Author Topic: rebuilding our 6pdr- updates 'til it's done!  (Read 701 times)

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Offline moconfed

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rebuilding our 6pdr- updates 'til it's done!
« on: August 11, 2010, 02:03:32 PM »
Been working on our 6pdr, after picking up a pair of beautiful wheels from Miller Wagon and Cannon in Tennessee, and just finished the majority of the millwork on a new axle tree. Used a hedge (Osage Orange) timber, so it should last just about forever. Now to fit the irons, repaint, and drop in the tube.
 More to come as work progresses!

Offline Zulu

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Re: The ultimate axle tree for our 6pdr.
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2010, 02:52:30 PM »
Osage Orange!  Very cool. 8)  Where did you get your barrel from?
Zulu
Zulu's website
www.jmelledge.com

Offline Cannoneer

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Re: The ultimate axle tree for our 6pdr.
« Reply #2 on: August 11, 2010, 03:18:25 PM »
Looks like the real deal Moconfed; what flavor of metal is the 6-pdr barrel.
RIP John. While on vacation July 4th 2013 in northern Wisconsin, he was ATVing with family and pulled ahead of everyone and took off at break-neck speed without a helmet. He lost control.....hit a tree....and the tree won.  He died instantly.

The one thing that you can almost always rely on research leading to, is more research.

Offline moconfed

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Re: The ultimate axle tree for our 6pdr.
« Reply #3 on: August 11, 2010, 03:37:16 PM »
Thanks, guys- the barrel is a bit one-off. It's actually machined steel from a section of a ship's propeller shaft. 900 pounds on the dot- just had it weighed.
Produces a distinct sound downrange as reported by the yanks in the area. ;D
Any other questions, just ask- I can blather on for hours!

Here's a pic of us firing at the Liberty Memorial in KC a couple years ago- see if you can spot the primer leaving the vent.

Offline dan610324

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Re: The ultimate axle tree for our 6pdr.
« Reply #4 on: August 11, 2010, 05:33:54 PM »
straight up , maybe 2 feet over the smoke cloud
Dan Pettersson
a swedish cannon maniac
interested in early bronze guns

better safe than sorry

Offline Cannoneer

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Re: The ultimate axle tree for our 6pdr.
« Reply #5 on: August 11, 2010, 06:33:17 PM »
Did you cut the hedge wood for the axletree yourself?
RIP John. While on vacation July 4th 2013 in northern Wisconsin, he was ATVing with family and pulled ahead of everyone and took off at break-neck speed without a helmet. He lost control.....hit a tree....and the tree won.  He died instantly.

The one thing that you can almost always rely on research leading to, is more research.

Offline moconfed

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Re: The ultimate axle tree for our 6pdr.
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2010, 06:04:59 AM »
Depends on how you ask- A friend's father in law cut the tree and produced roughly an 8x8 timber that sat for around 4 years, and we trued it, and did all the rest. As if hedge isn't indestructible enough, the axle channel (gouge) is pretty much centered, with the growth rings curling around it, which translated mean that if/when it dries further, the wood will actually clamp the steel, making it stronger.
I figured that if my grandkids want to take it apart, they'll have to burn it to get it out!

Offline Cannoneer

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Re: The ultimate axle tree for our 6pdr.
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2010, 10:26:12 AM »
Thanks Moconfed, that is what I was asking (who cut the tree); the wood is such a bright yellow in your picture that I thought it would be a lot fresher than 4 years.
RIP John. While on vacation July 4th 2013 in northern Wisconsin, he was ATVing with family and pulled ahead of everyone and took off at break-neck speed without a helmet. He lost control.....hit a tree....and the tree won.  He died instantly.

The one thing that you can almost always rely on research leading to, is more research.

Offline moconfed

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Re: rebuilding our 6pdr- updates 'til it's done!
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2010, 03:31:05 PM »
This weekend we radiused the axle tree, reworked the understraps and axle strap, and made/shrank on the axle bands. Finished off the bands with correct diameter countersunk nails, to boot.
still need to modify the implement hooks and install ramstop, as well as adjusting implement chains to fit. Then it's time for linseed oil and paint.
Note in the pic of the inner side of nave, the Miller Wagon and Cannon maker mark- his work is guaranteed for life!