Seacoast Artillery to Re-Create Krupp Seacoast Gun

[Cat Whisperer]

Cracker went about 30 feet with a load of 3.5gr of FF.  Had 2 misfires before this success due to operator error.  Lots of fun, probably shot another dozen before the wife complained.

WELL!  You should have bought HER one!   

[GGaskill]

Or at least have her fire the first shot!

[1Southpaw]

That's it , that takes the fun out of being on the road .  I'm cutting short my extended road trip to get home to check the mail !

The Land Yacht and tow boat  landed in White Bird ,Id.  late the afternoon , Home is just over the hill  so to speak . Taking DD's advice  we started @ the top of WB Pass in 2nd gear with engine braking  working well. This combined rig weights 24,220 lbs . Brakes were still good at the bottom and not smoking hot. 

Sitting up the creek with out a Krupp is sad news. Even worse is the weather is nasty on the Lolo pass  . May have to run north to Spokane then east over Look Out pass to get back to Montana and my mail box  .

Since December when I got my GPS we have logged 6256 miles ,148.38 hours moving
Average of 42 mph and 24 mph being the overall average speed ...
At the afore mentioned statistics  it may be a while till I get my mail ! 

Mail it now !

Am looking forward to getting home  , it's been a long road trip.

[GGaskill]

Has all the steel gotten through without causing any damage?

[RocklockI]

24,220 lbs ! Holy macaroon ,what are you towing , the moon  ?

Statistically speaking Ernie ...how many tons of fuel have you turned into exhaust ? What MPG do you get .

Just curious ? with gas prices and the crazy high winds .........



 

[seacoastartillery]

Krupp Replica #13 found its way home to Delaware!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c58BcqwwNRo 

     Thank you very much Skip; your video was particularly interesting for me, the guy who trussed these Krupp guns up tighter than Christmas turkeys so they could go the distance.  Hope you toss that block of wood and use the T-handle actuated elevation screw.  You handled the knife and the coastal artillery very well.  It will help others to know how you deftly peeled the onion via your excellent video.  Remember fellas, after you cut those last two pieces of strapping tape, that 7 pound tube is free to fall out of the carriage!  There are no capsquares holding the trunnions on the carriage.  This is historically accurate and a convenience for you shooters, in that it makes loading much simpler if you can load the piece with the tube removed from the carriage, then place it back on the carriage, cock the striker, lock the striker assy carrier and then fire the piece.

     Robrob,  Thanks for letting us know about that 'Damage to package label'.  I bet you didn't mind all that unwrapping, knowing that all those layers could have saved your Krupp!  Appreciate the report; have fun with No. 11.

     Gulfcoastblackpowder,   Thanks for the nice photos.  Didn't you find the zipper on the bottom??.........................Don't mind a little Bad joke!  Maybe on the next one?  I see that the Krupp is in excellent company!  Did your cat approach the newcomer cautiously?  Maybe give it a couple paw pops to make sure it wasn't a threat?

     Thanks to Little seacoast, we have the first video of smoke and fire and the double report this type of Signal Gun sometimes makes.    Look below and click on the photo.  Thank you, Sir; we were beginning to wonder if all of you guys were collectors and out looking for glass, dust-proof domes.  Nothing wrong with that of course, but after a little smoke and fire session, these babies can be cleaned up spic and span and then displayed.   30 feet, not bad at all, we have had shots go out from 10 feet to 100 feet.  The new style crackers seem to go farther, and their water proof fuses are more consistent, but the old style Black Cats work as well and are far more commonly available. 

     We read all comments and respond as time permits and we promise to answer all questions related to operation or firing of the Krupp Howitzers.  We neglected to mention the condition of white deposits suddenly appearing in areas of tight-fitting parts or screw holes. This is the bane of gunsmiths world-wide and is called Bluing Salts leach-out or something similar to that depending on your part of our country.  This condition is easily remedied by disassembling nearby assemblies and removing those parts affected.  Simply degrease those parts with common isopropyl alcohol and then wash with HOT Water thoroughly and dry completely, re-oil with moisture displacing oil like WD-40 and then re-assemble.  These salts are very difficult to get rid of completely in a commercial bluing operation, and although our plater had an adequate hot rinse step in their operations book, they sometimes don't take the extra time like a custom gunsmith would during the rinse op.

Be Safe; Have Fun!

Tracy and Mike

P.S.   Yours will be shipped tomorrow, Ernie.  Welcome home!

click for video.
Well finally, the camera works.

[Cat Whisperer]

THANKS, Mike and Tracy -

NEVER have I seen such after-sale service!  We are honored!

 

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Wait a minute...you're joking about the zipper?  Then who put it there?!?

Kitty did inspect it, and very much approved it.  She really likes all the moving parts, and that they are mostly easy for her to operate, though the sping on the striker assembly is too strong for her little paws.

I actually unwrapped almost all the paper and the tape, trying to avoid making too many cuts.  Perhaps I will take the time to measure the actual length of paper involved, but I think it constitutes the better part of the roll.  A recommendation - when you get to the base stage of wrapping (which is what I pictured), there are 2 types of tape (reinforced packing tape and masking tape), some more paper, a few pieces of felt in key areas, and a wood block to keep the barrel secured.  The packing tape is wrapped around the whole assembly in two places - leave the piece that's wrapping around the middle of the barrel near the trunnions until the rest of the tape has been removed.  This will keep the barrel secure so you can unwrap the rest of it without having to worry about the barrel falling on the floor.

[Spuddy]

A foot of snow is falling outside.  This helped to cheer me up.




http://www.youtube.com/embed/b54cegq6aCk?rel=0"

[Double D]

I almost missed that! Lanyard fired---cool

[rmagill]

The box took a beating but # 15 is safe at home in Coquille Oregon.  It's flawless and a work of art.  It looks like half the shipping budget went to buying tape. It's going to fit right in with the rest of the collection.
Bob

[Soot]

#16 made it home today. I wore out my chainsaw blade and was forced to chew through the rest of the packaging to find it in perfect condition.
Thanks M & T.

[1Southpaw]

Has all the steel gotten through without causing any damage?

Still riding where we put it . The trunion piece had vibrated to the bottom of the floor pan . May nee a bit of surgery to get it loose 
Fue milage has been 8.8 to 9.9 on last 2 fill ups . We have paid from $3.79 to $4.29 per gallon for # 2 Diesel. Last fill was in Grangeville on Thursday.
Heading back up the White bird pass to Lolo  pass for Missoula tomarrow . Weather forcast is not all good for Sunday . calling for 12 to 16" of new snow on the Marias Pass , We decided to head south for McDonald Pass from Missoula to Helena then  I- 15 north to home.
Hope we make I -15 before bad storms hit.

[Cat Whisperer]

Still raining here, but no more earthquakes!   

[Double D]

Has all the steel gotten through without causing any damage?

Still riding where we put it . The trunion piece had vibrated to the bottom of the floor pan . May nee a bit of surgery to get it loose 
Fue milage has been 8.8 to 9.9 on last 2 fill ups . We have paid from $3.79 to $4.29 per gallon for # 2 Diesel. Last fill was in Grangeville on Thursday.
Heading back up the White bird pass to Lolo  pass for Missoula tomarrow . Weather forcast is not all good for Sunday . calling for 12 to 16" of new snow on the Marias Pass , We decided to head south for McDonald Pass from Missoula to Helena then  I- 15 north to home.
Hope we make I -15 before bad storms hit.

People will just go to incredible lengths to get home to their Krupps!!!

[Cat Whisperer]

Back from work.  THE SUN IS SHIINING!  But it's still raining too!

At least there haven't been anymore earthquakes.   

[GGaskill]

You can't get me to believe you felt a 2.5 earthquake even if it was only two miles (and four miles down) from Pulaski.

[1Southpaw]

I may trade the VW off here in Missoula . If so , the Steel stays with the car.
We made it over Lolo  pass in a bit of a snow storm . Lots of accumulated snow at top .
 10 miles later we were out of snow and rain with sunshine  in the "Garden City"
Heading out tomarrow for McDonald pass to Helena and I-15 . 205 miles to Gt.Falls where we will lay up for a couple days at daughters house . Car needs some service work . The interior lights and rear wiper quit working . Wife lost the key to VW and a new one is $275 with the programing . We bought a key in Az  but need to get the programing done.
Every thing has become Krupp 'td  this trip . 
Will post when all is well and the Krupp Twins are safely on the mantel above the fire place. 

[Cat Whisperer]

You can't get me to believe you felt a 2.5 earthquake even if it was only two miles (and four miles down) from Pulaski.

I remember getting up, but at my age there are other reasons for that!
A friend of mine in Dublin - 7 miles up the road - did not feel it but was up working on the computer and heard the rumble!  (One becomes sensitive to those noises from working in the ammunition plant for years.)

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/Quakes/se032811a.php

[seacoastartillery]

     CW,   Don’t know much about “After the sale service” except to provide it cheerfully.  What makes this so easy for us is that we like the subject so much and consider our involvement in making these products a ‘calling’, not just a job or even a career.  We really love to talk and write about all types of seacoast artillery.  We are making an effort to learn about other countries’ seacoast guns and the Krupp replicas were a reflection of that effort.  Quite a bit about the big English guns is available, it's a shame that there is not more French and Spanish information online.  Swedish  heavy guns too of course!

     Thanks, Gulfcoastblackpowder, good advice on retaining that reinforced packing tape until the end.  You name the exact reason we put that type on the howitzer and carriage first.  We DID NOT want the two assys coming apart during transit!!

     Spuddy, your movie is one of the most interesting and mysterious that we have seen in a long time.  It looks like you fired quite a blank, signal charge indoors!  What is really mysterious about it is that we played with the controls a bit trying to get a single frame which showed the muzzle flash and we did achieve this after about 15 tries, but then we noticed that the flash only showed up in front of the reflection gun, NOT the Actual one!!  AND, when we fooled with it another 15 or 20 times we got a muzzle blast in front of both howitzers, but curiously enough, the brightest flash showed up in front of the real Krupp and the reflection Krupp had a clearly diminished flash.  Someone who knows a heck of a lot more than we do about digital movies is going to have to explain how this is even possible.

     Rmagill,   We are glad Krupp No. 15 made it.  You are right about the budget for tape.  We used four different kinds: reinforced packing tape, thick plastic tape, thin plastic tape and masking tape.  The first two were quite expensive.  On the next gun in this series we will know enough to charge 2.5 times as much for S&H.  Learning curves are never cheap.  As most of you have already figured out, we could have made more money by working at a McDonalds Restaurant, but next time we are shooting for a starting wage at Lowes or Home Depot whatever that is.  The price probably won’t be quite twice as high, but it should be.

     Soot,   I think Nematoad has top honors for the most surprising movie to have arisen from the end of the seacoast Krupp’s journey, but if you actually had used a chainsaw and then your choppers to unpack your Krupp, you would have given him a run for his money.

     1Southpaw,  I suppose the Krupp twins could be installed over the fireplace by Wednesday or Thursday.  I had too many family events to attend to this weekend, so this evening I will pack them and label them and those two packages should be shipped out Monday morning.  Hauling the trailer loaded with the Monster Mortar was the first time and scary for me even on dry roads.  I can’t imagine the gut tightening you get with a load 8 or 9 times that much on snow and ice.  Take it slow and easy!  Arrive alive as they say!

Tracy & Mike

[Soot]

What is really mysterious about it is that we played with the controls a bit trying to get a single frame which showed the muzzle flash and we did achieve this after about 15 tries, but then we noticed that the flash only showed up in front of the reflection gun, NOT the Actual one!!  AND, when we fooled with it another 15 or 20 times we got a muzzle blast in front of both howitzers, but curiously enough, the brightest flash showed up in front of the real Krupp and the reflection Krupp had a clearly diminished flash.  Someone who knows a heck of a lot more than we do about digital movies is going to have to explain how this is even possible.

I don't know a huge amount about digital movies but here's my take on it.
A movie is not a continuous shot, it's frames per second (usually about 30 fps).
The frame you are trying to capture may not exist. You can see just before and after but not the one you want.
It may take several movies to capture just the right shot.

[1Southpaw]

you are on the money with that one . I have filmed several shots with cheap video and never got the frame with the view I wanted .
Guess 79$ cameras were not meant to video our toys   

[Spuddy]

M&T,
The shot was "filmed" with an iPhone 4 on my desk with a glass top.  I used the recommended charge and a number 10 cap.  I also put in a short pencil.  Just a tip, the pencil will bounce around your office a bit when fired.  If you are ducked behind your desk it is not a problem.  The only problem that I have encountered is trying to explain to the engineer down the hall that he was not smelling black powder.  I did the frame by frame as well and got the same results as you did.  I got flash in the reflection and not in front of the actual Krupp. 

[Cat Whisperer]

Whew.  Spent two FULL days at work this weekend.

Dug out the Krupp.

Loaded the firecracker, primed, powdered and it went Klick.
Tried another cap - OH the cap was gone, place the second cap on with a pinch to make it stay.
Klick, again.

Took it apart later, found the first cap got crunched and kept the striker from hitting the new cap.

Tomorrow (or so) I'll assemble the tools I should have started with - nipple wrench, hemostats, picks, brush, paper towels, oil, cleaners and so forth.

[little seacoast]

CW, glad you mentioned the misfire, same problem here initially. I have also found that the caps fragment, migrate, and turn up in odd places in the works.   Anything that I can do to prevent or lessen this?

[Cat Whisperer]

When I sit down with this, with the right tools etc, I'll take pix and write the WI (work instruction) on care and feeding of the Krupp.

Keep it clean, inspect - is the bototm line.  (After all isn't that what you'd EXPECT from such a piece of precision GERMAN craftsmanship?)

[GGaskill]

No. 18 has landed.



Currently occupying a place of honor in my office but soon to go home as I doubt that the company's "Diversity" program is inclusive of cannons.

[seacoastartillery]

M&T,
  I used the recommended charge and a number 10 cap.   The only problem that I have encountered is trying to explain to the engineer down the hall that he was not smelling black powder.

     Although we can't recommend that anyone should fire their Krupp inside, if You ever decide to do it again, just remember the molecules of the chemicals called esters race through any air space at about one foot per second and overwhelm other odors with their fruity smells.  After you touch one off wait 5 seconds, then peel or mash 2 bananas quickly.  The powerful fruit smell will arrive at the same time as the BP one and completely confusing everyone, especially engineers who will think the smell is illogical, and an affront to their sense of logic and logic is everything to them as most of us know.

     

Dug out the Krupp.

Loaded the firecracker, primed, powdered and it went Klick.
Tried another cap - OH the cap was gone, place the second cap on with a pinch to make it stay.
Klick, again.

Took it apart later, found the first cap got crunched and kept the striker from hitting the new cap. 

      This has happened to us at least 2 times.  I colored red, a clue, which points to the cause of the second misfire, the first misfire was caused by a bad cap, cap  not seated all the way on the nipple, or cap was partially dislodged during the striker cycle and not hit squarely, etc.  The fix to misfire #1 is a larger cap, which goes all the way down onto the nipple and can be pinched to make it stay there during and after firing. 

    The fix for the misfire #2 is easy.  Simply inspect the recess that opens up behind the sliding breech block after you release the striker assy. clamping lever and move the striker assy carrier backward about 1/2".  Using a mini mag light, illuminate the recess and look for pieces of cap hanging off the nipple, to the right, facing rearward or stuck to the striker tip protruding about 1/8" beyond the front face of the carrier in the recess, but to the left.  Remove any pieces you see with a dry Q-tip.  Only then, rotate the left end of the sliding breech block 90 degs. CW and withdraw the breech block to it's stop.  The powder chamber is up now, so the nipple is facing down and 1/2 the time the spent cap will fall off onto your table or into your hand.  Rotate the breech block 180 degs now and look for remaining pieces of cap on or around the nipple.  Remove any with a small pair of needle nose pliers. 

CW, glad you mentioned the misfire, same problem here initially. I have also found that the caps fragment, migrate, and turn up in odd places in the works.   Anything that I can do to prevent or lessen this?

     Pete, you can lessen the chance a cap fragment will migrate into odd places like the race track which is machined into the breech block by inspecting and removing partial caps or fragments immediately after releasing the striker assy carrier and moving it back 1/2".  They CAN'T go anywhere other than the two places I described above if you quickly look for them BEFORE you move the sliding breech block.  Remember, cap fragments frequently bind-up Cap and Ball revolvers and it can happen with Krupp Breech Loaders too.

This takes a lot longer to read than actually do.  Once you are familiar with what to look for, this whole process takes but 10 or 15 seconds.

No. 18 has landed.



Currently occupying a place of honor in my office but soon to go home as I doubt that the company's "Diversity" program is inclusive of cannons.

     George, your Krupp may fit the company's "Diversity" program better than you realize.    Anyway, glad to hear  No. 18  arrived in good shape, finally! 

Tracy and Mike

[little seacoast]

Mike and Tracy, Thank you for the tip on removing cap fragments.  What you described is exactly what occurred, I couldn't imagine how they were getting there.

[Double D]

 
 

    The fix for the misfire #2 is easy.  Simply inspect the recess that opens up behind the sliding breech block after you release the striker assy. clamping lever and move the striker assy carrier backward about 1/2".  Using a mini mag light, illuminate the recess and look for pieces of cap hanging off the nipple, to the right, facing rearward or stuck to the striker tip protruding about 1/8" beyond the front face of the carrier in the recess, but to the left.  Remove any pieces you see with a dry Q-tip.  Only then, rotate the left end of the sliding breech block 90 degs. CW and withdraw the breech block to it's stop.  The powder chamber is up now, so the nipple is facing down and 1/2 the time the spent cap will fall off onto your table or into your hand.  Rotate the breech block 180 degs now and look for remaining pieces of cap on or around the nipple.  Remove any with a small pair of needle nose pliers. 
 

Tracy and Mike
[/quote]


If I use a Streamlight Polytac  LED light instead of a mini mag light and just pick the barrel up and turn is side way shake so the loose cap pieces fall out, will that void my warranty?