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I picked up a copy of Lewis Winant's Firearms Curiosa recently, which details all sorts of oddball gun designs, knife guns, double cylinder percussion revolvers, double barrel revolvers, alarm guns etc, and was reading about a sundial gun, a type of alarm gun. First I had heard of such a device.

Upon the face of the dial is mounted a cannon and a magnifying glass assembly with when the sun aligns ignites the fuse which discharges the cannon. Apparently they were quite popular back in the day before timepieces, when they were set to go off at noon. They were even a fixture aboard ships for marking time.

Ben Franklin had this to say about them in Poor Richard's Almanac:

"How to make a STRIKING SUNDIAL, by which not only a Man's own Family, but all his Neighbours for ten Miles round, may know what o'Clock it is, when the Sun shines, without seeing the dial. [...] Note also, That the chief Expence will be the Powder, for the Cannon once bought, will, with Care, last 100 Years. Note moreover, That there will be a great Saving of Powder in cloudy Days. Kind Reader, Methinks I hear thee say, That is indeed a good Thing to know how the Time passes."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundial_cannon

At any rate it seem they would be somewhat of an easy proposition to build, a conversation starter and an interesting piece of history.

I figure I can pick up the marble base at the home improvement big box or pour one from concrete, and the gnoman won't be hard to fabricate. I know cannon barrels, carriages and kits are out there(brass would seem to be the way to go). The difficult part as I see it would be the apparatus for holding/adjusting the lens. Still thinking/looking around about that one and about how big I want to go.

I am thinking maybe it would be a worthwhile fun project and a conversation piece for the garden?
 
Yes, that is a new one on me. If I did that, I would keep it small enough for storage inside the house. I do not agree with Ben Franklin on the practicality, I am with the OP on the cool factor. As for being quite popular, I dont think so. Not on ships either! No way. I would like to see the source for that.
 
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