Let's do cannons #9

The big one...


This piece is not old...but it's big. The bore is a whopping 1 inch. This is big enough to pose a serious threat to naval targets much bigger than a Sunfish. In fact, this sucker can throw a lead fishing sinker over a thousand yards. Its favorite fodder?



C-size batteries.

Just kidding - while I've regrettably shot a few of these out there in my younger and dumber days, batteries are not the kinds of things we want to be wantonly distributing into the environment. Better to recycle them...seriously.

However, if we ever go to war against the zombie hoards, all bets are off and I'm shootin' some old C-cells...

It's fish knife Friday #5!

This one's got an aluminum handle...

Let's do cannons #8

Not black powder but cartridge. 12 Gauge shotgun to be exact. Another gift from Mac. Behind it is a 12 Gauge salute round - I wouldn't try shot in this one. The string and the board indicate that I've shot this one with popper loads (i.e. salute round). Every New Year's Eve...

Here's another view of the breech...

Let's do cannons #7

Someone took some pride in this one. It's a .55 caliber brass cannon on a home-machined aluminum carriage attached to a fiberglass base. This is apparently a DIY desk piece that I bought in an antique store after seeing it on at least seven visits. I finally relented to the urge to buy, even though it's not very old. It's been used - by an original owner and by me. It makes a satisfying bang...

Let's do cannons #6

Getting bigger...

This one's a brass naval cannon with a .45 caliber bore. I also built the carriage for this one, including the wheels. I like it...but I regret the Philips head screws on the trunnion bands.

Let's do cannons #5

This ugly thing is a .36 caliber homemade cannon. A good friend gave me the barrel - machined in it's current configuration, with the threaded cascabel and nut. I built the carriage myself out of bits I had laying around.

Let's do cannons #4

Here's another .30 caliber piece. The barrel is brass, and the carriage is cast iron. The problem is, while both are old, the barrel is not original to the carriage. Someone must have thought this combination worked, but it does not, as evidenced by the disparity at the trunnion.

However, the skewed aesthetics of the piece are not off-putting - I imagine the original counterparts were lost during antebellum play, so much may be forgiven...