The Cannon Has Arrived! I Am In Shock!

[Mulebrain]

What a piece of artillery! This cannon is heavy duty, and very well made. It tips the scales at 34 pounds. Any history on this manufacturer would be greatly appreciated.

Here is details:

Cannon barrel, is extremly well made, and has a forged look to it! It is marked at the muzzle( Wilton, No 20, 1985, ORD. The area close to touch hole is marked ...50gr MAX F. Black Powder Only, NO WAD NO BALL. Included with the cannon was a drill bit, and fuse! What a deal! I am still in a state of confusion!

No wad, and no ball, yeh right! This thing is a monster!

Let's have a look!

Where can I get balls, and patches for it? ::

 

[Mulebrain]

Makes my 1851 look like a pee shooter!

:shocking:

What size load should I try??

 

[musketman]

First off, nice cannon...

The area close to touch hole is marked ...50gr MAX F. Black Powder Only, NO WAD NO BALL.

Suppose they put that on there for a reason?

Just 'cus it's a monster doesn't mean it is made of the proper metal needed to withstand the pressures of projectile shooting...

I only says this because I would hate to see you get hurt...

If it is just a liability thing on the maker's part, then we need to know the bore size to recommend a load...

 

[Mulebrain]

She is a 1"

Mule

I will say this, if my .50 cal will take a charge of 60 grains, this will take at least that!

Mule :thumbsup:

 

[musketman]

Did you drill the vent yet?

If not, man would that be tempting to fill in the vent recess, flip the barrel in the carriage and drill a new vent on the bottom side of the barrel...

This way the "use black powder only" is hid from view, or try to grind that off... :hmm:

 

[Mulebrain]

I have not yet drilled the vent, with the supplied drill bit :: What is the best way to see if roundball can be fired in this? Shoot some?

 

[rmonday2]

It could be a casting from the Wilton Vise Co.
If it is, it's probably made out of good material.
I would do some research on them first simply because of the name (WILTON). They are top of the line vise maker in the metal working industry, and you should be able to find them listed on the net :thumbsup: Happy Thundering, Ronnie...
P.S. There is a casting foundry in my town and they have started casting cannons for some of the locals using 1/4" wall pipe and casting arround that as the bore. A friend of mine has a machian shop next door and he has one. He has been shooting 1000g stuffed with paper.

 

[Powder Keg]

Nice gun Brain. You said forged? Did you mean cast? Is the barrel magnetic? When you drill the barrel you should be able to tell if it is cast iron or steel, by the chips produced. Cast iron chips will be small and flakey looking. Steel chips should form a stringy chip. Again, nice looking gun. should be a good shooter. Later,

 

[Mulebrain]

I wanted to add some better shots for ya!

The guy did tell me in a note, that the barrel has a teflon protective coating? I am trying to determine it's origin, with you all help :front:

 

[donk]

First off, cute little gun.
second be very careful when you shoot this for the first time.
start with a small charge (around 100 grains of f or ff) with damp news paper for wading. To be on the safe side use a long fuse and get behind something that will stop any shrapnel if it were to explode. After you fire it inspect the barrel and breech for cracks. If all looks good increase your loads and keep checking the barrel after each shot. if it will shoot a parade load like this with up to a 1000 gr then use the same process for round ball.
I have a 1 inch gun that I made from mandrel drawn steel with a 7/8 inch wall at the breech end and a 1 1/2 inch threaded and cross pined breech plug. It is proofed up to 1200 grains of f powder but with round ball I have found 650 gr is a good charge for up to about 1000 yards

 

[CrufflerSteve]

I have not yet drilled the vent, with the supplied drill bit :: What is the best way to see if roundball can be fired in this? Shoot some?

That's one way. Use a long fuse and stay out of line of sight if it ruptures.

I think I'm not the only person who replied who is worried about the message stamped on the barrel.

Cannonmakers do worry about liability. An accident can injure or kill bystanders as well as the shooter. I've signed some release of liability forms but I've never seen the stamping. OTOH, a 1" bore is not that big, some muzzleloading rifle approach that.

Could you tell us more about where you got it and what you know about the construction of the barrel? How it was made - if it was cast, was it sleeved - if it was machined, the type of steel and so on.

Steve

 

[trigger mortise]

Google "Wilton Cast" They make frying pans and other cast stuff.

 

After seeing the muzzle markings, I have to wonder if this was a presentation piece from Wilton Products. No.20 suggests one of a series. I did find this:

Presided over by Mr. Henry Wilton (brother of Mr. Ralph (Bud) Wilton) from the 1950s until its close in 1989, the company was best known during its last 35 years for its wall decorations, garden plaques and novelty items. Many of the original designs and objects produced by Wilton Products are occasionally reintroduced as Armetale brand products as part of the American Inspirations division.

 

I have the following questions:

1.) What is the outside diameter of the breech?
If the bore is 1 inch, then this area should measure 3 inches minimum.

2.) How smooth is the bore?

This was probably produced as a presentation piece, and is number 20 of a series. It was made as a novelty piece and the extremely light load marked on the barrel is done to protect both the consumer and the manufacturer from a liability suit. Also the reason the barrel isn't vented. You may want to look into having it x-rayed if you plan to use it often.

Just :m2c:

 

Nice looking cannon Mule, is there somewhere this cannon can be ordered?
:hmm:

TheGunCellar

 

[Mulebrain]

The barrel is not sleeved, and appears to be turned mild steel. The bore is not perfedctly smooth, appears to have mild rifling from boring machine.

Isn't research fun! Thanks to all!

 

[Mulebrain]

Nice looking cannon Mule, is there somewhere this cannon can be ordered?
:hmm:

TheGunCellar

Yes, you will be able to order it from me in the future! I will be building these, and they will be shootable!

Mule

 

[Mulebrain]

I did some more looking, and I felt some roughness on the underside. Is this an ispection area? many punch/grinder looking marks?? Also notice trunnions are welded in place on the underside!

Or was there a mistake, or other information they wanted to hide?

 

[trigger mortise]

Donk
DOM 1018 (drawn over mandrel) is an excellent material for cannon construction. I would not use that much powder in my cast 1

 

[Stumpkiller]

Looks to me like someone wanted to obscure something. Serial number or prior owner info.

Was this cannon warm to the touch when it arrived? ::