Bronze M/L barrels

[Ohio Rusty]

I just finished watching the secrets of the Titanic. Everything that is steel or iron is rusting away and disappearing. Yet, the propellers, the gears, pipes and other bronze items don't have a speck of pitting or destruction after 93 years. It seems to me with our concerns about the plague of rust and the million different concoctions we use to try to prevent rust, that all those problems would disappear if we made barrels from bronze. I know there were brass barreled guns, but would bronze stand up to the intense pressures of blackpowder?
Might be an interesting project to look into as aa new smoothbore gun.
Ohio Rusty

 

[TANSTAAFL]

The right bronze can take some rather hefty pressures. Bronze for light cannon barrels was much preferred over cast iron for a long time.

 

[David Teague]

Because the bronze cannon was lighter in weight over the same size tube in iron.

However they were shot with a reduced load. (About 3/4 of the powder charge of the iron gun as I remember)

Cheers,

DT

 

[Swampman]

"the million different concoctions we use to try to prevent rust"

That's why I just use olive oil.

Brass barreled guns existed and I believe Getz will make you one.

 

[LRB]

Black powder fouling will attack brass, and pit it, almost as bad as it will steel if you don't clean it. Ask anyone who shoots BP cartridge. It will pit brass casings over night to the point that they have to be discarded for safety concerns. I don't know how fast it works on bronze, but I would have to suspect that it will given enough time.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

American civil war cast iron cannon had the disconcerting propensity to explode, even the very large and heavy ones did so.

Dahlgren's were some of the heaviest, and the inventor's son was killed when one exploded as he was testing it. After that, the navy reduced the powder charges, and for all it's size, the Dahlgren's were never used to design potential.