WWA Info Exchange

For Woodworkers By Woodworkers
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:41 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Cannon Star Shot
PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 3:47 pm 
Offline
Veteran

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 2:48 pm
Posts: 1146
Location: Cypress, TX
This is the latest addition to my "shot" line.
Star shot. When fired it opens to 27".
This is a murderous piece of weaponry. I would hate to be on the receiving end of this thing.

It is cast out of lead. The lead head is 3" long and the single unit is 13" long.
It was tied in a canvas bag to hold it together and loaded down the bore on top of the gun powder bag.

It weighs about 7 lbs.

Shipboard warfare must have been horrific!

I copied it from a picture of an original I found online.
It is made for a 3" bore like all my other stuff. It fits my concrete 1841 six pounders.
Zulu

Original
Image

My stuff

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

My other stuff

Image

Image

_________________
Zulu's website
http://www.jmelledge.com


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cannon Star Shot
PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 5:36 pm 
Offline
Veteran
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:01 am
Posts: 11360
Location: Hamilton, MS
Zulu wrote:
This is the latest addition to my "shot" line.
Star shot. When fired it opens to 27".
This is a murderous piece of weaponry. I would hate to be on the receiving end of this thing.

It is cast out of lead. The lead head is 3" long and the single unit is 13" long.
It was tied in a canvas bag to hold it together and loaded down the bore on top of the gun powder bag.

It weighs about 7 lbs.

Shipboard warfare must have been horrific!

I copied it from a picture of an original I found online.
It is made for a 3" bore like all my other stuff. It fits my concrete 1841 six pounders.
Zulu



Wicked! I wonder if the ancient Greeks and Romans might have used stuff like this fired from ballistas, etc. They were pretty inventive back then.

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cannon Star Shot
PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 6:09 pm 
Offline
Veteran

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 2:48 pm
Posts: 1146
Location: Cypress, TX
Gene,
Another type of shot was "langridge". It was a canvas bag filled with jagged pieces of scrap iron. Nails, broken pieces of chain, blacksmith scrap, and anything else they could find.
That bag went in on top of a gun powder bag.
What a mess when it fired!!! :shock:
Zulu

_________________
Zulu's website
http://www.jmelledge.com


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cannon Star Shot
PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 6:14 pm 
Offline
Veteran

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 2:48 pm
Posts: 1146
Location: Cypress, TX
Just for fun.

This is from;
John Seller: The Sea-Gunner: Shewing the Practical Part of Gunnery, as it is used at Sea.
London: Printed by H. Clark for the Author, and are to [be] sold by him at the Hermitage in Wapping, 1691.

CHAP. XVIII.
How to make Hand-Granadoes to be Hove by Hand.

There is good use made of Hand-Granadoes in Assaults and Boarding of Ships; these are made upon a Mould made of Twine, and covered over with Cartridge Paper and Musket Bullets cut in two, put with Past and bits of Paper thick on the out-side. After you have doubled the Shells, past on some at a time, and let it dry, and put some more until it be quite full; then dip it in scalding Rossen or Pitch and hang it up and it is for your use: But you must have the innermost end of the Twine left out, and before you pitch it you must draw out the Twine and stop the hole, and then pitch it.

To Load them, fill these shells with Gun-Powder, then make a Fuze of one pound of Gun-Powder and six Ounces of Salt-Petre and one of Charcoal, and fill the Fuze; then knock it up to the head within one quarter of an inch, which is only to find it by night.

Stop the rest of the holes well with soft Wax; your first Shells must be coated with Pitch and Hurds lest it should break with the fall; and be sure when you have fired the Fuze, suddenly cast it out of your hand, and it will do good execution.
CHAP. XIX.
How to make Fire-Pots of Clay.

Fire-Pots and Balls to throw out of Mens hands may be made of Potters-Clay with Ears to hang lighted Matches to them; if they light on a hard thing they break and the Matches fire the Powder, and the half Musket Bullets contrived on them, as in the last Chapter, disperse and do much mischief.

Their mixture is of Powder, Petre, Sulpher, Sal Armoniack of each one pound, and four Ounces of Camphire pounded and searced and mixt well together, with hot Pitch, Linseed Oyl or Oyl of Petre; prove it first by burning a small quantity, and if it be too slow add more Powder, or if it be too quick then put more Oyl or Rosin, and then it is for your use.
Sect. I.
How to make Powder-Chests.

You must nail two Boards together like the ridge of a House, and prepare one Board longer and broader for the bottom: Between these three Boards put a Cartridge of Powder, then make it up like a Sea-Chest and fill it with pibble Stones, Nails, Stubbs of old Iron; then nail on the Cover and the ends to the Deck, in such a place as you may fire the Powder underneath through a hole made to put a Pistol in: These are very useful to anoy an Enemy if they Board you.
To make Stink-Balls.

Take Gun-Powder 10 l. of black Pitch 6 l. of Tarr 20 l. Salt-Petre 8l. Sulpher Calafornia 4 l. melt these over a soft Fire together, and being well melted put 2 l. of Cole dust of the Filings of Horses Hoofs 6 l. Assa Fætida 3 l. Sagapenum 1 l. Spatula Fætida half a l. Incorporate them well together and put into this matter so prepared old Linnen or Wollen Cloath, or Hemp or Tow as much as will drink up all this matter, and of these make them up in Balls of what bigness you please, and being thrown between Decks will be a great annoyance to the Enemy.

John Seller: The Sea-Gunner: Shewing the Practical Part of Gunnery, as it is used at Sea.
London: Printed by H. Clark for the Author, and are to [be] sold by him at the Hermitage in Wapping, 1691.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cannon Star Shot
PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 7:22 pm 
Offline
Veteran
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:01 am
Posts: 11360
Location: Hamilton, MS
Zulu wrote:
Just for fun.

This is from;
John Seller: The Sea-Gunner: Shewing the Practical Part of Gunnery, as it is used at Sea.
London: Printed by H. Clark for the Author, and are to [be] sold by him at the Hermitage in Wapping, 1691.

CHAP. XVIII.
How to make Hand-Granadoes to be Hove by Hand.

There is good use made of Hand-Granadoes in Assaults and Boarding of Ships; these are made upon a Mould made of Twine, and covered over with Cartridge Paper and Musket Bullets cut in two, put with Past and bits of Paper thick on the out-side. After you have doubled the Shells, past on some at a time, and let it dry, and put some more until it be quite full; then dip it in scalding Rossen or Pitch and hang it up and it is for your use: But you must have the innermost end of the Twine left out, and before you pitch it you must draw out the Twine and stop the hole, and then pitch it.

To Load them, fill these shells with Gun-Powder, then make a Fuze of one pound of Gun-Powder and six Ounces of Salt-Petre and one of Charcoal, and fill the Fuze; then knock it up to the head within one quarter of an inch, which is only to find it by night.

Stop the rest of the holes well with soft Wax; your first Shells must be coated with Pitch and Hurds lest it should break with the fall; and be sure when you have fired the Fuze, suddenly cast it out of your hand, and it will do good execution.
CHAP. XIX.
How to make Fire-Pots of Clay.

Fire-Pots and Balls to throw out of Mens hands may be made of Potters-Clay with Ears to hang lighted Matches to them; if they light on a hard thing they break and the Matches fire the Powder, and the half Musket Bullets contrived on them, as in the last Chapter, disperse and do much mischief.

Their mixture is of Powder, Petre, Sulpher, Sal Armoniack of each one pound, and four Ounces of Camphire pounded and searced and mixt well together, with hot Pitch, Linseed Oyl or Oyl of Petre; prove it first by burning a small quantity, and if it be too slow add more Powder, or if it be too quick then put more Oyl or Rosin, and then it is for your use.
Sect. I.
How to make Powder-Chests.

You must nail two Boards together like the ridge of a House, and prepare one Board longer and broader for the bottom: Between these three Boards put a Cartridge of Powder, then make it up like a Sea-Chest and fill it with pibble Stones, Nails, Stubbs of old Iron; then nail on the Cover and the ends to the Deck, in such a place as you may fire the Powder underneath through a hole made to put a Pistol in: These are very useful to anoy an Enemy if they Board you.
To make Stink-Balls.

Take Gun-Powder 10 l. of black Pitch 6 l. of Tarr 20 l. Salt-Petre 8l. Sulpher Calafornia 4 l. melt these over a soft Fire together, and being well melted put 2 l. of Cole dust of the Filings of Horses Hoofs 6 l. Assa Fætida 3 l. Sagapenum 1 l. Spatula Fætida half a l. Incorporate them well together and put into this matter so prepared old Linnen or Wollen Cloath, or Hemp or Tow as much as will drink up all this matter, and of these make them up in Balls of what bigness you please, and being thrown between Decks will be a great annoyance to the Enemy.

John Seller: The Sea-Gunner: Shewing the Practical Part of Gunnery, as it is used at Sea.
London: Printed by H. Clark for the Author, and are to [be] sold by him at the Hermitage in Wapping, 1691.


Zulu, you always have some interesting bits of history to share. Maybe you can satisfy my curiosity some. I have a framed reproduction of the famous graphic of Napoleons March to Moscow in 1812, created by Minard. And while it describes the route, weather, manpower, etc., he says nothing about artillery. Would you happen to know what Napoleon's army carried with them in this regard, and how the severe weather would have effected it?

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cannon Star Shot
PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 9:34 pm 
Offline
Veteran

Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2009 2:48 pm
Posts: 1146
Location: Cypress, TX
Gene,
Here is a good link about Napoleon's artillery.
Zulu

http://www.wtj.com/articles/napart/

_________________
Zulu's website
http://www.jmelledge.com


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Cannon Star Shot
PostPosted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 9:56 pm 
Offline
Veteran
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:01 am
Posts: 11360
Location: Hamilton, MS
Zulu wrote:
Gene,
Here is a good link about Napoleon's artillery.
Zulu

http://www.wtj.com/articles/napart/


Thanks. I'll give it a read. :)

_________________
I bring to life, I bring to death:
The spirit does but mean the breath:
I know no more. (Tennyson, In Memoriam)


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 7 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 31 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group