Brass Canon

C

canuckiron

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Near Mount Forest, ON
Picsked up this brass canon and a couple of 37mm empties.
The canon is a little over 12" long with a bore of .500.
It is bored all the way down to approx 5/8" of the bottom of the canon so that the touch hole is actually drilled on a forward sloping angle. The diameter at the base is 1.650" and the smallest dia just behond the muzzle flare is 1.088".
It has a small brass plaque on the fron that reads "From Old Fort Henry, Kingston Canada". Obviously it is a souvenir piece but it would not have been cheap at any time. Pretty heavy too.
You know my obvious next question. Is this piece safe to fire blank loads of black powder?
I will post pics as soon as I figure how to get permission to attach pics. Lol
Thanks in advance
 
I would rather test fire one of the full sized field guns or the huge mortar at Old Fort Henry. Awesome place.

I would not fire it without proof marks. If you must fire it, use a light load and a long fuse.
Kevin
 
If it is drilled for a cannon size fuse, it is probably meant to be fired. The dimensions sound more robust than some of the antiques I've seen shot.

Why don't you email the Fort and ask if these were built as signal guns? They probably don't sell them in the gift shop today, but you might luck out on an older staff member who knows.
 
canuckiron said:
Picsked up this brass canon and a couple of 37mm empties.
The canon is a little over 12" long with a bore of .500.
It is bored all the way down to approx 5/8" of the bottom of the canon so that the touch hole is actually drilled on a forward sloping angle. The diameter at the base is 1.650" and the smallest dia just behond the muzzle flare is 1.088".
It has a small brass plaque on the fron that reads "From Old Fort Henry, Kingston Canada". Obviously it is a souvenir piece but it would not have been cheap at any time. Pretty heavy too.
You know my obvious next question. Is this piece safe to fire blank loads of black powder?
I will post pics as soon as I figure how to get permission to attach pics. Lol
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

You are killing us here!

:needPics:
 
Most breech plugs in muzzle-loading rifles have only a .550" threaded journal and you say you have 5/8 at the thinnest part of the breech - but it is brass rather than modern steel. You didn't mention the diameter of the barrel at the breech but if it is equal to or greater than 1 5/8" then the barrel walls are also 5/8" or more. Is it bored for a 1/8" cannon fuse or just for show?

I just checked my modern Traditions Old Ironsides 70 cal cannon (steel barrel) and it is drilled to within about 5/8" of the breech end. The barrel is 2 1/8" diameter at the breech end so the walls are 0.75" thick there. I regularly use 60 gr FFg when shooting balls and have used as much as 100 gr but the recoil is a bit much with the heavy load. For salutes I use a double charge: 125 - 140 gr FFg and about 4 " of packed paper so it really barks! A buddy has a 50 cal field gun that handles 50 gr just fine with a ball or paper wadding.

If it were mine, I would try it once or twice with about 100 gr Fg or FFg and a packed paper wad, with a long fuse and "Proof test" it in a safe location. If it survives then just load it for signals using 50 gr. Good luck!
 
canuckiron said:
So how do I get permission to post pics?
Click to expand...

CGN does not have provisions for hosting their own pictures. So you need to join up to a online picture/video hosting service such as Imageshack or Photobucket or some other similar place. Post your pictures there then grab the "IMG" share link from the photo host site and paste it into your post here.

I'd have suggested just searching for how to post pictures. But CGN's default search parameters suck. But if you change from "last week" and "newer" to "last week" and "older" in the advanced Search page you can find just about anything.
 
Are the trunnions cast as part of the barrel (side pieces that attach barrel to the carriage)If the trunnions aren t cast then look to see if the sides of the barrel is drilled and the trunnions pressed in, if so you can t shoot the barrel
 
I wouldn't trust the tacks holding the trunnions onto the carriage. They will rip out in a heartbeat. If the tube is deemed safe, suggest you have a set of more substantial caps made up and screwed to the carriage.
 
Canuckiron, if you click on the little "flower" icon in the upper right of your pictures you get a list of "share" options. Click on the IMG code option and it'll come back as "copied". Then in your post here you hit Ctl-V to paste the code and your picture will appear within your post. It saves us clicking on the links to look at them directly.

Here ya go. I can't post the second one since Photobucket says you moved or deleted the file. So your link is a dead one now.





I tend to agree with the others that the carriage is a bit thin and the trunnion straps are most certainly too thin and the tacks holding the straps in place are a joke. And even if the touch hole IS drilled through I'd be very reluctant to shoot it even with lighter charges. I'd also be worried about just how the trunnions are set in place in the barrel. If they are just a light push fit into shallow holes then that's another point of almost certain failure.

If you are keen on shooting it then I would confirm that the trunnions are actually cast in place. If they are just set into holes then at least silver solder the trunnions into place. And make up some heavier straps and secure the straps with 10-32 screws that are drilled through the whole mount and use nuts and a load speader strap on the bottom of the carriage. Even then I would suggest that you only shoot a light charge of 10 to 15gns of FFFg. Even then if it's a cast barrel that is more for looks than anything else it may well turn into a pipe bomb if the brass is one of the more brittle alloys with lots of junk in it.

If you are still keen on giving it a go then I'd suggest you do the carriage mods then proof test it with around 40 gns of FFFg and have everyone behind cover with only a video camcorder watching the test. If it survives the proof test and a few follow up shots taken with around 20gns to make sure it wasn't just weakened then consider 20gns as a maximum charge for shooting with folks around to watch. Being some form of mystery brass I would not want to run it with anything stronger.
 
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