Machinist - Gun - Rifling Cannons 1910 - Side by Side Photograph by Mike Savad

Machinist - Gun - Rifling Cannons 1910 - Side by Side

by Mike Savad

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Title

Machinist - Gun - Rifling Cannons 1910 - Side by Side

Artist

Mike Savad

Medium

Photograph - Colorized Photo

Description

Colorized photo from 1910
Original title: Rifling big guns
Photographer: Bain News
Location: Watervliet, NY

The Watervliet arsenal (a part of the US Army) was founded in 1813 to support the war of 1812, it was officially designated an arsenal in 1817. It occupies 142 acres of land and is still in use today. It's currently a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1966. Today they still use it to make cannon tubes, mortars and tanks.

This giant machine is called a rifling machine. Just like hand guns, cannon barrels are rifled. Rifling creates a series of spiral grooves, it allows better accuracy making the ammunition hit is target in a more predictable manner. The ammo spins in the air when fired.

That bar on the right is called the Sine Bar, it introduces height and a curve. The machine rolls back and forth using that long gear, and then in and out and it makes that groove. Different guns have different bores, which is why that thing is adjustable.

It took me quite a bit of searching to find a cannon rifling system, but the best I could find is ones meant for guns. When I first saw this thing, I thought that thing on the right was a tank tread, which made no sense at all. But it looks like the Sine bar they used for guns, so that's what it is. Now I don't know what material they used for the track, being that the curve is not even, and it looks like its clamped down in 5000 places, I made it brass because I assumed they formed it by hand with wrenches. It mostly has better contrast if its brass, it could have been steel.

I didn't know what that thing on the end was, it has a large gear, so I colored it different than the rest to add a bit of punch. I don't know if this machine still exists or not but I couldn't find a color reference for it. That Carl guy appears at least twice in the ones I've colored in, I bet he's in all of them as a background character.

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January 16th, 2024

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