The easy way to get your own cannon

[ropesfish]

is to buy it.
I was in Stuart the other day at a nautical flea market called the Crow's Nest <http://crowsnesta1a.com/> buying some jack stands to put the boat on for a bottom job ($25/ea, all you have to do is cut out the rusted bottom pipes and weld in new). Interesting place with lots of stuff. On a trailer in front of the building on SE Dixie Hwy, there have a couple of iron cannon laying there rusting away. The story on the cannon is that they were brought up in 1933 and were displayed at a park in Stuart until fairly recently..like the last 5 years.
He has a littl reproduction signal gun inside as well.
It's interesting where things end up at the end of their life after 4 or 5 hundred years. Seems sort of a sad ending.
They were nice folks to deal with. If someone wants them and cannot get to Stuart to pick them up, I am sure we could work something out.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[pvet7521]

its very sad. We work so hard and risk so much just for an oppertunity to see cannon . And this is how they end up. This gives the archeologist some points.

 

[ropesfish]

its very sad. We work so hard and risk so much just for an oppertunity to see cannon . And this is how they end up. This gives the archeologist some points.

Well, I am sure Michael would not hesitate to sell them to anyone, even an archaeologist. All they have to do is step up with their cash...and that is always where the archaeologists get off the train, squawk about how tragic it is and look for OPM (Other People's Money) while risking none of their own.

A really large number of iron cannon were retrieved during WW2 and melted to be beaten into a more modern sword. At least these 2 made it this far.
I guess we could have a "Rusted cannons I have seen" thread. There would be some pretty interesting pictures, I am sure.

 

[silvermagnet]

how much are they?

 

[Salvor6]

That cannon is junk. It was not properly conserved and now it is falling apart.

 

[old man]

That cannon is junk. It was not properly conserved and now it is falling apart.

Pete, truer words were never spoken, but it would make a nice ornament on my front lawn.

 

[ropesfish]

Interesting that you should say that, Pete...I said about the same thing to the owner..well...I said "It's a shame it was never conserved" since I was trying to buy some stuff from him. His answer was..."Some guys from Fisher's looked at it last year and said that it must have been conserved to some degree or it would have already disintegrated in the (2014-1933=) 81 years since it was recovered." That's all I know. I think it needs some help of some sort.
I have seen several in about the same or worse condition around Ft Pierce over the years. I agree that is sad to see them rust away.

 

[Trez]

ropesfish,

It is a shame to let them just sit and and end up a pile of iron oxide...that's Bullshit. (without even trying to protect them further from damage) - which could be done, it may be too late but at least attempt too. At least store them in water aka, a pool, kiddie pool, neighbors pool?
Just another waste of some pretty cool cannon...Fu King SHAME.
Those Ft. Pierce cannons by the park, JUNK now.
Even the ones that were at Waldo's in Vero, Junk.
If you accept a cannon take care of it or don't take it at all.
I know they are not yours, but my point was...if you take them, take the responsibility of them, make every attempt to preserve them or make arrangements with people who would and do so without holding them for ransom.
Thanks for posting them, they are still awesome to see. Another one bites the dust


pvet7521...your right.

Trez

 

[bobinsd]

What's the story on teh bell. That look even more interesting. Is it for a ship?

 

[GaryInOhio]

Its not just the old cannons that are rusting away.
My city has a WWII artillery gun in a memorial park that is starting to rust away. Probably hasn't been painted in 20yrs.
A sad commentary on how much the "memorial" actually means to the city.
The next city over has a VFW post with a Sherman tank out front...it also hasn't been painted in years. It used to be well cared for when I was a child 40yrs ago.
Guess the old timers have died off and current vets there just don't care.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - G. Santayana

 

[ropesfish]

Trez: The proprietor just doesn't know. He's essentially a junk dealer in a town full of boat people. That makes the most available junk nautical junk. I do not think he would be averse to learning, he just thinks he's doing fine.

Bob...the bell is said to be an 1882 bell from a railroad station. He has another big bell, described as a "huge nautical bell" on the Antiques and Collectibles page on the website.

Silvermagnet and everyone else that has asked about price...I never asked a price, as I tend to stay away from things I 'do not need/cannot afford/do not have time for' and these fell into at least 2 categories. Since folks have inquired about what the asking price is, I have left two messages, a Facebook message and one text asking for prices. If/when he lets me know, I will post here.
I'd love to see someone buy them and preserve them. That was pretty much the point of taking the pictures and posting them.

It probably deserves it's own thread but here goes...what could/should be done to preserve artifacts that have been neglected like this?

 

[GaryInOhio]

Sometimes there's just nothing you can do. If the current owner just doesn't care but won't give up or sell, then the item will just fade away. I saw an American Pickers show where a guy had a full 1914 Harley-Davidson sitting on his roof as a weathervane. They tried to buy it to preserve it, but the owner wouldn't part with it. Personally I would rather give an item away for free than see it destroyed (if I were incapable of preserving it).
A good new thread might be "Proper preservation techniques for relics". I bet tons of people would chime in on that.

 

[ropesfish]

The owner called me back today with a little more of the story and the prices.
The story: The two cannon were brought into Miami in 1933 and spent the last 40+ years in someone's yard on Sewell's Point overlooking the ocean.
The price: $2500@ and a better deal if you take both.
He also has a little cannon inside that is about 30" long and brand new...casting flash has never been ground off.. said to be of English manufacture. Obviously never fired. $1200. An even better deal if you take all 3.
The store is in Stuart. The phone numbers and other contact info are on their website @ http://crowsnesta1a.com.
and now you know the REST of the story...or as much as I know.

 

[old man]

The owner called me back today with a little more of the story and the prices.
The story: The two cannon were brought into Miami in 1933 and spent the last 40+ years in someone's yard on Sewell's Point overlooking the ocean.
The price: $2500@ and a better deal if you take both.
He also has a little cannon inside that is about 30" long and brand new...casting flash has never been ground off.. said to be of English manufacture. Obviously never fired. $1200. An even better deal if you take all 3.
The store is in Stuart. The phone numbers and other contact info are on their website @ http://crowsnesta1a.com.
and now you know the REST of the story...or as much as I know.

Bill, thanks for all the work you did posting those pictures and finding out how much he wanted for them. I need a good lawn ornament but, I don't think I want to spend that much on something I can't restore. Thanks.

 

[DigIron2]

That cannon is junk. It was not properly conserved and now it is falling apart.

what a neat piece!It doesn't seem to look in that bad of shape from "pictures'.any way.I would make a place for it in the house.where temperatures pretty much stay the same."where I would put the beast,' I don't know?

 

[ropesfish]

what a neat piece!It doesn't seem to look in that bad of shape from "pictures'.any way.I would make a place for it in the house.where temperatures pretty much stay the same."where I would put the beast,' I don't know?

Well...there's a pair of them...perhaps over a really big fireplace?

 

[lobsterman]

A great preservative coating for the cannons (that also works great for wood), is... pine tar, and parrafin wax, warmed and melted together, and then a little bit of kero or paint thinner is added (it expels water to the surface as it hardens, it lightens the dark tint of the pine tar, and it slows the rehardening of the wax). Then coat it completely with that solution as thick as possible, let it dry then wipe it down. It creates an almost imperceptable barrier topcoat that acts as a incredible preservative. Also, any extra that is left over stiffens up into a paste that makes an awesome furniture polish.

 

[LM]

The problem with rust is that it lives like a cancer. Topcoats are great to keep it at bay but not the right answer once rust has already arrived. You can topcoat rusted metal with whatever you want but if you don't immediately take countermeasures to kill its activity, it will slowly but surely turn solid metal into flakes and chunks. Those canon don't look too bad, you could probably do an emergency conservation on them and at least get a few lifetimes worth out of them but the clock is ticking. Treating the bore would require creativity.

 

[GaryInOhio]

Iron requires oxygen to rust. A top coating that cuts off oxygen completely will stop new rust from forming, as will immersing the iron item in oil. Removing and neutralizing the current rust and then top coating will be perfectly fine.

 

[gsxraddict]

this might be a dumb question, but I have to ask....

is it not possible to use a electrolysis on the entire cannon for a few years to save it?