In this thread we discuss cannons...or is it canon?

Anyway, an acquaintance has asked me about them and I know little to nothing about them.

He's interested in something small, 10 or 12 gauge prefered. Lanyard fire is a must, NO fuse.

A signal canon would be OK but he's after one that can shoot projectiles.



Who's got one?

There's a guy in Ashland KY who makes them. I met him not long ago and he seemed like a nice guy. He mostly makes for state and national parks and re-enactors but he can sell to anyone. I bet if you google cannon and Ashland KY you'd find him.

Mike Riker of Pioneer Machining & Weapons in AZ makes lanyard fire 50cal - 20x102mm cannons.

ETA; IM me if you want his contact info.

My 10GA black-powder, but does not shoot projectiles .............

drfcolt, Does that maker offer projectile shooters also?

I got some, will post pics, when I get back home.

Don't know, check here .........

I'm still learning to run a lathe, so ignore the nasty machining marks.

.177 cannon barrel. Need to attach trunnions, drill the touch hole, and make a carriage, then it will be time to destroy some cardboard forts with BB's!

How did you do the taper?

I can't speak for the guy that made the cannon, but there are 3 'main' ways to make a taper on a lathe. You can set the piece between centers (chucked in a lathe, running on a live or dead center on the tail stock), then move the tailstock off center either towards you or away from you, thus the center of the work is spinning off axis to the center of the cutting axis if that makes sense, so a "straight cut" cuts a taper.

For something smaller like what he has there, I would use the compound rest. Most are graduated in degrees and are easily offset, then using only the compound rest (lock everything else in place) cut a taper along the work. If you are holding it between centers here, the tailstock is centered (i.e. NOT off axis).

The third way is to use a taper attachment. It's a tool that mounts to your lathe and allows you to cut long tapers. Not going to try to explain it in text, there are a couple youtube vids of it. I like watching mrpete222's instructional videos on machining.

Correct, I just set the compound at an angle since the barrel is only a couple inches long.

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