Cannon barrel vendors?

[First Sergeant Dan]

Is Hern Iron Works the only game in town? What is the quality of his finished castings?

 

[Coot]

You might look up "Bircher Inc" in Morehead City, NC for a number of turned cannons.

 

[Treestalker]

South Bend Replicas is the standard others are judged by. Hern makes and sells iron castings and makes cast barrels with steel liners. I have seen some home finished to a high degree of finish. S.B. has a catalog to die for. Get one, well worth the money.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

There is Gray-Star Cannon Technologies
Gray Star

Dixie Gun Works also sells cannon barrels.

LD

 

[Gun Tramp]

Dixie's tubes are from Hern; someone other than Hern drills the too-large 1/4" vent.

 

[Rifleman1776]

South Bend Replicas is the standard others are judged by. Hern makes and sells iron castings and makes cast barrels with steel liners. I have seen some home finished to a high degree of finish. S.B. has a catalog to die for. Get one, well worth the money.

I think Barney at South Bend has passed. Who is running the business now?

 

[Frontstuffer]

I think Barney at South Bend has passed. Who is running the business now?

J. Paul Barnett started the company and it was originally's named "Barney's cannons". At some point he renamed the company "Southbend Replicas" since it was located in South Bend, Indiana. Mr. Barnett passed away about 10 years ago and the business was taken over by Mr. Jim Olsen who had worked with Mr. Barnett. The business address is now in North Liberty, IN. which is about 10 miles from South Bend. With the decline in sources of custom foundries around the country, they do not carry the selection of cannon that they used to--especially bronze or brass. All of their barrels are first sand cast in Iron, then bored followed by the addition of seamless steel liners.

Here's a link to their website.

South Bend Replicas

If you click on the heading "Reproductions" you will find their price list of available models along with a few photos of some. You would have to order their catalog for more detail.

I have three South Bend small-scale barrels---one that had a carriage built for it and two that came with their own cast carriages.

Below is a 1/3rd scale M1861 Parrott with a 1-inch bore. The historically accurate carriage and ironwork were made in the late 1970s by the late father of the man I bought the complete cannon from about two years ago. The father used to compete with it and had built removable sights for it. I got a bunch of accessories plus two extra wheels and an axle housing meant for a limber that never got built.

Then I have two of these that I picked up cheap in on-line live auctions. It's a 1/7th scale model of a 9 inch Dahlgren on a Cast Iron Marsilly carriage. It also has a 1-inch seamless steel-lined bore. They still sell this model as pictured with the carriage although I got lucky in the auctions and picked them up for about half what South Bend gets for them now. This little brute weighs 55lbs. including the cast carriage.

Cheers

 

[Commodore Swab]

Depends on your budget and time frame.