If you were to cast your own cannon - which metal ?

[Cat Whisperer]

If you were to cast your own cannon - which metal would you use & why?

[vahellbilly]

I saw some boys on the history channel shooting a brass or bronze mortar at a civil war shoot. It really rang when they touched it off. Would A cannon do the same  thing, cast from brass or bronze?

[GGaskill]

Depends on your choices.  Cast iron is typically brittle; cast bronze is typically ductile.  Cast iron is an inexpensive metal; cast bronze is expensive.  There are grades of both that would be useable for artillery.

I understand steel tends to be less fluid and has a higher melting point which is why it is not typically cast, although steel can be cast.  Depends on your motivation and pocket book, I guess.

Regarding ringing, I think it would depend on the mount and whether it damped the motion of the barrel.

[Cpt Ed]

Would A cannon do the same  thing, cast from brass or bronze?

Yes it would, a Model 1857, 12 pdr "Napoleon", 1200 pounds of bronze will ring like a bell.  :grin:

Not that I would hear it anymore. The old ears are shot from to much U.S. Army & Muzzle Loading Artillery.  

[CAV Trooper]

If you were to cast your own cannon - which metal would you use & why?

Bronze without a doubt. If for no other reason, simply the way the finished cannon or mortar looks.   :-D

[Powder keg]

Bronze, Because of it's timeless looks.

[intoodeep]

It depends what you are actually making. If, it was originally an Iron tube then I would stay with that. If, it was Bronze then let it be Bronze.

I personally like the Bronze. You can shoot it, polish it, or, just let it be and it will turn a lovely shade of green.

Now, if money is the factor then cast it from iron, sleeve it and enjoy it..... :grin:

[Cat Whisperer]

My personal preference would be to own something like a mountain howitzer in bronze - for looks - both the BIG BORE and the richness of the bronze (with a steel liner).

I'll probably build something in brass lined with steel and much smaller to begin with.

Perhaps a 1" bore signal cannon.

[CU_Cannon]

Solid gold baby!  The ductility would keep it from bursting.  IÂ’m not sure how many shots it could take though.

Â…now back to the real world.

Bronze would my vote but I think it would depend on the gun.

[Powder keg]

CW, Are you considering some foundry work? Lots of fun!!!

[Cat Whisperer]

CW, Are you considering some foundry work? Lots of fun!!!

I did enjoy casting aluminum when in college.  About 15 years ago I owned a kiln, two crucibles, the iron tools, the leather aprons & leggings - all of it.  Had them for 10 YEARS and never found anything that I wanted badly enough to go through the trouble.

NOW that I have a milling machine and lathes,  it's a different picture.

Realistically, I posed the question to draw out some fine discussion into the techniques and technical aspects of the process for a) my own curiosity and b) to have the collection of information available to members here.

On the other hand, a principle I subscribe to, is that those that work hard at something tend to "have all the good luck".  Meaning, that I may just run into another $100 deal and get setup again OR some other opportunity will surface for which I will be better prepared!

Casting a Tannenburg style handgonne would be fun.  Small enough to atempt in the back yard, stylish enough to keep in the living room (OK I do have at least a dozen small mortars scattered in and around my wifes dolls in the LR).

Hmmmm.

[jeffrey]

Hello Bronze would be my bet!!.If a problem happened it blows or splits apart and Iron blows apart with lots of fragments.Bronze is the softer metal and it is easy to ingrave it if you want too   jeff

[Cat Whisperer]

Are there particular flavors of bronze that are better than others?

Is there a particular range of mix of elements that tends to work well for cannons (as there is probably a range of elements that work well for other things as casting, machining or finishing)?

Aside from the direct question of what mixes work better for cannon is the question of what folks do in common practice.

What and why?

[GGaskill]

My bronze pieces are cast from 6% silicon bronze.  The C65500 silicon bronze/Everdur at Anchor Bronze is 3% silicon.  I don't know what differences in physical characteristics are caused by the difference in chemistry.   C94700 looks like an interesting alloy.  My gunmetal casting book* lists another nickel-tin bronze with the nickel and tin at 5%, 2% zinc and .1% to .5% lead (important to control lead content to this range) that has very good physicals.  

Traditional artillery bronze (at least US Civil War era) was 10% tin, 90% copper except for impurities.  This is not a particularly strong alloy and I have heard that bronze guns were considered "shot out" after 500 shots.

*--Gunmetal Castings, Hudson and Hudson, Hart Publishing Co., 1967