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

Many unique challenges in machining this rough casting! I learned a lot, and I hope you do too. Enjoy the video!
**I was mistaken when I called the drill bit grind a chisel point. In fact, it's called a SPLIT POINT. Chisel point is the normal drill bit grind.**
Note: This cannon barrel is not made operational in this video. Modification would be necessary in order to fire it. Also note, according to the US government, a replica cannon, or any black powder muzzle loading gun that does not use a cartridge is not considered a firearm.
Cannon Replica Playlist:
• Making a Bronze Cannon...
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[@sternstones4871]

you could sleeve the bore if you are too worried about the defects, If you used a steel sleeve i suppose you could even rifle it.

[@sonicdrive]

I agree sleeving the bore will be your best option

[@sternstones4871]

@@sonicdrive The only downside i guess would be, that he may have to cut the rear of the chamber to insert it. I'm not a gunsmith, but I've seen sleeves done, always from the breech not the muzzle. Upside is that it will be much stronger than even a perfectly cast solid bore.

[@evilcanofdrpepper]

I think at the very least he should fill that hole with something... washing that crevas out like with an acid to get the surface clean then fill it with braze, weld or at the very worst maybe epoxy, maybe JB weld or even epoxy with shop glitter mixed in over the surface. I think filling it with something, anything even if you need to refill it every 20 fires of the cannon is better than leaving it without filling it.

[@r.w.felton6020]

@@sternstones4871: I sleeve rifle barrels from the bore end. Since you do not need to cut a chamber for a cartridge, and the weak point is forward of the main pressure zone It should work. Over bore it use a seamless steel sleeve, and Loctite black epoxy on the sleeve. Black powder does not burn it detonates. All the pressure is in the immediate area of the charge. Nitro powder burns peaking the pressure about 3-4 inches forward of the charge. This is the reason the old prohibition on shooting Damascus barrel shotguns is unfounded. I have been restoring black powder shotguns and shooting smokeless powder in them for over 50 yrs. I do make my loads very light on the chamber pressure. Reason: The whole gun is over 100 yrs old not just the barrel. I have never blown one up. I am not trying to convince anybody of anything. Just stating the facts. Everyone needs to follow their own opinions.

[@GigsVT]

@@r.w.felton6020 black powder does not detonate. It burns like smokeless. It is less pressure dependant. The myth that it detonates started from the fact that its classed for transportation as an explosive where smokeless is classed as flammable solid. This is merely because it can self contain if something like 50 pounds of it is lit unconfined, where a big pile of smokeless will always burn slowly unconfined. When it burns it does not produce a detonation, that's something high explosives do.

[@RiceCakeWtf]

Lets make a cannon. Step one: rebuilding the steady rest. Machining in a nutshell.

[@MrLembnau]

scary how true this is.

[@juweinert]

Step zero: Remove any residual snakes.

[@petercarioscia9189]

@@Majilikin it's Alcohol tobacco and fireARMS. What this man has is artillery. A tad outside the preview of the ATF. Besides, he's got historical precedence on his side. John Adams upheld the right of merchant Marines to arm their ships with cannons, per their second amendment rights. Sure, more recent case may supercede that...or they'll make a new task force; ATF, Artillery, tobacco and firearms.....

[@dlbard1]

I thought that only applied to rifled barrels.

[@sethmullins8346]

The bore diameter rule doesn't apply to muzzle loaders because they aren't legally firearms on a federal level.

[@jonjames4281]

I kinda doubt it'll blow out where the defect is at first but you'll end up with lots of blow by, which will erode and stress that the area even more. eventually it will fail and your projectiles will always preform poorly (blow by) before everything goes to hell. I'd sleeve it if your wanting it to function as a real cannon. If your just wanting it for a noise maker (black powder, no projectiles) it'll probably be alright but you've already gone this far, why not make it fully functional. No matter what, it's cool as hell. Thanks for sharing.

[@alekius3329]

I agree with @Jon_James. I was thinking a sleeve is your best bet mostly because of windage erosion past the defect. Boring it out without a sleeve is concerning for thin walls and possibly exposing other defects. Filling in the big defect seems like it will be either a strong point or weak point and doesn't address the smaller defects that will also erode over time. I am not a gunsmith. Most of my knowledge comes from studying naval artillery so I'm not really sure how downsizing will effect my own assumptions but with defects in a bronze cannon, I would estimate 50-100 rounds fired at the most before you notice severe drop in performance. Even that may be an overestimate. All that being said. Love the channel and I think it's great that you took on this project! I've learned some things.

[@mybackhurts7020]

Yes

[@rexmorgan72]

Jon is correct. It will likely stand several firings. However, at some point it will likely fail at that point. If you have the ability (seems like you do) just sleve it.

[@willykanos1044]

Oh, and FYI, when I was young I made cannons. The most surprising to me was one built from 1/2" EMT thin wall electrical conduit. Certainly not what one would consider to be strong tubing. I plugged one end with a piece of steel that was held in with a cross-pin. I drilled a 3/32" touch hole for the fuse. Tube was about fifteen inches long. I fastened it to a piece of plywood about two feet square. My friend had a muzzle loader and cast his own musket balls. We found ones that would fit pretty well in the EMT. Using FFG black powder we could not blow that gun up. Double charges with double balls wouldn't do it - but it would make the whole thing, plywood and all, recoil across the yard. We were pretty dumb but we learned a lot - and we have memories.

[@SquaredSmith]

Those cross bits on the canon looked like grade A knuckle smashers when it was spinning

[@dumbo800]

I reckon the effect would be closer to a catapult.

[@buggsy5]

Such risks occur occasionally for any machinist.

[@martyjehovah]

A new kind of knuckleduster. This specific type does the opposite of the original, and instantly turns your knuckles to dust.

[@rickt151]

@@martyjehovah you certainly are honoring your name with this. :)

[@uweinhamburg]

Makes you kind of think about the skills of the guys who did this 400 years ago without electricity, no accurate measuring tools, with much harder material and much bigger ;) Doesn't take anything away from your results!! 👍

[@cnoxey6898]

And a helluva lot of them died when test firing them ..

[@uweinhamburg]

@@@cnoxey6898 LOL... 😁😁😁

[@brianthwaites2397]

@@cnoxey6898 no they did not in England they were proved at the proof houses and the failures never saw use.

[@medievalgonnemeister4291]

@@brianthwaites2397 The ones that they caught at the proofing. Some faults occurred in the field. Cannons of that age, and even today have a life expectancy. Many have been used, even after their life expectancy had passed, resulting in fatal catastrophic failures.

[@sebastianlaplume461]

uwe in Hamburg they had very accurate tools bud. They wouldn’t be able to do it without them. Same with any weapon fabrication since the year 800

[@eviljods]

You only need to make another 73 cannons and build a Galleon and you can set sail for the Spanish Main, yarr. Great job, looking forward to the test fire :)

[@stratodriver4649]

I really enjoy how you speak to both groups of the viewers. You talk with your peers but at the same time you are still educating the rest of us on some bits and pieces of the processes as well. I appreciate that. I will never attempt this as a hobby, but it is still nice that those of us that aren't "in the business" also don't feel like you are completely leaving us out by only speaking in a way that experienced people would understand. Thank you. I have watched a lot of hobby casters(yes I know that is probably the wrong term, but I can't think of the proper word at the moment) and watching them was mostly just for the "oddly satisfying" checkbox. But with your vids about this cannon it actually felt like I was there running the camera and we were just hanging out making mistakes and cannons and having fun learning.

[@whocares6698]

Well it is called a BUFFING wheel for a reason LOL

[@pb222221]

SLEEVE IT! If you try to fire a projectile it is very possible for it to hit the defect and cant in the barrel. Even a small cant into the defect could cause the projectile to get wedged. Your cannon would turn into a bomb. A possible way of sleeving the barrel is to fill it with a softer metal (like lead) and redrill the bore.

[@brianthwaites2397]

not if it is a lead ball

[@mythralt]

@@brianthwaites2397 What Patrick is saying is that he should use lead to fill the defects in before then adding a harder material sleeve inside the lead. Also, assuming he's firing this as a reproduction cannon, he'd be using iron balls.

[@brianthwaites2397]

@@mythralt thats it a good idea lining the bore with lead and then sleeving and yeah i forgot that iron balls were used in the day but most were a tad larger than 1 inch bore, so lead balls seems easier if not historically accurate.

[@ScrapDMX]

Gunmetal glitter is the manliest glitter I can imagine.

[@CharIie83]

hm, a bit sparkly tho

[@jimprovan8866]

Do you sprinkle the glitter on when you go to the Blue Oyster Bar?

[@spidermancereal]

Gibson Guitars used brass filings for The Les Paul Gold tops in the 50's. If the clear gets worn away they turn green.

[@DocFuglyMark]

Sleeving the bore sounds like the best solution, the visible defects could just be a hint of other defects that can't be seen but have sufficiently weakened the barrel structure enough to make it unusable.

[@brianthwaites2397]

I would agree that sleeving the bore is the best option but still think it is unnecessary given the pressures likely to be encountered with a black powder load in a bronze barrel. However safety must be the paramount consideration so ... sleeving it is.

[@alonzosanchez8577]

I've Been Anticipating The Arrival Of This One!!

[@Shorjok]

An american that admits metric is better, makes cool stuff out of metal and owns a snake. Subbed

[@uncleben8895]

Those white eyes tell you he was about to shed, they tend to separate before the rest on my pet snake as well. When he is in that state I don't think he can see really well but I am sure he still knew you were there. Wild for him to be willing to stick around for that long with so much activity going on.

[@garymyers6638]

As long as you’re the guy firing it and I can stand over here I don’t see a problem.

[@NebukedNezzer]

Having been in the Navy. I really like the look of shiny brass.

[@NebukedNezzer]

@@alexandramarberry1023 Shine it must Work it might

[@ajwilson605]

Takes forever to get the smell of Brasso off your hands...!

[@DC-uo5hy]

Vertical pours are much preferred in cannon foundry with lots of vents. Much fewer gas or pressure voids. Thick casting sand walls in big forms. Allow for slow cooling. Percentages of 88, 2 and 10 are ideal, copper, tin and nickle mix for "Gun Metal Bronze". (No Zink like in brass). Great video. Good knowledgable machining.

[@kilppa]

The whirling arms of doom spinning on the lathe are making me really anxious. You only have to accidentally wave your hand a little bit to the side and it is utterly shattered.

[@DjDolHaus86]

It'd likely give you a good whack but unless your hand got trapped against the tool holder you'd just bounce off

[@ButtersDaBaller]

you have to remember most of that was sped up footage

[@brianthwaites2397]

but the job was done and it didn't

[@oldnick4707]

When turning a part on a lathe, that very thing is often a problem. Something like those trunnions, or a lathe dog, etc., when a gloved hand, a ring or necklace, Your damn long hair, etc. gets caught in it, it'll rip your arm off, scalp you if your lucky, turn your face into so much mush if your not. keep your hair short enough to not get caught, remove any jewelry, wearing gloves is generally a bad idea because a glove will get caught up before your hand feels it, then your hand gets drug in with the glove like a chinese yoyo! lol Machinists have to deal with this daily. Even a keyway that runs off the end of a shaft can grab yer shit and pull you in! The solution is to never ever make a stupid mistake, EVER, or you are a dead duck!

[@colsoncustoms8994]

@@oldnick4707 Spinning tools + gloves is bad news.

[@PrivateCustard]

Watching something go from not round to round is one of lifes little pleasures!

[@ulrichkalber9039]

I have seen a historic drawing(probably from a patent) that showed a machine for boaring a cannon. the machine had the piece in the vertical, that way all gravitational flex is eliminated.

[@miguelangelsimonfernandez5498]

indeed that's the way it was done, vertically for fine tuning

[@TrevorMoore_]

Time to tip over a lathe!

[@jacknanuq6119]

This is such a great demonstration of American ingenuity and determination.

[@DanKoning777]

Use the tailings to make a working "desktop version/mini canon"....an exact duplicate of this one to fire when this one is ready. I'd actually like to see you apply the knowledge you gained, and how everything will work with each step on a significantly smaller unit [especially the pour]. As for the "true live/dead center" issue; I'd ask Herman. He probably knows all there is to know about "live/dead" things.

[@lawrencecole6527]

HAHA "an exact duplicate of this one" yes lol.

[@axiom1650]

And use the glitter from the mini canon to make an even smaller one!

[@brotherlove100]

Dan, I like your miniature idea, make to fire .22 short rounds!

[@machobunny1]

Good for you for appreciating "Herman". One huge black snake lives under my front concrete driveway. The other lives in the insulation of my hot tub year round. A smaller one comes into my shop from time to time. Mice and chipmunks are very rarely seen anywhere. I don't mind mice or chipmunks, personally, but they do drive my dog into crazed fits. THe black snakes have made it much quieter around here. :-)

[@ronnybe7994]

Well done! The defects are gonna make firing the cannon more ...suspenseful :) Good luck!

[@benjamindemontgomery6317]

Good argument for respecting the safety protocols around cannons. STAND BACK THIS CANNON GOT A DEFECT!!!!

[@NUKE-W.E.F.]

Whoa!

[@notsoserious0944]

The "ball" on the end of the cannon was for rigging it to lift. It would take a loop of rope.

[@brianthwaites2397]

ball? Cascobel

[@BigFrankieC]

As I once yelled whilst drunk to a friend who was showing off her pet python's molted skin, "YER SNEK IS EMPTY!"

[@reganmahoney8264]

So love that you have Hermit! I have Buddy in my garage - another black snake - in my garage..

[@gordonselckmann6588]

Line the barrel with a sleeve and forget about pressure concerns

[@TheSalient0ne]

exactly my thoughts

[@chuckh8800]

That would be best

[@jenislawski]

I'm glad you captured the end with the steady rest @22:21 in case it spun out of the dead center. You already know there may be casting defects lurking within. My father worked in CNC machining most of his life. One day at the shop, someone was end-milling some threads on a long pipe, and didn't put the steady rest on for safety. There was a defect, the pipe bent, kicked out, and in the blink of an eye, the fellow was bleeding on the floor with a broken jaw, broken ribs, and a nearly broken leg. Lucky he wasn't dead with a blow to the head like that. Your casting is obviously thicker and shorter than pipe, but the instant destructive power of that momentum is deceptively easy to forget about when you work with it daily. Stay safe so you can make more amazing creations! I'm learning a lot from your videos.

[@paulheitkemper1559]

Here's the thing- you found *that* casting void. What other casting voids are in there? Are there any in the high-pressure areas of the cannon? Are you going to have it x-rayed to find out? I think the people saying to sleeve the barrel have the wisdom on this one. I think proofing the barrel of a flintlock musket invovled a triple (double?) charge of powder. Is that the same thing people did to proof a cannon?

[@HanSolo__]

The Tripple charge doesn't do much of pressure over the doubled one. You simply add the next squeezed grains/grams of powder which is still intact while the first charge is close to being at its highest point of giving out the pressure. This is due to the very tiny gradient of hand handled arms. Yet still works better with than without. That is not a problem as far as a musket barrel is very long. You will have a value from a bigger charge, not much tho. A better way to obtain more of the energy with your projectile is giving it a bigger cal. That's why a .58 and bigger muzzleloading rifles were quite common.

[@JasperJanssen]

MrKansai1 teghe the triple charge isn’t about throwing your projectile farther. It’s to do it from behind a berm to see if the barrel survives it. If it does, you can be reasonably certain that it won’t be blowing up with normal loads when you have your face right next to it. And yes, double or triple charges to proof cannon barrels was very much a thing.

[@dannynimmo3052]

Thats a perfect analogy, there could be other voids

[@4englishlies875]

Great job thus far. Back in high school many many years ago I made a cannon and carriage for my tool and die class could shoot a 440 round ball it was a ton of fun but my shop teacher made me bore it out more and put a sleeve in it. The thing was I made it from cold rolled steel. He told me I will not be responsible for you blowing your dang arm off or worse..... I figure if I had to do it with steel you probably should do it with brass. I need to get that back from parents....lol

[@mrhatch117]

4 englishlies I made a similar canon in HS weld shop when we had a substitute teacher. Shot all kinds of objects across campus. The sub kept coming out of his asking what was going on..... when the regular teacher came back, my buddy and I got expelled for two weeks 😎

[@SuperRobbis]

Every detail is thought out which allows for perfected projects. Never stop impressing us!

[@OpusBuddly]

In 1972 I started making a brass cannon in metals shop class using a plaster of Paris mold. I didn't heat the mold to burn out the grease I used to keep the wooden cannon form from sticking to the plaster so when I poured the molten brass in it sort of caught fire and splattered molten brass all over the shop floor. Fortunately my parents got a divorce and I had to change schools to one that didn't have a foundry. I say fortunately because I had no idea how much work it would have been to finish the cannon. Much admiration to you for sticking to the job!

[@LondonReps]

I've really enjoyed this series. I'm from London so sadly couldn't dream of doing something like this. It's cool to see what you guys in America get up to. Look forward to seeing more!

[@thinking-monkey]

What you said about guys in the U.S. is what we in the U.S. think about guys in Australia. It's like "You made that and you didn't even get put in prison or anything??" 🤣

[@forrestaddy9644]

Solution for part droop: You just need to steady your barrel in the right location until you get the center drill in. Extemporize a wood steady - a wood block and a couple wedges. Adjust until the quill trams to the work axis of rotation. Quick like a bunny, center drill the breech boss (cascobel, I had to look it up). A small center drill is all that's needed. . I'm a machinist of almost 60 years experience and I'm here to say you have good instincts on how to work out your machining problems. Or you could hear me yelling at my computer monitor

[@rafoster]

Bore it out a little more, hopefully you lose the defects and don't find more, then add a steel sleeve as others have suggested.

[@reinholdadam711]

no because the walls will be too thin at that point...

[@vedigregorian4382]

@@reinholdadam711 Thats why the steel sleeve.

[@Caballawongla]

@@vedigregorian4382 problem with that will be to balance the steel sleeve to the cast bronze. Because both are very different materials their point of plastic deformation ( a deformation with permanent indentation/change) the steel sleeve will widen under pressure so it will press against the bronze the bronze will permanently deform while the steel sleeve will shrink back therefor seperating the sleeve from the cannon. NOTE: this might not happen the first shot but it sure will

[@vedigregorian4382]

@@Caballawongla Yeah, though you could use a more brittle steel (or other metal). As long as the sleeve has a lower point of plastic deformation than the bronze it and can take the pressure itll be fine.

[@briandean2014]

Now this is the kind of stuff I like watching as well, when you have to modify stuff to make cool things

[@chrishuber978]

Ich ziehe den Hut. Greetings from Germany. Absolute craftsmanship combined with problem solving.

[@ninjabothandyman6063]

I truly really think the outside texture of the canon honestly seems way more authentic, but hey man do your thing my friend, your doing a brilliant job !!!

[@nevar108]

Some 17th century ship captains are envious of the shine you have on that swivel cannon!

[@ZerokillerOppel1]

Did they really make those cannons shine like that back in the day? Don't know....but the've must have bored them dead accurate.

[@nerdanderthalidontlikegoog7194]

Your canon looks great. When will you start the pirate ship that will go with your canon?

[@Warriorcat49]

nerdanderthal IDontLikeGooglePlus Take it over to Acorn to Arabella in Connecticut! ;P

[@phoenixrising4573]

@@skydronaut5359 I have this distinct image of Doug in an eyepatch, sailing down a river in Oklahoma, shooting this off the top of the pilot house at things on the bank....

[@buggsy5]

That is not a shipboard cannon design - wrong type of carriage.

[@phoenixrising4573]

@@buggsy5 it has no carriage at this point, and there's no reason it couldn't be used for a swivel mount. It's to small for a carriage gun on a ship

[@andytaylor1588]

@@skydronaut5359 That one is a Chinese Junk.

[@BarqueCat2]

+1 upvote for Herman. That is one tolerant snake. Love that you have befriended him.

[@jmoss10403]

Maybe you should consider getting some NDT x-rays done on it. That would certainly tell you all the defects in the cannon.

[@jockellis]

Ultrasonic testing (UT) would be much, much cheaper. And safer.

[@jmoss10403]

jockellis never priced it out but I did do radiography as a job for a few years. X-ray is definitely safe to do if but I don’t know the cost difference.

[@Cloudman572]

@@jmoss10403 I know next to nothing about X raying or Ultrasonic but is the X ray problem that to X ray through that thickness of bronze you need high intensity X rays, safe enough if you far enough away, but not standard intensity sounds expensive. As mentioned this is total guesswork on my part.

[@jmoss10403]

@@Cloudman572 doing the xray work himself is not really an option. His best bet would be to outsource the work to a local company. That would be the most cost effective way to do it because the ultrasound equipment isn't cheap and the knowledge of what your looking at when it comes to performing the ultrasound takes time to learn. X-ray is a good way to visually see any defects small or large in the part. The part thickness if a maximum of 2 inches is easy to xray and shooting a part like his would be really easy to do if you placed the source inside the bore.

[@Cloudman572]

@@jmoss10403 Ok, but who suggested he do the work himself, certainly not me.

[@davidj.collins2239]

I wanted to add some more thoughts about times in general. I went to your guncraft101 channel. I was very happy to see your video concerning free speech and I agree wholeheartedly! So many people have drank the kool aid my sister is one! They have lost all common sense and want to hide the history of the past generations which is so sad and stupid because if we don’t remember the past we will repeat it. I was raised in Va Beach in the1960’s and 70’s I now live in West Texas. A firm believer in our Constitution it saddens me to see the direction the country is heading. Keep up the good work and hang in there!

[@Tannius]

When the doctor asks me before my MRI if I work with metals... Me: Sweats nervously.

[@Mrdark7199]

Better than Sweating metallicly.

[@texasdeeslinglead2401]

I know exactly what you mean.

[@medievalgonnemeister4291]

I still remember my first MRI. No such warning, the next three days, my arms, face and chest look as if I fell in a fire ant hill. Red bumps, white centers with black dots in the middle. In my late teens and early 20's I worked as a gun polisher in a refinishing shop. The black dots where steel bits embedded in my skin. Luckily I wore safety glasses. Though, one time that I didn't, I caught a steel splinter in my right eye. I got it out with a rare earth magnet.

[@texasdeeslinglead2401]

I had one of my MRIs after a couple months of cutting and hanging cast iron on a big job. I didn't think anything about it. When that machine kicked on , I could feel every pulse of the machine . Bump bump bump , my body would get hotter and hotter and hotter. Then the machine would pause , and I'd cool down. Head to pelvis scanning of my back was a long process. Afterwards I got out and was directed down the hall to x-ray. Tech positioned me in front of machine and I got super nausiated. So I sat down . Finally started feeling better so we tried again. As he told me to hold real still, I tried to raise my hand. I'm in pure darkness , listening to some really great music. "Wake up." Nah man , this is great music . "Wake up!" . Come on this is great music I opened my eyes to a horde of nurses, doctors and anyone else they could squeeze in this x-ray room all standing over me frantic . I had blacked out and fell chin first into a chair. And apparently I had sprung a nice leak in my face hitting the chair. Good times .

[@medievalgonnemeister4291]

@@texasdeeslinglead2401 The Techs & Nurses freak out when doing MRI's & CAT scans on me. I go into a meditative state, and a quarter way through the scans, they will stop and ask me repeatedly if I am alright. They cannot believe that a person can remain so perfectly still for so long and not be dead. Even had a tech doing a head scan on me, as part of a hearing test, asking me for more information on the practice of ZEN, after the test was completed. I've been a disciple of the art for over 40 years now.

[@amjmmint4786]

Regardless of the defect in the bore, I heard you mention sleeving it, which looks to be the popular opinion. I think you've done a great job footing the trial and error for others to model, and whether I ever have the opportunity to do this myself, thank you for passing this footage on to the lost generations of craftsmen.

[@TrojanHorse1959]

Nice job! P.S. Since Herman has on his new suit, I bet he's out wooing the ladies.

[@peterparsons7141]

I can’t say enough good about your kindness to Herman! Good people on KZbin wavelength this man sets an example for living in nature, which we all do no matter what or where you live.

[@Runoratsu]

Looking forward to this, the teaser image looks awesome already. So shiney!

[@Runoratsu]

…and it didn't disappoint! Man, those spinning murder pins in the middle of the barrel while on the lathe were _scary_ as hell!

[@FarmCraft101]

Yep. A little intimidating!

[@meteoman7958]

I'm totally fascinated by this process. That alloy is better looking than gold and apparently a lot more useful. We have to give the guys three hundred years ago a lot of credit for the cannons they made then. Looking forward to the next video. Meantime, I have a lot of catching up to do.

[@sharktomi8620]

I'm glad for you to see having success, it's a very beautiful cannon, truly one of the best video's on YT. 💛

[@johnsumner2987]

Thank you for not killing Herman the black snek.

[@thainarv]

Awesome job! Ps: we need more Herman!!

[@stephenbinion6348]

That is a thing of beauty. I can’t wait to see it fired.

[@Mp57navy]

Grab an ultrasonic gauge and check the cannon from head to toe, before using it. There might be many more defects, that are not visible.

[@Mp57navy]

@@TugIronChief Machinist here as well. I am welding a lot. Welds may look nice, but be absolute garbage inside.

[@willtauxe6280]

I had a similar problem boring long holes- i found the simplest solution was a spade drill- it's what they use for bagpipes. Very simple to make in the shop and intrinsically self--centering unlike a twist drill.

[@danielquick7541]

Even if it fails at being a functional cannon it still looks nice.

[@yereverluvinuncleber]

Love the shine! Whatever you do please make a large carriage that is suited to the barrel. Don't make a small an puny carriage. There is another channel by a chap called Mustie and he made a decent barrel but the carriage was a toy version. If you have a look at English Civil war cannon you will see that the small barrels have a very grown up size as they realise the recoil, even from a small cannon is considerable. In addition the gun needs to be deployable and a larger size carriage makes sense.

[@phizc]

"Herman! Get off my work table! You shed!"

[@marczumhagen4149]

Love that you named him after the snake from Indiana Jones!

[@kevingrainger2530]

What a chew-on with the stand. Well done with the polishing. Your workmanship is greatly appreciated. Please consider a sleeve for safety . Exellent workmanship.

[@benlzicar7628]

I like peoples idea to sleeve it. Then simply heat the barrel in an oven, and use LN2 on the sleeve to drop it in. Once the temps have equalized the sleeve will be locked in there for good.

[@TrevorMoore_]

@Kathleen Shaw wouldn't that crack the metal from the rapid cool/heat? Id only do one or the other just to be on the safe side.

[@md4luckycharms]

@@TrevorMoore_ Cannon would have more thermal mass, and the sleeve is cold. The rate of heat transfer wouldn't likely be an issue for steel as long as it isn't cast or like 50 hrc

[@saruncse85]

Sir You are really great, i have been watching all ur canon barrel making from thermocol foam, then wood and until this one. I learned many things from you, your hard work, dedication and tech concepts. Great work sir, keep it up

[@Madmax0620]

You Sir are a fucking legend..... respect to your craftmanship and patience.

[@byronfoxretiredmachinist9300]

There is an old boring technique called " pack boring " it consists of casting or machining a bearing support around the bore bar just behind the cutter . The best material for this purpose is Babbitt metal . It was used mostly for the finished I. D. Also a " Cat-Head " would be VERY useful for the steady rest end , it consists of a tube with 4 to 6 tapped holes, equally spaced , on both ends with enough space between the holes for the steady rest to fit. Indicate as true as possible , then skim O.D. to true up.. GREAT video !!!!! just an OLD machinist

[@sjv6598]

Melt tin to fill the defects then remachine the bore. Obviously stand well back when firing 😂

[@seanfernandez7759]

I was going to go with melt some brass and pour it in so it fills those holes, then re-machine. Same thing really

[@Yoshikaable]

@@seanfernandez7759 melt glitter in place?

[@Bialy_1]

@@seanfernandez7759 " Same thing really" no its completely different story... tin have low melting temperature so you can easly melt it inside something made out of brass and have perfect melt with no deffects and not do any damage to your brass object...

[@seanfernandez7759]

@@Bialy_1 Once you have the brass melted and poured into the barrel it is the same thing. Granted you would also have to heat up the inside of the barrel help with the bonding. The challenge with using tin is that if you intend to fire the cannon, it is a place of weakness. But hey, each to their own right.

[@medievalgonnemeister4291]

There's an accident waiting to happen. Sooner or later that patch will peel off like a scab on a healed wound. 1.) if its a live firing, it will jam up the cannon ball and the tube will blow. 2.) if blank firing, your blank now has a projectile. It will be like the Song of Hiawatha, who knows where it will land.

[@robertlewis4666]

I'm in agreement with the majority here. Press fit a sleeve into the bore and you will have a safe cannon for a lifetime. There seems to be a bit of porosity in the casting so you can only gain peace of mind with a decent sleeve fitted. Very nice job, she is going to be a big talking point when finished, and the envy of everyone who witnesses a firing!

[@reinholdadam711]

27:00 i am no expert but that big of a hole will screw it all up so take the compound, remelt it, and try to just fill the hole and re-bore the hole again.

[@jerryjohnsonii4181]

You are a genius machinist Sir. I truly enjoyed watching this cannon project come to life. Two thumbs way up !!!!!!!!!

[@mykstreja8648]

The artillery corp would be proud to fire this gun in battle. Or perhaps an admiral would require its placement on the deck of his flagship. I truly hope that defect doesn't impact the weapon. Stay safe. P.S. Nice snake.

[@ar-sithf.austin3744]

Centering and turning that end cap or whatever the technical term is I don't think you could of asked for a better "truing" of it. Turned out pretty great I think. Good job on getting it all "figured out". This is the kind of ingenuity that make men great and learning from mistakes over time is very admirable. Very cool stuff.

[@ar-sithf.austin3744]

Just cuz we can!

[@johnyz656]

Start over.😢. If it has flaws you can see there is a high probability it has other stress fractures. If there is a way I would have magnaflux inspection done on it or some other form of inspection. 27000 psi is nothing to mess with...12 ton-force per as inch...i am sure with the number of followers it would make for a very informative video. Plus success in the end. Keep up your effort and thanks for sharing!

[@moss8448]

you turning that on a lathe reminds me of the time I took an English sport cars rotors to be turned and the guy asked 'what kind of car did these come off of '?... told him it was a special edition pinto..he said...'that'll be $7.50 each' ...after he was thru I asked what if those came off an MG or a Rolls?...he said 'that would be a lot more money'. btw I watched you do this from the very start to the very finish and I must say it was the most entertaining informative thing I've watched in a very long time...thanks .. 👍

[@FondlesHandles]

if you fire it with that defect, you might get one, maybe two good fires, then you'll probably crack the barrel. you might be able to re-melt your shop glitter and fill those defects in. suggestion for you if you do try that, pour the metal down the barrel, cork it, then put it on the lathe, and spin it. it'll help force the metal in to the defects so you wont get a surface patch. afterwards, you can re-bore it to get it all smooth. this is my unprofessional opinion though, as i am not a gun smith. you also might lodge the shot in that defect and cause an overpressure detonation.

[@rodpalm6398]

Cool Indigo snake. I made a cannon just like this one but much smaller in high school. It was billet grade brass.

[@---bs8dp]

Canon building and a snake there is no way this man is married

[@ZerokillerOppel1]

I'll be where I'm at!!! In my man/snake cave!!😆

[@lordkayx]

DUDE! you need to put this in a playlist I have tried to follow this from the begining and went from attempt number 3 to this video. Congrats by the way.

[@Cre8tvMG]

For centering the butt end when it was sagging in gravity: could you polish the end, then bring a dead center just barely in contact with butt and slowly rotate the cannon 360°, to make the tip scribe a circle with the radius of the sag. The center of the circle should be the true center, which you could then punch as a start point. I have no lathe or machining experience - just thinking off the top of the head.

[@AdamosDad]

I came back today to suggest a steel liner but see that many others beat me to it. I don't think it would take away from the antique look, in any case its so far a work of art. I'm looking forward to the rest of the build.

[@vitor900000]

1 You could pour metal in the barrel and bore it again 2 Increase the bore diameter and put a sleeve on it 3 Cast the cannon again and pray for a perfect piece :D

[@Thingsthatgopew22]

Yepp, sleeve it as Sternstone suggest. But first reline the bore using epoxy resin that you allow to spin harden in the lathe filling all the voids. Then rebore it to suitable diameter and insert a stainless steel sleeve that you have filed a bunch of small notches in so it adds some grip. Fill the entire bore with epoxy resin before you insert the sleeve, then dump out the excess resin. This way you will be sure to have resin all around the sleeve/barrel junction. Finish it of by boring away the resin residue from inside the sleeve. You can make the sleeve two inches shorter than the barrel and insert a bronze sleeve in the opening if you want to mask the fact that there is a stainless sleeve in the barrel. You can make this outer sleeve threaded for extra strength.

[@norman_sage2528]

"It will work for the canon, I'll figure out the rest later" lol

[@gomezadams9900]

I would have to agree with the other comments made. It does look way cooler polished up now. I made a similar cannon years ago in cold rolled steel. bored out a 1/2 inch hole as well as the side rests, then welded them to the barrel. After heat treating it worked well and the way I shot it was with flash powder and tinfoil balls I rolled up from cigarette package liners. The effect was pretty cool.

[@slendeer_games8731]

Oh, man! Do you remember making the aluminum foil ball? Try shooting it!

[@knightworld3019]

The powder will break yhem apart before they leave the bore

[@slendeer_games8731]

@@knightworld3019 Oh, shame...

[@slendeer_games8731]

@@NUKE-W.E.F. ?

[@NUKE-W.E.F.]

@@slendeer_games8731 sorry posted to wrong person

[@slendeer_games8731]

@@NUKE-W.E.F. Oh, ok!

[@pallien7501]

You are Great at freehanding the coning of the barrel. Last time i turned a cannon i set the angle of the cone on the compound slide and hand fed it all the way. I had to reposition it a lot, but the result was rather smooth.

[@barthamburg4351]

Reaching with a long screwdriver and fill it in with some JB weld and call it a day.

[@SeanChYT]

An amazing result. You can do so many things in so widely different areas. It is fascinating to watch.

[@Extort713]

I would die of a heartattack if that snake came into my shop....

[@sebastianlaplume461]

Extort but they so cool

[@Manicmood89]

Thoroughly enjoy and learn a lot from your videos! Reminds me of watching my Dad making his 1/2 scale Napoleon 12 pounder back in 1976 for the bicentennial.

[@willietheboggle3954]

Tried and true method is to over load it with heavy shot and more powder than you would ever use and fire it from a safe distance. If it survives then you got a winner.

[@genegreear4183]

That looked really good. I have always liked brass and used to collect it from time to time. I never spent the time to put that nice of a polish on any of it. Sure hope it doesn’t blow out on you. Thanks for sharing it with us. Later

[@DeerHunter2000]

JB Weld

[@kamakiri700]

thanks for a nice Saturday afternoon watching you work on this. I love these little gems on YT

[@VAXHeadroom]

I do black powder cannon medieval reenactment. There is no way in hell this would pass a safety inspection. Please do NOT fire this cannon. It's beautiful, but the likelihood that will seriously injure someone is just too damn high.

[@OrudoVansan]

Most commercial replica cannons use a steel sleeve to prolong the life of the metals from the corrosive effects of the blackpowder, and the metal fatigue that occurs from repeated firing. AND for safety. I would recommend the same.

[@nitt3rz]

Chamber pressure would be a lot lower if you fired aluminum balls, rather than lead or iron.

[@hellzs]

sleeve it, had that done to my friend's vintage 2 pounder. you are worried about the big crack is making it weak but that is not the problem. between firing you need to swab the bore to remove any hot spots that could light off the next charge the cracks could hold an ember you missed. so keep in mind your hand will be in front of this while loading.

[@miguelangelsimonfernandez5498]

Those casting defects in the bore were not uncommon. They're called beetles in spanish (escarabajo). 1/2" is a bit too deep for your bore

[@HanSolo__]

Wait a sec 3mm is a 1/8" not 1/2".

[@tonino5113]

Thank you for your constructive entertainment

[@DavidGrassSr]

I don't care if it has a defect are not, that's a damn good job.. Hey, its a place for old Herman to hide. I hate Snakes tho...