3/4 scale 6lb~

[kaintuck]

due to the invite from one of you folks~here goes...........
my FIL gave me the dixie gun works barrel 2-1/4"smoothbore....he has had it for about 20yrs, and never made a proper carriage for it..well, it's done after a years work.








the tail piece is 3 white oak pieces laminated together, the solid white oak cheekpieces were VERY hard to get drilled for all the odd 1/2 bolts that ran thru them. the 6 metal spacers and the elevation screw were made by a fellow board member, the wheels were made by the local Amish wheelwrite(he makes ALOT of cannon wheels-- some 6ft tall!!!) and the metal parts were made one at a time....solid steel axle, all white oak with bunches of coats of paint...yes i know it's not the real colors....but I like it.....
as for the balls, yes steel balls 2"dia over 2 and 3oz of powder, w/wood sabot attached. i could go up to 1/2lb powder....but then i ain't rich, so i stayed with lower power, and my powder last longer. the woods to a beating anyway....where ever the balls hit....they took part of the trees with them! this one ball was stuck AFTER a 150yd travel, cutting thru about 10" hardwood, then a 45degree turn, and sticking in this tree.....all on 2oz of fg!!!!
it weighs about 700lbs, and i can use my come-a-long to get her in the truck on ramps....and just push her out by myself....but it's easier with two people.
she now resides at my mom's garage in ky because i don't have room for it here~she says she LIKE having it....She said"all southern women need a cannon"..........she's 76 and still shoots her 22 rifle i bought her!

the end......



p.s.
a 2" wheelweight ball at 800fps shows a 17,000fp of power~just a tad more than your deer rifle in power!!!!

[little seacoast]

Nice job! Great looking carriage even if it did take 20 years or so.  I like the color too, been debating what color to paint mine.  I do understand the amount of effort and ingenuity you put into this, I'm about half way through my own. Come to Tennessee and shoot some time!

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

Very nice looking cannon ya got there!  And you've already got a Kewpie doll (which means others really like it too)!

[KABAR2]

kaintuck,

You have a great father in law! I wish mine had a cannon barrel to give me!  great work on the cannon carriage!

And what else would a loving son leave to protect his mother's homestead! 


By the way how many cats do you have? at least two?

[Ex 49'er]

That there is a great looking build. Congrats on earning one of DD's kewpies.
That is a great pic of the smoke curling out of the muzzle.

[RocklockI]

Most excellent! and Welome !

If I were you ,and if those trees were mine ,I'd saw that section with the ball in it right out of the tree . What a cool souvenier  .

You do very nice work !

I wouldnt mind seeing some photos of those trees that got hit ...morbid curiousity .

Gary

[Boom J]

Fine job on the carriage, Kaintuck, and welcome to the forum.

[Cpt Ed]

Kaintuck,

Welcome to the board, you will find a home here.

Your Cannon is nicely done. I even like your choice of carriage color. But being from the North, now living in the South, I still must prefer the standard OD.

I also approve of your Mississippi Style tapered safety rammer. That is all I used to use with my 3.67” 6 pdr gun back in the 1970’s.

I now have a need for one 48” long with a 4.25” or 4” diameter head. Any suggestions?

I Can't find anyone here in Central Florida interested in the project.

[kaintuck]

Most excellent! and Welome !

If I were you ,and if those trees were mine ,I'd saw that section with the ball in it right out of the tree . What a cool souvenier  .

You do very nice work !

I wouldnt mind seeing some photos of those trees that got hit ...morbid curiousity .

Gary

;Dok...........there are two hits to this tree, i am going back and get more pics now that the leaves are gone~ i'll be able to see better where the other shots went......a dozen shots that day.

[Ex 49'er]

Kaintuck,
I also approve of your Mississippi Style tapered safety rammer. That is all I used to use with my 3.67” 6 pdr gun back in the 1970’s.
I now have a need for one 48” long with a 4.25” or 4” diameter head. Any suggestions?
I Can't find anyone here in Central Florida interested in the project.

Cpt Ed, Could you taper down a fence post? Check with your local building/lumber company. Possibly a large diameter handrail to start with.

[GGaskill]

Could you taper down a fence post?

I have done close to that (5" post); you just need a long enough lathe.   

[Victor3]

 Hmmm... Not a "tree hugger" I take it?

 

[KABAR2]

 Hmmm... Not a "tree hugger" I take it?

 

I think he's a "tree prunner" in a radical sort of way...

[RocklockI]

Kaintuck,
I also approve of your Mississippi Style tapered safety rammer. That is all I used to use with my 3.67” 6 pdr gun back in the 1970’s.
I now have a need for one 48” long with a 4.25” or 4” diameter head. Any suggestions?
I Can't find anyone here in Central Florida interested in the project.

Cpt Ed, Could you taper down a fence post? Check with your local building/lumber company. Possibly a large diameter handrail to start with.

Closet rod 1.5" dia. oak 

[Zulu]

Rocklock is right.  1 1/2" oak dowels with a turned oak head fitted onto the end with 1/2" wood pins.  I use oak or walnut dowels for the pins.

You can't see the pins in this picture but they are there.
Zulu

[intoodeep]

I also approve of your tapered safety rammer. That is all I used to use with my 3.67” 6 pdr gun back in the 1970’s.

I now have a need for one 48” long with a 4.25” or 4” diameter head. Any suggestions?

I Can't find anyone here in Central Florida interested in the project.

 I believe what Cpt Ed is actually looking for, is, a "Mississippi Style" rammer. Which is a one piece tappered rammer with no head.  It was used as a type of saftey rammer.  It is believed that if the gun discharge during loading that the tappered rammer would actually spread the hand and fingers open doing less damage to the hand.

[Zulu]

So the 4" or 4.25" diameter head would taper down to the 1 1/2" diameter handle?  I made one like that before for my 3" bore Parrott Rifle for a re-enactment I did at Vicksburg.  It was required.  The theory is still the same.  The 4" head is still pegged to the 1 1/2" rod but the taper is in place so it would "spread" the fingers if necessary. The 4" turned head would have sides that ran parralel with each other for about 3" then taper down to 1 1/2" over the next 5" or so.
Zulu

[p51]

Nice work! 3/4 scale guns hold a dear place in my heart. In my youth, I crewed one for quite some time and back in the 70s, that was what the majority of Civil War re-enactors used (and yes, most of them were painted grey as well). Heck, I don’t recall seeing full scale guns (other than a mountain howitzer or two) at events in the deep south until the early to mid 80s. Oh how times have changed since then! But a ¾ gun is large enough not to be snickered at but small enough to manhandle around with just a couple of healthy people.
I’d never heard of those “safety” rammers called a Mississippi rammer before. The gun I crewed when I was younger used one. You still hurt the heck out of your hands with a premature ignition, but would far less likely lose them with such a rammer. Authentic or not, I’d never work the muzzle with any other type of rammer.

If I were you ,and if those trees were mine ,I'd saw that section with the ball in it right out of the tree . What a cool souvenier  .

Good idea, it would make a great display with the gun!

[Sunrise]

A ¾ gun is large enough not to be snickered at but small enough to manhandle around with just a couple of healthy people.

Exactly!!!

[kaintuck]

yup, that rammer is far more safe than a 'square' one~
and i promised my mom i would be safe with my cannon

[Boom J]

This is just a personal point of view, but I think using the "Mississippi" type of rammer on cannons when using a u-shaped safety rammer isn't practical, is really the intelligent/safe way to go.

[RocklockI]

Kaintuck , the more I look at that gun the more I like it .

I think it very nice ...but have you ever thought of a winter project to put a autobody type disk sander to it . That thing has some radiuses and curves that would really shine nice with a nice finish .

Good work !

Gary