Handgonne

Hi
Am thinking about having a barrel turned from bronze used for making small cannon barrels. It will be about 12" long, 1 1/2" diameter, a 1/2" bore, and based on a traditional design. What's a fair price to pay for something like this?

One off, done by proper craftsman? He tells you what the fair price is.

Not knowing the amount if machine work involved in making its hard to form a basis to work from. One hours work? Four?

First find a machinist then discuss the price.

Check out this link from the Rifle Shoppe that offers something similar to what you want:http://www.therifleshoppe.com/catalog_pages/hand_gonnes/hand_gonnes.htm
This should give you an idea of what one would cost. No opinion is being offered about dealing with the Rifle Shoppe--some people swear by them, others swear at them. YMMV.

When dealing with bronze cannons a rough guide is 1,ooo a foot. However that doesn't compute well for guns under 2 feet. As well as there being a decent difference between lathe turned, sand cast, and lost wax. I might add that this also does not include toy or scale cannons.

jaxenro said:

Hi
Am thinking about having a barrel turned from bronze used for making small cannon barrels. It will be about 12" long, 1 1/2" diameter, a 1/2" bore, and based on a traditional design. What's a fair price to pay for something like this?

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The ones that I had made for me, cost me about $200. each.

William Alexander

Do you plan to actually shoot it, or just have a replica for display?

Definitely shoot it. We are using bronze that is made for this

Earl Burlin said:

Do you plan to actually shoot it, or just have a replica for display?

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I have mine for shooting, collecting, show and tell, and fun.




William Alexander

Nice like the second from the top very elegant shape

I'd love to have one made for me out of bronze. I have a .54 caliber original example in mind. How might one go about having said handgun made for their person?

If he does mine I will pass the info on

Seems like there's a market for these but no one wants to fill it

There is a market for them however its not very steady. I have made close to 50 gonnes, one year i might knock out a dozen in a very short time the next year i might make 1. its kind of hard to keep up with it which is why i think companies shy away from gonnes

Like everything else I think markets are partially developed by supply and marketing. I could see if you only made them when asked it could be spotty but I think a niche company with a product line and stock on hand for maybe a half dozen models might be able to build demand. I doubt anyone could make a living at it but it could be a nice little sideline business. The key would be keeping stock so someone who wanted one wouldn't have to wait three months and jump through hoops to get it.

Plus as a maker wouldn't it be easier to run off ten identical ones and sell them as a group to a dealer instead of doing a bunch of one off's? Then he could keep the inventory and deal with the customers and the maker could just work without worrying about selling so much. Sadly I don't have a metal lathe or space for one

Ever make your bronze gonne?

freekforge said:

There is a market for them however its not very steady. I have made close to 50 gonnes, one year i might knock out a dozen in a very short time the next year i might make 1. its kind of hard to keep up with it which is why i think companies shy away from gonnes

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You might want to post any extras for sale on http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=3 These folks might be as much of a market as BP folks.
Another potentially big market would be: http://www.pennsicwar.org/penn46/
If you are selling 14th century gonnes you want to make sure the 14th century folks know about them.

BTW - I am very pleased with my .75 handgonne that you made.

I made two. I sold one for $350. That was complete
with a stock and blade [hook] and an "S" curve
match holder....That should give you an idea of
what they sell for.

Never did get the one I wanted done but am still looking for drawings of historical examples I can have duplicated. Simple pole mounted ones up to ones with a stock and "S" match holder (but not a matchlock)

We had more active gonners and makers here a few years ago. Freakforge made me one very reasonably.