Reference · How-tos · Guns

Milling gun carriages for the 9-pounders on the cross-slide table

Mill the cheeks of scratch-built gun carriages as a stepped profile from a block of Castello boxwood, saw them into 2 mm strips and assemble them with axletrees and pins after Anatomy of the Ship, replacing the veneered kit carriages.

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1. 1Sawing the Castello block to size

   Saw a block from a Castello boxwood bar to the height and length of the cheek, with some spare in the width. Castello is sold as a boxwood substitute and works just as finely. Several cheeks will come from one block, so make it wide enough.

   

   Watch out: The gun carriages in the kit are veneered walnut. That is just not crisp enough, hence scratch-building.

2. 2Clamping the block on the cross-slide table

   Clamp the block firmly with the clamp of the cross-slide table, with its long side parallel to the slide. Check that the block lies flat, otherwise the steps run askew. Fit the mill in the chuck and set the first depth.

   

3. 3Milling passes into a stepped profile

   Mill pass after pass across the block and increase the depth after each pass, so that a staircase emerges with the steps of the cheek. Check the depth of every step against the drawing, because the proportion between the steps determines how the carriage looks. Better one extra pass than too deep.

   

   

   Watch out: On the first attempt the steps came out too deep, so the whole block had to be done again. The lines were exactly right, the proportions completely wrong.

4. 4Sawing off 2 mm strips

   On the table saw, cut strips 2 mm thick from the milled block one after another. Each cheek consists of two of these strips, so you need four per carriage. Lay them side by side after sawing and check that the steps sit at the same height.

   2 mm thick

   

   

5. 5Making the axletrees after Anatomy of the Ship

   Make the front and rear axletrees to the drawing: the front axletree is higher than the rear one and slightly raised on top, not simply square. Put the cheeks on the axletrees and dry fit the whole. A small ring goes on the end of the front axletree; it gives a fine effect and is worth the trouble.

   front axletree higher than the rear axletree

   

   

   Tip from Pingu57: On deck the gun should sit roughly horizontal, which is why the front trucks are a little larger than the rear ones. If it is not horizontal, let the front axletree in a little deeper.

   Watch out: Because of the higher front axletree the carriage tilts backwards on the bench. According to Stephan that is the camber of the deck; on deck the gun then sits roughly level.

6. 6Pins through the cheeks, secured with small rings

   Drill the holes and push 0.5 mm pins right through the cheeks. Secure them underneath with a ring of about 0.65 mm diameter, without glue. Make the rings by winding thin wire round a drill bit and cutting through the coil.

   pin 0.5 mm, ring about 0.65 mm

   

   

   Tip from Stephan Kertész: I make rings on a drill bit: take the bit and wind your wire round it. That is how you also make hooks with eyes, chains and eyebolts for your gun.

   Watch out: Drilling out a 1.5 mm brass rod with a 0.7 mm bit works too, but is a real chore for the number of rings on a carriage.

7. 7Numbering and keeping the parts together

   Number the parts of each carriage and keep them together, because with hand-made pins and holes every carriage fits only one way. Allow about two hours per carriage. It is mostly trying and working things out; the rest will hopefully go faster.

   about two hours per carriage

   

Result

The first carriage has exactly the crisp lines the kit version lacks, and the pins with rings make glue unnecessary. Next time take the step depth straight from the drawing; that saves a block.