Author Topic: need a lil help with this one :)  (Read 1569 times)

JoshandLila

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need a lil help with this one :)
« on: September 06, 2011, 04:08:37 pm »
Hi folks! I bought this lil beauty last Friday and I need help figuring out exactly what it is. The cannon and base are mounted on a board with a spring in front and a rubber stopper in the back which allows the cannon to recoil and return to ready after being fired ( oh yes, it DOES fire  8) ) At first I thought it was a small signal cannon but its half the size of any others ive seen ( has a .5" bore, standard signal cannon usually has a 1") I have never seen any set up like this befor so Im really hoping someone here can help me out. THANKS!!
"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."
H. G. Wells

talesofthesevenseas

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Re: need a lil help with this one :)
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2011, 04:31:35 pm »
Fun! However I'm doubtful it is an antique. There are mini cannons with no functional purpose other than to make a bang and shoot a golf ball (or whatever will fit down the bore) and I think that is what you have there. We have a little one in our pirate reenactment group that measures about 4" and has been nicknamed "Pee-Wee". It is a lot of fun to put Pee-Wee in a line-up of cannons and make a big fuss like we're scared to touch it off then it gives this heroic "POP!" as if it is trying sooo hard to compete with the big cannons and everyone gets a really good laugh out of it. They make these for reenactment groups/cannon enthusiasts. Generally they are sold without the touch hole having been drilled through and the purchaser has to take care of that themselves. The hardware looks modern, and the carriage looks to have been cut with moder power tools. The wood looks like it was scorched to appear older. and if I'm not mistaken, it is mounted on plywood rather than solid wood (can't say for sure looking at the photo).

That said, you can have a whole lot of fun with this one, whereas if it were antique it would probably not be safe to fire. So mount it on the rail of your apartment balcony, dress up like a pirate and shout out "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" when you touch the little guy off!
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talesofthesevenseas

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Re: need a lil help with this one :)
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2011, 04:40:09 pm »
I wasn't able to locate one identical to yours, there are a lot of them in production. If you run a Google search on mini cannon you will see a whole lot of them, even some less than an inch in length!
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JoshandLila

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Re: need a lil help with this one :)
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2011, 05:01:31 pm »
Thanks, Ive checked Google and I found a couple small steel cannons like this from the 30's to the 50's but nothing exact. I figured it wasnt too old, and it did occur to me the mount was a homemade plywood job, but the cannon base does have some genuine patina so I thought it might be older then the mount... oh well, Il have some fun with it, might be worth something someday to someone  
« Last Edit: September 06, 2011, 06:37:26 pm by JoshandLila »
"Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."
H. G. Wells

mart

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Re: need a lil help with this one :)
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2011, 07:29:53 pm »
The mounts do look older that the wood base !!  I would look the metal parts over closely for a foundry mark !! Looks too small for a signal cannon !! I am wondering if it came off of a model of some sort !! I have seen very realistic looking models of forts, ships ect !!

talesofthesevenseas

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Re: need a lil help with this one :)
« Reply #5 on: September 06, 2011, 11:20:55 pm »
I have to show you guys this video... this mini cannon is way cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxHW-QGMuZ4

I could be wrong on the age of your cannon, the hardware is a good way to try to determine the age. If you have any Phillips head screws, that would be 1940's or later.
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