Yet another barrel that needs ID

[Zulu]

Someone has ask me to see if I can help in IDing a barrel. The link has some excellent pictures.
Zulu
  Here is the story in his words;
 
 

 
 I need help identifying this cannon. This is what I know.  I purchased the cannon recently from an elderly woman who has had it in the family for over 40 years.  Her father in law was in construction and unearthed the cannon while excavating land along the north shore of Long Island near Oyster Bay. This excavation was in preparation for constructing a high end residential development. It is a small unmarked cannon, measuring only 18 3/8 inches long, weighing 53 pounds and having a 1 1/2 inch bore. I have included more photos of the cannon at https://sites.google.com/site/mysteriouscannon/     

[The Jeff]

1.5" bore? From what I've learned on TV, it's most likely a Civil War era Napoleon that came off a ship.






 

[Soot]

1.5" bore? From what I've learned on TV, it's most likely a Civil War era Napoleon that came off a ship.

Exactly what I was thinking, but i don't really know what it is.

[flagman1776]

Possibly an Insurance Gun?  (Thinking out loud)

[ironball]

Swivel gun? With all the boats on Long Island sound, it could have been used for anything over the years, from duck poaching, to chasing thieves off lobster pots, to starting yacht races.

[cannonmn]

To me it looks like a very typical late 19th C. salute gun, locally made.  A machinist would turn down a piece of round stock or railroad axle, then press or hotshrink on a trunnion collar he made separately.  I've seen lots of these and the design varies quite a bit, but their purpose is all the same.

[Cannoneer]

I think that may simply be a cast iron noisemaker form the late 19th - 20th century.

[BoomLover]

Hummmm, looks like something Armorer77 might be happy making! (And lots of folks would be happy owning!) Doesn't look complicated, and at 4 1/2 inches Diameter, 18 3/4 inch long, not too big to turn on a lathe....

[GGaskill]

Do we know if it is cast iron or steel?

[Zulu]

Do we know if it is cast iron or steel?

George,
I don't have that answer.  On something that corroded, would it be easy to tell?
Zulu

[cannonmn]

I can't assure anyone that the barrel is steel, but I should explain the reason I guessed steel.  If the maker was going to make a cast-iron cannon, he'd almost certainly have a pattern made which had trunnions integral to it, and a more "conformal" profile than the trunnion band shape.
The separate trunnion band was one of the better ways to put trunnions on a cylinder that began life without trunnions. Another option is wrought iron for one or both parts, but I'm highly doubtful that either part is cast-iron due to shape and 2-piece construction.

[Artilleryman]

Is there an evidence of parting lines?

[Zulu]

Is there an evidence of parting lines?

I have never seen the barrel.  I can see no evidence in the pictures and they are some really good close uo shots.  Did you see them?
Look at the close up of the cascabel.  That dimple could be a live center.
Zulu

[IvarForkbeard]

Just a thought on this one, from where it was found and the bore, it just MIGHT be an early USLSS gun, before Lyle Guns were the standard.....

[bobhorger]

Thank you very much for the inputs. 
I do not know whether it is iron or steel.  As for the collar, I have seen photos of Revolutionary War iron cannons with collars.  I wonder if during this period, small cannons were machined rather than cast.  Does the presence of a collar say that the trunnions are not an extension of the cannon and are made a part of the collar? 
Also, I am really confident about the Oyster Bay, Long Island location where it was discovered. 

[GGaskill]

It could be a casting, but then why the trunnions on a collar instead of cast as part of the barrel?

One can only reach a certain level of definitiveness based on pictures and minimal descriptive notes.  Even a direct inspection is not going to give the same drgree of confidence that non-destructuve tests would give (think X-rays or even dye penetrant tests.)  Without makers marks, it is pure speculation to make a definitive statement.  It could be a recent fake which could have fake markings.  We can't tell.

It could be old but the cascable design is weird for that period.  Maybe you should take it to an Antiques Roadshow and see what they say.