17 replies to this topic

[Phred]

I would like to know if anyone has done a lot of research about the conversion of the poundage or caliber of the cannon to the lego version of a cannon.  Or your opinion of what the caliber of each cannon size.  I’ve seen ppl mention the poundage of their MOC cannons in the Custom Cannons thread (not forum :-P).  

In this Wikipedia article on cannons, they give a good list of what the stats are on the various cannons At this website I found that cannons ranged in size from 1 pounders to 48 pounders for the British.  If you of better sites please post them.

Here is an image list of my cannons that I have currently built.


a blurry pic of one of my railing mounted cannons


similar versions of the same caliber of cannon.


a regular cannon (repaired)


I called this a 32 pounder, but I was only guessing.


an obnoxiously huge carronade that I made for fun but won’t be using in any of my vessels.

If you want to discus how these cannons were built.  I’ll be putting a similar post in the Making Cannons thread.

Help me figure out the poundage of the guns. Thanx.

[Bonaparte]

You can also check this thread: Cannon's VS Carronades.
It might contain some useful info regarding your question.

[El Bucanero]

phred, on Dec 8 2006, 08:49 PM, said:

a regular cannon (repaired)

Well, I have 2 qeustions:
1. Why did you do it?
2. How is it made??

Mr Tiber

[Phred]

bonaparte, on Dec 8 2006, 02:18 PM, said:

You can also check this thread: Cannon's VS Carronades.
It might contain some useful info regarding your question.

I've found this:

Admiral Starwind, on Aug 31 2006, 11:12 AM, said:

I just thought you guys might find this useful.
....
The calibre of the cannon - 'the long gun' - was based on the weight of the shot it fired. These ranged from 4-pounders to 32-pounders. The cannon could measure ten feet in length and weigh as much as 6500 pounds. Each could require a crew of as many as 14. With a charge of black powder equal to one third the weight of the shot, the cannon depending on its elevation, could propel a 32-pounder more than 1000 yards smashing sides and scattering huge splinters that were as deadly as shot itself. The carronade weighing 2000 pounds required a crew of seven men and could fire a 32-pound canister effectively at a range of 500 yards.
....

This is the only part that talks about the poundage or caliber of cannons.  Unless I'm mistaken, it didn't specifically say what the poundage of his cannons were.

Mr Tiber, on Dec 8 2006, 02:27 PM, said:

Well, I have 2 qeustions:
1. Why did you do it?
2. How is it made??

Mr Tiber

The reason i did it was that this shooting cannon was broken when i got it and i didn't have all the broken pieces to fix it to its original state, so i improvised.
I just shoved a lego head with a 1x1 cone brick attached to it, which is mentioned in the Custom Cannons thread.

[El Bucanero]

phred, on Dec 8 2006, 09:35 PM, said:

I've found this:
This is the only part that talks about the poundage or caliber of cannons.  Unless I'm mistaken, it didn't specifically say what the poundage of his cannons were.
The reason i did it was that this shooting cannon was broken when i got it and i didn't have all the broken pieces to fix it to its original state, so i improvised.
I just shoved a lego head with a 1x1 cone brick attached to it, which is mentioned in the Custom Cannons thread.

Very clever solution... But how come the cannon got broke?

[Mister Phes]

phred, on Dec 9 2006, 06:49 AM, said:

an obnoxiously huge carronade that I made for fun but won’t be using in any of my vessels.

This thing could also double as a jet engine   :-D

[Phred]

Mr Tiber, on Dec 8 2006, 03:51 PM, said:

Very clever solution... But how come the cannon got broke?

I don't know how it broke.  I had gotten about 8 gallons of bricks (err about 32 Liters) for free (yes free!!) from a friend of mine that just had them laying in their basement in a tote.  It had almost all the pieces for the CC and the BSB and a bunch of other sets.
That cannon was with those bricks.

Edit:
LOL!!! @ Clavin

[El Bucanero]

phred, on Dec 8 2006, 11:13 PM, said:

I don't know how it broke.  I had gotten about 8 gallons of bricks (err about 32 Liters) for free (yes free!!) from a friend of mine that just had them laying in their basement in a tote.  It had almost all the pieces for the CC and the BSB and a bunch of other sets.
That cannon was with those bricks.

He gave you 8 gallons of bricks for free?!?! You're a lucky chap Mr Phred!

[Serengeti]

I like the 32 pounder. It is quite realistic size and design I think.

The orangey head stuck in the broken cannon is just weird. Quite comical, I guess it was the orangeman who broke the cannon sticking his head in it.

[Mister Phes]

Mr Tiber, on Dec 9 2006, 09:28 AM, said:

He gave you 8 gallons of bricks for free?!?! You're a lucky chap Mr Phred!

We'll be expecting to see some serious Pirate MOCs out of you in the future Phred!   :-D

[Phred]

My brother and I have been discussing what the calibers of different cannons should be and this is what we’ve come up with.


We think that this cannon should be 4-6 pounders. Using a 1x1 round plate as ammo (which is a little big though).


We both think this cannon should be a 20 pounder, which is about 3x’s the weight of the 4-6 pounder.  Using a 1x1 round brick as ammo.  This seems pretty average for a cannons back in the day and this cannon seems to be about an average caliber.


We both think this one should be considered a 32 pounder.  Using a black lego head as ammo, which is about 1.5 to 2 times bigger than the 1x1 round brick.

Mister Phes, on Dec 9 2006, 01:06 AM, said:

We'll be expecting to see some serious Pirate MOCs out of you in the future Phred!   :-D

Sir, yes sir!! In the future I’ll try to make ships that are at least a meter long, heck, even longer let’s shoot for a meter and a half! :-D

[SkaForHire]

phred, on Dec 9 2006, 12:52 PM, said:

My brother and I have been discussing what the calibers of different cannons should be and this is what we’ve come up with.


We think that this cannon should be a 4-6 pounders. Using a 1x1 round plate as ammo (which is a little big though).


We both think this cannon should be a 20 pounder, which is a little more than 3x’s the weight of the 4-6 pounder.  Using a 1x1 round brick as ammo.  This seems pretty average for a cannons back in the day and this cannon seems to be about an average caliber.


We both think this one should be considered a 32 pounder.  Using a black lego head as ammo, which is about 1.5 to 2 times bigger than the 1x1 round brick.
Sir, yes sir!! In the future I’ll try to make ships that are at least a meter long, heck, even longer let’s shoot for a meter and a half! :-D

I think you might be slightly small on your ratings... most cannons during the period were in the following denominations  3 - 6- 9 - 12- 18 - 24 - 32 - 36 - 44  

I don't have time to quote Spencer Tucker, but look him up for more, his work is among the best (and I am going to see him tomorrow at the Society for Military History conference [I am talking on Friday on naval strategy] I hope I get to meet him).


anyway I think The smaller cannons may be more likely 12's or 18's... where the normal cannon would be a 24 (one of the most common weights for ships to stock) I think you are on about the 32, it might be a 36 but it could serve as either.  size wise, most of these are not long enough though :)

[Mister Phes]

Realistically, if I wanted to be a Harbor Sentry how many pounds should my cannon be?


X-D

[Phred]

SkaForHire, on Apr 19 2007, 02:45 AM, said:

I think you might be slightly small on your ratings... most cannons during the period were in the following denominations  3 - 6- 9 - 12- 18 - 24 - 32 - 36 - 44  

I don't have time to quote Spencer Tucker, but look him up for more, his work is among the best (and I am going to see him tomorrow at the Society for Military History conference [I am talking on Friday on naval strategy] I hope I get to meet him).
anyway I think The smaller cannons may be more likely 12's or 18's... where the normal cannon would be a 24 (one of the most common weights for ships to stock) I think you are on about the 32, it might be a 36 but it could serve as either.  size wise, most of these are not long enough though :)

I mostly agree with you now. X-D
My brother and i consider the cannons to have a small range of calibers now to accommodate the fact that there are more variations in caliber of actual cannons than there are small variations of lego bricks :)

We now consider
to be 1-4 pound swivel,
to be a 9-12 pounder,
to be a 18-24 pounder,
to be a 32-36 pounder,
and to be a 42-(maybe)48 pounder.

P

[Axle]

These are some fantastic cannons! Someday I hope to make even better ones.(I doubt that though ;-)

[Phred]

Mister Phes, on Apr 19 2007, 05:19 AM, said:

Realistically, if I wanted to be a Harbor Sentry how many pounds should my cannon be?
X-D

I wouldn't put no more than a swivel cannon on that row boat.
On the Fabuland Rowboats, you might be able to have 9-12 pounder or maybe even a non-moc cannon (maybe)

Axle, on Apr 19 2007, 11:03 AM, said:

These are some fantastic cannons! Someday I hope to make even better ones.(I doubt that though ;-)

The silver ones aren't mine X-D , but the rest are.
I've got almost all the pieces needed to build 16 of them (not in silver though), but i don't have anywhere to put them |-/

P

[Mister Phes]

phred, on Apr 20 2007, 02:32 AM, said:

I wouldn't put no more than a swivel cannon on that row boat.
On the Fabuland Rowboats, you might be able to have 9-12 pounder or maybe even a non-moc cannon (maybe)

How many pounds is a swivel cannon and how much recoil would it emit - enough to rock the boat?   X-D

[Phred]

Mister Phes, on Apr 19 2007, 07:06 PM, said:

How many pounds is a swivel cannon and how much recoil would it emit - enough to rock the boat?   X-D

My Brother and I now consider to be 1-4 pound swivel.