A New Touch of Class...

A new touch of class is to be added to the already impressive appearance of BNA Signal Cannons & Replica Cannons!

Future Beaufort Naval Armorers´ cannons will have a trademark identification marking design, in addition to the muzzle marking. There will be a new BNA Anchor-Crown design engraved onto the barrel. The new BNA Anchor-Crown design is reminiscent of the bygone era of cannons as weapons aboard seafaring naval warships.

We are excited about our new BNA cannon embellishment. It has an aesthetically pleasing appearance and will be a unique feature for modern replica and signal cannon design.

The new Anchor-Crown BNA engraved barrel trademark will enhance the superior quality of BNA’s signal cannons and replica cannons.

Re-Introducing Custom Manufactured Black Powder Muzzle Loader Sets

Beaufort Naval Armorers custom manufactured 12 boxed black powder muzzle loader sets in 2005.
Due to their popularity, 15 more boxed sets have been produced in 2006. Folks, there will not be any more of these sets... When these are gone, they are gone... Get a boxed set while you still have the opportunity!

The custom made wooden boxes are fitted to the cannon carriages to hold them securely. The cannon barrels were individually machined from solid marine grade bronze shafting. The nominal bore size is 1.00 inch Cal. (25.4mm). The carriages and accoutrements are hand made from American walnut. The box is cabinet grade ¾" plywood finished with polyurethane and the BNA anchor logo is hand painted on the top.

The three accoutrements in each set are individually custom made and fitted into the boxes under the cannon carriage. One wooden handle has a replaceable bore swab on one end and a brass cap ramrod on the other end. The other two handles have a stainless steel bore worm, and a bronze powder ladle. Firing recommendation instructions are included.

The overall weight of a boxed set is 50 lbs. The box size is 24"L x 12"W x 13.5"H. The deck cannon size is 19"L x 10 1/8"W x 9"H. The walnut carriage wheels are non-marring acetyl to protect varnished decks or glass table tops, etc.

The price is $2995.00 with the UPS shipping cost included. Continental USA sales only.

View our magazine ad:

GEM Stainless Steel B.N.A. Eprouvette Mortars now available

Beaufort Naval Armorers is now offering stainless steel Eprouvette mortars! These mortars are new to our popular selection of BNA golf ball mortars. Ten (10) of these super strong, easy to care for, attractive mortars have been manufactured and are now available.

ALL B.N.A. Eprouvette mortars have more than adequate strength to withstand unlimited blank firing loads, but still, stainless steel is the strongest material of all of the B.N.A. mortars. Machining stainless steel is time consuming and labor intensive. Stainless steel stays shiny and attractive with minimal care, i.e. no rust and little polishing needed. For people that prefer the silver appearance instead of the gold appearance of the bronze mortars or the black appearance of the steel mortars, the new upgraded stainless steel option is now available. These mortars are virtually indestructible.

The manufacturing dimensions of the stainless steel mortars are the same as that of the 2006 machined bronze mortars:

Height - 5"
Overall Length - 5.75"
Overall Width - 3.5"
Base - 3.5" x 4"
Weight - 8.6 lbs.
Material - Marine grade stainless steel, high tensile strength 3.25" propeller shafting.

Important Notes: 1) The bore is sized 1.7" to accommodate a standard golf ball properly. 2) There are 4 drilled and threaded holes (5/16"-18) hidden under the base plate to provide the option of mounting the mortar onto a larger base if desired.

Extras: All mortars are shipped with the following:
5 pages of information about BNA firing recommendations, 6 feet of cannon fuse, a plastic cup to help measure black powder loads, and samples of #22 corks as well as red plastic cap plugs which both work very well as wadding to achieve extra loud blank reports.

Shipping cost will be the actual UPS Ground Service charges with insurance. USA sales only.

Price - $595.00 plus shipping cost

Full Scale B.N.A. Signal Mortar for the Pepsi Americas Sail 2006 Race

Beaufort Naval Armorers' latest mortar is an accomplishment to behold! It is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, a unique and one of a kind mortar to help celebrate a once in a lifetime event in Beaufort and Morehead City in North Carolina, July 2006. This mortar has been manufactured to be used for the tall ships race starting signal gun. Click on these shots for larger images:

This is a FULL SCALE Eprouvette mortar! It has been fully machined using a CNC lathe and CNC mill from a huge piece of 10” diameter 1018 steel round stock/ shaft. Two men cannot lift this mortar. It must be moved around with machinery.

Weight – approx. 350 lbs.
Overall height – 15 ½ inches
Bore diameter – 4 5/8 inches
Overall muzzle diameter – 10 inches
Base footing – 11 inches by 12 ½ inches, and it is 2 ½ inches thick. Sides are angled inward.
Overall length – 16 inches

The Firing Mechanism:

Mortars traditionally had vents for the fuse for firing. This big mortar needed to have a more accurate firing mechanism to serve for a prompt and reliable signal cannon for signaling the start of the Pepsi Americas Sail Race...

Jim Bircher designed and built a unique, sophisticated firing mechanism specifically for this large mortar. A 4140 steel plug is screwed into the vent. Inside the plug is a breech block with a spring-loaded plunger style firing pin which sets off a standard 209 shotgun primer to light the black powder. The firing mechnism is isolated and sealed the same as a high pressure diesel injector. It is perfectly sealed from the blast of firing.

This mortar is fired at a safe distance using a lanyard to release the firing pin to fire the primer and set off the black powder. This original and well planned mechanism fires the mortar easily, reliably, efficiently, and as safely as possible. Click on images for larger views:

This is a full scale mortar and it can potentially be loaded with a maximum of a full pound of FFFG black powder for a blank firing load. (FYI: A “blank load” means no cannon ball or no projectile, just the black powder for the loud signal noise.) One pound of black powder is sufficient for the blank load. This mortar should be as loud or louder than any traditional 12 pounder that was used historically on sailing “ships of the line” during naval combat.

This incredible Beaufort Naval Armorers' Full Scale Eprouvette Mortar will have the honor of being used as the signal cannon for the Pepsi America's Sail Tall Ships Race in July of 2006.
Please read about this upcoming event! www.pepsiamericassail.com

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Bircher Inc. manufactures shafts for South Carolina Schooner

The South Carolina Maritime Heritage Foundation is constructing a traditionally built ‘big timber’ PILOT SCHOONER reminiscent of an unnamed pilot schooner built by Pregnall & Company Shipyard on Charleston Harbor in the 1850's. View their website: www.scmaritime.org/boat.html

The SCMHF tall ship, the “Spirit of South Carolina” will be built using traditional indigenous woods of coastal South Carolina including live oak, white oak, and long leaf yellow pine.

To show their support for this magnificent public educational project, Bircher Inc. has partnered with Western Branch Metals of Portsmouth, VA to donate their labor and materials to furnish the boat shafts for the Spirit of South Carolina.

The two shaft systems will be manufactured by Bircher Inc. from 2.5” Aqualoy, a top quality boat shafting produced and offered exclusively by Western Branch Metals primarily for the marine industry.

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A New Fully Machined Family of Eprouvette Mortars!

Starting in April 2006 the beautiful B.N.A. 'golden eprouvette mortars' will be fully machined from round 3.25” bronze bar stock* instead of being manufactured as exterior finished castings with machined bores. Strength, quality and function remain the same. Click on images for larger pictures:

The new improved bronze eprouvette mortar design very closely resembles the look of the previous design. The finishing lines are more crisp and sharp with the newer manufacturing design. B.N.A. bronze mortars are now fully machined, casting is no longer involved. Firing capabilities, esthetic appeal, attractive appearance, and the price will remain the same for this slightly heavier, upgraded bronze mortar. Finished mortar weight is 9.25 lbs.

*Alloy 464 Naval Brass, also known as Tobin Bronze, is an excellent bar stock material for manufacturing BNA mortars due to its superior quality; it is highly corrosion resistant. The raw material used for each bronze mortar weighs more than 20 pounds. Beaufort Naval Armorers ALWAYS uses high quality materials for manufacturing cannons.

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