Heritage

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In the first article about cannon we gave you and overview of the HMS General Hunter project.  Now we will get down to cannon. 

How were they made?

We present three modern videos to give you and idea of first the casting process and then the firing impact of a 32 pound cannon and one that fires a projectile of one ton in weight.  It's the awesome Armstrong.  The 32 pounder is only partially charged.

The above video which takes about 9 minutes shows cannon of various sizes being cast.   If you have the time watch it.  Notice that they are cast standing up and more than one is done at a time.  After reviewing the video, follow the explanation below for the missing details, but first two more videos.

 Before  you read the details, let's see what a 32 pounder looks and sounds like when fired with less than battle charge.  Turn you sound up and feel the power.

Ok ok.... have we got your attention?  Do you want to see the largest muzzle loading cannon ever created? It's the last of its time and is in the former British stronghold of Malta.  The arms race was in full swing and this 100 ton gun was the answer to ships coming over the horizon.

Steps to Make a Cannon

In the 'hayday' of cannon making in the early 1800s they were made using the following steps:

• A drawing was made.  This was a two dimensional line that represented the profile of the cannon.
• From this line a pattern was cut out.  This pattern was a guide to turning the model of the cannon.
• A 3 dimensional model was made from wood.  It was turned on a big lathe using the pattern as a guide for the cutting tool.  These cuts were made from the gross wood that was either in one piece or laminated.
• The lathe was powered by either a water wheel or horses with gearing to increase the turn rate.  A man used the pattern again to go from the gross shape to the final.
• Once the cannon shape was captured in the model, it was cleaned up by hand to make it as smooth and uniform as possible
• Embellishments were added to the model like King George III logo.
• From the model a cast was made out of a material that could be 'fired' by heating it. 
• The cast was placed in a hole to heat it and make sure that it was ready for the molten iron to be poured into it.  Once it was heated, the wood was carefully removed and the outside of the mold was strapped so that it would hold against the weight of the hot iron.
• A plug was made for the bore to try to have it remain as a void.
• The metal was poured in and impurities scooped out.   The cannon were poured standing on their breech to have what was desired to be the strongest part deepest in the hole at the lowest possible level.  Sometimes more than one cannon were poured at a time.  The molds could not be saved and the models only partially saved.

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Sunday, January 29, 2012