Commodore Swab

Discussing this does help rather than just trying analyze pictures and guess. I completly agree locks out, would left hand locks of been that common? Having all the pistols take the same charge would be very beneficial when it came to the cartridges. Would you agree that you would want a belt or something to keep everything from rotating? If so having the box hang below the belt shouldn't be a problem. This belt could also give you a place to hang a larger pistol should it be desired . . . Intestering thought I had, if it was common to have a cutlass in your right hand and normally fire with the left then wouldn't we see more left hand locks?

It just reads Germany, the plate has a hard time polishing with silver polish or brasso but a little steel wool makes it shine beautifully.

Excellent, that makes a lot of sense logically. It would be easy to wear and should be easy to access the pistols as well as the box. Would it be wise to place the box on a belt as well as having it hung. This way you could drop it over your head and wrap the belt around and buckle it. The belt would then keep everything from swinging as you turned. Or would this be unnessary? Left hand locks, box locks, let the locks rest against your chest or simply have them all pointed the same direction on both pieces? How much of a bucket would be required for a pistol to keep it from rotating?

I supose we can agree that on a baldric holding pistols which is what this is geared towards it can safely be assumed that the smaller the pistol the better with reason. A derringer sized pistol would be going to the extreme due to its lack of firepower and accuracy. Which would be more logical if you were to say wear 4 pistols on a baldric? A single line of pistols all facing the same direction oralternating direction. What problems would you have hanging them horizontally vs vertically. Boxlocks would solve the problem if you were to alternate direction and would also make them much more compact. Would the increased width nessary to hold the pistols warrant a single huge buckle double buckles or no buckles being sewn for one person and being sewn to fit? Im just trying to narrow the focus for now to a single piece of garb rather than carrying weapons in general.

If you terminate the carriage wood at the truniun centerline and take some copper tubing and bang it flat you can easilly make the curvature match the truniuns and it will look much nicer

I have been back reading alot in the twill and gathering much information along the "common" threads that keep surfacing and it is surprising how often a way to carry pistols has come up. We know from literature that pistols have been worn on baldrics, on belts with hooks, as well as having ribbons tied around them. The paintings we have seem to raise more questions than providing answers. Rather than trying to recreate an artists impression why don't we use our experience and try to engineer something that would logically work and once that is done go back to the drawings and see how it compares. For example as a pirate on a boarding party you would want to carry as many pistols as you could get your hands on. Would ships guns be stored and only broken out when battle was immement, naturally most would have a single pistol of their own. Who needs to be carrying multiple pistols when not fighting. This would lead to a means to carry them that was either removeable, or a way the pistols could be added. Something like a baldric that can be stored with the pistols and removed when needed would be logical. Having a belt with 3 or 4 buckets that were kept empty would not be as pratical. Pistols with belt hooks that could be grabbed and added when needed would be very pratical but if they were larger that becomes awkard. I think we can all agree that if pistols are kept on a baldric there must be a way to secure the baldric from shifting. Taking the time to replace pistols is not a viable option, however having 4 pistols hanging from you neck on cords swinging wildly about with every step is just as bad. Multiple pistols unless they are all the same would incorporate different charges, would you want to keep them all in the same box and risk grabbing the wrong one? What are your thoughts?

So how did the hunting turn out? Bravery or Darwin?

You asked for full size 6 pounders in bronze GAoP correct. Yes they can be had fully functional with a liner or fully functional as a single bronze piece $$$ Here the last pair is finished and displayed in the entrance of the museum they were built for Or is a land based mortar is more your style . . .

I may be your man, along with my wife who is Thai. Any help other could offer in our desire to put together a PC an outfit would be of great assistance.

Any updates?

I completly agree with that, have you tried hauling on a line while on a wet deck in shoes or boots for that matter?

What its built out of will determine the cost more than anything. Just another thought, there are usually always battles between the fort and ships, fort and land, inside the fort. If we had small boats there might be the possibility of soldiers doing a raid on the camp?

Hmm do you like spicy food?

If I knew I could anchor my boat off the beach I would do work on her for PiP. But since thats not going to happen I won't

Speaking of ramrods I got lucky today, I was biking home and came across a splinted broken handle for some pick or similar tool. Most likely hickory and pleanty there for me to use to make some new ramrods

I am aware of that they recovered many boots from the sunken section of Port Royal. In talking about underbrush I am thinking more of the natural foilage here in the FL Keys, not really underbrush but still. I also recall reading how very often pirates attacked towns. Thats whats on my mind, I would love to have a nice pair of shoes that I could wear in the fort and around the camp but barefoot works for me.

I would completly understand that. The perplexing part about pirates is that they would have been spending time in port where shoes would be best suited, and they would of spent considerable time onboard ship which depending on their duties would regulate their footware, or tromping thru underbrush/beaches where I feel boots would of been best suited. Couple with this the lack of evidence, perplexing isnt it.

I can help with that, the longest I kept a fire going was over a week. I was thinking about my wife who may desire to cook some food that is more familiar to her (and PC), she would just need a smaller fire. A big roaring fire would not be ideal but we will see what happens when shes there.

I keep wondering if pirates may have only worn shoes when they were in town or having portraits made. The reasons behind my thinking come from having trying to walk much less run in sand or jungle terrain. Boots are simply safer and more comfortable not only in keeping sand out but also the vermin on the ground. Even barefoot on a beach makes more sense than shoes. As for work aboard ship, I feel there is no need for shoes even climbing the rigging and this comes from personal experience. The only problem I would see is a hot deck. IMO Shoes of any kind were a valuable commodity and most likely worn only when nessary so as to not wear them out prematurely. I consider my feet tender but I don't have a problem walking around barefoot all day at an event (I try to avoid asphalt) or even on coral rock (not a reef mind you). I also believe shoes due to their impraticality were a matter of class, wearing shoes was a way of establishing that you did not need to do manual labor. Boots were common before GAoP and were common after, why would there be a timeframe when everyone switched to shoes? Having said this walking around in a pair of anything might be more comfortable might not depending on the event. I personally have a pair of boots (more a ren style) that I will be taking to PiP but only wearing for parade, or at night.

What are the options for cooking if you wanted to cook a meal on your own? Can you build your own fire and cook on it?

My favorite was when a friend of mine ordered powder. On the day it was suposed to be delivered the UPS truck came and went, no package. Upon calling UPS with the tracking number they informed him that the package had been delivered Upon telling them that he did not have the package and if it had just been delivered it meant that somebody else had just received 25 pounds of powder. There was a bit of a stir on the other end of the phone and they request that they call him back while they tried to track it down. 10 min later the truck showed up at his door . ..

If you can get poles to me I can store them until PiP without a problem and anyone flying/driving down that isn't flying into KW will be driving right past the house. I also have a bandsaw, table saw, drills, lathe, and a bunch of other fun stuff. As for Bamboo, I would love to get some especially since it would go great with the kit we are trying to put together.

One of my current projects, the barrel is already made and will be cast (lost wax) when the viceroy gets back in bronze. The entire piece is about the length of a heavy dragoon and is taken from original drawings/demensions. As for a lock I was hoping to get a miquelet but a normal sized pistol lock will fit beautifully. Its big brother also has the wax work done for the barrel and has a barrel that is about 18 inches long. Im planning on having both of these finished for PiP along with a couple other designs.

AND WHATS WRONG WITH DRESSING LIKE A KLINGON ?..... Too damn hot down here

I haven't tried this but I do have another idea. Working with models amonia is used to sofen wood so you can bend it to form planks and decking. If you soak your ramrod with amonia then put a book on each end and something to support it in the middle you may be able to put a slight bow into it. If it works then you would be able to rotate it to lock it into position so it wouldn't go anywhere.