Nautical Research Journal 355


19. An example of a cannon assembly (with damaged or rejected parts).


Guns and Anchors


My guns are brass turnings. I have used castings in the past, but in small scale these are a challenge for me as an amateur metal smith. Also, I fi nd that cleaning casting fl ash is slow and produces uneven results in small parts. I have looked at other materials such as resin, but I really like the feel and comparative weight of brass, so I turn.


20. An anchor being milled.


room for the rope, one slot for each sheave. (Figure 15) I turned the sheaves (brass to represent bronze) and glued them in the slots. I could then sand both above and below the sheaves to create a combined sheave and dividing wall of appropriate thickness. (Figure 16) For the fore and main lower blocks, six of these and one additional wall are aligned and glued together to form the rough block, which can then be sized and shaped as needed. (Figures 17 1nd 18) T e upper blocks and mast heads are similarly formed.


Unfortunately, I have never found a duplicator for my Sherline lathe that works really well in brass, so instead of turning a whole piece, I build the cannon and carronades from several parts that can be readily replicated by basic turning methods. T is also ensures that details such as reinforce rings and astragals, which might be lost with a duplicator, are included.


As seen in Figures 19 and 20, the cascabel button is turned on a rod the diameter of the cannon bore, which then connects the pieces as shown. Since trunnions are off set vertically, I use a mill to drill holes in the brass stock before starting to turn. And I


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