Newbie here needs help. What is this?

[mag246]

Hi all, newb here. Just joined today. I've had this small cannon for many years now and it just now dawned on my to try and find out some info about it. that desire brought me here.


Does anyone have any information at all about this cannon. What I can tell you: It does fire, seems to fit a 50 cal. (not very tight though), not riffled, the carriage is completely covered in sheets of copper, and the pieces that hold the cannon onto the carriage are solid copper, there are 3 small metal wheels embedded in the bottom of the carriage.


any help would be greatly appreciated

[Artilleryman]

Welcome to the board.  I haven't seen anything quite like this.  It may be a homemade cannon.

[KABAR2]

Welcome to the forum!,
The barrel and trunnion caps look well made, perhaps done in a foundry, even the elevation screw looks well thought out, I have a feeling this was a singal cannon who's original carriage was damaged and whoever owned it decided to build their own.... the casters look like something form the 1920's are there any markings on the cannon?  have you dismounted it and checked the underside for markings or the trunnion ends?

[Cannoneer]

Interesting barrel and carriage; when I see something like this piece with it's applied copper sheathing, and the unique way that the rollers are attached to the carriage bottom, I'm almost tempted to regard it as a type of folk art.

[mag246]

I have dismantled it and I can't find any markings anywhere. There is a 4 stamped into the side of the carriage but, I am inclined to think that was previously on the copper sheeting due to its random placement and the fact that the 4 is the only number or symbol. Nothing else, just 4.

The barrel has been repainted and it seems to be pretty thick paint. I'm wondering if there's not some markings hidden under the paint. Any suggestions on a way of removing said paint with out too much damage to the barrel?

[mag246]

Hey Cannoneer, by "folk art", do you mean crap not worth a dime? LMAO

[mag246]

Hey kabar2, about the elevation screw. It does seem like a quality piece of hardware but my concern is that there is no adjustment. Disconnected from the barrel, it swivels left and right and forward and backward but once attached to the barrel there is no movement in any direction possible. Also it seems there never was any up and down adjustment, the only threads are for the cap that keep the barrel attached, nothing to adjust the height with.

[Cannoneer]

Hey Cannoneer, by "folk art", do you mean crap not worth a dime? LMAO

No, not at all, as a matter of fact I like the rig, but also keep in mind that all "folk art" isn't necessarily worth a fortune either.

You can use a chemical paint remover and fine steel wool to remove the finish on the barrel.

Have you held a magnet to the barrel to see if it sticks?
   

[KABAR2]

Hey kabar2, about the elevation screw. It does seem like a quality piece of hardware but my concern is that there is no adjustment. Disconnected from the barrel, it swivels left and right and forward and backward but once attached to the barrel there is no movement in any direction possible. Also it seems there never was any up and down adjustment, the only threads are for the cap that keep the barrel attached, nothing to adjust the height with.

It's hard to tell from the photo's I expected it had threads that worked with the casible on the rear of the cannon... so the elevation screw was probably made of hardware bits & peices at the time the carraige was made up,  it would be interesting to find out what is under the paint.. there are some spray on paint strippers out there that work very well, I stripped down a bronze item from a Colt M1928 Mg tripod that had 60 + years of paint on it,  I have a feeling that you may find it was nickel plated underneith and the plating was bad hence the silver paint... it may be a nice bronze cannon under there......

[JeffG]

Any chance it was once part of a sundial gun?

[subdjoe]

I'm thinking it might have been someone's shop project.

[mag246]

Cannoneer: I just took a magnet to it (hadn't before today) and it stuck.


KABAR2:  There are threads but, once you screw the cap on all the threads are covered. There's no adjustable nut under the cannon but, the elevation screw is a very nice piece of hardware. It pivots front and back as well as side to side (when not attached to the barrel). But, it doesn't move at all after the barrel is attached. I suppose it wasn't originally an elevation screw, nice piece of hardware though.


JeffG: I have no idea if it was part of something or as is. I found it in the shed of a friends grand parents.




I will be taking the paint off the barrel in the near future but whatever it is it was definitely put together by someone with skills and patience and a few dollars were spent in the process.

[Cannoneer]

The term preponderance is used to describe the weight distribution of a cannon barrel, and your barrel appears like it might be front heavy, so maybe what is being referred to as an elevation screw, is in this instance actually a practical remedy to that problem.

[mag246]

Canonneer: That may be the case. Sounds good to me anyway. LOL.


Just wish I could find out something about this cannon. It just seems to me that too much time and care was spent putting this thing together for it not to be something special. I guess maybe it was just something special to the one person that built it (and now special to me).