Casting a Historic Bronze Cannon Barrel, Scaled Down Replica. FarmCraft101

[@luxnova8211]

He's finally done it. The mad man actually did it! Also, shine it.

[@RalphEvangelista]

absolute mad lad

[@timhooper1557]

Mirror shine that puppy! It's taken a few attempts so really pimp that cannon out! Also glad you didn't receive a very hot golden shower! ;) lol

[@ArmchairDeity]

Tim Hooper LMAO omg nice

[@ashpotatounicorn792]

How is there only one comment

[@timhooper1557]

@@ashpotatounicorn792 no clue?

[@zerc1]

I like that you don't get discouraged by failed attempts, this shows your strength of character and I enjoy your humility and wit.

[@stan.rarick8556]

There are no failures as long as you learn and improve.

[@joseas1518]

Its nice that he shows his mistakes. That is nice to see.

[@MaskinJunior]

Leaking mold boxes happens to us professionals as well. That is why the foundry-hall has a gravel floor so the leaking metal stays and doesn't run around in the shop.

[@FarmCraft101]

I've wondered about gravel. No chance of air pocket or steam explosions?

[@MaskinJunior]

@@FarmCraft101 it helps against that. The gravel let gases escape from the mold. And since we are indoor, there is no water in the gravel to produce steam.

[@stewartmarshall4112]

@@FarmCraft101 The biggest danger of steam explosions was the way you were doing it, with molten metal hitting bare concrete. All concrete, no matter how old, has entrapped moisture. You were very fortunate that the metal had cooled a lot as it went into the mould and then leaked out. If you had spilt enough metal straight from the crucible at a much higher temp, you could easily have gotten a lot bigger craters in your garage floor and maybe even some injury from flying chunks of concrete. Merely an inch or so thick layer of sand will prevent this. And it is better than gravel for that. Gravel gets trapped in the metal that spills on it and makes the metal harder to remelt. Larger pieces of gravel can explode too, from entrapped moisture. But spilled metal will cool neatly on top of the layer of sand just like in a mould. You can use your surplus moulding sand spread around near the furnace. It works even better than raw loose sand because it stays in place a bit better. Another thing to be very careful of - never bump your crucibles against anything even when empty and cold. Treat them very gently all the time so you don't have a small crack started. When up to pouring temp, they loose some of their strength anyway. This is why it is not a good idea to ever pour cast iron or steel with an ordinary crucible. At those even higher temps, they have lost maybe a third of their strength (and they don't last long either, maybe half a dozen pours at most). If you treat crucibles roughly or drop them accidentally, even when cold and empty, it is easy to get an unnoticed crack started that can cause a catastrophic failure, especially using them as full as you are. With a full crucible of molten bronze, there is considerable pressure on the bottom of the crucible, and the bottom is unsupported in the pouring shank as you lift it to pour. Imagine what would happen if the bottom dropped out that close to your legs and feet.

[@Steve_Mazza]

@@stewartmarshall4112 Johnny Tremain!

[@jsweizston5410]

No, polish it and make it pretty. It deserves it for sure. What a redemption story!

[@Mustis91]

but it looks so cool the way it is!

[@H0L0DREAM]

50/50 on polishing it up, use the cast finish for some nice detail, perhaps in a ring or two left unpolished. Could be a nice Aesthetic. I also just want to see the process of polishing up a cannon to be honest.

[@Bereft777]

I second that!!!

[@GunFunZS]

oh. Looks like I said more or less the same as you. I like the idea of maybe marking a circle or something off and making that a place for his crest and proof mark.

[@jamess1255]

That would look nice, a high polish on the majority of the cannon with a ring or possibly circle of casting.

[@jasonflay8818]

Oh that's a slick idea, hadn't thought about that, but yeah, I thought it's a shame to lose all the cast mark because it would look no different from a commercial made thing, but polishing all but a few bands or a design would make it look very unique

[@dj1NM3]

That sounds like the best idea to me, perhaps an "as cast" ring left where the trunions are?

[@PiezPiedPy]

Machine and polish, will help remove stress ;)

[@harrycallahan8573]

I agree. Machine and polish. It'll look awesome!

[@arghgrmbl]

Well, the stress will be the same, but there'll be fewer crack tips

[@lnaesll]

A couple things. 1. Shine for sure. 2. My heart exploded when that thing leaked. Been looking forward to this video for a couple weeks now. It came out awesome man! Keep it up!

[@ArmchairDeity]

Sean oreilly I KNOW RIGHT? It was like watching T2 backwards...

[@TheRealMikeHoncho]

"If you needed someone to tell you that, maybe you shouldn't do it." Wisest words of wisdom.

[@liammccoart1858]

I really appreciate you letting us see the attempts you made at casting one, editing them into a full video instead of just deleting the footage. This makes your series more interesting and gives the viewers some appreciation of how difficult it is to cast any metal in sand.

[@ArmchairDeity]

Shine it up man... no self-respecting ships captain or infantry crew would fire a canon that looks like it was rushed out of the foundry in a hurry... 😘

[@SkyOctopus1]

Do both: Spray paint it bronze and then if you want to bring it back to rustic it's just a case of paint stripper. ;)

[@blackguitarmaker1925]

Polish! Polish! Make it the best you can with what you’ve got!

[@Bereft777]

Sure they would

[@blackguitarmaker1925]

Jack Tradesman more like they wouldn’t even buy it but if it was already installed and they needed to then I guess they would. Lol

[@danpowell806]

No self respecting ships captain would fire a cannon themselves, and no infantry crew would be allowed to have one. You're thinking of gunners mates and artillery crews.

[@steelfabric]

Good job getting through all the problems to get it to this stage. I'm on the "shine" side, rather than the pulled-from-a-ship-wreck side.

[@hexapowa1073]

Really ? How does it work ?

[@Timothious_Maximus]

Focus you Fack! I appreciate the AvE shirt.

[@TheJustin574]

I was so happy for you when you uncovered the casting the last time! This has been an excellent series to follow! Great work!

[@xouber]

Convert to metric system. Sucessful pour. What else do you need ?

[@DJW1959Aus]

The USA actually is on metric, Lbs, feet, and gallons are converted from Kgs, metres and litres.

[@schwarziex3563]

@@DJW1959Aus yeah since the 1950ties IIRC. But due to pressure from the industry it never went further

[@jhensjh]

@Schwarzie x Actually a lot longer ago than that, 1893. The decision to change the measurement standards from yard and pound to meter and kilogram is referred to as the Mendenhall order. It's been a while since I read the history of it, but I if I'm remembering correctly the Mendenhall order was just a formalization of what was already being done. The UK supplied pound and yard standards had deteriorated so badly that the US bureau of standards had no choice but to use the meter and kilogram standards that they had on hand.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

@@schwarziex3563 we've been on the metric system since the 1820s when we purchased metric masters to set our masters, formally we were a signatary to the original metric convention and the master lb is set to the grand Kg, though that system just recently was replaced by fiddly watt balances

[@ronnoc924]

How about landing a man on the moon? there's something metrics haven't done.

[@bigstackD]

Damn bro glad it wasn’t worse than it was with the spill 👍🏻. I was way off with the Pressure I guessed 200 and that was adding a few pounds that’s an unbelievable amount of pressure. I’m glad it worked out in the end. I don’t think people realise the time it takes to ram up one mold or how heavy the Crucibles full of molten metal is , it certainly doesn’t translate well into video how heavy molten metals are😉. Well done mate my hats off to ya👏🏻👏🏻

[@stevenharris9941]

bigstackD LOL.... I watch your stuff too... you need to take some of your 'treasure' and do something functional with it like this... do something historic..... how about an aluminum bronze real life size casting of your dog 'ingot'. Let the pup have some of your beer and make a mold of him while he's sleeping it off. Maybe a 3D laser scan of him, then a 3D print, then a lost PLA casting ??? IDK..... it would be epic.

[@P0LYPRO]

Finally! The moment we've all been waiting for.

[@bhoiiii]

My humble opinion is to shine it up. You will always think about what it would have looked like shiny.

[@jl3390]

Absolutely love that you properly identified the system of measurement as Imperial! So few people even care about the history of what we take for granted.

[@johnchristopherrobert1839]

I’m glad you didn’t get hurt or damage your shop. Most of all, I respect that you didn’t quit. I salute you sir.

[@sqeeye3102]

I'm concerned about how much material you would have to remove to polish out the 'reverse piting' but I think polishing would look better. Congrats on an amazing job, dude. You earned it. Can't wait to see you machine it.

[@johnrutkowski9005]

The good thing is that since it is oversized, he could take off a solid quarter inch off the diameter and still be fine

[@GigsTaggart]

In theory it should clean up close to the mold original dimension. I'd want to clean it up personally just so I could more easily inspect for bubbles or cracks or seams that might be hiding before putting 10k psi on this thing. Ultimately this is a high pressure vessel.

[@iQKyyR3K]

For some reason it's extremely enjoyable to watch someone cast something who actually knows what he's doing and improves after making mistakes. I've seen way too many half-hearted attempts of people making mistakes which have been solved a dozen times prior by others. Good Job.

[@Steph-de6ne]

It is awesome seeing you finaly making it this far. Your presistance is very inspireing. Personaly, i would leave it rustic.

[@jhogan1960]

I have watched all 3 of your videos about casting the cannon. Love your perseverance. The world needs more self reliant people like you, and more positive videos like this.

[@stanleykeith6969]

Very Lucky John, Glad you did not get hurt or burn your shop down. I poured 200 ton on Hot Steel from two furnaces into a ladle and then into Ingot molds using a 250 ton ladle crane @ 2,800 degrees. Tapping at that temp. I like it old looking.

[@mordechaimordechai]

Some say that on that night he cracked open the coldest, most deserved beer in his life. I'm so happy it finally worked! Good fricking job! Also polishing it will make it somewhat stronger. You will not have 'loose ends' in the geometry for the forces to focus. Like a polished edge on a blade that lasts longer that a ground one.

[@SuperAWaC]

they're called stress risers

[@mordechaimordechai]

@@SuperAWaC thanks but my grasp of engineering is limited by my reptilian brain😀

[@Bereft777]

Leave a band or two with the grainy finish the rest polished. BEAUTIFUL work!!

[@canonicaltom]

Machine and polish! So glad your casting turned out this time.

[@mrphelps9942]

Perfect example of iterative design process! Congratulations! Think it - try it - test it - rethink it - redo it - reap the rewards! Great vido, great commentary, great results! problem solving at its best.

[@successfulengineer]

These videos are fantastic, some of the best I've seen on youtube. I enjoy the way you explain things, super clear and logical.

[@kimmclean5174]

Shine it, it's brand new make it look that way

[@jcknives4162]

I know you have zero desire and probably zero intention but I would suggest another pour. I was a foundry apprentice at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for 2 years before I deployed to Desert Storm. Instead of a ceramic paint I would use a much finer sand hand packed around the lower 2/3 of the canon about 1” thick and then your regular sand. Also in my finer sand I would increase my clay content a little. Hahaha. We always made a ball threw it at the wall and if it stuck that was a good sign. Anyway. I don’t cotton to a shiny canon or a burned in canon. But then, it’s not my canon. You did ask for input so there you have it. My point zero two

[@robinbennett5994]

I guess it'll be fine if he machines it, but if he leaves it like it is he'll always be wondering how he could have done a better job.

[@mikesebastian3745]

A 100 gfn facing sand would work nicely.

[@chronokoks]

in our foundry we used a bentonite + graphite mixture (dilluted in water) and let it to dry in an oven.. the surface finishes we were getting were pristine! and thanks to graphite it already looked like bronze without even doing any surface finishing (it had a shine)

[@SynthFreq]

Admirable persistence. You really want that cannon.

[@doren8491]

This series was great to see the learning trials and successes. Good job, start to finish and talking us thru your reasoning. Kudos.

[@dingdingdingdiiiiing]

I love how you deal with failures. I'm... in awe. You take a lesson from it, and just keep going.

[@sindre599]

Machine that puppy up! I am so happy you finally got something you can work with! Keep it up :)

[@SnarkyPosters]

Congratulations on getting a successful casting. My only suggestion for the next time you have a heavy pour is making a stand to rest the bar on, so you can concentrate on filling the mold not the "OMG Heavy Burning HOT Crucible of Liquid Metal." :D Also, shiny is the only way to go.

[@ONAPAL3HORS3986]

I was also gonna suggest a deadman to rest the bar on while you pour

[@gazeboist4535]

Every craftsman must one day ask himself: "Is this how I die?"

[@danny3793]

Congrats on the successful cast. This series is a shining example of “if at first you don’t succeed, keep trying” adage.

[@mattmakes2135]

I respect your determination, I know how it feels to have to remake a mold over and over with fail over and over, but you kept going till you got it done, serious respect to you.

[@daffyf6829]

That pour looked tough. Maybe make a stand to rest on when doing it. It would also help make it a more accurate and consistent pour. Anyways, i really enjoyed watching this project and you have a new fan.

[@ninjamanfu]

iv been lurking your channel through all the cannon stuff, im really glad you did it! great job and what ever finish you decide im sure it will look wonderful. i can wait to see the finished project!

[@ekiest]

It's been a long road. That is starting to look like a proper cannon and you should definitely polish it.

[@Highstranger951]

Well said, I agree👍👍

[@tihzho]

7:02 AMEN!! I lived overseas for 33 years and came back to the States at the end of 2016 to inches, fractions, feet! It took all of 5 minutes for me to understand metric, base ten, what's the problem? I'm a designer and when I get a drawing from a client with measurements in feet and inches in fractions I have to convert it into inches and because of the material I'm working with its in millimeters. Many people don't know this but America has secretly going metric. American cars have all metric nuts and bolts, same as other household items. So yay for that! I've been watching your progress with this cannon, great videos!

[@davidtyers4903]

I was born at the time the UK concerted from Imperial to metric back in the late 60's so am too familiar with both systems. The metric system is far easier to use and better, heck water freezes at zero and boils at 100 degrees C. a 1000grams = 1Kg and 1000Kg equals 1 ton. My wife is American so just uses the imperial system and like most, can't tell me how many yards are in a mile. Keep this fabulous content coming, its educational, entertaining and has so much humour and innuendo. Throw in your explanations of the science behind things and I feel this is one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@Ivo--]

Congratulations on your success finally, and thanks for taking us along the ride!

[@MrFunguspower]

You could polish up parts of the cannon. For instance: polish the barrel but not the rearmost 10cm(4in) and leave a band of unpolished metal at the hinge points. Also, this shit is fkn amazing great job!

[@eliseviv]

Mr fungus is spot on, vote for this. :)

[@davidlrogers]

I like this idea too. I thought it looked cool on his copper ingot!

[@andygray9285]

Great job I do like your tenacity.

[@hyden1532]

Great video! I really appreciated you sharing your failures, the science behind it and how to resolve that problem. This was by far the best “educational” video. Thanks for sharing your experiences and letting me learn. My vote is to shine it up, cheers!

[@christophermedaris2804]

I will never stop watching your channel not the same thing but this old cripped man started pouring copper and and stuff now I make hand poured silver rings so seeing u do this makes my heart so happy your a wizard don't ever for get

[@Skeltcher]

Shine it up! :D Looking forward for the next episode in this adventure!

[@1967tempest]

Man I am so glad this worked. I was like, "hes gonna give up". But no!!! Congrats!!!

[@MrWhiteytidy]

I'm so invested in this now. All I want is for your Canon to be done

[@tbomberus]

Clicked on a vid couple of minutes ago,on my third one...subscribed.I admire your tenacity and willingness to examine,and learn from,mistakes.

[@mcorrade]

My friend you have tenacity and I'm freaking thrilled it finally worked out. I just watched all the videos up to this one and was holding my breath for this pour. Nicely done!!!!

[@theXEN0KID]

I really like the rough cast finish

[@ScottKenny1978]

Honestly, my biggest concern was the lack of splash protection on your upper body. As for the finish, well, I'm an old Sailor, so brass must be polished!

[@misterhat5823]

But... He had the Elvis pants.

[@diverpoa]

Nice job,already looks 100yrs old,let's make shine,👍🏻

[@robertayers9424]

Because I'm easily distracted by shiny objects and really love bronze,brass and copper, I would shine it to a mirror finish. Thanks for showing your battles, victory is close!!!

[@cvbabc]

Major props for your perseverance! To be able to stay patient through all of that is a real aptitude. I know by the third fail I'd need some time away from it.

[@Steve_Just_Steve]

God Bless you for not giving up!

[@DenHvideHund]

Good work man. Really enjoyed your success. But please machine it, so it looks like a million dollars :)

[@SimonusDaStrega]

First. Pfffff oh Man. You are the Lucky one. 😁 Second. Leave it as it is. The handmade charm of the handmade Good job man. Greetings from Poland

[@rikkicampos8873]

Great learning video, I always said " Best way to learn is by your own mistakes and preferably others" because mistake's are never forgotten.

[@American_Jeeper]

I know absolutely Jack and Crap about casting metal, but that looks cool as heck. You, Sir, are pretty incredible for doing this for really just grins and giggles. Half of me says leave the casting as-is, the other half says it deserves to be properly finished. Thumbs up!

[@sspence65]

"I think it will be alright" - famous last words, LOL

[@msbrickkitten6882]

You got an instant like the second you said "Face it guys, the metric system is just better." :)

[@Stormagaming]

hahaha ikr as soon as I heard him say it, I was like yep he got a like from me.

[@robertdicken5439]

I recently visited the Mary Rose at Portsmouth. A lot of canon were raised, they had the cleaned off the marine growth and they still looked a lot better than just the "rustic" look. I say go the "full hog", (English slang for make it shinny). PS. I am from the UK after all.

[@2011metalmaniac]

whole 9 yards

[@robertdicken5439]

@@2011metalmaniac That's good as well other than we would now have to say "the full 8.2296 meters" due to being metric. Somehow doesn't work as well.

[@2011metalmaniac]

@@robertdicken5439 lol yeah. We not that metric, roads are still in miles and beer is still in pints.

[@robertdicken5439]

2011metalmaniac In fact that's true in the U.K.we are very mixed, roads marked in miles, pints both pints (beer) and litres (larger), but not always. Most use metric measurements so we are having to be conversant in both. Pain with tools as both imperial and metric gets used.

[@2011metalmaniac]

@@robertdicken5439 yup. but in ole Blighty if we are asked. How fast is your car, mph. if you say your weight its stone. height feet, your wood inches,

[@hadleyjack]

Leave it rustic! Love this video. This video was a story of success, failure and redemption. And it left off on a cliffhanger! Can't wait for the next chapter.

[@Dumagarke]

I tend to shining it up. Thanks for sharing that great project and all the fails on the road to this success with us!

[@TokyoCraftsman]

Machine it and shine it up, you will like it a lot more over time I think. Cheers from Tokyo!

[@jeromesmith1662]

You asked for my two cents.....well you got'm. Leave it! No polish! Thanks. Great video....great content.

[@oskargh402]

THE ABSOLUTE MADLAD! shine that bad boy up!

[@AngeliqueKaga]

I always love watching you work with hot metal. I've seen bronze poured, and that's hot stuff too. Well done!

[@headshunter]

Congratulations, I have been with you all the way on this journey of disappointment and frustration, so pleased this has finally worked for you. A massive learning curve for you but, you will remember next time. You can only get better. Well done. Steve U.K.

[@longdarkrideatnight]

Make it shine so you can see your face. If the metal starts to give your reflection will be distorted. This is said to be one of the advantages of bronze guns over iron.

[@Leadfarmer399]

Keep it the way it is , you can always go back and shine it up if you start to not like it later on . Plus, less work

[@burtreynolds3143]

thought I might be the only one on the leave it looking cool side I like the as cast finish

[@gmanDSP75]

Shine it up! It looks like you found it at the bottom of the ocean after 100 years.

[@jemstansfield]

Polish the vast majority of it, but leave a couple of bands of cast finish, as testament to the process. Excellent videos. Congratulations on the pour.

[@shaddec55]

"There are no failures, only lessons" -- Attributed to pretty much everyone who ever built anything new Anyway, you finally got this done! Your lessons taught you well... I've enjoyed these videos to a pretty much ridiculous extent. I look forward to more.

[@underdog1252]

Make it shiny and awesome like a proper cannon! This thing is insane and it has taken enough effort so far, so it deserves a nice shiny finish! Great work!

[@timberwolf0122]

I have thoughly enjoyed watching you learn and build a cannon. Great job Also love the AvE Tshirt!

[@charleslindberg829]

Cast the cannonball or projectile next? Very satisfying videos. 🖖🖖

[@bencornford5221]

thank you sir. your efforts are to be admired and during this whole saga you kept yourself and your shop neat and tidy ..brilliant work ..well done and thank you!!

[@morganandreason]

Perseverance pays off! Good job. I'm in the "polish it to a mirror shine" camp - mostly because I'd like to see how you'll solve the problem of polishing the bit in the middle where it's supposed to rest in the cradle.

[@fasfan]

Maybe not polished.. but I think smoothed out more would look better. Also might help to see if any cracks form after a while. Either way... well done. Looks good.

[@DarkestdaysAU]

Shine it up mate! Good work on not giving up. In the end the work paid off and you have yourself a nice bit of casting done.

[@TheSkogemann]

Maybe too late, but - I would say, shine it up a bit keep some of the structure. :) That way, you can see that it was actually cast and not just machined :)

[@raceace]

Appreciate you effort mate, Much respect. It's not everyday one gets to live metallurgical history.

[@SSigma79]

Never give up and You will achieve your goals...Thanks for experimenting, saved me a lot of trials and headaches...

[@Hrafnhistorical]

No way! I can't believe it worked finally! Shiny. Obviously shiny.

[@citriccomet1272]

"if you needed someone to tell you that, perhaps you shouldn't do it..." AWESOME!

[@ArmchairDeity]

I’ve been waiting for this video! Can’t wait to watch it now!

[@ArmchairDeity]

SUCCESS! I’m kinda invested in this challenge and I’m kinda actually sorta proud of you for applying your knowledge and skill and casting this thing successfully!

[@gabewhisen3446]

Shine it up so the craftsmanship shines through it. Great job you saved me alot of work

[@johnmcgowen3641]

I've just watched nearly an hour and a half of video expecting to see the end result but now I wait. I hope your working hard and putting in the hours. I'm intrigued and I love what you've done so far.

[@dreikano]

SHINE IT UP! Don't let up now since you got it right the 4th time :P

[@diegohernan82]

Amazing project, congrats. I vote shiny finishing. Then you could experiment with some areas being brushed or even sand blasted. Cheers,

[@thedude7726]

"Thicc is good, thats what im after"-farmcraft101 2019

[@canalzonebratt90]

Thank you for doing this project and making a video.... I really enjoyed this whole process...

[@SeaWasp]

Glad to finally see a successful pour! Yikes on the blowout. You are one very determined individual, with a skookum as frig t-shirt!