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Isaac D Rainey




Location: Evansville Indiana
Joined: 29 Sep 2012

Posts: 65

PostPosted: Wed 30 Mar, 2016 9:50 pm    Post subject: Casting a Bronze arquebus barrel         Reply with quote

Some of you may have heard that one of Vasco da Gama's ships, the Esmeralda, was found off the coast of Oman. They brought up a collection of arquebus barrels and I wish to make a reproduction of one of them for an experimental archaeology project. Do any of you know any good sources for casting gun barrels?

Also, The question one of the researchers is trying to ask is whether the guns would have been used by officers or seamen.
Personally I don't believe that there was any real distinction between low end and high end firearms this early on that could be observed by just looking at the barrel. The only gun that is somewhat contemporary is the hunting rifle attributed to Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and It was not much different from any typical arquebus of the time (Sorry I cannot locate a picture). But, If any of you believe I am wrong, please tell me, and give sources if you can!

https://scontent.fdtw1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/l/t31.0-8/12095153_10153583939488299_6235310530018104655_o.jpg
barrel I wish to cast

https://scontent.fdtw1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/t31.0-8/12052661_10153583939523299_1581306812753889561_o.jpg
other barrels recovered
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Mark Griffin




Location: The Welsh Marches, in the hills above Newtown, Powys.
Joined: 28 Dec 2006

Posts: 802

PostPosted: Thu 31 Mar, 2016 3:42 am    Post subject:         Reply with quote

Wow, they're fun. Our UK casters in bronze have pretty well shut up shop (or at least pattern makers interested in doing this kind of thing have) and if it was going to be used for anything other than bench testing at distance I'd be very wary of being near anything that's so thin walled and cast when it went off. Doubt our proof houses would touch them either :-(

Best of luck with the project.

Currently working on projects ranging from Elizabethan pageants to a WW1 Tank, Victorian fairgrounds 1066 events and more. Oh and we joust loads!.. We run over 250 events for English Heritage each year plus many others for Historic Royal Palaces, Historic Scotland, the National Trust and more. If you live in the UK and are interested in working for us just drop us a line with a cv.
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Mario M.




Location: Croatia
Joined: 31 Mar 2016

Posts: 107

PostPosted: Tue 05 Apr, 2016 8:50 pm    Post subject:         Reply with quote

These guys used to sell arquebuses at wulflund.com;

http://www.cuzzs.cz/en/

They probably made them as well.

I would contact them for information.

“The stream of Time, irresistible, ever moving, carries off and bears away all things that come to birth and plunges them into utter darkness...Nevertheless, the science of History is a great bulwark against this stream of Time; in a way it checks this irresistible flood, it holds in a tight grasp whatever it can seize floating on the surface and will not allow it to slip away into the depths of Oblivion." - Anna Comnena
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Eric S




Location: new orleans
Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Reading list: 8 books

Posts: 805

PostPosted: Thu 07 Apr, 2016 5:53 pm    Post subject: Re: Casting a Bronze arquebus barrel         Reply with quote

Isaac D Rainey wrote:
Some of you may have heard that one of Vasco da Gama's ships, the Esmeralda, was found off the coast of Oman.
As far I I can tell there is no definite proof that it is actually one of his ships, some evidence suggests that it may be one of his ships.

Quote:
The wreck is believed to be that of the Esmeralda, which was part of a fleet led by legendary Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama during his second voyage to India (1502-1503).

The wreck was initially located in 1998 and excavated between 2013 and 2015 by a partnership between the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture and the shipwreck recovery company Bluewater Recoveries Ltd., which is directed by David Mearns. Support for the project was provided by the National Geographic Society Expeditions Council.

Analysis of the thousands of objects recovered from the wreck is ongoing, but researchers have concluded in an interim report that the vessel belonged to da Gama's fleet — and is in all probability the Esmeralda. Their conclusion is based on extraordinary artifacts that include a Portuguese coin minted for trade with India (one of only two coins of this type known to exist) and stone cannonballs engraved with what appear to be the initials of Vincente Sodré, da Gama's maternal uncle and the commander of the Esmeralda.

If this is indeed a wreck from da Gama's 1502-1503 fleet, it will be the earliest ship from the Age of Exploration ever to be found and excavated.


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