By William B.

Park
Photos
byAuthor

M Y neighbor to the south accosted small radius point. The front and side As Photo 5 shows, the overhang is
me one day. clearance is kept at a minimum to large -in fact, in this instance, larger than
"Bill," says he, exhibiting a 1" steel prevent digging. need be because I did not want to lose an
ball, slightly rusty, "look what I found in Lock the cross slide. The compound inch of the bar, so I used it full length off
my hand-split shakes." rest is now backed off until the tool is the shelf. However, I suggest you keepthe
I knew it was a 1" ball because I had 1-1/8" from the center of the vertical axis overhang to a minimum. The minimum,
measured it recently, but I said, creatively, of the compound rest. Do not fret about unfortunately, is large, since the swing of
"It must have fallen from an airplane." this; you can adjust as the work proceeds. the compound rest must clear the chuck
If it had fallen from a plane, it might Now it gets tricky. Loosen the screws jaws as they whirl past. Checkthis before
have been in his cellar, not in his roof. I that control the swivel of the compound you start.
have no idea of the terminal velocity of a rest until the swivel turns smoothly Some lathes, such as the Logan, on
steel ball falling from 40,000 feet. I through an arc as you move it by hand. which this mortar was built thirty years
neglected to mention this. Swing the swivel to the opposite sides of ago, have small dials and cranks on the
He looked at me closely, grumbled the bar and adjust by means of the compound rest. This enables the crank
a little, and, pocketing my steel ball, compound screw so that it just clears both end to be swung under the workpiece,
stalked away. corners of the cylindrical workpiece. and with a little devising, the standard
I mention this incident in case any of Return the swivel to the mid-point, tool post can be used. Since the progress
you cannon aficionados are planning to start the lathe, ad vance the carriage of the tool along the arc is controlled
test fire this mortar. toward the headstock a small amount, and entirely by the pressure of the hand, it
The mortar is a model of a gun I saw swing the tool by hand to cut the near may be advantageous to rig some kind of
on the north bank of the Thames, hard by corner of the work. The far corner will handle for increased leverage. Light cuts
the Tower of London, where the English take care of itself. Return the swivel to and a spindle speedof 500 rpm are the only
display some of their trophies of war. I mid-point. If the lathe is loose in the bear- way to go.
took photographs and measurements. ings or the swivel, it might be wise to stop Drill a center in the hemisphere
This guRis not in any scale since I started the lathe when returning to take another and support the work with the tailstock
from the 1" ball, but the proportions cut. Do not turn the compound screw dead center as you machine the OD
are right (Photo 1). Mortars of this type during cutting. All cuts are made by mov- between the bands. Cut to length. Leavea
were mounted on the fored~ck of a bomb ing the carriage toward the work in small sixteenth for finish.
ketch which, under cover of darkness, increments (Photo 4). It should be locked Reverse the piece in the chuck.
crept in close under the walls of a harbor during each pass. Protect finished surfaces with masking
fortification. From this vantage point, safe
from the guns of the fort which could not
be depressed to bear on the little ship, it
would lob"bombshells up and over the
battlements to the confusion of the enemy
gun crews. The forestay of the mainmast
was a chain, to withstand the heat and
blast of the mortar.
Our mortar is all brass, for ease of
working, finishing and brazing (Photo 2).
Mine was largely ma~e from the contents
of the scrap box.
Do not hesitate to change details as
long as the proportions are preserved. .If
the brass bar you have for the barrel
happens to be 2-1/2" in diameter, you
could choose to use it and increase all
dimensions 10%. Without any change in
other dimensions, the thickness of the
plates for the carriage could 'be varied by
a sixteenth thicker but no thinner.
A characteristic of this mortar is the
hemispherical shape of the breech, or
butt. Since this is an unusual operation, it
is shown as it is set up. A special tool post
is mounted on the cQmpound rest. The
tool bit is set on center of the workpiece,
horizontally a{\d vertically, with the
compound set at 0'?,or at right angles to
the cross slide and parallel to the ways
(Photo 3). The bit -in this case,the shank
of a broken 1/4" high-speed tap -is
ground with 0° back and side rake with a 1
20 LIVE STEAM/ November1989

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2 3

---
4 5
tape. Face off and drill 15/16". Bore Dolphins earned the name from the Make a bending jig out of a bit of
to 63/64". Ream to 1". Later, you might early ornate design of cannon. The cast-in brass or aluminum. A slot is milled in the
want it a few thousandths over if you rings or loops to be used in swaying the piece (which could be 1/2 x 1 x 2") 11/16"
intend to shoot a steel ball. (This can be guns in,to place were shaped with eyes, wide by 9 /16" deep. A groove is cut in the
accomplished by loading two or three of mouth and tails. They were covered with long axis to position the 3/16:' round
the reamer grooves on one side with scales,and cast in lively attitudes. piece. This is a temporary die, since only
small strips of wood. If you put a ball in a The ~act location of the dolphins is two pieces are to be made. Make a punch
tight bore, you may never get it out.) For not critical, but the holes to receive them out of a piece of 5/16 x 1 x 6" cold rolled
how, it may be advantageous to be able to must be drilled on a diameter of the or equivalent. Break the corners of the
mount it snugly on a mandrel for subse- barrel and be syMmetrical with respect to end to be used in forming. Setting the die
quent operati9ns. the tnfnbion and the axis of the gun. The and the workpiece on the arbor press and
Set it on its face on the vertical dolphins are made of 3/16" diameter x 2" holding the punch vertically, centered on
milling machine and, with a 5/8" ball-end bra...od, heated to redness and plunged the slot, push the brass round into shape.
milling cutter, mill the recess for the in a pickle of 10% sulfuric acid. This is The ends of the "U" will be uneven and
trunnion. Or s~t it on its side and, with a dangerous, Protect your face and clothes. I too long; trim them to size.
5/8" end mill, plunge cut the recess. know about inexplicable moth holes in An old toolmaker once said to me,
Fasten the trunnion [Link] barrel by cotton jeans, but Virginia doesn't. The " Any damn fool can make one alike. It
mea\lS of a centrally located Cross pin virtue of sulfuric acid is that it does not takes a good man to make two alike!"
or a small recessed fillister brass screw, rust the machinery, and machinery is The cup for the touchhole is apiece
not .lafger than 6-32. This will hold the more important than clothing. Muriati<. of 1/2" round, shaped as shown while
5/8 x 3-1/4" round brass firmly in place acid works well, but hydrogen chloride is still on the end of a bar, and then cut off.
for reference in drilling the holes for the a water soluble has and pervades the The gussets are also shaped on thec
dolphins and milling the recess for whole shop, and turns all the sacred end of a bar on the rotary table for the
the touchhole cup. It will be invaluable surfaces brown with rust. In dilute 1-3/32" radius, and the 5/8" ball end mill
when we come to silver brazing the solutions it does not eat cotton. Is there used to fit them to the trunnion.
whole thing together. a choice? All pieces must be fitted closel~
NnvpmhprlqRq / TTVF~TFAM '1
Easy-Flosilver solder is like glue in that it cape chisel and a light hammer can be of solder between the joints to ensure
does not make fillets at th~ joints. The used to raise a chip of sorts. After brazing, that enough will be available to float,
trunnion is already securely fasteneJ; the stitches are filed off. You will find this but you must have a coil of wire solder
the gussets are tied in with black trick handy in making nameplates and for in hand to touch up all joints. Flux all
stovepipe wire wound around them; the many other problems of holding small joints thoroughly.
dolphins are a snug fit in the holes; and pieces in place for brazing. Place the assembly face down on a
the touchhole cup can be fastened with When all the pieces are clean of all oil firebrick covered with a sheet of asbestos
two or three silversmith's stitches. and dirt by careful washing in solvent (a dirty word, but I have been using this
A stitch is made with a graver. Under and bound together in final form, the stuff for many years) or some approved
the piece to be fastened, a stitch is curled entire assembly is painted with a thin refractory. With a large propane torch,
up to the location of the edge of the piece paste of fluoride brazing flux to which a slowly bring the workpiece up to heat
previously marked. After two or three few drops of dishwasher detergent has (Photo 6).
chipS have been curled, the piece is been added to make it wet the piece You will see the preplaced pieces of
placed in position and the stitches uniformly. This is to hold down oxidation solder start to melt. Move in deftly with
pressed against ~he workpiece. Some during heating. the wire solder to touch up the many
brass is brittle. If this is the case, a small It is wise to preplace thin sheets joints. Remove the flame and, as soon as

V4" end mill

-51'.

~ CARRIAGE SIDES
., 11/4 [
machine as a pair ~I-

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1/4"taperto3/,6"
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BOLLARD PIN TRUNNION CAP STRAP
4 required 4 required 4 required

22 LIVE STEAM / November 1989

the solder has solidified, grasp the work while brazing as above. The brass pins
with tongs and lower it slowly into a can be filed flush on cooling, and they
large vessel of acid as above, being ~ice will disappear. Two 3/16" holes should
as careful as before. The brown scale will be drilled in the baseplate to vent the
rub off easily after rinsing well. Do not try pressure of brazing.
to remove remaining flux mechanically - Do not mill the trunnion seat until
it won't come off. Boiling water in a pan after brazing, since the trunnion must
will remove it at once. bear evenly all the way [Link] trunnion
Any slight etching by the acid can be seat must be relieved to permit the barrel
polished off; I chose to leave it on because to swing forward (Photos 7 and 8).
it lends a fine flavor of antiquity. The holes for the pins of the
Now is the time to drill the touch- hold-down straps are also drilled later
hole. Use number 44 drill- .086". with the trunnion caps in place. Each
The carriage, in the main, should strap should be numbered to show position,
follow the drawings. The several pieces and the trunnion caps and carriage, also.
can be pinned to hold them in position The trunnion caps give a distinctive

relieve to permit
~ / barrel to swing forward

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1--3/8~ air to the mortar (Photo 9). They are held
in place by straps and pins, which suggest
Ii the age of the gun. More recent mortars,
as used in the Civil War, used threaded
~2~~~
bolts and nuts to hold down the caps.
T Common use of screw threads is a
% comparatively recent development in the
, ' .1 long history of cannons.
Bottom ~ .-I-
The caps are made as a pair. Apiece
I of brass 3/8 x 1/2 x 2-1/2" is soft soldered
edge to edge at one end of a similar bar
6" long. This extension serves as a handle
for the milling operation. Blue and lay
out the two caps face to face. Drill and
ream the common hole 5/8". Mount the
Top
piece on a 5/8" peg on the table of
the vertical mill (Photo 10), and with a
1/4" four-flute mill, mill the outside of the
TRUNNION CAP cap by rotating it around the peg by hand
2 required (Photos 11 and 12). This is a trap, because
the milling cutter will pull the work out
of your hand if you attempt to climb~ill
November1989/ LIVE STEAM 23
3/16" drill
V8" deep for
dolphins

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1.000 5/8
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3/32
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GUSSET
2 reQuired

stitch

10 .
stitch

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TOUCHHOLE CUP
double size

24 LIVE STEAM / November 1989

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fillister head brass

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corners on
punch and die

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BENDING JIG
FOR DOLPHINS
DOLPHIN
2 required

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14 15
The finished mortar is shown in
Photos 14 and 15.
Finally, this mortar can be fired, with
or without ball, as hinted at the beginning
of this article (Photo 16). Photographing a
cannon at the moment of discharge takes
some doing. The small wire that you see
above the touchhole leads to the output
terminal of a high voltage neon sign
transformer, controlled by a foot switch.
When the photographer steps on the
switch and sees the flash in the pan, he
presses the cable release. I tested the
setup by firing a small charge inside
the shop and the smoke detectors went
out of their collective minds. Outside, I
got two acceptable pictures out of six.
Mortars of this type were used in the
civil War as coast defense weapons. They
could drop their explosive shells on the
lightly armored decks of ironclads such as
the Monitor, and would be deadly against
the bomb ketch mentioned earlier. It was
important, when loading the spherical
bombshells, to point the fuse forward. If it
was pointed to the rear, the gun would
CC??/ 16 blow up. They were sometimes mounted
on short eight-wheeled flatcars, and when
the work. Keep the RPMs up, work The pins are as shown. I brazed the set up on a curved track, would have
against the cut, and take small bites; if in square brass heads on stainless rods, considerable traverse. This excerpt from
doubt, turn off the machine for the non- because brass on brass does not slide so Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War
cutting return stroke. The radius ends of the smoothly cthd sometimes galls and seizes, by Warren Ripley gives us an idea of the
straps can be made in the same way. These particularly if the pins are taken out and effectiveness of mortar fire:
little jobs hardly warrant a rotary table. reinserted from time to time when "The mortar, fired with 14 pounds of
The flats to receive the straps are showing off the a\odel. The pins are in powder, recoiled less than two feet on the
milled. All that is left is filing the raised sheer ittfiey are properly installed. The car, which moved 10 or 12 feet on the
rounded ends, after the pieces are melted straps should be padded if necessary to track. The effect of the charge was taken
apart, and the excess solder wiped off hold * trunnions firmly. up without damage to the axles...This
while stillliq\iid. A filing machine is a The carriage is finished a dark brown mortar, whose shell would crush and
modelmaker's dream (Photo 13)...how to contrast with the polished barrel and explode any ordinary field magazine,
sweet it is! - trunnion caps. Use a chemical dip, the excited dread among the Confederate
The trunnion straps are made in the formulation of which is too lengthy for gunners, and was effective in inducing
same way as the dolphins. Another bend- this already too long dissertation. I will be their enfilading batteries...to discontinue
ing jig is made, with a 1/4" slot to hold glad to furnish it on request, or if there is fire on the right of our line."
the flat. The punch is now 3/8" thick and enough interest, maybe Joe Rice would
the die has a 9/16" opening 3/4" deep. print it.

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