Author Topic: Metal cannon carriage (Read 3218 times)

m223 · « **on:** July 13, 2007, 10:50:41 AM »

Well those of you who read my posts know by now I have zero woodworking skills, so I made a deck gun carriage entirely out of steel. It still needs cleaned up a bit and could use some paint. Total weight is 25 pounds.

Cat Whisperer · « **Reply #1 on:** July 13, 2007, 10:59:04 AM »

WOW - that's one sure way to TAME recoil!

m223 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 13, 2007, 11:03:56 AM »

I was thinking of you C. W. when I was making this thing.:-) Tracy

GGaskill · « **Reply #3 on:** July 13, 2007, 11:41:15 AM »

WOW - that's one sure way to TAME recoil!

Tame recoil it will, but it will stress the trunnions and their joints more since they have to accelerate the higher mass of the iron carriage.

Tropico · « **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2007, 11:46:21 AM »

Heavy Duty

m223 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 13, 2007, 02:07:27 PM »

Well sometime this weekend I plan on testing the trunnion integrity. I took my time and built the weld up pretty good, also the wheels have good roller bearings in them. If the trunnions break I shall rebuild accordingly. I will try to get pics, but it isn't so easy to light fuse and photograph at the same time. Plus my camera seems to have significant shutter lag. Mostly I get smoke & no fire. Tracy

GGaskill · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2007, 02:37:40 PM »

Mostly I get smoke & no fire.

I usually miss the smoke too. I guess you have to take movies and steal frames from them.

lance · « **Reply #7 on:** July 13, 2007, 03:38:24 PM »

looks great Tracy, what do you think about bluing the tube and browning the carriage. you sure wouldn't have to worry about scratching paint off.

m223 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 13, 2007, 03:43:02 PM »

Heck I just got my first digital camera a month ago and it was a hand me down. It will probably be another decade before I get one of those fancy movie makiin things. Oh and Lance if your out there I checked out the Carpenter cannon site, they got some neat stuff there. You would think with a name like Carpenter they would have some wood on their cannons. :-) :-) Tracy

m223 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 13, 2007, 03:45:44 PM »

Shoot ya snuck up on me Lance. Ya that sounds great. Have you done any bluing and or Browning ? or is it best left to the experts? Tracy

lance · « **Reply #10 on:** July 13, 2007, 03:54:23 PM »

buy a couple of bottles, directions on bottle, so easy even you could probably do it.

m223 · « **Reply #11 on:** July 13, 2007, 04:16:42 PM »

Hey, I used to look like a caveman but those days are over. :-) O.k. I'll see what I can find, the gun show is this weekend whoo hoo! Tracy

lance · « **Reply #12 on:** July 13, 2007, 04:19:18 PM »

get some steel wool while your shopping for bluing and browning, really it's easy.

jeeper1 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 13, 2007, 04:29:29 PM »

Quote

I guess you have to take movies and steal frames from them.

That's the way I do it.

lance · « **Reply #14 on:** July 13, 2007, 04:49:02 PM »

Tracy, i use Birchwood Casey products, i have good luck with them.blue it, wash it, steel wool it. if you want darker do it again.

Double D · « **Reply #15 on:** July 13, 2007, 09:32:43 PM »

We have now come full circle! First we had the wood workers building metal carriages out of wood. (See Intodeep's post Makin' Furniture.) Now we have the metal workers making wooden carriages out of metal.

Well why not!

I would be disinclined to brown the carriage. But what's the harm, if it looks ugly it can be easily painted later.

To me this metal carriage is a prime candidate for a paint job. Where the natural wood finishes aren't always authentic, they are pretty. Large flat browned surfaces aren't pretty. An authentic color paint job and this steel carriage will look like an original.

By the way a visit to our American Nation Battlefield wil reveal that most battlefield displayed guns are riding on metal carriages. Much more durable than wood.

lance · « **Reply #16 on:** July 14, 2007, 04:06:18 PM »

Double D, that's what makes America so great! we humble mortar and cannon makers can experiment and do what we want. God Bless America, and God bless you for protecting us.

m223 · « **Reply #17 on:** July 14, 2007, 06:38:44 PM »

Thanks for your input D.D. I already got my steel wool, browning and bluing supplies. I am going to take off the trunnion caps and blue the barrel tonight. Sunday I will give the browning a try on the carriage. If I don't like it no big deal I will just paint over it. D.D. If I do paint it what color do you recommend, I am kind of partial to that Frazee Army green that Ggaskill used on his field carriage. Lance is this the stuff you were talking about? Please IGNORE the poodle shooter. Tracy

lance · « **Reply #18 on:** July 14, 2007, 06:58:27 PM »

hey Tracy, that's the stuff. super blue can streak, the perma blue is easier. super blue won't be so bad if your tube is polished really good. pratice on some scrap, or if you don't like your bluing job, it removes easy too.then you can blue it till you get it to your liking.

Double D · « **Reply #19 on:** July 14, 2007, 09:17:36 PM »

Quote from: m223 on July 14, 2007, 06:38:44 PM

D.D. If I do paint it what color do you recommend, Tracy

Cannons and Mattie Mattel's are not all bad, are you old enough to even know what a Mattie Mattel is?

I don't have a suggestion for what color if the browning is a no go. I can only tell you what "I" would do. First I'd take the carriage apart and take a bastard mill file to each square edge, one pass of the file to round the edges a bit. I would not try to be uniform, just get the sharp machine edges off. I would the reassemble the carriage. I would then get the coarsest sand I could find and sand blast the exposed flats and I wouldn't be even about that either.

Then I would apply a good metal primer. Once that was dry I would brush on the color you want and let it dry. it might take more than one coat. The final coat I would leave a bit thick and use a coarse brush and brush length ways down the carriage sides. I would let the paint set for a a little wil say maybe 10-15 minutes and and I would brush it again with a dry bush if you can or one dipped in thinner if you must to put grain in the paint.

Color will have to wait...SWMBO, says I must leave right now to go Grocery shopping!!

Double D · « **Reply #20 on:** July 14, 2007, 11:28:57 PM »

Okay color.

Here is the gun deck of the U.S.S. Constitution "Old Iron Sides"

And the Gun deck of H.M.S. Victory.

Shortley before the start of the Civil War the USN started make gun carriages Black.

m223 · « **Reply #21 on:** July 15, 2007, 04:27:48 AM »

Streaky indeed, well it looks like I'll be redoing the bluing. Thanks for the warning on the super blue Lance to bad I started the process before reading it. Live & learn. D.D. the term mattie mattel was coined when I was still in diapers. Some folks will understandably never forgive its early short comings. Now back to cannons. Yes D.D. I plan on taking off the sharp edges with a fatherless file. sharp edges tend to collect dings and shed their finish. Thanks for the carriage pics and painting tips. Alas domestic duties call phooey! Tracy

Double D · « **Reply #22 on:** July 15, 2007, 05:44:00 AM »

Cold blue works better on warm to hot metal...

lance · « **Reply #23 on:** July 15, 2007, 08:24:44 AM »

Tracy, keep trying, it will come out o.k. when you get it so blue that it almost looks black, well then, you've done it. Double D's pictures sure are neat!!! i can't decide between the red or yellow carriages. you'll have to build more cannons, bluing,browning,red,yellow- you'd probably like to ring both our necks by now..............

m223 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 15, 2007, 10:48:17 AM »

O.K. I will keep at it. So far I have only two coats on it. I think I like the yellow carriage. might go with that. I've been considering doing a hand gonne the browning might look neat on that. They also through out two die cylinders at work both are about 6" in diameter and 18" long. Maybe a short barreled 3" mountain howitzer or a long barrel mortar? So many projects so little time sigh. Tracy

Ex 49'er · « **Reply #25 on:** July 15, 2007, 06:59:41 PM »

18" long, eh! What about a lyle gun? Just a thought.

m223 · « **Reply #26 on:** July 16, 2007, 03:18:33 PM »

Ex 49'er I'm not to familiar with Lyle guns, but I will look into it. If your out there D.D. is it O.K. to put the metal in the oven on low heat after some bluing has already been applied, then when its warm apply more? I have about 8 applications on now and it is looking better. Just wondering if I heat it up and apply a couple more coats how that might turn out. Tracy

lance · « **Reply #27 on:** July 16, 2007, 05:06:29 PM »

Tracy, get some blue remover. it only takes two coats to get it black. pm me and i'll tell you how i do it. you are going to end up painting that cannon barrel, or you will learn to blue.........

Tropico · « **Reply #28 on:** July 16, 2007, 05:20:10 PM »

This cannon and carriage really looks great. I keep thinking how heavy it must be (I like that) .

Personally I really like both ships The Con and the Victory . For many years perhaps some thru the 17th century and definitely thru the 18th..., many carriages were painted red., the story I heard was that red would not show blood and therefore during an engagement ., the dead neighboring gun crew wasn't as demoralizing to the living. It sounds plausible? Perhaps someone can comment on this further. With that being said ., then I have to wonder "Why would they paint HMS Victories carriages Yellow...., but of course most all were painted the kings colors at that time. Myself I would go red.

Double D · « **Reply #29 on:** July 16, 2007, 05:25:02 PM »

Quote from: m223 on July 16, 2007, 03:18:33 PM

If your out there D.D. is it O.K. to put the metal in the oven on low heat after some bluing has already been applied, then when its warm apply more? I have about 8 applications on now and it is looking better. Just wondering if I heat it up and apply a couple more coats how that might turn out. Tracy

Best way to apply heat is to leave the barrel out in the hot sun. You can also hold on to the barrel with your fingers adn warm it with a propane torch intil you feel the warm, but then you have to degrease where you fingers were..

Apply the cold blue with a degreased piece of 0000 steel wooll. The steal wool will blue and react with the steel you are bluing. By the way I use---when in America- Dicropan T-4 from Brownells www.brownells.com for my cold blue.