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Gunner

There are three reinforcement rings on a cannon, one at the breech,
one in the middle, one at the mouth. When founders want to work on their
craft or render the cannon or other piece lighter & easier to
cart around, they make it from the ring at the breech to the ring
in the middle of the size & proportion of the balls, as is said
above. But from the ring in the middle to the ring of the mouth
& they diminish it one line, or more or less, on
each side, always taking their measurements with the compassfrom the straight line which they make in the middle of the
model of paper or otherwise. And this reduction amounts
to seven or eight quintalsreduction &
lighteningin weight, and the piece is not less secure
for it. This is done for big pieces, but for gr
small pieces fromlesser than the average, one
needs to observe the aforesaid proportion, & draw the piece in a
continuous line from one end to the other. The trunnions are commonly
situated one foot from the ring of the middle,
from towards the edge of the breech.

But because some gunners prefer a piece which is weighted at the front
because it is easier to plant, to do this, one only needs to move the
trunnions closer to the breech & further away from the middle. On
the contrary, if you want to render it smore weighted at the back, you will move the trunnions

closer to the middle of the piece or place them further up towards the
mouth. When you bore your piece you make a fluted cast iron box
like a bedpost & there ought to be sixteen channels or notches in
which you will fasten sixteen blades quite evenly,
with in order that all together they cut & scrape in the
same manner. Because if some were to not cut & scrape, chambers
& waves would be made in the cannon which would make it lopsided and
there would be a danger that the piece might break in the middle. In
order to avoid this, it is necessary that the borer should pass
evenly from the breech to the mouth, & that the opening of the piece
should be evenly bored from one end to the other, because thus the
powder goes off all at once with more force. On the contrary, if
restrained, it goes sideways & makes the piece break.

