Build a Carriage for a Gun: For a Gun

By Doc Ric

The author, Reiner Ric Brasche born in Cologne, Germany in 1936, grew-up in a world of destruction following WWII.As a
result of the Marshall plan -- luckily replacing the Morgenthau plan, which aimed to make the past NAZI-Germany a state of agriculture -- a soon prosperous economy allowed for in-depth education and graduation as an automotive engineer, followed later by a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering .


Corporate life included employment with Ford Motor Co, Europe and extensive coordination tasks in the field of automobile especially safety of the car body structure. The early involvement in international cooperation opened up a broader view.

Early retirement from 'corporate', self-employment and the move to the U.S.A., together with the enthusiasm for guns, are the motivation and background for creating this 'How to'-book: Build A (Gun) Carriage.

A detailed technical description of wood and metalworking including the presentation of tools required to understand and manufacture a carriage in half scale (2/1), that is based on available instructions in lieu of the invention of the famous Gatling Machine Gun in the early 1860's.

The author lives in Lake Worth, Florida. Comments are invited using his Internet address: [e-mail].

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 18, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493116621

Doc Ric

The author, Reiner Ric Brasche born in Cologne, Germany in 1936, grew-up in a world of destruction following WWII.As a result of the Marshall plan -- luckily replacing the Morgenthau plan, which aimed to make the past NAZI-Germany a state of agriculture -- a soon prosperous economy allowed for in-depth education and graduation as an automotive engineer, followed later by a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering . Corporate life included employment with Ford Motor Co, Europe and extensive coordination tasks in the field of automobile especially safety of the car body structure. The early involvement in international cooperation opened up a broader view. Early retirement from 'corporate', self-employment and the move to the U.S.A., together with the enthusiasm for guns, are the motivation and background for creating this 'How to'-book: Build A (Gun) Carriage. A detailed technical description of wood and metalworking including the presentation of tools required to understand and manufacture a carriage in half scale (2/1), that is based on available instructions in lieu of the invention of the famous Gatling Machine Gun in the early 1860's. The author lives in Lake Worth, Florida. Comments are invited using his Internet address: [e-mail].

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Doc Ric.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2013918644

   ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-4931-1661-4

      Softcover   978-1-4931-1660-7

      eBook   978-1-4931-1662-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 01/27/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

142592

Contents

Introduction

Preface

The Author

Dedication

Chapter 1 The Wheels

The Function Of Carriage Wheels

Wooden Rim Segments

The Spokes

The Hub

Bushings And ‘Rings’

Wheel Subassembly

Chapter 2 The Axle

The Function Of The Axle

The Axle Beam

The Axle

Chapter 3 The Trail

The Function Of The Trail

The Trail Beam

The Cheeks

The Hitch

The Mounting Plate

Chapter 4 The Elevation

The Purpose Of The Elevation

Threaded Rod And Nut

Swivel Ball And Pins

Swivel Socket

Elevation Sub-Assembly

Chapter 5 Chains And Guides

The Function Of Chains And Guides

The Chain Guides

Screw Eye

The Chains

The Handles

Chapter 6 Final Assembly

Personalization Of The Carriage

Surface Treatment

Lubrication

Fasteners

Assembly

Appendix

Detail Parts List

Manufacturers (Distributors)

Literature

Introduction

How to build a (gun) carriage

PREFACE

This booklet features a detailed explanation of how to construct a wooden model scale 2:1 carriage, used to mount a gun or cannon. The detail description is supplemented by Engineering views and drawings—what else would an engineer use—with assembly drawings wherever thought necessary to explain the matter. Photographs are showing the ‘real thing’ in order to stipulate the imagination further and help to stay focused.

Major effort was put into explaining ‘the why’. This was felt necessary because sometimes the result of a design decision seems to be difficult to follow. Engineering is no secret. It should be understood that many clever designs were copied from nature—the greatest inventor. How to avoid errors was given much attention, in making the 27 different make and purchase parts, total parts count 123 including fasteners. Jigs enable and ease the parts assembly, these are mostly self-made.

Finally, proper application of wood-working tools is described. This was felt necessary in order to meet—sometimes tight tolerance requirements. The choice of the right tool involves monetary, sometimes costly decisions.

Full size drawings can be obtained through the originator P. Moore1*) for a reasonable expense. One may try to build the parts and assemble them in a self-contained manner through this book. A cost and time estimate to build the carriage is given supported by a detail parts list including the finishing of the carriage.

For an ordinary wood worker—having a workshop full of the nicest tools—there is still a challenge: The metal working task. The following materials are used to build the carriage: Ordinary lumber, alternatively hardwood like oak. As far as metal parts are concerned: Brass or alternatively steel (CRS) or moreover stainless steel are suggested. Tolerances are usually tighter with metal parts as opposed to wooden parts. The use of a lathe to cut wood is suggested if not mandatory. A metal cutting lathe is the next step of sophistication—definitely preferred to work on the metal parts.

Selecting the lumber—aged stock!—would sometimes require a dimension not readily available. In this case it is suggested to glue up lumber to get the proper thicknesses for some of the wood parts, depending upon the source of supply.

The finishing of the lumber parts is another exciting step: The use of wood stain, filler and gun stock oil is suggested for authentic appearance of a true gun carriage. In turn this means steel parts should be blued, the shine of brass in itself is attractive and is enhancing the value of the work further.

The carriage, by no means is not a highly sophisticated product. It is rather a by-product of a greater project: The build of a canon, or more precisely—the Gatlin Machine Gun which needed a supporting carriage.

The carriage is intended to closely simulate the ‘vehicle’ used at the time when the machine gun was invented by R.J. Gatling²). A literature reference is given at the end of this booklet.

The description is leaving room for personal style variations or better, modifications more adequate to the ‘manufacturer’ and his or her taste.

A word about the use of the metric or decimal system, SI³). It is an internationally accepted convention based on the standard length. This has the advantage of giving reproducible measurements all over using the same conditions.

Maybe again, this is to vote for the public application of the metric system—not the adoption, since it