« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Artillery Show and Tell with Photos  (Read 1109 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline seacoastartillery

  • GBO Sponsor
  • Trade Count: (1)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2853
  • Gender: Male
    • seacoastartillery.com
Artillery Show and Tell with Photos
« on: February 18, 2009, 05:17:42 PM »
     When I was in Elementary School I really looked forward to Wednesdays, because every Wednesday we had an activity called "Show and Tell" for which I was always prepared.  I brought in everything from Volcanoes (home made) to voles.  From golf ball centers to centipedes.  From dynamite wire to a weasel's skull, all these items made it to school and I had the highest % of teacher confiscated items.  I was proud of that, being a bit of a rebel even then.

    So when Rocklock came over today to turn some sabots for his Confederate Parrott, I sat everyone down and said,  "What's in that sack that you dragged in, Gary?" Of course there was some poplar wood for sabots and some .54 cal lead balls for canister rounds (1.75" bore Parrott).  Then Mike saw the glint of polished brass, Gary pulled out a Blunderbus, a .45 Colt Auto, and a U.S. Marine equipment catalog.  He can tell you about the brass blaster and 45 if he wants, but I must tell you that I felt nothing would trump all that, so I gave up on the spectacular and dragged out my old 155mm U.S.Army Gun made by Britains and given to me on my seventh Birthday.  I assembled it and we put three rounds through it for the first time in more than 50 years.  Still propelled the projectiles 15 feet. 

    We had some good story telling then got to work on sabots and showed off our latest chassis work on the 7" Treble-Banded Brooke Rifle.  See the photos below.

Regards,   Mike and Tracy


Kitchen table Show and Tell




After some safety tips about this particular lathe, Gary turned and formed (shown) the sabot's ball recess for his steel solid shot.  The form tool Mike made with relief like a spade drill W/O the point.




Gary stacked the finished sabots up quickly, only about two minutes process time each, about 30 in an hour.





After getting the bottom surfaces of the transoms parallel to the rotary table surface with wedges, Mike drilled a very important Pintle hole in the Pintle Plate.  There was terrific stress on the center transom, so it's Pintle Plate was braced and securely bolted.  So is ours!




Set-up for drilling the Pintle Plate hole and Routing of the Traverse Wheel recesses with 3 Deg. wedges.  The 3 Deg. angle is mainly to ease the Heavy Artillery crew's labor in returning the tube and upper carriage back into Battery.  The angle provides very little recoil reduction.  We have run the numbers.




The Traverse Wheel recesses are laid out 22.5 Deg. off the carriage centerline.  We made the router blade from an old brazed carbide lathe tool.  1,100 RPM did the trick and cut a nice smooth pocket.  Used a small diamond stone to get the carbide very sharp.




Routing in-process.




The Traverse wheels are in their recesses loosely w/o wheel forks and axles.  The 3 Deg. angle of the iron shod rails is shown here. Wrought iron bracing on the center transom can be seen as well as the "end of rail" stops (right end).













Logged
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline subdjoe

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3036
  • Gender: Male
Re: Artillery Show and tell
« Reply #1 on: February 18, 2009, 05:24:04 PM »
(sniff)  Kinda brings a tear to your eyes, doesn't it?  Great story.
Logged
Your ob't & etc,
Joseph Lovell

Justice Robert H. Jackson - It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.

Offline kappullen

  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Avid Poster
  • **
  • Posts: 175
Re: Artillery Show and tell
« Reply #2 on: February 18, 2009, 11:21:04 PM »
Mike and Tracy,

Heavens,

Are those parallel's used for clamps?

Sure are purdy!

Really, hardened steel presents a hazzard if used like that.

You guys should take a bit of time and make some slotted clamps, or

at least clamps with holes spaced for the rotary table, and mill table slots.

Nice work as usual!

Kap
Logged

Offline leesecw

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Contributor
  • ***
  • Posts: 268
  • Gender: Male
Re: Artillery Show and tell
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2009, 01:02:12 AM »
Regarding the old toys like the British Gun, how many guys like us had those types of toys and many types others that got tossed when they were younger, only to later watch Antique road Show and see those types appraised at a nice chunk of change? Liked the work you guys are doing with the machinery also
Logged
If Guns cause crime, then mine are defective...Ted Nugent

Offline Double D

  • Trade Count: (3)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12609
  • SAMCC cannon by Brooks-USA
    • South African Miniature Cannon Club
Re: Artillery Show and tell
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2009, 05:06:24 AM »
When I looked at the first pictures I was trying to figure out why you guys were using old pallets for jigs and fixtures... The I saw "the tree in the forest". Neat! ;D
Logged

Offline seacoastartillery

  • GBO Sponsor
  • Trade Count: (1)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2853
  • Gender: Male
    • seacoastartillery.com
Re: Artillery Show and tell
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2009, 06:34:33 AM »
      Whoooaaah!!  Pull back hard right on those reins, Kap.  If we don't get this rig turned before we get to the edge of the bluff, we are gonna dump it into the river!  A calamity similar to this one I've just described is waiting for someone who uses parallels as clamps.  No, no, no, no, no.  Don't ever do THAT!  Kap's right, that hardened steel can snap and then you have hardened steel shards hitting your drill or end mill. NOT a good thing!!!  These clamps were made years ago, when we set up the first rifle making shop in '79.  They are common 1018 steel and are simply light duty clamps with various hole spacings and thicknesses and lengths.  All of our parallels small and large are solid, although we have seen a few at auctions with holes that look just like our clamps.

     Subdjoe and leesecw,  thank you.  We like our show and tell sessions and feel the time is well spent.  And we love to make scale artillery, seacoast guns.  Oh, by the way, we use very little sand paper as we scrape most of our wood with scrapers we make out of spring steel, usually 1070 or 1075.  That way you get a surface that's very close to a 320 grit sanded one without all that dust!

     Double D,  Finally someone has figured out our secret of how to get CHEAP wood.  You guessed it, alright!  We just go to those large industrial auctions and buy those old pallets by the trailer-load.  We haul them to the land behind the shop and beat them with sledge hammers to knock the mud and grit off and then haul them to the saws and planers.  BUT,..... BUT, how we glue them together so you just can't tell it's not SOLID WOOD, THAT'S the secret!!   ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;)  Seriously though, we should have posted a photo of the original, so everyone understands exactly what part of this huge carriage we are working on now.  Like the one below:

Regards,   Mike and Tracy


The Chassis (lower carriage) is sticking out to the rear in this 1863 photo.  You can see lots of details if you expand this image.

Logged
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline Artilleryman

  • Moderator
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1378
Re: Artillery Show and Tell with Photos
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2009, 09:46:19 AM »
Moving to a different type of project in the show in tell vein.  The following are photos of setting tires on wheels.  The tire for this diameter wheel is cut about 3/8 short and welded.  The tire is heated in a fire in which the firewood is placed around just the tire with no wood in the center of the ring as this would be too hot to approach to get the tire.  If done properly the tire slips on easily.   Then it is a matter of keeping fellies and tire aligned, and the wood watered down to keep it from flaming.   



Wood platform has metal straps to keep the tire from burning it.  You breathe in a lot of smoke and steam.






Fine tuning the alignment.
Logged
Norm Gibson, 1st SC Vol., ACWSA

Offline Cat Whisperer

  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7493
  • Gender: Male
  • Pulaski Coehorn Works
Re: Artillery Show and Tell with Photos
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2009, 10:06:10 AM »
What type of steel was used?

Any problem with cracking the weld over time?
Logged
Tim K                 www.GBOCANNONS.COM
Cat Whisperer
Chief of Smoke, Pulaski Coehorn Works & Winery
U.S.Army Retired
N 37.05224  W 80.78133 (front door +/- 15 feet)

Offline Artilleryman

  • Moderator
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1378
Re: Artillery Show and Tell with Photos
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2009, 10:13:42 AM »
Hot roll steel and none of our welds have broken or cracked.
Logged
Norm Gibson, 1st SC Vol., ACWSA

Offline Rickk

  • GBO Supporter
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1391
    • http://www.lioby.com
Re: Artillery Show and Tell with Photos
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2009, 10:30:36 AM »
Those brass 12 gauge bluderbuss's are a ball to shoot  ;D

Of course, it's "thick wads only, no ball" for the beginning shooter.

Logged

Offline seacoastartillery

  • GBO Sponsor
  • Trade Count: (1)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2853
  • Gender: Male
    • seacoastartillery.com
Re: Artillery Show and Tell with Photos
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2009, 11:05:15 AM »
     Excellent photos, guys!  Norm, I can almost smell that steaming wood and steel while looking at your photos.  Rick, your son certainly looks like he's having fun.  We remember how eager he was to participate in our log splitting adventure at your place the summer before last.  For those interested in CANNONS or Blunderbusses you can use the link below.

                                              http://www.loyalistarms.freeservers.com/pirategoods.htm


Regards,

Tracy and Mike
Logged
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline Cat Whisperer

  • Trade Count: (2)
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 7493
  • Gender: Male
  • Pulaski Coehorn Works
Re: Artillery Show and Tell with Photos
« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2009, 11:51:29 AM »
Quote from: Artilleryman on February 22, 2009, 10:13:42 AM
Hot roll steel and none of our welds have broken or cracked.

That says it!  Thanks!
Logged
Tim K                 www.GBOCANNONS.COM
Cat Whisperer
Chief of Smoke, Pulaski Coehorn Works & Winery
U.S.Army Retired
N 37.05224  W 80.78133 (front door +/- 15 feet)
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »