Thanks

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Jenn

[ 07-11-2001: Message edited by: Fire Stryker ]

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Go to Red Company - 1471
Once there go to the Photo Gallery, then the Tewkesbury event.

I was impressed with your piece. What wood id you make the carriage out of ? One thing that you can improve as your finances allow is the wheels. The spokes on gun carriages, even at this early date flare out from the hub to the rim, making it look like a shalloe truncated cone if you look at it from the top or front. The iron tires on Late Medieval pices seem to have been heavy, with re-enforces set at regular intervals.

"D.B." has quite a few plans of Burgundian guns, and the carriages thery are on, but there are some troubles with using them for references. I believe one or two may be on very old carriages, possibly close copies of the originals. Maybe one is original to the tube if I remember aright - I need to go back and look in detail. All the guns I believe have been remounted at some point, doing service as the Swiss train of artillery for nearly a hundred years after their capture in 1476/77.

The trouble is to my knowledge there are no surviving Medieval limbers. I think the earliest good illustrations of them are early 16th century, and what they show is in essence similar to what all European armies used until the end of the 18th century, which is an axle with a pintle and two wheels smaller than the carriage guns. The primary difference between limbers and later ones used on guns the size of yours is the horse teams tend to be shown drawing in sigle file, instead of abreast. I bet one horse can pull your gun (I don't know what it weighs in at), but two or three would look best.

As for evidence to their being proper limbers for the guns, I point to Charles the Bolds written report regarding the Battle outside of Neuss, where he refers to them being drawn into action, unlimering, firing, moving, firing again, and retireing. We aren't talking Civil War era limbers, and batteries of Napoleons springing into action, biut we are talking about guns capable of being moved about a battlefield.

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As regards the carriages. To the best of my knowledge there are no surviving carriages or limbers.

As regards your carriage. Personally I'd prefer it heavier and larger. The gun I designed for the White Company many years ago (it's illustrated in the Medieval Soldier by Gerry Embleton & John Howse ... its the one with a rope over the barrel and not in use) has a 3" bore which is more in line (or smaller) than the size of gun I'd expect for a carriage of this style.
Also the axle looks like a iron rod, I think the majority were likely to have been woodden axles, again this means more weight.

The tyres on the wheels are probably still straked at this time. i.e. a series of small metal plates riveted at alternate intervals to the fellows on the wheels. e.g. 12 spokes = 6 fellows & 6 strakes. rather than a single iron tyre.

Wheels could be dished but straight were still in use, personally I'd keep with dished.

This is dredging the memory a bit so sorry it's a bit sparse.

I found the wheels brand new for $200.00US for the pair. For good ofset wheels designed and made for gun carriages I would be looking at close to 1000.00 each. This would be with a one piece tire and not strakes. Also, I have to be able to load and unload this piece myself. I wanted to avoid having to haul and store a trailer, so this piece can be disassembled and, while I don't really like to, I can and do lift the tiller with the barrel by myself and can assemble and disassemble the piece alone. The iron bar used for the axle was necessitated by the diameter of the holes in the wheels.

While probably not sturdy enough for a cross country march, it is sufficient to get around at events and has been towed over a good dirt road over a mile to be fired before. Also, as I said, I have done extensive live firing with it.

As an aside, the mould that I have for casting the balls just happens to be the same size as a golf ball. They fly quite well, are cheap and readily available and don't require any work from me to make. Just don't fire them at anything that is too close. They also have a tendancy to bounce, and 100 yards is not out of the question. I speak from harrowing experience.

Thanks

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You don't want to use anything that is not seamless. It is widely available through large steel suppliers and in several sizes.

When the machine shop was done, I welded on the bands to give the appearance of a hoop gun and drilled the touch hole.

If you are serious about making your own canon and firing it, I would reccomend "The Complete Canoneer." It deals with pretty much all of the issues of owning, making and firing a modern canon, though it is obviously focussed primarily on American Civil War, it does address the subject in a general enough way to be useful to any gunner.

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Not to worry, we have more artillerists in Wolfe Argent per capita than your average concentration. Good ones too! Pieter was an artillerist for real, and comes from a long line of artillerists. His Great etc uncle was the Commandant of the Orange free state artillery prior to the Boer war.

We have a heck of a lot of black powder arillerists as well. Well drilled, by the book, and even a liscensed cannoneer. Our battery (5th Mass - those of us in, or formerly with it) has had nary an accident related to the guns in the 37 years of it's existance, and we compete live fire as well.

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Could you post a close-up of the piece?
Your construction method is virtually the same as for a piece I currently have under construction except I have a 1.5" bore. I've contracted for a set of dished wheels from a local gentleman and if they turn out well I'll pass on the contact info.

Also, does anyone know if there's a way to make transportable gabions? I think they'd be easy to make but I don't want to have to order a ton of dirt at an event.

I don't see why you couldn't make a very nice non-fireing cannon to use as a nice big prop. If for some bizzare reason you wanted to undergo the expense of shipping it to the States for an event I certainly wouldn't object, so long as with any other prop we use it closely resembles what it ought.

Jeff Johnson has a theory that the bigger and shinier the prop, the better the reproduction should be because it will attract a lot of attention. A cannon will attract a lot of attention.

God knows you can't help draconian laws that won't even allow you to fire a blank charge. On the other hand, you could use it as an excust to make a true barrel stave tube or wrought iron of several layers, and fill the cracks with lead - just like the real deal with earlier field guns of the 15th century. It will never be fired, so it could afford to be completely authentic.

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[ 10-26-2001: Message edited by: Dru ]

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