Get What You Pay For?

[Allan D]

I'm in the very beginning stages of thinking/dreaming about putting together a cannon. I have no metalworking skills but I was a professional boatbuilder at one point in my life so I think I can handle the woodworking.
 
In looking at the resource links I notice that one can pay anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars for a barrel. Is there indeed a ten fold difference in quality?
 
I live out in the country with millions of acres of public desert land a few minutes away. I would like a respectable shooter that would give me the opportunity to hit targets several hundred yards distant.
 
So I guess I need some advice on what to look for in a barrel.  Anyone had an experience with CannonMike? His barrels are attractively priced and have a nice finish. But will they shoot?

[Cat Whisperer]

There is a great difference, but paying more won't necessarily guarentee you something better.

I look first at how the tube is made.  They can be cast or machined; cast with a steel liner; or made from seamless or drawn-over-mandrell (DOM) tubing and welded to the breach plug.  Strength is your first consideration.

Next consideration is how it's designed/finished - is it true to a particular model (historically)?  Look at quality of finish.  Is it so designed as to be useable in re-enactments?

My choices happen to be strong, of such a bore diameter that ammunition is readily available, and I don't care about competing.  There are others for whom realism is the most important.

[Allan D]

Mike Morgan, AKA CannonMike, emailed me that his barrel is machined out of a solid piece of 1144 steel. The trunions are pinned and welded. The bore is 1-5/8". The gun I'm considering is supposed to be a 1/2 scale 1841 model. It certainly looks nice in the photos on his web site; machined all over. The vent hole is predrilled to within 1/8" of the bore.

His price compares favorably with the unfinished cast with sleeve barrels I've seen elsewhere.

[Cat Whisperer]

Allan - a 'numbered' steel is definately a known entity - that's good when YOU'RE lighting the fuse.  I much prefer something machined from 'one' piece of stock as you have less stresses and no uncertainties about welds.  (However, you should know that's fear driven - there are other good processes - even castings can be good.)

Pinning and welding trunions is standard practice.

1-5/8 bore?  what are you going to shoot in it?  1.70 is good for golf balls.