Thank you for your interest in the "cannon class."  It is our goal to have every student leave with a complete, shootable cannon, including carriage with at least bicycle wheels, by the end of class.

We are going to do a one week class this time to see how much interest there is.  It is possible to complete each of our Civil War field barrels in a week with enough time left over to make a functional, if not prototypic, metal carriage using bicycle wheels.  Construction time is directly proportional to barrel size, so the Coehorn will be the fastest, the Mountain Howitzer second fastest, and so on to the 24 pounder whose details will take the longest time.   Since these classes are vacation for most students, we don't expect everyone to be putting in 14 hour days every day.  But for those students who want to complete the maximum amount of work, I will continue to open the shop after dinner until 8 or 9 PM for anyone who wants extra time.  I will ask about 4 PM if anyone wants an evening session and if so, I will hang around.

I would prefer that you select one of the barrels on the accompanying project sheet; we will have steel available (at approximately $5.50 per linear inch for 4" diameter as of this writing) for these projects.  If you have a project you want to bring from home, please discuss it with me first (addresses below); I am not opposed to other projects but please keep in mind the goal of leaving with a completed project and also the size of the school's machines.  The lengths of the lathes and the diameters of the steady rests are the primary limiting factors.  If you need to drill the bore, please limit your bore depth to 22" as the school does not have any really long lathes or extra long drills.   I have fixtures available to make wooden wheels for the mountain howitzer and will make more fixtures for the No. 1 carriage, but a backup pair of 20" bicycle wheels from a junked BMX bike would be good insurance.

Our projects list has five cannon, one howitzer and one mortar in several scales.  The 24 pounder naval gun is one-fifth scale, the field pieces are all approximately one-third scale, the howitzer is one-half scale, and the mortars are just under one-half scale.  The Parrott and 24 pounder are designed for a one inch nominal bore, the howitzer and Napoleon for a one and 23/32 inch bore (golf balls), and the mortars to various bores up to 2.69" for beer cans.   Please select one of the barrels on the list; if you let us know which one and pay for the steel in advance, we will have the material cut off for you when you get here so you can get to work sooner.

Our tool list has five sections; one is for publications.  I highly recommend Round Shot and Rammers as a good introductory text; if you are not an experienced artilleryman, it will give you good background and proper cannon nomenclature (that's names for the various parts).  Artillery for the Land Service of the United States is a series of publications that provides detailed plans, photographs and other information on the artillery pieces of the US Army of the 1840-1865 period from original sources or direct measurement.  I will have several of them available for viewing but I would prefer that you buy copies of the ones that interest you instead of copying mine; we need to support the publisher if he is going to be able to continue producing them.  South Bend Replicas is a producer of cast iron cannon ranging from small desktop models to full size eight inch naval guns (muzzleloading).  Their catalog is interesting, enlightening and entertaining.

Thanks for your interest.  Let's have a great class.

Round Shot and Rammers by Harold L. Peterson, published by and available from South Bend Replicas

Artillery Through the Ages by Albert Manucy, no longer in print but available on the Internet from the National Park Service website

South Bend Replicas catalog, South Bend Replicas, 61650 Oak Road, South Bend, IN 46614

Artillery for the Land Service of the United States, Antique Ordnance Publishers, P. O. Box 610434, Port Huron, MI 48061 - or - 3611 Old Farm Lane, Ft. Gratiot, MI  48059.  email: AOP434@webtv.net  Plans and pictures for a number of US Civil War era field artillery pieces.  Ask for their catalog sheet.

The More Complete Cannoneer by M. C. Switlik, available from Museum & Collector Specialties Company, 38 E. Elm Avenue, Monroe, MI 48162, and South Bend Replicas

The Civil War Artillery Site
USS Constitution (take the Virtual Tour), its 24 pounders and the drawings CD-ROM
Washington Navy Yard Bronze Cannon Collection (click on all the links in the descriptions for more photos)
Graybeard Outdoors Mortar and Cannon Forum (an Internet discussion forum specializing in blackpowder cannon and mortar making and shooting)

PROJECTS LIST