Cannon Plans

[leesecw]

My buddy that Ive got addicted to blackpowder artillery now has a lathe that will handle an 8 inch diameter, two foot long piece of steel. We've been there and built the mortars, now we are looking for scale cannon plans that would fit that lathe. Anybody got hints on where to look or have any?  Particularly interested in 3 inch ordinance rifles, parrotts, or dahlgrens but all considered that would fit that lathe. Thanks!

[guardsgunner]

I would stay with Antique Ordnance Publishers plans and just do the math.

[seacoastartillery]

     We concur;  this way you will have good, accurate, original drawings rather than some "off brand" interpretation of the original drawing.  Divide the over-all-length of the full size tube by your lathe's turned length capability and you will have the scale factor.  Divide all dims. you need to turn your tube by this factor and you will have an accurate manufacturing drawing.  That's the way we do it!

Good luck!

Mike and Tracy

[GGaskill]

Or, if you have some CAD software, make original full scale drawings and reduce them to whatever size you want.

Don't forget you need almost twice the barrel length in lathe length to allow drilling of the barrel.

[leesecw]

Yup. Know about drilling the barrel. For the bigger stuff we have access to a lathe that can handle a 22 foot length. Thats for the big toys when money allows.  Money money money gets in the way all the time.  Lots of cutting tools. Buddy is a carbide toolmaker and makes his own. Big lathe and also a massive milling machine sits out on a farm where its used for machining drive shafts and also flywheels for D50 size heavy bulldozers and hydraunits

[GGaskill]

Sounds like you are amply prepared.

[KABAR2]

 

My buddy that Ive got addicted to blackpowder artillery now has a lathe that will handle an 8 inch diameter,two foot long piece of steel. We've been there and built the mortars, now we are looking for scale cannon plans that would fit that lathe. Anybody got hints on where to look or have any?  Particularly interested in 3 inch ordinance rifles, parrotts, or dahlgrens but all considered that would fit that lathe. Thanks!

 

Yup. Know about drilling the barrel. For the bigger stuff we have access to a lathe that can handle a 22 foot length. Thats for the big toys when money allows.  Money money money gets in the way all the time.  Lots of cutting tools. Buddy is a carbide toolmaker and makes his own. Big lathe and also a massive milling machine sits out on a farm where its used for machining drive shafts and also flywheels for D50 size heavy bulldozers and hydraunits

 
  

Ok now this is making more sense! I was trying to figure out why any one would buy a lathe that size with such a short bed! Sounds like you'll be doing some nice work in the future, why don't you post some photos of the mortars? Lets see some of his work. 

[leesecw]

The lathe was a gift from the owner of the shop he works at. It needed a new motor plus some  worn gears remachined. Gears are fixed. Motor should be in soon I hope. The golf ball mortars, soda can and 12 pounder were made on the bigger lathes out at the farm. Plans supplied by DoubleD. Nice equipment out there but we have to wait to use it and we dont want to make pests out of ourselves. I seem to have problems using my hosted pics for some reason. I used it before so I guess I can figure it out. Two of the  golf ball mortars just sit on plain old beds which we threw together because we couldnt wait to shoot. The others are out of our hands locked up in a cabin up north. Hope to have some pics of those being shot this summer. We are hoping to build 4 more soda can mortars this spring yet and whatever we can figure out cannonwise. That darn money thing gets in the way alot. I supply the steel, he does the machining

[guardsgunner]

leesecw,
  You might consider pouting a DC motor and speed control on the small lathe. No belts or gears to change for speed changes.

[GGaskill]

You might consider putting a DC motor and speed control on the small lathe. No belts or gears to change for speed changes.

But less torque in the lower speed ranges although you can still make the original mechanical speed changes.

[leesecw]

The old motor was 3 phase 2 horsepower. He is getting a more powerful motor to use with it. That lathe has all kinds of bells and whistles for pretty much anything we'd want to build in the way of mortars. Anything bigger we would just head for the farm. That monster out there shakes the entire floor in the big barn.

[leesecw]

OK We'll try imagebam. Nothing pretty in the pics. I had this in the woods this weekend. This is one of four golfball mortars. This one and one more sit on a hastily made bed. We were too antsy to get out and shoot. The other two sit on more historically accurate beds which I prefer but  I dont do the building just supply the steel. The sodcan and 12 pounder are up north and I hope to get pics of those this summer. Right now its either eat or put #$%^$#** gas in the truck.

[leesecw]

Sorry about the pics. I must be doing something wrong because Ive used myhostedpics and imagebam before and had no problem

[Terry C.]

Let me try this...





Click on the thumbnails.

[Terry C.]

Just as I thought. The URL that ImageBam gives you is a link to the page that displays the photo, not to the photo itself.

Pages can't be displayed in posts.

I used the BB-Code link instead, which displays a thumbnail of the image and opens the page in a new window.


Nice mortar!

[leesecw]

Thanks for the pic fix! We shoot those alot. We hope to build more soda can mortars and 12 pounders and and will try the hand at cannons next. I like the stuff more historically accurate in the way they look but I get what is what the  machine buddy builds. My other pals are historically more interested and just buy the barrels and build their own bases or carriages. I would like to have some larger stuff but right now its getting to the point of eat or put gas in the truck.

[Cat Whisperer]

 I KNOW the choices too  -  guns or butter. 

[KABAR2]

Nice looking mortar! One question though has the wife figured out where her cutting board went yet?

You may want to give Picturetrail.com a try I have used it for the past 6 years it plays nice with all the forums I am on,
 also you can download from there a photo program to your computer for cropping and resizing your photos for those nice tight shots of the item you want to show.



Here's your photo cropped and hosted on picturetrail.com .


Allen <><

[dan610324]

I prefer guns   

butter will get you fat   

and Im fat enough already   

[Terry C.]

I prefer guns   

butter will get you fat   

and Im fat enough already   

Whaaa? I can't live without butter, what would I put in my grits?!?

Fat is no problem, just pose with bigger guns...

[GGaskill]

Don't you know it's the government's business to keep you from getting fat?  Seems like every other press release from the CDCP is about obesity.

[leesecw]

I dont know about you guys but I like the pose with bigger guns thought. Very innovative original thinking.  In a few years I should have the belly to pose with a 10 inch siege mortar.

[dan610324]

ok I understand ,
but my problem is that I havent found any gun yet with an million puond bore   
thats why I decide to pose beside miniatures instead
for example this anchor , no it aint for my boat