Marine Corps Naval cannon project

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

OAK….

Some that big and strong, lasting 100's of years, could only be placed upon hand-hewn oak cants.

Old used oak would be infinity preferred to newly cut timbers.

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

Unfortunately oak doesn't last as long in this VA climate. I would have loved to have used old growth oak but that is out of our build budget. This cannon will be sitting out in the elements. I did speak to the carpenter who rebuilds cannon cradles at the Yorktown settlement / battle fields in my research. He is restricted to using oak and ash for historical reasons, he thought cedar would probably be better.

Here in VA we have to deal with opresive humidity and a plethora of wood eating insects. Western red cedar would stand up better to both of those better than oak.

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

Excellent project. I would be proud. You probably know this but WRC is soft! It is also known for splitting. Are you going to laminate the cheek/stock to prevent splitting? Very much looking forward to future installments.

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

I am aware that it is soft. This is just a show piece, it won't have any wheels or be moved except to put it in place. I am using 6×8 timbers to build it which I think will be plenty to support the weight. I am also going to use west systems 105 epoxy resin and a uv inhibiting finish to protect the wood.

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

Here is the lumber.

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

This looks like a very interesting project-I'll definitely be following along!

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

I've received the brass hardware back from blasting and polishing. Now I can start cutting and laying out pieces for the carriage!







I've spoken to several retired navy sailors and found out that people would take spent shells and or parts from decommission ships and cast them into other parts. So WM.C. Capehart was probably the person that made the cast pattern and the U.S.S. Vulcan was a repair ship that served beginning in the 1940's and was scrapped in 2006.

Here is the Wiki link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vulcan_(AR-5)

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

Thanks for the update! But maybe a blog series might work better?

Either way, I'll keep an eye on this project!

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

Oh ok, yeah I'll do that. Thanks Dean.

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

Ok, it all makes more sense now (thank you!)

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon project information and getting started.

I've received an exciting project recently that I will update as it gets completed. The cannon was made in 1844 by Daniel Treadwell, and is property of the US Navy and will be place in front of the Marine HQ building on base here at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

My job will be to prep and paint the cannon and build a carriage for it to sit on. The carriage needs to match the company emblem so it won't be historically correct. With that said my wood choices are unlimited. I've decided on western red cedar.

Here are the pics so far

Click to expand...

This will be a masterpiece when it's done

The Brass

I've received the brass hardware back from blasting and polishing. Now I can start cutting and laying out pieces for the carriage!







I've spoken to several retired navy sailors and found out that people would take spent shells and or parts from decommission ships and cast them into other parts. So WM.C. Capehart was probably the person that made the cast pattern and the U.S.S. Vulcan was a repair ship that served beginning in the 1940's and was scrapped in 2006.

Here is the Wiki link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vulcan_(AR-5) Quote

yorktowncarpenter said:

The Brass

I've received the brass hardware back from blasting and polishing. Now I can start cutting and laying out pieces for the carriage!

I've spoken to several retired navy sailors and found out that people would take spent shells and or parts from decommission ships and cast them into other parts. So WM.C. Capehart was probably the person that made the cast pattern and the U.S.S. Vulcan was a repair ship that served beginning in the 1940's and was scrapped in 2006.

Here is the Wiki link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vulcan_(AR-5) Quote

Click to expand...

This will be fun to tag along with!
A buddy made a scale version of some Civil War era cannon with a section of rifled tank barrel (don't recall the size).
He would shoot black powder charges and the thing was amazingly accurate. Biggest challenge was the spoked wood wheels and steel rim strapping (first time doing that).

yorktowncarpenter said:

The Brass

I've received the brass hardware back from blasting and polishing. Now I can start cutting and laying out pieces for the carriage!

I've spoken to several retired navy sailors and found out that people would take spent shells and or parts from decommission ships and cast them into other parts. So WM.C. Capehart was probably the person that made the cast pattern and the U.S.S. Vulcan was a repair ship that served beginning in the 1940's and was scrapped in 2006.

Here is the Wiki link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vulcan_(AR-5) Quote

Click to expand...

I'm going to enjoy following along on this project!

yorktowncarpenter said:

The Brass

I've received the brass hardware back from blasting and polishing. Now I can start cutting and laying out pieces for the carriage!

I've spoken to several retired navy sailors and found out that people would take spent shells and or parts from decommission ships and cast them into other parts. So WM.C. Capehart was probably the person that made the cast pattern and the U.S.S. Vulcan was a repair ship that served beginning in the 1940's and was scrapped in 2006.

Here is the Wiki link https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Vulcan_(AR-5) Quote

Click to expand...

I'm onboard with this project.

Cannon prep

Well still not a whole lot of woodworking yet. I spent two days removing old paint and loose rust with a needler and wire wheel. After that I coated the surface with ospho to convert the rust to clean metal. Then I put the cannon in a mock up cradle and took some more measurements. Finally I hung the cannon up for primer and paint.

!https://storage.googleapis.com/aws-s3-lumberjocks-com/
Paint removal.


Cleaned up and putting ospho on.




Fresh coat of ospho.



Cured ospho and placed in mock up cradle.




Hung up and ready for primer!


Paint!!

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon prep

Well still not a whole lot of woodworking yet. I spent two days removing old paint and loose rust with a needler and wire wheel. After that I coated the surface with ospho to convert the rust to clean metal. Then I put the cannon in a mock up cradle and took some more measurements. Finally I hung the cannon up for primer and paint.

!https://storage.googleapis.com/aws-s3-lumberjocks-com/
Paint removal.

Cleaned up and putting ospho on.

Fresh coat of ospho.

Cured ospho and placed in mock up cradle.

Hung up and ready for primer!

Paint!!

Click to expand...

Please post the back story on this project.

Where did you get the cannon?

What do you intend to do with it?

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon prep

Well still not a whole lot of woodworking yet. I spent two days removing old paint and loose rust with a needler and wire wheel. After that I coated the surface with ospho to convert the rust to clean metal. Then I put the cannon in a mock up cradle and took some more measurements. Finally I hung the cannon up for primer and paint.

!https://storage.googleapis.com/aws-s3-lumberjocks-com/
Paint removal.

Cleaned up and putting ospho on.

Fresh coat of ospho.

Cured ospho and placed in mock up cradle.

Hung up and ready for primer!

Paint!!

Click to expand...

Woops, I had that posted somewhere else. I've moved it to series entry #3, you can read it there.

yorktowncarpenter said:

Cannon prep

Well still not a whole lot of woodworking yet. I spent two days removing old paint and loose rust with a needler and wire wheel. After that I coated the surface with ospho to convert the rust to clean metal. Then I put the cannon in a mock up cradle and took some more measurements. Finally I hung the cannon up for primer and paint.

!https://storage.googleapis.com/aws-s3-lumberjocks-com/
Paint removal.

Cleaned up and putting ospho on.

Fresh coat of ospho.

Cured ospho and placed in mock up cradle.

Hung up and ready for primer!

Paint!!

Click to expand...

Look'n good!