Captain Midnight

Very cool thread indeed. What about Spanish markings? I'm assuming there would have been a lot of their stuff stolen by pirates, and I wonder what types of marking they used, and if there are any extant examples?

The nearly completed Spanish cannon "El Azufre", twin brother of "El Fuego", one of the two main guns aboard Revenant, Captain Midnight's flagship.

Ahoy Korisios! Thank you for your kind words, mate. Truthfully, I think that you could make the wheels. They are not as difficult as you would imagine. Yes, I intend to paint the carriage. It will be painted a nice colonial red.

Update! I finally finished the woodwork on "Brimstone's" carriage. Still needs a bit of sanding, some paint, and the iron hardware mounted.

Ben, that is absolutely BEAUTIFUL work, my friend!

William, if the good crew of the Mercury would be willing to have us aboard, I would humbly submit the names of my wife and I for consideration of membership among such a fine company. Jonah Micagie Greene and Sage Sutherland Greene.

Happy birthday, my beloved friend!

Welcome aboard, Mr. Wilshire! Great to have ye here, lad!

The cannon is progressing slowly, but very nicely. I expect to have the old Spaniard living up to its name and belching fire and brimstone by the middle of summer. The barrel is now completely finished, the vent drilled and firing mechanism installed and working perfectly. I have finished the wheels and mounted them to the completed axle. Next step in the process are the cheeks. The carriage is being completely built without modern fasteners. It is glued and pegged with wooden pegs, and the few nails that are in the carriage are authentic forged cut nails. These nails stud and secure the rim of the wheel, as well as the metal joint plates and the iron reinforcings around the carriage.

Bo, I would convert the small one as you stated, and just leave the other two as wine casks...they are nice just the way they are.

not quite the constructive critisim i was looking for but thank you.

In my own humble opinion, there is no criticism to be found! That is indeed AWESOME. Great job, mate!

Captain Rackham, thank you for your help, brother. I was hoping I could find an illustrated version of these commands which show the positions and movements of each command. Foxe nailed the info I was searching for on the head; now if I can just find illustrations of them. I was thinking that perhaps that book, being as old as it is, might be found in a downloadable form which would allow me to print just that chapter.

Is this what you're looking for?

The Master Gunner Commands

Silence

Handle your rope spunge

Put your Spunge into your Gun

Take of your Apron

Stop your Vent with your Thumb

Put home the Spunge to the Breech

Turn it about thrice

Draw forth the Spunge. Keep it turning

Strike it on the Muzzle

Exchange the Spunge for the Rammer

Handle your Cartridge

Put it into the gun

Handle your Wadd

Put it into the Gun

Handle your Rammer

Put it into the Gun

Ram home Wadd and Cartridge

Give three strokes

Examine with your Priming Iron

Withdraw your Rammer

Handle your Shot

Strike it on the muzzle of the Gun

Put the Shot into the Gun

Handle your Wadd

Put it into the Gun

Ram home Wadd and Shot

Give too strokes

Draw forth your Rammer

Lay down your Rammer

Handle your Priming Iron

Prick or break your cartridge

Withdraw your Priming Iron

Handle your Powder Horn

Unstop your Powder Horn

Hold up your Horn

Prime your Gun, carrying the powder forward

Stop your Powder horn

Join your left hand to the small end

Bruise your Powder

Return your Horn

Cover the Priming with the Apron

Your Guns are now loaded, and ready to fire at Command. The Gunner says,

Man your Tackles

Handle your Crows and Hand Spikes

Hall up the Ports and Belay them

Run out your Guns

Lay the guns to pass in the Ports

Point straight

Point to Dismast

Point to Wind and Water [presumably either this command or the previous - Ed.]

Handle your Match

Blow your Match

Take of your Apron

See all things clear of the Reverse

Fire.

From Francis Povey, The Sea Gunner's Companion (London, 1702) pp. 43-44

Yes! That is precisely what I am looking for, Mr. Foxe! Is there any chance a .pdf could be found that illustrates these commands? Thank you for your help!

That is a great one, thank you Hawkyns! I wonder if any exist that have pictures or diagrams of the various movements and positions?

Ahoy mates! I need help finding authentic 18th century artillery commands for naval combat. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks for your help.

Absolutely beautiful, Cascabel!

Ooohhh!!! That is absolutely, astoundingly BEAUTIFUL!!!

Many thanks Oderless! The ignitor came in this week, and I will drill the barrel and fit it this week. It won't be long and I'll be ready to test fire.

Here are updated pics of my cannon's barrel. It is 99.9% complete here, it just needs the vent hole drilled. I am holding off on that until I find out what size hole will be needed for the ignitor to fit into. Some of the details that were not very clear in the previous photos I posted can now be clearly seen, such as the Spanish crest, the trunnion markings, and the patina.

The cannon barrel is now finished except for drilling the vent hole. These are the updated pics of its final finish. You can now see some of the details a little clearer, such as the trunnion markings, the crest, etc.

Vintage Sailor, the dolphins are roughly 5-1/2 to 6 inches in length, and about 3 or 3-1/2 inches tall...I am yet undecided whether or not I will make them available for purchase, but as of this posting, I am more inclined not to sell them.

Thank you Korisios! Yes, I will most likely build only this one. Although I do have a special mold for the dolphins, which I can cast very quickly now, the rest of the cannon is painstakingly crafted and sculpted by hand. I could make another cannon, but they are very labor-intensive. If I ever make another, I would have to build El Azufre's identical twin, El Fuego ("Fire")...("Fire and Brimstone"), the two main guns aboard my ship.

Well, I have been working since late December building a carbide cannon in the form of (or as close as I can get to) a historical replica of a Spanish cannon, and here are pics of my project so far. Sorry for the poor quality of the pics, they were taken last night in low light conditions. Pay no heed to the dates on the pics, I have just not reset the correct date on my camera. The barrel is nearly finished now, it simply needs the vent (touch hole) drilled, and its final coat of paint. The red color in the pics is simply a primer coat. I hope to finish up the barrel in the next week or so, and then on to building its carriage. It has been a challenge; much planning, sculpting, casting...but I am well pleased with the results. I present to you El Azufre ("Brimstone")...hope you all enjoy!

A shot of the first reinforce, showing the Spanish arms in relief.

A shot of El Azufre's dolphins, and the casting date.

Forward shot of the dolphins.

The muzzle with the cannons name cast in relief.

The muzzle and bore.

Well, I have been working since late December building a carbide cannon in the form of (or as close as I can get) to a historical replica of a Spanish cannon, and here are pics of my project so far. Sorry for the poor quality of the pics, they were taken last night in low light conditions. Pay no heed to the dates on the pics, I have just not reset the correct date on my camera. The barrel is nearly finished now, it simply needs the vent (touch hole) drilled, and its final coat of paint. The red color in the pics is simply a primer coat. I hope to finish up the barrel in the next week or so, and then on to building its carriage. It has been a challenge; much planning, sculpting, casting...but I am well pleased with the results. I present to you El Azufre ("Brimstone")...hope you all enjoy!

A shot of the first reinforce, showing the Spanish arms in relief.

A shot of El Azufre's dolphins, and the casting date.

Forward shot of the dolphins.

The muzzle with the cannons name cast in relief.

The muzzle and bore.

I will be unable to make it to Fells Point this year as well. I am in agreement with what was said previously concerning the rings. I think it is important to provide the new members with a ring, but perhaps slightly different than the rings of the Devil's Dozen, since the original group will be the only Devil's Dozen.

As for moving the meeting to different locations, I would tend to agree with that as well, so as to keep it fair for everyone. I absolutely love Fells Point, and I look forward to returning there again one day, but if the meeting was indeed held in Oregon, I would be more than willing to travel there as well. We just need to make sure that all of the members are notified far enough in advance, so that we can plan for it financially and logistically. I would think it would not be unrealistic to notify everyone at least a year ahead of time.