Pardon the pun but I am blown away by these latest updates!
Was surprised how big the wing cannons are "in person". And brilliant use of materials and modifying your lathe to work for your needs, as others have noted.
I'm most impressed, although not at all surprised, that it is now standing on just landing gear. That must feel incredibly satisfying.
Cheers,
Ted.
Aww, bless ya Ted!
Update:
MASSIVE DAY! I decided that, while the canons I have turned on the lathe look OK, they are not great. So, my friend Myles, who runs a furniture designing business and workshop, offered me a professional solution.
I spent most of today with him, watching and helping with my jaw on the ground as to the processes involved in high-end woodworking. The cuts are so sharp! The surfaces so flat! The angles so precise! Wow!
For the coopering, we started with rough timber, planed, then kerfed and thicknessed. Myles knows his stuff about tensions in the grains releasing as you cut it, causing bends and twists, so we did everything in increments as we cut, adjusting where needed when something bowed.
We calculated two different diameters and thicknesses, one for the rear of the cannons and one for the front. We got as far as biscuit joining them all together, to be glued later for turning.
I shot a heap of video, but as I am currently studying video editing, I will hold off posting the clips until I can present them all nicely in a canon-build video. I think it deserves it.
