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Just a little weekend project....
- Thread starter sirhrmechanic
- Start date
I would cry the first time those shiny wheel hoops rolled across a surface.
Its beautiful.
All my wheels get dragged up gravel. It matters not. Because they will get a bit roughed-up, but the Corlar is tougher than woodpecker lips and will keep the wheels ok. And one quick block-sand and another layer of Corlar and they look beautiful again!
When Army and I get back from Labrador... need to have you up to eat ribs and shoot large guns!
Cheers,
Sirhr
There is no 'exact' formula for the Drab that was Civil war paint. And if you want to start a fight with re-enactors... start trying to tell someone you know 'the shade' of olive!
What is known is that the hardware was black.
The carriages were olive... of some kind. The 'after' will be a bit darker than this. Because this is some leftover paint which is IMHO, a bit light. But I will say that it is 'close enough for gummint work' and that it's not far off the original.
Ish.
Cheers,
Sirhr
This is a bit closer, IMHO, to the original. And is the color I'll darken this carriage to in the final coat.
Of note, there was a huge debate/fight in the Civil War artillery world about some Confederate carriages that were supposedly "Grey Poupon" mustard yellow. Some folks deduced this off of ammo boxes and a few slivers from supposedly-original carriages.
But the general consensus has been that the 'Mustard Yellow' was a result of olive that had been sun-bleached and faded (chemical composition deteriorated) and the green turned yellow. Much the way that a red book-end or barn turns pink over time.
Is this exactly the right color. Almost certainly not. But that probably because there was no 'exact' color. But a range of olive greens that fitted the bill for a MilSpec color long before there was such a thing as a Milspec.
Hope this helps,
Cheers,
Sirhr
Cheers,
Sirhr
Oh and this is the first live shot from the Tredegar carriage above.
'Merika!
Cheers,
Sirhr
Damn, Sirhr's projects are always the best. How's that PAK coming along? Didn't you get a German 75mm gun a while back?
One day I'd like to be able to build or restore a old WW2 8mule mountain howitzer... Can't even find a picture of one, let alone one in operable condition. That or a 106mm RR... Maybe one day!
I still think that dual 40mm Bofors on a naval mount that was recovered from Pearl Harbor and spent the remainder of the war in battle would have been right up your alley.
One day I'd like to be able to build or restore a old WW2 8mule mountain howitzer... Can't even find a picture of one, let alone one in operable condition. That or a 106mm RR... Maybe one day!
I still think that dual 40mm Bofors on a naval mount that was recovered from Pearl Harbor and spent the remainder of the war in battle would have been right up your alley.
Crop out the beams in the foreground, make it B/W and a little blurred or grainy and you could pass it off as a genuine Civil War Matthew Brady photo!
Paint technology is vastly different today than it was back when those were in military use. It might have been a lime paint with some type of pigment to get to Olive.
A bit of research might help you narrow down the possibilities and improve your best guess.
I used that technique to choose the color of a Greek lamp replica that has been misrepresented in art for thousands of years.
By the way, it looks fantastic regardless of how accurate the color might be.
A bit of research might help you narrow down the possibilities and improve your best guess.
I used that technique to choose the color of a Greek lamp replica that has been misrepresented in art for thousands of years.
By the way, it looks fantastic regardless of how accurate the color might be.
Indeed that is correct. And I have a ton of research pieces ranging from 1860's USArmy manuals to some formula's that tell you what pigments to combine... unfortunately pigments have changed dramatically, too.
Ultimately... there are very few samples out there of (undisturbed) paint. But some have been found inside period limbers, ammo boxes, under axles, in-between irons and wood. Samples have been taken. They've been put on Kollmorgen analyzers...
And the net is that they are all 'close' to one another. There is no 'exact' color that anyone can say is standard. So within a range of olive green's... I think we are all pretty much correct!
Even my Gatling carriage (which is a blue/green/grey) is still within the range of 'maybe.'
Cheers,
Sirhr
Cool. I would think that that level of research would settle the question but evidently some people have trouble understanding that.
I give you an A++ on your homework.
I give you an A++ on your homework.
One down, one to go!!! Need to add a few retaining wires and one more coat of black paint. But the mountain howitzer is done!!!
Cheers, Sirhr
Now that the mountain howitzer is done and mounted... time for the Napoleon.
Cranes are worth their weight when it comes to large bore shooting...
Cheers, Sirhr
Cranes are worth their weight when it comes to large bore shooting...
Cheers, Sirhr
Oh... my! It arrived home thanks to a friend who was coming this way. Armstrong gun from the Punjab/Khyber pass. It is in remarkable condition and will be undergoing full restoration to highest-cosmetic (and mechanical) standards. The engraving is incredible! More pix to follow... because I have a Napoleon to finish first....
Cheers,
Sirhr
Are you towing that thing around with a 4-wheeler? What happens when you go down a hill with that heavy sum-bitch and end up with a whole bunch of history in your behind?
...?? Just funnin' ya, EXCELLENT piece!
Yup. And this whole thing carriage and all only weighs 500lbs. Like towing a mower. pintle hitch on the Polaris and it tows like a dream. In low. At horse walking speed. Gotta remember that in the era of Victoria Regina... everything moved slower!
Cheers, Sirhr
So while epoxy dries on the wheels for the Napoleon, I thought I'd pick away at some of the Khyber Pass Armstrong... and got some really gratifying results from my work today!
First, this is the elevation Quoin mechanism. The wood is rotted away. The whole thing is seized together solid. I mean solid! Pretty rough!
Here is a close-up showing the acme thread and the remnants of the oak wedge (quoin). The handwheel is missing entirely. But all the metal (except the screws) is good and usable. And I was able to re-use two of the original hand-cut screws in the restoration. The two big ones on the left survived.
How cool is this? After heating, stripping, bead blasting and freeing everything up... this stamp is on the main forging! That says East India Company 1840. One Rupee. It is a stamped representation of an Indian coin... but I suspect that it is a tax stamp. The date is confusing, too, as it predates the carriage. But this is what makes me think that it is some kind of a tax stamp or acceptance stamp. I am researching now. Anyone have any ideas? Just the idea that it has an East India Company "anything" stamped on it is just amazing!
This is the elevation forging and the East India Co. logo is kind of in the center.
This is a One Rupee coin from India... I found the image in an article about India Pale Ale beer and the first 'known' reference to it... and it included this image in what I believe to be some kind of a tax stamp or tax payment. It is the same as the stamp on my carriage... with the Laurels and the One Rupee and date. Again... anyone know?
Elevation mechanism after restoration. Still waiting for the varnish on the quoin to dry before I can assemble and rivet it. I made the handwheel from an eBay bronze casting with a bit of machine work.
A good day when you can go from This vvv to ^^^ This! Still needs some polishing and, of course, paint! But this is what is so gratifying about restoration.... You go from rusty junk to smoothly operating restored mechanism... and find a bit of history. All on one Saturday. Does life get any better?
Oh... started a couple of wheels, too. Tomorrow's photos will be cool!
Cheers,
Sirhr
First, this is the elevation Quoin mechanism. The wood is rotted away. The whole thing is seized together solid. I mean solid! Pretty rough!
Here is a close-up showing the acme thread and the remnants of the oak wedge (quoin). The handwheel is missing entirely. But all the metal (except the screws) is good and usable. And I was able to re-use two of the original hand-cut screws in the restoration. The two big ones on the left survived.
How cool is this? After heating, stripping, bead blasting and freeing everything up... this stamp is on the main forging! That says East India Company 1840. One Rupee. It is a stamped representation of an Indian coin... but I suspect that it is a tax stamp. The date is confusing, too, as it predates the carriage. But this is what makes me think that it is some kind of a tax stamp or acceptance stamp. I am researching now. Anyone have any ideas? Just the idea that it has an East India Company "anything" stamped on it is just amazing!
This is the elevation forging and the East India Co. logo is kind of in the center.
This is a One Rupee coin from India... I found the image in an article about India Pale Ale beer and the first 'known' reference to it... and it included this image in what I believe to be some kind of a tax stamp or tax payment. It is the same as the stamp on my carriage... with the Laurels and the One Rupee and date. Again... anyone know?
Elevation mechanism after restoration. Still waiting for the varnish on the quoin to dry before I can assemble and rivet it. I made the handwheel from an eBay bronze casting with a bit of machine work.
A good day when you can go from This vvv to ^^^ This! Still needs some polishing and, of course, paint! But this is what is so gratifying about restoration.... You go from rusty junk to smoothly operating restored mechanism... and find a bit of history. All on one Saturday. Does life get any better?
Oh... started a couple of wheels, too. Tomorrow's photos will be cool!
Cheers,
Sirhr
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See edits above... I was filling in around the photos while you guys were commenting. Now to find out what the stamp means!!!
Cheers,
Sirhr
Nice work on the handwheel. Threads cleaned up surprisingly well. Some pitting, but otherwise decent shape. Wish I could help with the stamp. Don't know a blessed thing about it other than it really stood out.
What is cool is that our little gang was probably the first group of people to lay eyes on that marking in 150 years. Part of what makes history and archaeology amazing...
Cheers,
Sirhr
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Finally finished the Michigan gun!!!!
Now just need to make implements over the winter.
long road on this one. But it came out beautiful!!
cheers,
Sirhr
Now just need to make implements over the winter.
long road on this one. But it came out beautiful!!
cheers,
Sirhr
