Rickk, I believe when you were here it was about 12 deg. F with a pretty consistent 25 mph wind. The windy and overcast conditions make it COLD. But we still have more than 300 sunny days per year. DD is right; it's a dry cold, not at all that moist, penetrating cold you get on the New England coast in February.
Thanks, Victor3, we will run some tests on some SS-69 by Silicone Solutions when we get some. It sounds like a no-fuss way to stop flame and gas intrusion between parts.
Dominick, You are correct, that was what we were thinking of, but after quite a bit of reading on this topic, it seems like D.O.M. 1020 has superior strength and very much improved dimensional qualities. In fact we had a piece of 1.00" ID Mechanical Tube D.O.M. here and it checked 1.0012" at one end and 1.0008" at the other 22" away. Not Bad. We will keep looking for a local supplier, but are NOT holding out much hope. Thanks for the cautionary note; we are paying attention. You will be happy to know, that despite eliminating all welding from the mortar, we will still present our local welder with an interesting shell hoist building project like the one beside the 13" Seacoast Mortar, Model 1861 in Hartford, Connecticut. Originally made from wrought iron, this will be a thick wall, steel tube construction in 2009. Already got the Wooden, 6" block and tackle off a Gun Broker auction.
Regards,
Tracy and Mike