Let's see your cannon! :evil:

[Boneyard51]

What a great story Bones, and thanks for sharing it with us. I love the idea that the childhood experience and your Dad's kindness sparked off a lifelong interest to travel and see other cannons around the Country. That focus must have brought you to a lot of fun travel experiences, as they say, 'It's not the destination, it's the journey'.

Yes it did make an impact on me.... pun intended! I plan on making a cannon that shoots golf balls! They are readily available, I bought a five gallon bucket full the other day for $10! I think it would be the perfect size. And if need be would work in a pinch!
I look at my two cannons every day. They remind me of my Dad! I will go visit my Mom tomorrow and give her a Diamond, for their 75th anniversary, we bought together , 48 years ago, for my girlfriend, whom became my wife. I lost her 12 years ago, best I can do for my Mom, as my Dad is no longer here..





Bones

 

[ndnchf]

I work at the Dahlgren Virginia, Naval Surface Warfare Center. One of the very first pieces of ordnance built here at the end of WWI was this tracked artillery piece. It was built using a 7" gun removed from a ship. Every once in a while they bring it out for display.

A few years ago, another fellow made a fully functional, scale model of it and donated it to the base museum. He used a junk .58 cal musket barrel to make a barrel sleeve. I just happen to have a rifle that was built in 1870 using a .58 cal musket barrel. It uses a .58 cal brass cartridge. I gave him a cartridge. He chambered the gun for the cartridge, and used it to test fire it before donating it to the museum. This is he cartridge next to a .22 short for comparison.

 

[ttpete]

I work at the Dahlgren Virginia, Naval Surface Warfare Center. One of the very first pieces of ordnance built here at the end of WWI was this tracked artillery piece. It was built using a 7" gun removed from a ship. Every once in a while they bring it out for display.

A few years ago, another fellow made a fully functional, scale model of it and donated it to the base museum. He used a junk .58 cal musket barrel to make a barrel sleeve. I just happen to have a rifle that was built in 1870 using a .58 cal musket barrel. It uses a .58 cal brass cartridge. I gave him a cartridge. He chambered the gun for the cartridge, and used it to test fire it before donating it to the museum. This is he cartridge next to a .22 short for comparison.

The first trapdoor rifle-musket conversion was the .58 cal. Allin. Later ones were 50-70 and 45-70. Is that what you have?

 

[driftpin]

Salvaged from a wreck outside the USA territorial waters. I believe it to be from a French vessel circa 1789, because of the engraved inscription. Lighter included for scale.

 

[ndnchf]

The first trapdoor rifle-musket conversion was the .58 cal. Allin. Later ones were 50-70 and 45-70. Is that what you have?

No. It's a Remington rolling block from around 1870. The first Allin conversion (so called model 1865) was in .58 rimfire. This is the .58 Roberts cartridge, a centerfire.

 

[Farmer J.]

Here's some pics for the cannon enthusiasts.. I've been driving past this for ages and finally made a point of stopping for some pics.
I know a bit about the history of the foundry, and not much about the cannon!
Maybe a ' Siege Mortar' is not a cannon ? I dunno, i'm a farmer!

 

[Farmer J.]

The pics didn't 'stick'. having another try....

 

[slowtwitch73]

Salvaged from a wreck outside the USA territorial waters. I believe it to be from a French vessel circa 1789, because of the engraved inscription. Lighter included for scale.

Nice.. did you salvage it?

 

[Ecosta777]

Small Brass cannon, first project I did on my lathe when I got it about 8 years ago

 

[slowtwitch73]

Here's one I'm working on. 5/8 bore.

 

[harley jim]

I dont have a cannon but I do have a cannon story of sorts. When I was living in Aurora Il there was a bleachery that processed cloth. I had the contract on there lift trucks and was allowed access to there maintenance dept.
They had a civil war era cannon lathe in there, the thing was huge something like 15 ft. bed. It had a dedication plaque on it with dates and names that I cant remember but it was a union machine and was still in use. Just wanted to share.

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[WisJim]

My first cannon was made from an old brass faucet handle that I cut and filed and bored to use a BB as shot. It was wired to a block of wood as a carriage as it lacked trunnions. My dad made numerous cannons of bronze or brass, starting with a wood pattern which he had cast at a local foundry. Then he used the high school shop to do the boring and machining, making a usable cannon. He usually made multiple castings and sold the extras to pay his expenses. I still have one, modeled after a French revolution field piece, and it is still mounted on the scrap wood carriage that I cobbled together out of rough scraps over 60 years ago. I need to make a proper carriage for it after I get my new shop set up.

 

[gnpenning]

Love seeing the cannons.

When I quit the school, the machine shop guys gave me one of the non functional ones the have the students make. Sorry no pictures still in storage from my last move.

We had a local guy that welded up a pipe, drop in a bowling ball and used tannerite.

I guy brought a cannon to a party and set it off a few times. I think it went on the front of ships and are still used??? The funny part is I think it was called a mountain cannon???

The one drives showed in the beginning would have ended up pointing down my drive with a sign about solicitors and trespassers.

Enjoyed the stories.

 

[tool_scrounge]

The "hands on" California Polytechnic universities have the "learn by doing" moto. The Manufacturing Engineering majors take a casting class with the student's choosing their final project. It used to be that 95% of them fabricated cannons.

 

[ZRX61]

Cannons were popular in my HS metalshop class, there were a few of us whose dads were instructors at the RN School of Gunnery so we had a wealth of expertise to call upon.
Smallest was about 1in long made from 3/16 brass bar. Largest was made from a 3ft length of 6in round brass bar. HS put a stop to cannon making when the teacher discovered that the ones we made actually worked.
I think the smallest working one fired 1/4in ball-bearings, there were also 3/8, 1/2, 1in calibers, plus a couple that fired large marbles & one that fired snooker balls.
We made the wooden gun carriages in woodshop.

 

[harley jim]

Cannons were popular in my HS metalshop class, there were a few of us whose dads were instructors at the RN School of Gunnery so we had a wealth of expertise to call upon.
Smallest was about 1in long made from 3/16 brass bar. Largest was made from a 3ft length of 6in round brass bar. HS put a stop to cannon making when the teacher discovered that the ones we made actually worked.
I think the smallest working one fired 1/4in ball-bearings, there were also 3/8, 1/2, 1in calibers, plus a couple that fired large marbles & one that fired snooker balls.
We made the wooden gun carriages in woodshop.

The good old days. We made lots of contraband in shop class.
Most kids dont even have a shop class available now days.

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[slowtwitch73]

The good old days. We made lots of contraband in shop class.
Most kids dont even have a shop class available now days.

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For us it was throwing stars. For a couple years there all the boys wanted to be ninjas. Too much looking at weird ninja magazines at 7-11 I guess.

 

[Outlawmws]

For us it was throwing stars. For a couple years there all the boys wanted to be ninjas. Too much looking at weird ninja magazines at 7-11 I guess.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

For us it was throwing stars.

Stars, schmars. I made a crossbow!

I've told this story a dozen times, but I'll keep this one short.

It was a kit. The stock, barrel, and grip was a rectangular chunk of walnut. The limb, flight groove, latch, serving, and sight bridge were steel. The "string" was a steel cable. I **** you not.

I had to plane, chisel, and sand the stock and grip by hand, and cut the recesses in the barrel for the limb and flight groove and bolt everything together. Even though this was Pennsylvania in the 70's, we had to petition the school board for approval. Privately, I know my shop teacher, a hardass with a buzzcut and scowl (yearbook caption, perfect for the position the lens caught him in: "You can get up off the floor now, bub!") name of Ira Scheib, was excited as me, which proved itself to be a notoriously misguided emotion during its infamous demonstration, a test that he insisted on having the honor of, for safety purposes.

So the back door to the shop class opened to a teacher and student parking lot. On the other side of the parking lot was an empty field. On the other side of the empty field was the football stadium. Just outside the football stadium was a wooden equipment shed.

You can probably see where this is going.

When the big day arrive, we gathered just outside the shop. Mr. Scheib walked a few paces away from us, cocked the crossbow, loaded an arrow, and discriminately aimed the crossbow at about a 30* angle, with the intention of burying the arrow in the middle of the big empty field.

Instead, he buried in the side of the equipment shed!

My dad kept it stowed on his boat for self-defense when I went into the Army, but when I got out, it was gone. The story was he had lost or misplaced it somehow. Many years later, my mom 'fesed up to throwing it away. She was always afraid of that thing!

 

[ZRX61]

Neatest part was the sound of the ball whistling (air moving across the three finger holes) as it came back down- sometimes sounded like a dog howling.

That's why women wear tampons while skydiving

 

[harley jim]

Just think of the stuff we could have made if we would have had a plas table in shop class
Throwing stars in bulk

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[Outlawmws]

Throwing stars is fast and easy: Sheet metal shear, cut them in squares, spot weld two so they are all points out; throw.

I'm guessing the ones left in the exterior wood upper fascia of the cafeteria of my Jr. High have long been removed by painters...

 

[ZRX61]

The good old days. We made lots of contraband in shop class.
Most kids dont even have a shop class available now days.

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There was a bit of collateral damage to a neighbors shed & mower from testing the one that fired snooker balls. It was promptly confiscated & I recently found out that it may have ended up at the RN School of Gunnery.

 

[ttpete]

There was a bit of collateral damage to a neighbors shed & mower from testing the one that fired snooker balls. It was promptly confiscated & I recently found out that it may have ended up at the RN School of Gunnery.

We devised a way to shoot water-filled balloons almost 200 yards without bursting them. It was made of PVC pipe and fittings. The barrel and air tank sat parallel to each other, and we joined the bottoms with 1" pipe and fittings with a ball valve in the center. The barrel was 3" pipe and 4 feet long, and the air tank was made of 5" pipe about 3-1/2 feet long with a cap with a Schrader fitting in the center. To load it, you aired the tank up and then poured a good pint of water in the barrel as a cushion. Then the balloon was inserted and shaken down to sit on the water. Firing was done by snapping the valve open.

We used it like a howitzer to lob the balloon.

 

[ZRX61]

My only water bomb prank at school involved dropping about 2 gallons from the 4th floor. Target was two staff who were keeping on eye on everyone in the playground. My aim was off a bit & it passed right between them just as the one on the left looked left & the one on the right looked right...
However, there was a holdall on the floor between them & it dropped right into it. Owing to it landing in the bag all the water was directed upwards & soaked the pair of them. The first clue either of them had was the water exploding upwards out of the bag which made it all the more hilarious.

I managed to get across the building, down the back stairs & nonchantly strolled out of the building as other staff members were rushing up the front stairs looking for the perp.
Got away with that one.

 

[harley jim]

There was a bit of collateral damage to a neighbors shed & mower from testing the one that fired snooker balls. It was promptly confiscated & I recently found out that it may have ended up at the RN School of Gunnery.

Snooker balls, no wonder they confiscated it.

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[Farmer J.]

Salvaged from a wreck outside the USA territorial waters. I believe it to be from a French vessel circa 1789, because of the engraved inscription. Lighter included for scale.

Nice Cannon driftpin.
deleted my comment due to realising I was totally wrong about the date!!!! Yes, it's probably 1789 or shortly afterwards.