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24 pounder USS Constitution cannon I made .750 bore by 16 inches long

1306 Views 33 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  double d, 
C
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moose53
Well you are well on your way to making cannons. With such a nice finish have you considered how you would finish the barrel? There are several good options.
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C
I'm not sure what do you suggest? My neighbors think I should make and sell cannons. But would that be practical though. I still have to make the carriage but I don't have any wood working machines just an old 13 inch SouthBend lathe and a Burke Millrite mill.
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moose53
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You almost need a table saw and a good band saw to finish the carriage . With the good finish you have a brushed brass finish would be spectacular and very doable. A hand hot bluing would make it a deep plumb color , and a good gloss black spray paint looks good. The brass obturator is brushed with .001 in thick brass from brass wire wheel.
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C
Wow that cannon looks great did you make it? That gloss black paint job looks great!!!
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moose53
Yes I made the uss constitution cannon when I was going to collage in the early 70's . The brass obturator is actually steel with a brushed brass plating that is simple to do , just takes a little time to do right . The gloss black paint is done with two coats , first coat is sanded smooth.
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jbohio
A 500 dollar used shopsmith would be coming asap :) if I could do the metal ..
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jbohio said:
A 500 dollar used shopsmith would be coming asap :) if I could do the metal ..
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Oh man sorry I'm on a fixed income I can't do much. Oh what do you mean by do the metal?
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C
That uss Constitution cannon looks different than mine mines a 24 pounder from the constitution is yours a 24 pounder? Yours looks better than mine. Do you still have the plans for yours? Also I'd like to know more about the brushed brass finish. Thanks Ken
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moose53
It may be the 32 pounder from the constitution . I drew up the plans in high school drafting class and I think I still have them. I found that if you heat and brush twice you can build up .001in dia thickness in brass or bronze depending on the brush you get.
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C
Man that is neat I never thought that could be done. Where can you get the all brass wheel brushes from Amazon or McMaster Carr? Oh what scale is your 32 pounder naval cannon and what are the dimensions? Thanks
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moose53
Not sure now if my cannon is a uss constitution pattern or not , my drawing says its a 24 PDR gun and carriage -English Type. Your pattern is definitely different . I have a good copy that I can scan or mail if you would like. If I remember right it was amazon for the brass or bronze wire wheel and brush set. My barrel was 39.5 in long with 1.5 inch bore.
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moose53 said:
Not sure now if my cannon is a uss constitution pattern or not , my drawing says its a 24 PDR gun and carriage -English Type. Your pattern is definitely different . I have a good copy that I can scan or mail if you would like. If I remember right it was amazon for the brass or bronze wire wheel and brush set. My barrel was 39.5 in long with 1.5 inch bore.
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OK that sounds good you can email those plans to me or mail what ever is easier for you. Can we give emails or addresses on here? That cannon might be too big for my lathe it's a 13 inch swing by 40 between center's. I could scale it down. Thanks
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moose53
Depending on how clever of a fabricator you are a out feed table can be attached to your lathe to extend the length by about 30 in for the tailstock. It does not need to be as heavy as the lathe bed , just enough the support the tailstock when drilling out the barrel. The difference between 3/4in and 1 1/2in is worth the extra effort 😁 .
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moose53
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moose53
file is to large to load in one post
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moose53
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C
Oh ok sounds good thank you very much.
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GGaskill
This

http://gunneyg.info/images/DiversityCannon.jpg

is my version of the Constitution 24 pounder, at least the version that they were representing as such at the time I made it (I say this because I have heard that these cannon date from an early 20th Century overhaul of the ship, not an early 19th Century outfitting.) It is 1" bore and 1/5 scale. I probably have the drawings from their CD if you would like them. But I will have to find them for that.
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C
Oh ok that sounds good do you need my email?
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