FULL SCALE NAVAL CANNON

paulb

paulb

Joined
Aug 27, 2017
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Location
Provo, Utah
This is a little off topic, but it does belong on a sailing ship and I did build it from plans, and it has wood in it.

Back in the fall of 2018 I really felt that I should have a historic naval cannon. A full scale one. It turns out that at the time there was a company in New Zealand that made them. They were something like polyurethane and weighed 8 pounds. Not perfect, but the price was right. I would make do with a non-firing cannon.

So – the cannon barrel arrived, and it was great. Now I needed a gun carriage. I searched the web for cannon carriage designs like our navy used in the 1750 to 1850 time period. I made the everything out of wood and plastic in my shop – even the blocks. There are metal bolt rods where they should be. It was a lot of fun. I searched for the various sized of rope I needed and rigged it up and there you have it.

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Kurt Konrath said:
Well it looks absolutely superb as is, but how would it look behind a short bulkhead on a small section of deck, with pulleys and restraining ropes all attached.

Might add a foot to length and height, but wow for a full size battle station look.
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I have actually thought of doing something like that. I don't at present have tbe woodworking tools to make that a reality. It would be amazing tho.
 
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Kurt Konrath said:
Hey just for the kicks and grins what are dimensions as it sits. Length, width and height at barrel end?
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1:1 NAVAL CANNON DIMENSIONS

OVERALL DIMENSIONS

LENGTH 50”

HEIGHT 18”

WIDTH 17 ¾”

BARREL DIMENSIONS

LENGTH 48”

BORE DIA 2/2/4”

TRUNION DIA 2”

You can find more info here:

Naval Cannon | Bishop Hobbies

Scale Model Builder
bishophobbies.com
 
Peter Gutterman said:
WOW! Gorgeous!
A volunteer (not me) at the USNA museum workshop built a similar full-sized carriage (for free) for a 12 pdr. long gun, captured during the War of 1812 that resides outside the museum on the sidewalk. The gun is mounted on an ancient, deteriorating undersized carriage of the wrong period, that frankly looks silly and out of proportion. So it was decided that said volunteer would make a replacement carriage of the correct type and proportions. Which he did, out of white oak, taking a year to do so.
It was also decided (at the outset) that said cannon and new carriage would require a new concrete pad to support its' increase in size and weight.
But a calculation of the cost of the concrete pad was not investigated until AFTER the carriage was finished! At twenty grand it was decided that the cost was too much, and the whole project was scrapped.:mad:
The new carriage now collects dust in the permanent collection of detritus under a workbench in the shop. The cannon remains mounted on its' deteriorating sub-standard undersized carriage, where it has always been outside the museum on the corner of the sidewalk.Cautious
Your tax dollars at work at the USNA. :rolleyes:

A secret communique by an anonymous volunteer whistleblower. (What are they gonna do? Fire me?)
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Check out 'Space Age Concrete' on the web. They may be able to assist with getting a suitable pad at a reasonable price point. Their concrete uses aggregate made from recycled glass and may not even require reinforcing in the application you need the concrete for. The entrepreneurs name is Bart Rockett; I met him a couple of months ago and he is looking for ways to showcase his light weight but strong concrete.
 
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