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The Cannon Has Arrived! I Am In Shock!

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Definitely, you wouldn't want an accident. It may not be a full size piece, but its still dangerous, front, back and over it, when being fired. Just look what happened to actor Laurence Harvey, who played Col. Travis in John Wayne's version of "The Alamo." In the scene where he uses his cigar to touch off the cannon in reply to Generalissimo Antonio Miguel Lopez de Santa Anna's ultimatium, on recoil the cannon rolled back over his foot and broke it.

Then there's this recent act of brilliance:

Quoted from the "Springfield Daily Republican and left unedited, Saturday Edition, Section B, Page 1, Left Column Bi-line, under "Holyoke", January 1, 2005:

"Canon Burns Man

A Holyoke man suffered burns to his upper body when a canon he had made to celebrate New Year's Eve went off in front of his home at 61 Arthur St., a fire official said.

The 31 year old man, whose name was not released, was transported by ambulance to Holyoke Medical Center, then by Lifeflight to the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worchester, said Deputy Chief W.Timothy Nelson of the Holyoke Fire Department

The full extent of the man's injuries were not known last night, but he is in stable condition and his burns were not considered life-threatening, Nelson said.

The man made a foot-long canon, which was attached to a block of wood, and planned to use it to fire black powder and make noise on New Year's Eve, Nelson said. He was trying to clean the canon on his front porch when it went off about 8:30 p.m."

Just :m2c:
 
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.

The barrel may not have been vented so they could sell to the Canadian Market, like flintlocks are from M.H.
 
Where do you go to shoot a cannon ?

That's a tricky question in the UK, depends on the bore and what you put in it.

Loaded blank or with grass clippings you can shoot it at real people for re-enacting historic events.

Assuming 2" or less internals and loaded with shotgun sized shot, anywhere you have the land owners permission.

Loaded with ball you have to find a range which is rated for that kind of muzzle kinetic energy, and that means Pirbright which is hideously expensive.

Minsterley Ranges are after permission for a no MKE range which will be enormously cheaper than Pirbright if they can get it.

I have an open invite to go and shoot ball in a remote Welsh valley so long as my host gets to play to, but I'll never do it because it would be illegal :crackup:
 
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!

cannonunderside1.jpg


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

This gives me one more reason to suspect that it was a presentation piece. An inscription that has been obscured marring it out? There looks to be enough meat on it to clean it up and remove the markings on both sides. Those welds bug me though, I'm not a fan of welding firearm barrels regardless of their size.

Just :m2c:
 
A milling machine cutter would create the marks you see in that square area on the bottom side of the cannon. And it looks to me like the trunnions are recessed into the cannon body, with a small tack-weld to secure them in place.
This is all very mysterious but interesting, keep us up to date on this please.
 
Cheap insurance might be to buy a micrometer that can measure the OD of the tube at several points. Mark the points with a sharpie so you can get good repeatable locations. Compare measurements before and after test firing. If the tube swells at all consider that 150% of a safe load.
:m2c:
 
One more thing I would like to mention, that tack weld you see was made by a MIG welder and judging by the way the weld has penetrated into the cannon metal I would say that your cannon was made from steel and not cast.
Take it to a welder and have the trunnions properly welded all around and then blend then in with a grinder so that you get a nice clean curvature. It will destroy the paint of course so now you can fill in the blemishes and decorate to your hearts content.
Drill the vent hole and fire that sucker.
 
I just got off the phone with the guy who built the barrel! Good News! The barrel is constructed of either 1018, or 1020 steel. The trunnions are pressed in, and tack welded. The guy is a machinist and built it in 1985. The no wad, no ball and 50gr powder info on top is strictly put their for liability reasons. This cannon is one of a kind, it is the only one of this type he built. He has since moved on to large artillery pieces. This cannon is capable of full charges up to the muzzle! A reccomended charge for this is a 1" square load of BP. This guy is very experienced, and has been building and shooting for over 30years!

It is about time to drill the vent ::
 
Did you happen to ask him what the marks on the underside were?

I did, and he is not aware of it, I am sending a pic of it to him to clarify!

He told me I would have no problems with this barrel, and it is plenty heavy duty!

Mule

Musket, what load would you advise??
 
Sounds to me as if you found your next hobby mule!

Keep us up to date on what is going on with this shooter..

:blue:
 

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