Texas "Come And Take It" cannon

[zulu]

On October 2, 1835 was the first shot for Texas Independence. The
little cannon fired the first artillery shot for Texas Independence which
led to the annexation of more land to the United States than all the
shots fired during the American Revolution.

The story of this cannon can be seen here on a short video.



Some years back, a popular restaurant here in Houston asked me to build a replica of this famous cannon. They didn't want full size as it was to sit on a cabinet at the entrance.
This is what I came up with after traveling to Gonzales and taking measurements from the original barrel.

It is made of wood and faux painted to resemble a rusty barrel like the original.

It's actually pretty cool. I just finished two more of them.

I took the first one I made back to the museum and took pictures of it next to the original.

 

[zulu]

 

[Davey Boy]

It's cute you see the camera flash then read the sign beside the cannon.

Thank you for the pictures.

I want to make cannons on the lathe but I don't like methods that add the mounting trunnions to the barrel by welding or bolting.

Seeing this cannon strapped down in a block of wood is very nice and copying the barrel to scale would make a great project.

I have some stainless or monel boat propellor shaft about 1 1/2" diameter, if I can drill the hole for the bore with my lathe, at scale I should be able to make at least a dozen barrels and no worries of weakening the barrel from mounting trunnions.

Sorry about the font in italics, probably a computer virus going around.

 

[zulu]

It's cute you see the camera flash then read the sign beside the cannon.

Thank you for the pictures.

I want to make cannons on the lathe but I don't like methods that add the mounting trunnions to the barrel by welding or bolting.

Seeing this cannon strapped down in a block of wood is very nice and copying the barrel to scale would make a great project.

I have some stainless or monel boat propellor shaft about 1 1/2" diameter, if I can drill the hole for the bore with my lathe, at scale I should be able to make at least a dozen barrels and no worries of weakening the barrel from mounting trunnions.

Sorry about the font in italics, probably a computer virus going around.

I had special permission from the curator of the museum to take the pictures. He knew I had the flash.

 

[Davey Boy]

Will you post dimensions of the actual cannon used to make the replica from?

 

[springfield art]

View attachment 188114

View attachment 188115

View attachment 188116

Excellent! Tell us how you replicated the painted "rust' finish!

 

[zulu]

Will you post dimensions of the actual cannon used to make the replica from?

I'm happy to do that.

Total length - 21 1/4"
Diameter at muzzle - 3 7/16"
Diameter at breech ring - 4 5/8". Width - 1 1/4". Ring starts 15 1/2" from muzzle face.
Diameter at muzzle ring - 4". Width - 7/8". Ring starts 7/8" from muzzle face.
Diameter of cascable - 3 1/8". Length of cascabel from the rear of breech ring - 4.25"
Vent hole - 1 5/8" in front of breech ring.
1 1/4" bore.

Are you going to make one of these?

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

ya know you can fire that......once.....

 

[zulu]

Excellent! Tell us how you replicated the painted "rust' finish!

My lovely assistant does all my stain and paint work.
She first paints the whole barrel in a brownish base color. While the paint is still wet, she sprinkles fine sand ( we use blasting sand) all over the barrel. She doesn't try to make it uniform. Thinner in some areas and thicker in some areas.
After everything is dry, she lightly knocks off any loose sand.
She then comes back in with a rag and blots several different colors of paint all over the barrel.
Faux painting is an art.
The iron work is first hammered out on an anvil with a ball pien hammer. Then bent to shape. Then covered with a vinegar, yellow mustard, and salt mixture. It is left out side to "cook" at least a night or two. I want the dew to keep it wet. Gently rinse off and residue and coat with clear satin lacquer.

 

[Rich44]

Really like the great pictures you provide to explain your story. Very inventive in your techniques in having it display just like the original rusted piece.

Just another one of your great works as expected.

 

[TDM]

My lovely assistant does all my stain and paint work.
She first paints the whole barrel in a brownish base color. While the paint is still wet, she sprinkles fine sand ( we use blasting sand) all over the barrel. She doesn't try to make it uniform. Thinner in some areas and thicker in some areas.
After everything is dry, she lightly knocks off any loose sand.
She then comes back in with a rag and blots several different colors of paint all over the barrel.
Faux painting is an art.
The iron work is first hammered out on an anvil with a ball pien hammer. Then bent to shape. Then covered with a vinegar, yellow mustard, and salt mixture. It is left out side to "cook" at least a night or two. I want the dew to keep it wet. Gently rinse off and residue and coat with clear satin lacquer.View attachment 189225

View attachment 189226

View attachment 189227

Looks amazing!

 

[RicM]

Awesome work, amazing!!!

 

[Davey Boy]

zulu,

Yes I want to make at least one of these at a much smaller scale.

I will draw it out in CAD from your dimensions and see what it looks like.

I use a 9x20 lathe for metal turning and it will limit the actual size.

Thank you for the dimensions posted.

I really like how the cannon is relief cut into the block and strapped down.

dave

 

[BillinOregon]

Zulu, deeply grateful to you for this thread. Congratulations to you and your wife for the wonderful workmanship and artistry.

 

[Davey Boy]

zulu,

I started a drawing and have questions

Louis the cat is helping me with the mouse so if the message gets sent or scrambled, he did it

for the measurement at the 4" and 4 5/8" bands, is that from the middle of the band?

what is the thickness of the bands?

what is the thickness, witdth and length of the hold down straps?

I assume a cascabel is the ball

What is the vent hole size?

Between the ball and the breech it looks like a straight diameter of about 2"

When I put in the dimensions given stacked from the bore end, I get 4.5" from end of cascabel to rear of breech band.

From the picture it looks like the band near the cascabel is rounded smooth with no distinct band edge.


I did a quick scaling using 0.3 and got these numbers

Length 6.4"
Maximum diameter 1.4"
Bore 0.4125"

Diameter is near the sizes I have available on hand in steel, brass, alloy steel

Certainly doable on the lathe I have

This would be an ideal cannon project given a barrel and a block of wood to learn to do inletting

dave

 

[Davey Boy]

zulu,

I am referencing the wood turned cannon in your initial pictures

further down I see the cascabel has a unique shape

So I have to do a redraw there based on the other picture



dave

 

[Eutycus]

You got me curious as to which "popular restaurant" in Houston and when can we see your work on display?

 

[zulu]

You got me curious as to which "popular restaurant" in Houston and when can we see your work on display?

Taste Of Texas on I -10

 

[zulu]

Answers in red

zulu,

I started a drawing and have questions

Louis the cat is helping me with the mouse so if the message gets sent or scrambled, he did it

for the measurement at the 4" and 4 5/8" bands, is that from the middle of the band? YES

what is the thickness of the bands? Front band - 9/16" Rear band - 3/8"

what is the thickness, witdth and length of the hold down straps? 1.25" wide. I started with 20", bent to shape and trimmed to final length

I assume a cascabel is the ball yes

What is the vent hole size? 11/64"

Between the ball and the breech it looks like a straight diameter of about 2" 2 1/8"

When I put in the dimensions given stacked from the bore end, I get 4.5" from end of cascabel to rear of breech band. Correct

From the picture it looks like the band near the cascabel is rounded smooth with no distinct band edge. Correct


I did a quick scaling using 0.3 and got these numbers

Length 6.4"
Maximum diameter 1.4"
Bore 0.4125"

Diameter is near the sizes I have available on hand in steel, brass, alloy steel

Certainly doable on the lathe I have

This would be an ideal cannon project given a barrel and a block of wood to learn to do inletting

dave

 

[Davey Boy]

Spent some more time drawing it in CAD today. It is really a neat design.