live.
While strictly not a cannon, that’s what i’ve always called it.
Shoots a 12ga. shotgun shell.
It weighs 30lbs & is very effective.
Although I live in the boonies, i always cover it with a large water tank when I activate the warhead.


----------



## Lyle-project

somniosus said:


> ... I have attached the key illustrations from Lyles patent drawings, good luck on this one!



Thanks, this is perfect. I had started taking notes holding a six sided engineer's scale up to the computer, but the patent drawings are much better. Doesn't look like I would have quite enough metal to put a golf ball in a half scale model, but I don't think I'll go bigger than that. Now I just need to decide if I should machine in the trunnions or try to make them part of one big pour. I will certainly update as things progress.


----------



## bufferbrown

I saw this big gun at Hurst Castle.  It's a 12.5 inch 38 ton on what appears to be a fake carriage.  I thought the shell and barrow would make a nice little model so over Chritsmas I made a start.  I've also drawn up this 7 inch RML which I hope to start building soon.  Obviously I have been keeping a close eye on John's progress over the years.


----------



## awake

Interesting! At the risk of revealing the extent of my ignorance ... are the brass "buttons" on the side of the shell there to engage rifling in the barrel? And is that an explosive shell?


----------



## bufferbrown

This is a Palliser shell with a chilled cast iron nose so it's nice and hard for armour piercing.  It has a slightly hollow centre that was filled with gunpowder and would detonate on impact.  The studs are indeed to engage with the rifling.


----------



## SmithDoor

bufferbrown said:


> This is a Palliser shell with a chilled cast iron nose so it's nice and hard for armour piercing.  It has a slightly hollow centre that was filled with gunpowder and would detonate on impact.  The studs are indeed to engage with the rifling.
> View attachment 132644


Remember do not put any gunpowder inside shell or the ATF will talk to you at there office . 

Dave


----------



## bufferbrown

I finished my little 1/10th shell and barrow yesterday.


----------



## kf2qd

I built a cannon for making noise - A piece of 5/8 bore DOM tubing a foot long. I made a plug for the breach end by taking a piece of 5/8 round about 1" long and welding around it to the end of the tubing. I then rounded off the end and left a small knob. Drilled a small hole for the fuse from the top. Would put 150 grains of powder (same as I use in my black powder rifle) and half a sheet of printer paper packed on top of the powder. Light the fuse and stand back. A nice resounding BOOM! would result.


----------



## oliomio

stanstocker said:


> Sorry for the second post, but Jerry Howell did a plan set for a 1779 Naval 24 pounder.  Usual superb quality, with helpful build information as well as the drawings.  Sadly Jerry is no longer around, but his family keeps his plan sets available.
> 
> I still miss seeing Jerry and Bob Shores at Cabin Fever!
> 
> 
> 
> 1779 24 Pounder Naval Cannon Plans



Made to Jerry Howell's plans.


----------



## Richard Carlstedt

Here is a 24 Pound Cannon I built 30 years ago.
The plans came in a school  (right) machine shop drawings book  ( 1940's )
Added a few details like the water pail,charging cup, swab and stuff. The second picture is wrong as the pail was not for cannon balls, but they rolled off the mantel so it became a temporary repository
This is a Fortress Cannon , as it has clad wheels , versus a Ships Cannon which has wooden wheels 
Rich

Rich


----------



## D and D

Here's my semi scale Navel Truck Gun


----------



## SmithDoor

Richard Carlstedt said:


> Here is a 24 Pound Cannon I built 30 years ago.
> The plans came in a school  (right) machine shop drawings book  ( 1940's )
> Added a few details like the water pail,charging cup, swab and stuff. The second picture is wrong as the pail was not for cannon balls, but they rolled off the mantel so it became a temporary repository
> This is a Fortress Cannon , as it has clad wheels , versus a Ships Cannon which has wooden wheels
> Rich
> 
> RichView attachment 133286
> View attachment 133287
> View attachment 133288


Looks great.

Dave


----------



## MIKE4444

Hi   excellent model, I have made a few , but this one is EX  Keep up the good work, MIKE


----------



## Bentwings

MIKE4444 said:


> Hi   excellent model, I have made a few , but this one is EX  Keep up the good work, MIKE




I looked up some info on the real thing . Firing a cast  cannon  ball at 1000ft per second to be devastating  thing on board a wood ship . I’ve wanted to make a brass cannon for years  yours is double impressive .


----------



## ajoeiam

Richard Carlstedt said:


> Here is a 24 Pound Cannon I built 30 years ago.
> The plans came in a school  (right) machine shop drawings book  ( 1940's )
> Added a few details like the water pail,charging cup, swab and stuff. The second picture is wrong as the pail was not for cannon balls, but they rolled off the mantel so it became a temporary repository
> This is a Fortress Cannon , as it has clad wheels , versus a Ships Cannon which has wooden wheels
> Rich



Hmmmmmmm - - - now for the big question - - - - do you have the drawings for this girl?

Impressive model!!!!


----------



## Ken I

Same as ajoeam - plans ?
I've been wanting to make a cannon for some time - your beautiful model fits the bill.
Nice work.
Regards, Ken


----------



## metalmangler

See if you can find a copy of "Scale Model Cannon History Design Construction" by Richard Stewart and Donald Heyes, ISBN 0 7195 3888 2. It includes plans for a variety of different cannons from various eras. I built a Mortar from it, came out reasonably well.


----------



## skyline1

I have considered making a model cannon for many years. A  proper firing one even if not capable of propelling a projectile
In the U.K. we have incredibly strict laws on firearms. Rightly or Wrongly I do not wish to comment. But

Does anyone know the exact legal position on these as the difference between an ornament and a lethal weapon can be simply drilling the " veep hole"

Apologies to our U.S. and Australian friends but I would like to know the U.K. rules, Are they considered like shotguns or at a higher level.

And do such "weapons" need to be "proof fired"

Best Regards Mark


----------



## KellisRJ

skyline1 said:


> I have considered making a model cannon for many years. A  proper firing one even if not capable of propelling a projectile
> In the U.K. we have incredibly strict laws on firearms. Rightly or Wrongly I do not wish to comment. But
> 
> Does anyone know the exact legal position on these as the difference between an ornament and a lethal weapon can be simply drilling the " veep hole"
> 
> Apologies to our U.S. and Australian friends but I would like to know the U.K. rules, Are they considered like shotguns or at a higher level.
> 
> And do such "weapons" need to be "proof fired"
> 
> Best Regards Mark


There is a thread addressing this about a signal cannon in the UK. Sorry can't search out the thread right now, seem to recall a bit about a special shell. 

Ron


----------



## skyline1

Thanks  Ron ill do a bit of research on that one ! 

English law has been sketchy on this for hundreds of years seems to revolve around  how powerful you were (i.e. how much money)  which is why many of our stately homes and castles have fully functional, full size cannons quite legally and some of them even fire them !


----------



## KellisRJ

skyline1 said:


> Thanks  Ron ill do a bit of research on that one !
> 
> English law has been sketchy on this for hundreds of years seems to revolve around  how powerful you were (i.e. how much money)  which is why many of our stately homes and castles have fully functional, full size cannons quite legally and some of them even fire them !


Sorry I can't recall the details. If it ends up not being tis forum, let me know.


----------



## Richard Carlstedt

I will have to look Ken , it's been a long time
I'll try to post an answer ASAP
Rich


Ken I said:


> Same as ajoeam - plans ?
> I've been wanting to make a cannon for some time - your beautiful model fits the bill.
> Nice work.
> Regards, Ken


----------



## KellisRJ

See if this helps: 





						Seeking Drawings for Yacht Signal Cannon
					

Hi everyone,  I’m trying to locate a set of drawings for a breach loading yacht signal cannon.   Any help anyone can give me any in locating a set would be greatly appreciated.  I remember once seeing one with a swinging breach, a lanyard operated firing pin, and working “shell” ejector.  The...




					www.homemodelenginemachinist.com


----------



## packrat

Remington Arms used to make a 10 GA. signal cannon, fires 10GA. black powder blanks.{Remington Arms. Co. name has been sold off
so no longer made}..


----------



## Richard Carlstedt

Ajoeiam and Ken , well, there are several things to do to get plans
There is a* very nice set *in *Popular Mechanics* magazine *February 1969*. You can usually get a copy from the local library or find a digitized version on the net I think




These AND MINE  are for a NON-Firing models !
The Cannon I built was a compulation of several drawings and pictures and done in Brass
There was after all, thousands of cannons made and they varied slightly
from one another , especially with Trunion location which was on the bore centerline
on some and below centerline on others. ( mine is below )
Here are the old school prints given to me some 40  years ago.
They were in bad condition when I got them and marked up - just scale your desired size
They would never have these prints in a high school today, but they did during WW II
There is little difference in 24 or 32 # pieces,  in the real world the 24 # has a 5 3/8" bore
and the 32 # has a  6 1/8" bore , so scale the barrel size to the bore
Rich


----------



## WisJim

This discussion of cannons brings back lots of memories and got me searching through my stuff for my cannon.  Back in the late 1950s early 60s my dad made 2 sizes of cannons.  One was a naval gun and the other was based on a French cannon traced from an antique book that a friend of my dad's had loaned him.  My dad made wood patterns and had them cast in bronze at a foundry in Madison, WI.  He used a lathe in the high school shop on weekends and evenings to bore and turn the castings, and he sold a few to recover the cost of the whole project.  (He was a high school chemistry and physics teacher which gave him access to the school shop.)  I have one of the French style cannons and need to make a carriage for it, and my sister has the one my dad had kept for himself, complete on a nice walnut and brass carriage.  I don't know what ever happened to his copy of the naval gun and carriage. We fired them occasionally, such as on the 4th of July, etc., and used FFg grade black powder.  The bore was sized to use 00 buckshot if I recall correctly.  I also had a very small one made from a brass faucet handle that fire BBs.


----------



## ajoeiam

Richard Carlstedt said:


> Ajoeiam and Ken , well, there are several things to do to get plans
> There is a* very nice set *in *Popular Mechanics* magazine *February 1969*. You can usually get a copy from the local library or find a digitized version on the net I think
> View attachment 139893
> 
> These AND MINE  are for a NON-Firing models !
> The Cannon I built was a compulation of several drawings and pictures and done in Brass
> There was after all, thousands of cannons made and they varied slightly
> from one another , especially with Trunion location which was on the bore centerline
> on some and below centerline on others. ( mine is below )
> Here are the old school prints given to me some 40  years ago.
> They were in bad condition when I got them and marked up - just scale your desired size
> They would never have these prints in a high school today, but they did during WW II
> There is little difference in 24 or 32 # pieces,  in the real world the 24 # has a 5 3/8" bore
> and the 32 # has a  6 1/8" bore , so scale the barrel size to the bore
> Rich
> 
> snip (plans)


For anyone else interested (mr Ken and/or any others) - - - -









						Popular Mechanics ~ 1969 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
					

Popular Mechanics ~ 1969



					archive.org
				




there's your link to the issue and attached you will find a pdf of the pages in question.

(Not my work - - - am simply downloading the file from its public repository and then selecting the relevant pages.
Interesting  - - - it would seem that the authors of both plans used the same ship and with a difference of the 24# and the 32# but very similar drawings - - - grin!)


----------



## ajoeiam

WisJim said:


> This discussion of cannons brings back lots of memories and got me searching through my stuff for my cannon.  Back in the late 1950s early 60s my dad made 2 sizes of cannons.  One was a naval gun and the other was based on a French cannon traced from an antique book that a friend of my dad's had loaned him.  My dad made wood patterns and had them cast in bronze at a foundry in Madison, WI.  He used a lathe in the high school shop on weekends and evenings to bore and turn the castings, and he sold a few to recover the cost of the whole project.  (He was a high school chemistry and physics teacher which gave him access to the school shop.)  I have one of the French style cannons and need to make a carriage for it, and my sister has the one my dad had kept for himself, complete on a nice walnut and brass carriage.  I don't know what ever happened to his copy of the naval gun and carriage. We fired them occasionally, such as on the 4th of July, etc., and used FFg grade black powder.  The bore was sized to use 00 buckshot if I recall correctly.  I also had a very small one made from a brass faucet handle that fire BBs.


Any idea of the 'book'? 

TIA


----------



## KellisRJ

ajoeiam said:


> For anyone else interested (mr Ken and/or any others) - - - -
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Popular Mechanics ~ 1969 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
> 
> 
> Popular Mechanics ~ 1969
> 
> 
> 
> archive.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> there's your link to the issue and attached you will find a pdf of the pages in question.
> 
> (Not my work - - - am simply downloading the file from its public repository and then selecting the relevant pages.
> Interesting  - - - it would seem that the authors of both plans used the same ship and with a difference of the 24# and the 32# but very similar drawings - - - grin!)


Very nice! I have a miserable time creating files from the Google archives. What application did you use to capture these?

Ron


----------



## ajoeiam

KellisRJ said:


> Very nice! I have a miserable time creating files from the Google archives. What application did you use to capture these?
> 
> Ron



Well - - - I'm one of those weird ducks that runs a Linux variant (Devuan at this point).
So I downloaded the file in question as a pdf. 
Then I opened the file in Okular (my pdf reader (it may do more but that's my primary use) of choice) to find the relevant pages. 
Then I did a print - - - to pdf function of the relevant pages. 

TL;DR
(I tried to just save the pages but that didn't want to work. 
One browser that I use gives the option of saving web pages directly as pdfs so that is my primary 'reading' browser. 
My primary 'use' browser (Firefox) I need to use the print to pdf to save the information from web pages. 
That works but its more steps (more time) which is why its not my primary 'reading' (usually also means saving) browser. )

HTH


----------



## WisJim

ajoeiam said:


> Any idea of the 'book'?
> 
> TIA


I've thought about that a lot after it was too late to ask my dad, but I think it may have been Diderot's Encyclopedia.  It was a very old volume and not in English, if my memory is right.


----------



## KellisRJ

ajoeiam said:


> Well - - - I'm one of those weird ducks that runs a Linux variant (Devuan at this point).
> So I downloaded the file in question as a pdf.
> Then I opened the file in Okular (my pdf reader (it may do more but that's my primary use) of choice) to find the relevant pages.
> Then I did a print - - - to pdf function of the relevant pages.
> 
> TL;DR
> (I tried to just save the pages but that didn't want to work.
> One browser that I use gives the option of saving web pages directly as pdfs so that is my primary 'reading' browser.
> My primary 'use' browser (Firefox) I need to use the print to pdf to save the information from web pages.
> That works but its more steps (more time) which is why its not my primary 'reading' (usually also means saving) browser. )
> 
> HTH


Thanks! I run Linux on laptops as they age out of Microcrap, but just haven't been able to completely wean myself off it. I'll go give your process a try. I've been hung up on screen captures and sizing the screen is tough.

Ron


----------



## delalio

Bluechip said:


> If you want drawing/plans for relatively simple but attractive models of some examples you could look for:
> 
> Scale Model Cannon by Stewart & Heyes
> 
> ISBN 0-7195-3888-2
> 
> Not a large book, some 60 or so pages.
> 
> Published London, John Murray, 1982.
> 
> I doubt if you can buy one but maybe a Library can locate a copy.
> 
> Dave
> 
> Surprisingly  one on UK Amazon ...
> 
> Scale Model Cannon: History, Design, Construction: Amazon.co.uk: Stewart, Richard, Heyes, Donald: 9780719538889: Books
> 
> Yeah, I know ... fat lot of good there etc etc


Ive been following this thread for a little while and actually managed to pick up a copy of this book you guys recommended. It was only £5.

I'll let you know how i get on...
Il be starting with something easy!


----------



## ajoeiam

WisJim said:


> I've thought about that a lot after it was too late to ask my dad, but I think it may have been Diderot's Encyclopedia.  It was a very old volume and not in English, if my memory is right.


Now to see if there are any articles on 'cannons' in such. 

Thanks for the info.


----------



## Lloyd-ss

If all of you act on these leftover childhood fantasies, we are in for a scary bunch of trouble/fun, LOL.

Regarding the legality of cannon replicas, it seems that having an ignition hole in the breech is a serious no-no. But maybe that isn't a limitation at all.  I have "seen" 4th of July fireworks that are called mortars that are fired vertically from a heavy 1-1/2" diameter cardboard tube that is about 12" tall. The mortar rounds are "round" with an easy slip fit into the tube. On the bottom end of the round is a tiny cylinder filled with black powder(?), and a 16" long fuse. The round is loaded into the muzzle of the tube, black powder cylinder going in first, with the long fuse going all the way up the inside of the tube, and hanging out of the muzzle. Lit with a match, plenty of time to retreatwith the 16" fuse, and a big whooompp sending the round high into the sky. Or, so I have heard, LOL. 
But the important thing is no touch-hole in the breech, if it matters.

Where I live there are lots of Civil and Revolutionary war reenactments that involve actual cannon fire with cannon balls. And it is done by regular folks. Maybe try and locate one of the reenactment units for the adrenaline rush.  If you bring about 30 pounds of lead, you might be able to bribe your way in, ha ha. They always need more lead.


----------



## ajoeiam

ajoeiam said:


> Now to see if there are any articles on 'cannons' in such.
> 
> Thanks for the info.


Hmmmmm - - - downloaded quite a number of books - - - most of Diderot's encyclopiedia and found that he had another work - - multi-volume as well that covered quite a number of interesting things - - - optics and cannon casting (with their sizing) for some. 
The work (sorry don't know how to get all the accents etc!) _Recueil de Planches sur Les Sciences, Les Arts Liberaux, et Les Arts Mechanicques Avec Leur Explication _( _Collection of Plates in the Sciences, the Liberal Arts, and the Mechnical Arts with their Explanations_) . 

So - - - I'm attaching some 2 pdfs which include north of 70 pages of information including sizings and some drawings. 
All the information is as scanned by some group with the document available at archive.org . 

Possibly mr WisJim could take a lookee see and indicate if I was able to find the source that he mentioned - - - that would be wonderful. 

What is interesting is that there is in Diderot's information no mention of the 32# and 64#. I cannot remember if the 64# was only as a carronade or also as a naval long gun. There is also some mention of a (IIRC) 9# long gun if not some others in other literature on the 17th 18th and early 19th century naval ships. 

Oops - - - even the small file (some 25 MB) is considered too large to attach it here. 
Any suggestions as to how I could get this information here?
(I have not ever played with any of the cloud services and am somewhat loath to start. 
Perhaps someone else on here has a way of breaking things up - - - I could try compressing the files - - - but I run linux and that might make things difficult for many on here to open. 
Please advise!)


----------



## ajoeiam

ajoeiam said:


> Hmmmmm - - - downloaded quite a number of books - - - most of Diderot's encyclopiedia and found that he had another work - - multi-volume as well that covered quite a number of interesting things - - - optics and cannon casting (with their sizing) for some.
> The work (sorry don't know how to get all the accents etc!) _Recueil de Planches sur Les Sciences, Les Arts Liberaux, et Les Arts Mechanicques Avec Leur Explication _( _Collection of Plates in the Sciences, the Liberal Arts, and the Mechnical Arts with their Explanations_) .
> 
> So - - - I'm attaching some 2 pdfs which include north of 70 pages of information including sizings and some drawings.
> All the information is as scanned by some group with the document available at archive.org .
> 
> Possibly mr WisJim could take a lookee see and indicate if I was able to find the source that he mentioned - - - that would be wonderful.
> 
> What is interesting is that there is in Diderot's information no mention of the 32# and 64#. I cannot remember if the 64# was only as a carronade or also as a naval long gun. There is also some mention of a (IIRC) 9# long gun if not some others in other literature on the 17th 18th and early 19th century naval ships.





ajoeiam said:


> snip


Rund the next 

not working one more time 
I guess I will have to wait for ideas from anyone interested in the files!


----------



## Lloyd-ss

ajoeiam said:


> Rund the next
> 
> not working one more time
> I guess I will have to wait for ideas from anyone interested in the files!


 Joe, does the "Download" forum allow big files?


----------



## ajoeiam

Tried using 'media' files - - - but that means pictures and these are pdfs. They're not small as they are scannings of line drawings and text. 
Went looking to find some way on here but I can't even find where any of the limits are listed. 
I have the pdfs - - - broke the files into smaller bits even at max 11 pages they run up to over 20 MB (there are some 8 files in all) - - - imo those aren't big files but I just don't know how to get them accessible to others on here.


----------



## stanstocker

IN THE US, OTHER COUNTRIES VARY: Typically black powder cannon that are muzzle loaded are not considered destructive devices.  The things that get you a bit of freedom is having it be a "replica", and not being capable of firing fixed ammunition.

The bigger issue is the possession of black powder.  When I was re-enacting we had two 6 pound full sized Napoleon field guns.  If we were not doing historical and educational stuff, a federal explosives permit for low power explosives would have been required for amounts over one pound.  Firing 10 ounces per shot when firing "blanks" we obviously used a lot more.  The law allowed up to 50 pounds of powder per person, but limited common storage to 50 pounds in a single location.  The place to get real answers is the ATF web site or the web sites of re-enactor cannon and artillery suppliers.

You can be legal with the feds and still get tripped up by state laws.  It's sort of a mess.

While of no use for reenactments where the smoke and fire are part of the show, muzzle loading powder like pyrodex can be used provided the cannon is fabricated to accommodate the different burn characteristics of the alternate powder.  I never used pyrodex, so have no feel for the material.

If you do pursue a cannon, be sure to use the correct grain size of powder for the bore size.  10 ounces of triple F down a 4 inch bore could readily blow the gun apart, while coarse F powder will just fizzle in a 1/2 inch bore.  Learn from re-enacting sites how to safely load, fire, swab out, and reload a cannon before playing around, there are a number of ways you can screw up and injure yourself or others in this game.

We typically went through 44 pounds of powder per day in a large event, so had to restock the limber after each days event.  By keeping the limber and additional powder in separate locations we remained in compliance with the exemption clause for needing an LEUP from the feds.  Our group was mostly federal LE folks and folks in releted lines of work, so we were extra careful to stay squeaky legal as any complications on that front could ruin careers or clearances even if no penalties or verdicts ever occurred.

Cheers,
Stan


----------



## packrat

Lots of good information there stanstocker, I might ad that black powder is not cheap any more, I shoot with some muzzle loading 
rifle clubs and black powder is getting harder to find and more expensive...


----------



## Lloyd-ss

stanstocker said:


> .................................................
> 
> While of no use for reenactments where the smoke and fire are part of the show, muzzle loading powder.......................................
> ................................................
> Cheers,
> Stan


Stan, I knew that someone with reenactment experience would show up. 
About 15 years ago I acquired about 150 pounds of lead that had been used as balance weights for a machine that was being scraped.  I put it on Craigs list and a fella in Crozet Va jumped right on that lead and was as happy as he could be.  He was a reenactor, too, and said that even though they always retrieved their lead, they always needed more.  Who knows, you might have met the guy at one of your events. I don't remember the name.
Lloyd


----------



## KellisRJ

ajoeiam said:


> Rund the next
> 
> not working one more time
> I guess I will have to wait for ideas from anyone interested in the files!


Option 1 post a link to the Archive.org item(s)  with notes on what you think is valuable.
Option 2 Create a Google account and use their storage. There are settings to only allow people you approve to get access, a link is sent to them from the Gmail account. This can be maintenance/time consuming. Another setting is to allow download only access by anyone who has the link. This is the option used by many on YouTube to make accessable  items they are giving away. Advantage is low maintenance. IIRC you have to also check the settings on each item once after it's uploaded.

Ron


----------



## ajoeiam

KellisRJ said:


> Option 1 post a link to the Archive.org item(s)  with notes on what you think is valuable.
> Option 2 Create a Google account and use their storage. There are settings to only allow people you approve to get access, a link is sent to them from the Gmail account. This can be maintenance/time consuming. Another setting is to allow download only access by anyone who has the link. This is the option used by many on YouTube to make accessable  items they are giving away. Advantage is low maintenance. IIRC you have to also check the settings on each item once after it's uploaded.
> 
> Ron


You're on - - - 

Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts libéraux, et les arts méchaniques : avec leur explication .. : Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive 

what you're looking for are pages 241 to 305 and 311 to 325

The first part starts as "Fonderie des Canons" - - - continues through a few other things all related to cannons. 
The second part starts as "Plat XII" (Plate 12) 

I would appreciate if mr WisJim might take a lookee see and advise if - - to his recollection anyway, this was the document used to develop the drawings of his quite novel naval cannon. 

TIA


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## KellisRJ

ajoeiam said:


> You're on - - -
> 
> Recueil de planches, sur les sciences, les arts libéraux, et les arts méchaniques : avec leur explication .. : Diderot, Denis, 1713-1784 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
> 
> what you're looking for are pages 241 to 305 and 311 to 325
> 
> The first part starts as "Fonderie des Canons" - - - continues through a few other things all related to cannons.
> The second part starts as "Plat XII" (Plate 12)
> 
> TIA


The ultimate in KISS (keep it simple stupid) to which I'll add "If it works it isn't stupid." Old US Army maxim.  

Ron


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## WisJim

Those look like the kind of illustrations that I recall (especially page 272 and similar) but it has been over 60 years ago that my dad borrowed the book.


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## ajoeiam

That's close enough for me - - - - thank you for your help in this digging. 

It is fascinating - - - the how-tos depicted, re: casting, are quite intriguing!


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