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Sparrow

canon

Where to go from here? Build the deck, start rigging, build a canon? This was an easier decision than it seems. With my plan in place I knew that the base (deck and hull) would all be ‘scaled’ and sized around my canon. The height of the sides, the size and location of the stairs, the size and location of the barrel port, everything would be contingent on the size of the canon. Sometimes in a final product the subject shines because of the backdrop. You always have to consider the entire project and not skimp on certain things; the canon is one of those things in this project.

In all my research for products and information I have never seen a 54mm individual canon that would fit this project. My research did show me some nice drawings and gave me the confidence to scratch build an entire canon. This was a mini-project in itself because I decided to ‘create a kit’. I was going to create master parts and then make molds and pour resin. This was partly because I am not 100% sure that I will only use one canon. Also, I may do more pirate projects later. It never hurts to have resin extras sitting around. My fist matter of work was to design a canon loosely based on my research. I drew a few designs to get rough sizes and shapes. That expanded into some scale drawing so I could decide on raw materials. Forethought and planning again play a part. I knew the canon would revolve around the barrel so that’s where I started.

masters
With my drawing in hand I went to the DIY store to get barrel material. I own a small hobby lathe and planned on turning a barrel. I opted for a round dowel rod as my raw material because it would require less work than making a square one and knocking down the rough edges. I measured a piece and made sure I had about ½ to ¾ of an inch extra on each end. This extra gives you some extra ‘space or room’ to work. You won’t find yourself with your chisel all bunched up against the turning ends. I made a couple of pieces just to experiment and try different techniques.

I loaded my blank dowel stock into the lathe used a small hobby chisel to create a basic shape. I used a bit of creative license on the barrel design knowing that each batch of canon was slightly different. Once the rough shape was chiseled in I used a piece of sand paper over the spinning piece to smooth it out. When making the master of the barrel I planned on adding some details to embellish the final look. I didn’t worry about these details during the ‘turning’ process. I knew I could add these later.

With the barrel master done I test fit the paper pieces with the wooden master to create master patterns for all the pieces. This included the sides, cross braces, and wheels. Once I was satisfied with the paper size and shape I transferred the pattern to wood. After I cut out the wooden masters I added some details to the side pieces with bits of wire (pulley loops) and a couple of bolts on the top edge.