Keeping on the cannon path

Philip · 4th June 2010, 06:34 AM

Congratulations, Fernando, on another fine acquisition! What is supposed to be the locale of origin for this one? I am impressed by the proportions of the piece, noting the taper to the barrel, the expanded breech and the muzzle reinforce, and the way it balances on your display pedestal. There is something about its dimensions and shape that seem much more refined than the simple tubular form of the full-sized bombard cannons of there era, rather, it seems to foretell what direction cannon design was to take in the following centuries, down to the end of the muzzle-loading era.

I have a feeling that the "tail" was originally longer and came to a point, to be embedded in the end of a wooden shaft. In such case it was not crucial that the touch hole be oriented exactly at midpoint on any one face of the square-sectioned tail since this extension would have been buried in the wood anyway and thus not be noticeable.

To check to see if the bore is more or less a true cylinder: do you have access to balsa wood? If so you can shape a cylindrical piece the diameter of the bore at the muzzle. When you carefully tap it in, all the way to the breech, the end will be compressed into a taper or cone if the bore narrows towards the breech and the difference can easily be measured once the stick is removed.

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4th June 2010, 06:34 AM	#2
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	Congratulations, Fernando, on another fine acquisition! What is supposed to be the locale of origin for this one? I am impressed by the proportions of the piece, noting the taper to the barrel, the expanded breech and the muzzle reinforce, and the way it balances on your display pedestal. There is something about its dimensions and shape that seem much more refined than the simple tubular form of the full-sized bombard cannons of there era, rather, it seems to foretell what direction cannon design was to take in the following centuries, down to the end of the muzzle-loading era. I have a feeling that the "tail" was originally longer and came to a point, to be embedded in the end of a wooden shaft. In such case it was not crucial that the touch hole be oriented exactly at midpoint on any one face of the square-sectioned tail since this extension would have been buried in the wood anyway and thus not be noticeable. To check to see if the bore is more or less a true cylinder: do you have access to balsa wood? If so you can shape a cylindrical piece the diameter of the bore at the muzzle. When you carefully tap it in, all the way to the breech, the end will be compressed into a taper or cone if the bore narrows towards the breech and the difference can easily be measured once the stick is removed.