Author Topic: 850 miles (Read 945 times)

intoodeep · « **on:** September 04, 2011, 02:01:16 PM »

Well, the other day the wife and I took a little trip. It was 850 miles to be exact. We made this trip to pick up this interesting little toy shown below. I have personally never seen a Brown on a field carriage but, I guess it does exist.

Now, I am on the hunt for some 3ga. shells for this. Plus, I need a little advice from our wood experts out there (Zulu or lendi). The wood on this is a bit on the dry side and with it being in the desert I would like to preserve this but, not affect the original finish. Any ideas guys?

GGaskill · « **Reply #1 on:** September 04, 2011, 02:04:21 PM »

First thing I would do would be to put some pavers beneath the wheels and the trail to lessen moisture entering the wood.

intoodeep · « **Reply #2 on:** September 04, 2011, 02:11:04 PM »

Quote from: GGaskill on September 04, 2011, 02:04:21 PM

First thing I would do would be to put some pavers beneath the wheels and the trail to lessen moisture entering the wood.

GGaskill,

This cannon will not be stored outside. It will be part of the household decorations.

Zulu · « **Reply #3 on:** September 04, 2011, 02:31:15 PM »

intoodeep,
It looks like the wood is raw. If that is the case, you could coat it with raw linseed oil. Wipe off all the excess and it will look good. Sand it first for best results. If you want a sheen, you could put two coats of polyurethene on it. I would use "satin" if I was doing it instead of gloss.
Nice gun.
Zulu

Double D · « **Reply #4 on:** September 04, 2011, 02:44:08 PM »

In restoring the dried out guns from Nepal I have using Kramers antique restorer with very good results.

http://www.kramerize.com/why_different.htm

Before:

After:

1Southpaw · « **Reply #5 on:** September 04, 2011, 07:19:39 PM »

Boiled LSO (lin seed oil ) turpentine in a 50 -50 mix makes an excellent sealer finish . Wife uses it on our door and window sills .

lendi · « **Reply #6 on:** September 05, 2011, 05:35:55 AM »

intodeep,
great looking cannon. on my carriages i use a mixture of 4 parts each of boiled linseed oil and gum turpentine, 1 part of japan drier and one part of pine tar. i warm the mixture up and brush generously. if it gets absorbed in apply more. wipe off after several hours, and keep wiping as it comes to the surface. after a few days start to apply a thin coat with a cloth as many as you have time for. need to let it dry in between coats. last but not least a coat of paste wax. raw linseed oil will turn dark with age.
for 3g hulls check with the new owners of rbg cannons i know that they had some

lendi

Cannoneer · « **Reply #7 on:** September 05, 2011, 06:40:58 AM »

intoodeep,

I don't usually have green eyes, but they're green now, and the envy isn't being caused by that short legged furry thing either.

That Brown is definitely something I would be overjoyed to own; congratulations!

Double D · « **Reply #8 on:** September 05, 2011, 06:44:14 AM »

By the way you should drag that thing up I-15 in two years..

flagman1776 · « **Reply #9 on:** September 05, 2011, 06:52:35 AM »

delete

intoodeep · « **Reply #10 on:** September 06, 2011, 02:39:52 PM »

Thanks to everyone for their input. I now have a few things to think about and try on the wood.

DD,
I assume you cleaned that stock of yours before treating it. If so, what did you use to clean it?

lendi,
I have sent you a PM regarding the hulls.

Double D · « **Reply #11 on:** September 06, 2011, 05:39:21 PM »

Quote from: intoodeep on September 06, 2011, 02:39:52 PM

DD,
I assume you cleaned that stock of yours before treating it. If so, what did you use to clean it?

I used the Kramer's clarifier to clean, then used the Antique restorer to finish. Here is a link: http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?122451-Kramers-Antique-restorer&highlight=kramer%27s

Cannoneer · « **Reply #12 on:** September 07, 2011, 09:44:09 AM »

intoodeep,

You've probably read the "10 gauge cannon? Can someone school me?" thread Started by DukeInMaine already. I'll be frank, I've always just assumed (maybe wrongly) that all signal cannon had straight uninterupted diameter bores, from the Strong, Brown, Snow etc. guns of the early 1900's, all the way up to comtemporary models made by companies such as Beaufort Naval Armorers. Does the bore of your newly acquired Brown 3 Ga. show the same diameter at the breech as it does at the muzzle, and is the diam. measurement uniform all the way down the bore?

intoodeep · « **Reply #13 on:** September 07, 2011, 10:20:34 AM »

Cannoneer,

I have a few different signal guns. The Brown, BNA and Winchester all have a chamber area that is slightly larger then the bore. The increase in the chamber diameter is about the same as the wall thickness of the shell. Hope this makes sense. I can give more detail if needed later as, typing on this phone is not much fun....

flagman1776 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 07, 2011, 11:21:00 AM »

delete

intoodeep · « **Reply #15 on:** September 07, 2011, 02:08:59 PM »

Cannoneer,

Here are a couple of photos that should show you what you were inquiring about. The first one is a BNA 10ga. The second is the Brown 3 Ga.

Cannoneer · « **Reply #16 on:** September 07, 2011, 02:40:29 PM »

intoodeep,

Thanks for clearing the chamber question up for me. My 10 gauge signal gun is a one-off made by an individual machinist, and there's no chamber, so I just assumed that was the norm.

Added: Thanks for posting the pics Ed, I just viewed them; now I'm going to gird my loins and wait for someone to inform me that mine's probably unsafe.

intoodeep · « **Reply #17 on:** September 07, 2011, 03:05:02 PM »

Quote from: Cannoneer on September 07, 2011, 02:40:29 PM

My 10 gauge signal gun is a one-off made by an individual machinist, and there's no chamber, so I just assumed that was the norm.

Cannoneer,

I have one of those types too. It has a threaded breech and straight bore. It's safe to fire if you have enough meat on it.

jamesbeat · « **Reply #18 on:** September 08, 2011, 06:42:30 AM »

The advice you've received about the wood is good, but I thought I'd add this nugget that I picked up from an old Birmingham gunsmith:
The traditional rule for boiled linseed oil is to apply...
Once a day for a week
Once a week for a month
Once a month for a year
Once a year thereafter.

You can probably skip a lot of that, but the point is that you should apply it regularly over a long period of time to get a really good finish/protection.

Zulu · « **Reply #19 on:** September 08, 2011, 07:36:34 AM »

Quote from: Zulu on September 04, 2011, 02:31:15 PM

intoodeep,
It looks like the wood is raw. If that is the case, you could coat it with raw linseed oil. Wipe off all the excess and it will look good. Sand it first for best results. If you want a sheen, you could put two coats of polyurethene on it. I would use "satin" if I was doing it instead of gloss.
Nice gun.
Zulu

When I said "raw" linseed oil in this post, I have no idea what I was thinking about. Of course it is "boiled". It can really leave a nice finish.
Zulu