New cannon-maker in TX

[satx78247]

Friends,

There is a "new guy in town", when it comes to building ML cannons from one pounders to full-scale 6 pound "mountain guns" of the WBTS era.

Some of Floyd Sochia's work was "on display" at the San Antonio Gunshow this last weekend, including his "best guess" (as rather "plain vanilla" iron-barreled 4-pounders) at what the TWIN SISTERS of our TX Revolution looked like.
(As the fate of the Twin Sisters is unknown & there are NO known photographs or drawings of them, we must rely on various brief written descriptions of the two field guns. - In point of fact, the Twin Sisters are, in period writings, described as both FOUR & SIX pounders.)

yours, satx

 

[KABAR2]

Why don't you invite him to join and post photo's of his work..... hard to do business through 3rd parties with no photos

 

[satx78247]

I gave him the forum's web address, suggested that he join us and post photos of his "goodies" about 1500, 01JUN14.
(I'm seriously considering his 2" bore, 70+# barrel, which comes with an appropriate scaled drawing for a shipboard & a TX Rev-era field carriage for that size gun.)

Note: During the 1810-1840 period "small cannons" were quite common in New Spain, Mexico & in the TX Republic periods.
(MOST of the "privately-owned guns" were evidently loaded with powder and shot, rather than solid balls, to drive away criminal bands, Comanche raiders, gangs of "renegades & cut-throats" from across the Sabine River & groups of "night-prowling intruders" into Los Ranchos Libres, eastern TX plantations & communities.)
Btw, between 1818-40, the Caddo Republic's "military forces", in "The Neutral Ground" between New Spain/Mexico/early TX & LA, had at least four 1-4 pounders, according to some private/public documents.

ImVho (as a NON-expert), Mr Sochia's work is NICE.

yours, satx

 

[Treestalker]

Glad to hear of Mr. Floyd Sochia's work! Texas history is better than fiction. The twin sisters were purchased by private funds raised by two ladies in Cinncinati Ohio,IIRC, and sent to Tejas in boxes marked Holloware! Glad to see someone trying to recreate them. My first cannon was a reasonable facsimile of the Gonzales cannon, 21" long, 1 1/4" bore IIRC, no trunnions. I hope to see some of Mr Sochia's work here soon! :bow: :thumbsup: :hatsoff: Tree.

 

[satx78247]

YEP. - As Isaid, I'm FAR from a cannon "expert" BUT his work is surely NICE to look at and (I was told by two guys that are repeat buyers,) that the cannons shoot WELL, too.

yours, satx

 

[matthew.heilgmail.com]

hotoSmile: And desperately, too!

Does he maybe have a website we could peruse?

 

[satx78247]

SORRY, but I don't even OWN a camera, much less know how to use anything more modern than a Kodak Brownie.

As to whether he has a website or NOT, I have NO info.- I just met him at the SA gun-show (briefly) & LOOKED AT his work, told him about & asked him to join this forum.

yours, satx

 

[OK2Smoke]

The tubes for the guns in the photo below were purchased through John Martin in Houston. They are made of seamless steel tubes with pressed-in welded breach plugs, then cast in aluminum resulting in a tube that is around 36" long with a 2" bore weighing around 70# just like the ones you saw.

The form for the casting is a wooden dummy barrel that makes a sand mold, so any shape barrel could be cast over the inner steel tube.

We made these guns strictly for salutes, but Mr. Martin assures me that he has tubes made this way he has shot hundreds of times over the past 20 years or so with no issues.

I know that when we drilled the touch holes in these tubes we found the aluminum to be VERY hard.

--OK2Smoke

 

[satx78247]

LOOKS like a nice "litter" of shipboard guns to me.

Fwiw, the 70+ pound gun barrel that I'm "thinking on" is a little over 2/3 of that length.
(I'm still "thinking on it" because I'm not at all sure that my woodworking skills are up to the task of building a QUALITY field carriage.)

yours, satx

 

[OK2Smoke]

YES...a field carriage is definitely more of a project. Actually all of the metal parts when made by hand, are more of a challenge than the wood.

Same thing for these Naval guns. We had the help of a first class machinist, and he had to make some special tools for forming the trunnion caps and so forth.

--OK2Smoke

 

[OK2Smoke]

Here's a few photos of making the trunnion caps.

Trunnion Caps


Milling the Caps


Forming the Cap Bolts


Fitted Caps With Keys


--OK2Smoke

 

[satx78247]

NICE WORK. = I'm IMPRESSED.

yours, satx

 

[OK2Smoke]

Thanks..

Here's a closer view of the guns. They were built for a Civil War 'Ironclad' replica, used in reenactments here in Jefferson. Of course, they end up being used for other events as well.

Closer view


Civil War 'Ironclad' replica heading up river


--OK2Smoke