I found a piece of extremely high tensile stainless steel rod, and immediately saw it as a potential salute cannon. The rod was turned on a lathe to form the barrel, holes were drilled on the sides to press in the trunnions, and they were welded in after being pressed. After being sanded and polished, the barrel looked great, and all it needed were the accessories. The cart and wheels are cut from teak, and the rest of the handmade hardware is made of stainless steel. Last, the touch hole was drilled, and the teak was oiled to bring out the beautiful wood grain.
Yes, it fires. It's bored to .50 caliber, and designed to fire a black powder charge. I haven't yet test fired it, as black powder is somewhat hard to come by here in New Zealand, but soon it will go BOOM! I'm quite happy with the way it turned out, and have to thank Neil from Holton Marine for all of his help, and for letting me run around his machine shop on Saturdays! He's one heck of a fabricator, and it was great to have his help and input.
Log on in a few days for a video of the first firing!
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| The ring hanging rod on the lathe |
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| Beginning to come together |
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| Drilling the touch hole |
Nice piece of craftsmanship!
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