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1/3 scale build progress

7K views 73 replies 9 participants last post by  carbineone1964 
#1 ·
Hello all
I am going to start uploading progress picture as I finally begin building my 1/3 scale 1841 6 pndr. I purchased the cannon in August or so and immediately found the forum, Northwoods Neil has been helping me throughout the process. The task of building the No 1 Field carriage is turning out to take many many hours as I expected from all the forum members posts. I welcome any comments or concerns from all the members! I hoped to see how others did it but in the reference section all the links seem to e old and broken and immediately redirect you to the GBO main page everytime a reference link is clicked. I was excited when I saw the CJ's 1/3 project links hoping to follow that build as I progressed with mine but they too are all bad links now, Maybe I'm missing something? Anyways here we go!
 

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#36 ·
ELEVATING SCREW AND BOX FABRICATION
This was the part I was most scared about but it actually went quick until it came to the screw and the 4 rods on top haha. Then it began to fall apart quickly. Im posting the 2 initial plans i sent to my welding buddy the night before fabrication and i will explain what we tried and what actually worked for us.
 

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#38 ·
Build continued

We then cut a 3 inch long piece off the bar stock we had and drilled hole in the center where the piece would sit. The screw part was tack welded and then began the process of building up the angle needed. At that point it was ground down smooth.
 

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#39 ·
This was the part that went very smoothly, then all **** broke loose when it came to the 4 post which need to be on top of the elevating screw. My buddy ground the pieces from the 2 clamp we were gutting for parts and it looked pretty but there was an issue of how to keep them aligned while welding. So he decided to solder them to provide strength while he welded but as you can imagine once he began to weld the solder melted and the pieces fell to the ground. The solder option was tried multiple times with no success haha.
 

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#40 ·
Continued...

Im going into detail about this to help future builders so sorry to the old hands here who might say "Yeah we get it, its an elevating screw and box" haha. We were then able to set the + pieces on top of the screw post but meticulously drilling out the top which you can see in the picture above. He re soldered the + piece and it held. It was transferred to the top of the threaded rod from the clamp and balanced on top and then placed it flush in the vise. It was then welded and didn't fall to pieces because the vise supported it this time. Then grinder work began.
 

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#42 ·
I also think carriage bolts would be to big. I ended up using screws with the head diameter that looked right then filed and filled the driver hole with epoxy. The down side to this is, once installed theres no removal without drilling out the epoxy. I'd have to go look at the plans but I don't think the box fasteners went all the way thru the trail. I'm liking the build pics they should help out future builders. And Merry Christmas.
 
#46 ·
Yup that will do nicely. Wheels really help put everything in perspective. I think it's a 4 or 5 degree bend on the ends of the axle shaft. It might not be needed but I like the look. If I'm not mistaken the camber was put in to help the cannon track better on the wheel rut roads of yesteryear. It probably also helped in making tight turns on the battle field. With the chamber it also kept the dished wheel spokes perpendicular to the ground for strength.
 
#47 ·
#48 ·
You don't need a lathe to reduce the size of the bolt heads. Hold the bolt in your hand and apply the edge of the head to a grinder wheel. The bolt will turn in your hand as it reduces in size. You can also add a small bevel to the end the same way.
 
#51 ·
Update on the build. Christmas break has brought the project to about 90% completion. Just finishing off small things now. Today was the Ear Plate and Key for Worm and the prolonge hooks. The ear plate was simple and was 1/2 in bar stack about 1 1/4" long and ears welded on. Pretty simple stuff and prolonge hook pictures will follow this post.
 

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#52 ·
Prolonge Hooks build. These were 1" wide and initially i tried to bend them in my vise and back cut but messed that up thoroughly, so I went to my buddies and he back cut the bends but bent them with vise grips by hand then welded the back cuts. I don't know how I feel about the width on them.
 

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#53 ·
Well, here's an update on the build, I'd say the project is at about 95% done. I'm still missing implements and a bucket. Yesterday I worked on the Sponge and Rammer chain plates and hasp with the long distance help from northwoodneil. When i first stumbled upon all this I literally thought the chains were joined with cloth or leather haha. So, I'm uploading this for any new comers who had no idea what was going on like me. The chain is from a hardware store and I had to separate each link with a grinder. here's the steps I took.
 

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