quins on naval carriages

[spaz]

DD

I saw in your description of your naval carriage

'This is a firing scale model of an Army M-1814 42-pounder Army howitzer on modified naval gun truck. Instead of using a quin for elevation, the original elevating screw from the field gun carriage was used.'

 I guess the quin is the wedge shaped wood in the rear to control elevation, and I assume they were the preferred method for naval carriages.  I googled 'quin' and came up empty for anything related to cannons.  What information can you give me on methods of attachment to the frame, degree of angle, notched/un-notched, etc.  Also, do you feel the screw is better/more accurate/pain in the ass/etc.  My last cannon started out just for looks, and then for blasting, but never for target.  I am looking at target shooting once my latest product is complete, trap shooting if I excel!

[Cat Whisperer]

I think the term is quoin.  Here's merriam-Webster's definition:

Main Entry: 1quoin  
Pronunciation: 'koin, 'kwoin
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration of 1coin
1 a : a solid exterior angle (as of a building) b : one of the members (as a block) forming a quoin and usually differentiated from the adjoining walls by material, texture, color, size, or projection
2 : the keystone or a voussoir of an arch
3 : a wooden or expandable metal block used by printers to lock up a form within a chase

Of course the quoin used with cannon is just one wedge, where the printing quoins are a pair of wedges with a set of teeth (like a rack) turned by a quoin wrench (pinion).

It is not as elegant form of adjusting elevation as the threaded mechanisms, but it's cheap.

[Double D]

The 1814 42 PDR was a field gun and and regular wheeled field carriage.  When the guns were modified for naval use on the Ironclads and put in naval gun carriages the elevating screw was carried  over.

I found a drawing in my files for the Naval Gun Truck of 1768 as used by  U.S. Navy with a quin that is a wedge with an angle of 18 degrees. The quin sits in a tray in the truck and is slid back and forth for adjustment.

Looking through Round shot and Rammers  by Harold L. Peterson tracing muzzle loading artillery in the US from the 1600's own elevating screw do not seem to have developed until in the late 1700 and then only of field guns. Navel and permanently emplaced guns had the quin.

[CrufflerSteve]

...
I guess the quin is the wedge shaped wood in the rear to control elevation, and I assume they were the preferred method for naval carriages.  I googled 'quin' and came up empty for anything related to cannons.  What information can you give me on methods of attachment to the frame, degree of angle, notched/un-notched, etc.  Also, do you feel the screw is better/more accurate/pain in the ass/etc.  My last cannon started out just for looks, and then for blasting, but never for target.  I am looking at target shooting once my latest product is complete, trap shooting if I excel!

A trap shooting cannon? You mean shoot the tower? If you really want to attempt to hit a clay bird in the air, you'll need something like a swivel gun filled with cannister and a very fast ignition.

I use a quoin for my naval carriage cannon. I have some pictures at http://www.crufflersteve.net/naval.html

Quoins were used in many naval carriages and in some of the very old field carriages. I believe the Gribideaux (sp?) carriages had a screw controlled quoin. The are easier to make than elevating screws but if your cannon has any accuracy potential go with the elevating screw.

Mine is attached to the carriage by a dovetail dado so it can slide and be pulled out the back but not lifter out. I have considered adding a screw to the bottom so it can't be removed but haven't yet. The height and angle of mine was determined by the barrel. I wanted to be able to go about 5 - 7 degrees above parallel to the ground and a degree or two lower. Some of the higher naval carriages had a table for the quoin rather than attaching it to the structural parts of the carriage. Mine is low enough that I don't need that.

Steve