Gilleland Double-Barrelled Cannon

[Max Caliber]

On our way back from the mountains this past Monday I drove into Athens, Georgia to see the double- barrelled cannon. We drive through Athens at least twice a year but it had been 33 years since I stopped to see this cannon.



The cannon is now on a new aluminum number 1 carriage.









More pictures to follow.

[Max Caliber]

More pictures

[Boom J]

Fine pics, Max; I've never seen detailed close-ups of this gun before, its a pretty rough casting.

[GGaskill]

Kinda hard to turn that profile in a lathe to smooth it. 

They should have designed it with a common chamber and a single vent, although that might have been a challenge.

[cannonmn]

Thanks, I put a link on CMH Forum back to here.

Last year when I did my intensive study of inventions submitted to the Army during the early to mid-19th C., I ran across literally hundreds of submissions of double-barrelled cannons of every variation you can imagine.  There are a number that got as far as obtaining a patent, and I've seen the drawings in the annual Patent Office Reports.  I have one large model which has a percussion lock over and in between the two barrels.  The cap fires powder in a small separate chamber.  Flame comes out of two tiny cannon barrels on either side of the chamber.  Each vent has a cup-like thing, open side facing the tiny barrel,  to catch flame from it.  The carriage also has elevation and divergence adjustments.

[KABAR2]

Thanks for the photo's, it is a pity that Athens spent good money getting a nice carriage for their cannon

but the carriage maker who was able to provide spacers for the extra wide tube could not provide the elevation

screw in the correct position.

[RocklockI]

Well , if it was a prototype to test the idea .....that could explain the ....indiscretions with the file work .

Doesn't work...why polish  it....or recast a good one ?

JMHO

[Boom J]

No, I'm not talking about not having a smooth turned finish like a Northern Rodman, I'm taliking about it being a rough casting, even for a Southern iron gun. The muzzle face, muzzle mouldings, muzzle astragal and fillets, and cascabel neck fillet all have a very rough appearance; I don't think the foundrymen at the "Athens Steam Company" where the gun was cast, had aesthetics at the top of their priorities list when they made this cannon. Other Southern foundries did the same, (though not to this extent) Joseph R. Anderson who was the owner of Tredegar also decided to eliminate useless machine work, and leave the exterior roughness on his iron cannons.
There are three vents: Each barrel has its own touch hole, so it can be fired independent of the other, and a common touch hole in the center is designed to fire both barrels simultaneously. According to history, the middle vent meant to fire both tubes at the same time, evidently didn't function the way it was intended to.

[kaintuck]

hummmm............i don't want to be the fellow loading a two-shooter~looking at a 'quick way to Jesus' ramming home that second charge!

[RocklockI]

Here is my version ,the dolfins will come from the iner radius of the two tubes .






it's an under lug design to keep it slim and trim.

and a sunset from last night on the way home after shooting .



ETA ....i posted two pics that were the same.

[Max Caliber]

Rocklock, Your twice-barrelled gun drawing is nice. You probably can pull it off by investment casting, go for it. Nice sunset.

[Double D]

Dolphins are so artsy-fartsy. So make the rest of the cannpn artsy-fartsy.

[RocklockI]

Dolphins are so artsy-fartsy. So make the rest of the cannpn artsy-fartsy.

Is it too restrianed for you ? This is no chian shot shooter ...nope this one is for two 24 lb balls to strike at the same time !!!! Ouch      similtanious multiple impacts  

They will converge at 300 !

Thanks for the compliment Max Caliber .  

Also I'm toying with a single dolfin in the middle with biult in sights ?? proly a tastfull design mounted on the rear outside radius of a tube ....prolly cast in .

"in range" when the two dolfins bracket the enemy ship ? something like that .

gary

[Double D]

The back half is artsy fartsy fine, the front half is boring.  The muzzle swells need to be animal heads or tulips or something, well, artsy fartsy.

[RocklockI]

The back half is artsy fartsy fine, the front half is boring.  The muzzle swells need to be animal heads or tulips or something, well, artsy fartsy.

You stick to moderating and I'll take care of the 'artsy fartsy'.

Tulips ..... really ? no kiddin ? Dutch origanls ? Or an Aunt Bee American Varriation ? (ABAV)

I'll rev the EC up to 'B' and see what I can do ? .....What sort of animal heads do you like Doug ? ...I know dead ones , but IF we were to put an animal on what would you like ?

I DRAW THE LINE AT FRIGGIN "BIG BIRD" ! so dont go there ! 

This gun is to be manned by Royal Marines Doug (not sure which country yet) the records just are not that clear

Do you want to be seen sailing to your glory in a grand painting of the ages , while you are... manning BERTandERNIE !  On the foredeck of His Majesties Ship Woody Woodpecker ?

You are are Old Corps ! Hard Old Corps !

you could sell tickets ! just to see the painting .....

Gary     you cannt actually recall my kewpie can you ?

[RocklockI]

anything like this ?

[Double D]

Well it took moderation to get you thinking artsy fartsy...would you have rather I talked Marine to you...private, reach down and pull the lint out of your belly button so you can see what you are doing....and the shapes Marines might prefer, Royal or other wise and not acceptable on this family forum. 

Work it out you are the R-teest!

[RocklockI]

I just had to get something down as to not lose my kewpie ! I'll work on it .

 

[carronader]

ARTSY FARTSY................you can't go around sayin things like that DD..........you're the moderator for god's sake...........you been hanging out with those Beatnicks down at the trad Jazz club again ? smokin exotic herbal essences and having strange dreams about Judy Garland in the wizard of Oz. 
 You could paint a carronade pink and it would still be an evil........murderous little piece of ordnance.and this from a man who seems to love dirty .....ugly little haggis boilers. that's mortars to the uninitiated.

[RocklockI]

Huuray for the help carronader !!! , I was kinda running out of ideas for "artsey fartsy" .

I would prefer to show them the gun and let them speak for themselves .

Word would spread . These are offensive milatary piece not some darn insurance gun !

It is not for frightening aboriganles (who cant spell) this is to cause an oppossing warshipship to quit , or go to the bottom your call . live coward or dead hero ....  

Tulips ......lord D amimal heads and tulips ?  

Hagis with boils ? Carronader ? come on mate ! no one will eat hagis with boils on it ! ......Cheers  


ETA Warshipship is plural !

[dan610324]

style B is beautiful , but a little too much eastern style for me
looks lika a Bombay casting
C is much better , very close to the northern european style used from the late 1500 to early 1700
c style with achantus leafs would be enough gary
it sure is an very beautiful design

[RocklockI]

Alright we'll try C , B is like dan said ..'sort of eastern' for my tastes .

C is a 'land service' and A is a 'tulip style' . 

Land service , on a Marine served navel gun ....? huuummm?

c style with achantus leafs would be enough gary
it sure is an very beautiful design

Yea no kidding ! !!!!!    That one is down the road abit .  I can go all the way to Z on revs. so no worries there !     

[carronader]

Choose your own " signature " creature Gary and stick with it...........a Lorenz gun..........hmmmmmmmm  got a ring to it...............designing your own logo would have to be worth another kewpie.........or two.
 
Remember some guy started off the dolphins,now they are all over the place. Ephelants and woozles,tiggers and horsies,and of course bow wows..........no I ain't been drinking.

[RocklockI]

It's in my blood , what can I say ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenz_Rifle

IF anyone ever comes across one PLEASE let me know . I pretty well know their history and thought about buying a rifled repo .

There is a lot of ...back and forth on them . The jist of it is this Bravrian named Lorenz is the guy who introducsed the fulminate precussion cap to europe .

Soooo there is ...wide varriance . and NONE are marked "Lorenz"   ........

[dominick]

Gary, Here's some inspiration.    This was at the Cabin Fever expo last year.

[Cat Whisperer]

It took me a while, but I found one of the pix from a few years back -

[Max Caliber]

This should appeal to Gary and Dan, double barrels and three sets of Dolphins.

[RocklockI]

 

[dan610324]

WOW    what more can I say
what do you know about it ??
do you got any close up photos of it ??
if so please send them in full size to me
dan610324@hotmail.com
I really would like to study that piece closer

[carronader]

it's only a tube for god's sake..................screw your eyeballs back in and get a grip you two