Making a model Cannon

Home Model Engine Machinist Forum

Help Support Home Model Engine Machinist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
2,220
Reaction score
1,285
Many,many years ago as an apprentice i made on the side a pirates chest,
approx 6" x 4" x 4".Made in steel with the edges banded in brass angle,
escutcheon plts,handles hinges etc in brass.It was veneered in teak and had a miniature hasp and staple with miniature padlock,working with key.
The inside was lined with silk and fitted with a musical box.Presented it to my girlfriend (now my wife) She used it for many years for her jewelry ???
Sadly it disappeared over the years of travelling.Anyway to the point,for my next project i would like to make a simple model cannon.With a lifetime in engineering and woodworking as a hobby,it should be within my capacity
Does anybody have any drawings,photos or designs to help me.
Probably cast iron barrel with brass trim,wooden wheels and base etc
Any input would be most welcome
 
Just be a little careful Baz - here in Western Australia if your model cannon has a bore and a source for ignition (like a flash hole) the cops will/do consider it a firearm and possession of it would be a serious offence. I've thought about making something similar myself and come to the conclusion that the 'bore' could only be around 10mm deep so it stays definitely legal.

Not sure about where you live but here even pvc 'spud guns' are considered a firearm and the authorities take it very seriously when they catch you with one. We just can't have any fun any more!
 
If you want drawing/plans for relatively simple but attractive models of some examples you could look for:

Scale Model Cannon by Stewart & Heyes

ISBN 0-7195-3888-2

Not a large book, some 60 or so pages.

Published London, John Murray, 1982.

I doubt if you can buy one but maybe a Library can locate a copy.

Dave

Surprisingly one on UK Amazon ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0719538882/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Yeah, I know ... fat lot of good there etc etc :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Baz
Here are a couple of pictures of a little cannon I made a few years ago, I searched online for cannon drawings, found one that I liked and copied that.
The carriage and limber are oak, the barrel is clear but has no touch hole, like a previous poster commented, here in Scotland the rozzers would take a dim view of anything that could be considered a firearm
The last pics are of a slightly larger model of a WW1 railway gun I made and a model of a coastal defence gun
Regards
Dougie

PICT2759.jpg


PICT2760.jpg


PICT2757.jpg


PICT2758.jpg


PICT2762.jpg
 
Hi Dennis
The gun is built to 3.5" guage sizes
Its 35 inches long buffer to buffer, 7.5 inches wide and the barrel is 27 inches long
It has a working, interupted screw breech but no clear barrel, the barrel elevates and rotates as per the full size and the recoil system is functional
I sent copies of the drawings I made to someone in Australia who was going to do a cad version and send me a copy but I never heard any more from him
Thanks for your comments
Dougie
 
The first one has. A 24 " barrel, the overall is about 40, the next is a 22 about 28 overall, and the last 21 and 27 overall. The first is a breach loaded, with an intermittent thread, the other two have a vertically dovetail breech block.
 
Hello Dougie,

I have searched high and low for artillery plans and have been unable to source any.
May I ask where you sourced the defence gun plans please?
Thanks and regards,
Dennis
 
Hello Albert,
If you search with Google for "model cannon plans" and open the images page of the results, you will see pages of plans. Mostly cannons, no field or naval artillery.
Some have dimensions also cannon ratio reference tables.
Worth a look.
regards,
Dennis
 
Hello Albert,
If you search with Google for "model cannon plans" and open the images page of the results, you will see pages of plans. Mostly cannons, no field or naval artillery.
Some have dimensions also cannon ratio reference tables.
Worth a look.
regards,
Dennis

Thanks Dennis I will do that
 
Hi Dennis and Albert
The coastal defence gun I found in the book " model engineering" by Henry Greenly
It wasnt a complete set of drawings but did have a scale and a couple of views.
It was a quick firing naval gun but my research showed they were used on land as well. I used this drawing and searched for coastal defence guns on the net and found quite a few good pics of guns that are still in place, quite a few of them in your part of the world Dennis
Hope this helps
Dougie
 
I had made a small cannon of sorts. I used measurements of a short cannon or cannonade I think they are called. I used a tough stainless as the body( ruined all my drills and carbide cutters getting the bore) . I had modeled after the "thunder mug" , but having a small lathe only at the time, I downsized to the " thundercup" Has a .750 bore and a 3/8 chamber.

I haven't fired it yet but is made for black powder. First firing will be from a hole dug in ground and a long fuse for testing purposes. It will not fire projectiles at all but a heck of a noisemaker:D:D

image.jpg
 
I grew up reading magazines like Popular Mechanics and Hobby. From this one I scanned an old set of plans for a naval cannon. I am working in my own one and it is going nice, but my daily work don´t let me go to workshop since months :-/
I know that there are many people looking for this kind of plans thru the web, so I´m glad for sharing this stuff and encourage to everyone to spread them. BtW, this is my first contribution to this site.

View attachment escanear0001.pdf

View attachment escanear10001.pdf

View attachment escanear30001.pdf

View attachment escanear40001.pdf
 

Latest posts

Back
Top