Pictures/Plans for a Wiard Carriage?

[CrufflerSteve]

I've partially touched on this in the 'small wheels' thread but I'm expanding it so you cannon gurus will see it.

I've been looking at carriage designs for a firecracker cannon. I'm not going all out for authenticity with a 4" barrel but would like it to look something like the original. The rear of the barrel does look like a Wiard barrel with no cascabel but the muzzle is too wide. The Wiard had a most interesting carriage since it could could handle 35 degrees of elevation! That would be perfect for a firecracker cannon since I could do airbursts. At the time, most carriages just did 5 degrees. I've found a so-so drawing in "Round Shot & Rammers" and a poor photograph of a battery of them in another. I haven't found much on the net. From the little bit I've seen its a cool carriage, much more modern looking than the other ones of the Civil War. One picture implied the barrel was raised by a screw through the rear of the barrel. I won't do that. If anybody has access to basic plans or pictures I would appreciate it. I don't have much time since it has to be unveiled by the 4th.

I might take a few ideas from this and some from a mountain howitzer I'll call it a Weird carriage.

Steve

[Double D]

I'll scan you in a picture in the morning, if there isn't a dozen already posted by then.

[CrufflerSteve]

I'll scan you in a picture in the morning, if there isn't a dozen already posted by then.

Thanks a lot. It doesn't have to be super detailed. Since it is for a little firecracker cannon, I'll go for a look rather than exactitude. I'll probably fasten the cheeks directly to the carriage. My only real complaint about this barrel is the small size of the trunnions. I wish they had been made proportionally fatter. It will still be fun on the 4th.

Steve

[Double D]

[CrufflerSteve]

Thanks. Those are all the same picture?

This was from the picture of the Wiard battery that I already have. I was hoping for more detail but I'll probably try it out. Probably graft these huge cheeks onto a field howitzer carriage. I'll just make sire that the elevating screw doesn't dig a hole in the ground.

Steve

[John N]

CrufflerSteve,

I found a picture of a Wiard gun on page 69 of the book "Weapons of the Civil War" by Ian V. Hogg:



The caption reads: "The odd-looking 900-pounder Wiard Gun, an experimental design. Note the intricate casting, intended to strengthen the barrel but save weight at the same time. It was not a success".

Looks like Wiard was an innovative designer. Good luck on the Wiard carriage.

[John N]

Found a couple pictures at this site:

http://www.rowanartillery.com/artillery.htm

[CrufflerSteve]

Found a couple pictures at this site:

Thanks John. That pretty much confirms what I was thinking. My carriage is going to be very inauthentic and just have the general look. I took proportiona of the cheek height to carriage length and attempted an eqivalent for a Wiard. It will be much higher. Look at the height of that elevating screw! The original pictures imply there was some sort of elevating screw attached to the barrel on the left side. That would make more sense. A long skinny screw like the modern repro would have been a weakness during the Civial War. This also confirms that the rear of the cheeks did not square off with the carriage but continued the round onto it. With any luck I'lll be happily launching firecrackers on the 4th (and not talking to the police).

Steve

[Cpt Ed]

Here are images of a reproduction Wiard 6 pdr carriage as created by Paulson Bros, Clear Lake, WI.
You could contact Paulson Bros Ordnance Corp or Antique Ordnance Publishers, Don Lutz, for Diagrams of this carriage.
Both are listed in the “Sticky”
Click on the image’s to view them full size.

[John N]

Cpt Ed,

Great find. I had run across their listing for the carriage ($10,000, 1000 lbs) but could never find any pictures of it on their site. Steve is right, this carriage is way cool. Watch out observation ballons!

[CrufflerSteve]

Here are images of a reproduction Wiard 6 pdr carriage as created by Paulson Bros, Clear Lake, WI.
You could contact Paulson Bros Ordnance Corp or Antique Ordnance Publishers, Don Lutz, for Diagrams of this carriage.

I could contact all sorts of people but today is 2 weeks until July 4th so I have to get going. These are interesting. If I had the $'s, this would be great to have in full size. Much classier than your basic 3" ordnance rifle or Parrot gun.

Wow! Wiard certainly did a weird carriage. Most all the other Civil War carriages have similarities. A carriage with a notch in front so the axle attaches to the bottom and the cheeks go over it all. This picture looks like the axle is up above the main piece of lumber! That doesn't make sense to me. The original design maximized strength which was necessary for heavy ordnance which had to be moved quickly on bad roads. With time short, I might have to reconsider. OTOH, it would be great to have a firecracker cannon with that elevation. Were there any other close up pictures of the carriage?

Steve
Steve

[Cpt Ed]

CrufflerSteve wrote:

Were there any other close up pictures of the carriage?

Sorry this is all I am able to find in "Field Artiller Weapons of the Civil War", (revised second edition), 1988 by Dr. Hazlett, Ed Olmstead and Hume Parks.  :cry:

[dominick]

I have build some things to scale by using different photographs of the particular object by "scaling" from the picture.  For example, if you know that the wheel diameter of a cannon in a photo is 60", and the wheel in the pictures measures 6", then everything in that picture you multiply by 10 for the exact size. What you would need though is good straight on photos. This should work fairly well where plans or prints are not available.

[CrufflerSteve]

I have build some things to scale by using different photographs of the particular object by "scaling" from the picture.  For example, if you know that the wheel diameter of a cannon in a photo is 60", and the wheel in the pictures measures 6", then everything in that picture you multiply by 10 for the exact size. What you would need though is good straight on photos. This should work fairly well where plans or prints are not available.

The problem is the incomplete nature of the photos. I would love a front and rear picture of the carriage. I had worked out a ratio for cheek size when Cpt. Ed showed those pictures of the leaping cheeks! I would sure love some drawings of how the axle, cheeks and trail all merge. I'll bet there is a lot of ironwork there. I start cutting wood tonight and hope to be mostly finsished in a few days so I have to make assumptions. I'm assuming there was some support over the axle between the cheeks. They stick up so high so they would be a source of weakness without support.

Steve

[Double D]

I'll scan you in a picture in the morning, if there isn't a dozen already posted by then.

Okay, so they were a little slow, but they came through didn't they...fabulous bunch that hangs around this board!

[CrufflerSteve]

I'll scan you in a picture in the morning, if there isn't a dozen already posted by then.

Okay, so they were a little slow, but they came through didn't they...fabulous bunch that hangs around this board!

Darned right they did. This board is a gold mine of info. I have loads of info now where I had next to none. The only reason its not complete is the rarity of the carriage. I believe only 44 were made originally and I'll bet repro orders are also slow. If I'd asked for help with a #1 carriage or field howitzer carriage there'd be 100 responses with super detail.

Steve