Sorry that this is becoming so repetitive, but here is the FINAL design for the Syren scale, firing carronades.
The kit carronade barrel castings are bored out to final ID with a size "T" drill, and split 11/32"OD brass tube halves are epoxied inside the barrel. They serve as the two contacts for the igniter wire.
All the new design servo and re-rigging work is done, the broken bowsprit replaced, etc., so after the guns are finished, she'll be ready to sail again this spring. (Now have 28" of ice on the lake!).

Dan the cannon pioneer. As you perfect your full broadside design, feel free to ponder how it might apply to a pair of bow chasers on a raised forecastle.

Originally Posted by DanL

here is the FINAL design for the Syren scale, firing carronades.

If you say so Dan. (joke)

Great news that you'll be back on the water soon blasting away!

kindest regards
Tim

18 guns x many blocks and hooks = a big job and a lot of tiny blocks and hooks.
These are the hooks that will be used, with a little bending to get a more prototypical look.
Daiichii size 26 dry-fly hooks. Less than 5mm long.
I'll post pics after I get them and see how they look when rigged.

http://www.tenkarabum.com/micro-fishing-hooks.html

Some carronade tackle pics from the Brig Niagara attached

Hi Dan

Excellent.....went through my fly box awhile back and have been meaning to go to my local shop to try other size fish hooks out.

can't wait to see Syren armed and ready.
kindest regards
Tim

Just got the #26 Daiichi hooks....way too small for the carronade tackle.
Contacting supplier to get a more correct size.
Will update when sorted out.

Ya should haf a hook supplier up der in da nort wit lotsa hooks. Yah sure you betcha!

Ray,
I don't need more hooks now, just more common sense!
I found some hooks that are really close to the right size and "look". The eyes are really way too small and the shanks still to long. I tried bending them to shape, but they are hard brass and snap easily. So I tried heating them, but they become even more brittle.
Soooo....now I see why people just use soft wire and twist on a strop and then form a hook with one end of the wire. Eighteen guns requires 36 sets of tackle and 72 hooked blocks. Simple and quick is a necessity or I'll be rigging til September - the separate hook idea is out. Common sense is in (I hope).

An up nort UFFDA to you shipmate!

Went back and looked at old posts. Came across using "hooks and eyes" to make hooks. Didn't even remember doing that... getting old.
Made up a block with each (1) a twisted line strop and a micro fishhook (bad idea), (2) a stranded wire strop and formed/soldered hook (too much trouble) and (3) a twisted line strop and a hook formed from dressmakers hook&eyes.
The hooks& eyes approach is easiest, looks best to me.
Now to make 72 of these suckers...

Added: A great source for bulk purchase of just the sewing "eyes" needed to make hooks:
http://www.wardrobesupplies.com/products/eyes-1-gross

I'm ready to give up. Thought the straw cartridge/split barrel design was the final answer.
As usual, I keep firing the latest test gun to see how it holds up. Today, the gun wouldn't fire all the time. Battery was good, etc etc. Turns out that the plastic straw melts at the holes where the nichrome wire penetrates. A small amount of plastic must stick to the barrel wall, right where electrical contact is made. After many shots, the plastic residue starts interfering with teh electrical contact.
I tore the gun apart and tried all kinds of cleaners (that would be safe to use near the model). Only scraping would remove the burned plastic coating.
So - back to square one....
Any ideas appreciated....
Should have asked my better half first...."grease the pan", she said.
I greased the barrel liner of a new gun with silicone grease and have over 20 shots through it - no evidence of plastic residue.
I think the problem is solved.

Hi Dan

Funny. I was going to mention the eye-hooks that you used along time ago because I bought a whole bunch a while ago to use. LOL but then figured...well I guess those don't work now, after your post regarding hooks, and thought, now what will I do. Glad they will be useful after all. I think I like the thicker look of them over the fish hook.

As far as the guns go. Sorry to hear it's been frustrating. I won't dive into those until later on in the build. Determined to have something to sail first!

kindest regards
Tim

Have some feedback that pics are wanted, not PDF files, so changed the attachments.

Will try to simply capture the current rigging methods that make everything work when sailing, yet give the prototype "look" out on the water and allow various sail settings and adjustments.

- Topping Lifts - Course and Tops'l Yards, T'gallant and Royal
- Braces - Course and Tops'l Yards
- Shrouds and Stays - Easy-on-off and Adjustability
- Headsails - Crossover Rigging, Dousing and Furling
- Squaresails - Furled and Reefed
- Driver - Reefed and "Skirted"
- Topmast Staysail - Adjustment and Furling
- Sail Gear - Buntlines, etc.

thanks for sharing tricks in making your Syren as awesome looking as she is !

Brooks made some very helpful comments on the split barrel gun design, and that started me thinking....
The split barrel of course loses any advantage of burst strength, allows leakage of gases to the resin barrel, and is tricky to assemble (two pieces need to be exactly aligned and epoxied inside the resin barrel, wire attachment, etc).
An approach that fixes this actually simplifies assembly and requires only one half-barrel brass piece vs. two (and the half-pieces are a pain to make).
A solid brass tube barrel is cut, then a half-tube contact piece is epoxied inside the solid tube. A pre-coat of epoxy on the back of the contact piece, plus the epoxy used to attach it, provides plenty of insulation between the two pieces.
Now it's the advantages of a solid barrel and the pre-loaded straw cartridge system that has been working so well.
An assembly advantage is that wires can be pre-soldered to both pieces, the half tube contact then epoxied inside the solid tube, and then this sub-assembly simply inserted into the resin barrel. All the "fiddly" work is done independent of the resin barrel. If it ever fails, it can be easily pulled, unlike the previous two half-tube design that was epoxied directly to the resin barrel.
Thanks, Brooks, for jump-starting the re-design.
Updated "final" drawing attached