how to make a richmond arsenal musket ammunition crate -...
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HowtoMakeaRichmondArsenalMusketAmmunitionCrate
ByAustinWilliams,5thVirginiaCo.A
TherearemanysourcesfromwhichonecanpurchaseaFederalarsenalmusketammunitioncrateandtherearereadilyavailableguidesinprintandonlinetomakeyourown.Confederatearsenals,however,aremoredifficulttolocateandIamnotawareofanysourcesforareasonablyauthenticRichmondArsenalcrate.ThisguidewillallowanyonewithbasiccarpentryskillstomakeaRichmondArsenalmusketammunitioncratethatisasauthenticasavailableresearchallows.RequiredMaterialsandToolsAtleastfourfeetof1x2commonboard1Atleastthreefeetof1x12commonboardAtleastfourfeetof1x10commonboardAtleasteightcutnails–IusedeightIalreadyhadtofinishthehandles,butyoucan
orderapoundofcutnailsonlineforlessthantendollarsfromacompanylikeTremontNailCompany(http://www.tremontnail.com)
Thirty-eight1¼”wirebrads–foramoreauthenticconstruction,youcanuseentirelycutnails,butoncethenailsarepaintedover,youhavetolookcloselytoseethatthenailheadsareincorrect
4flatheadstandardscrews–Iusedbrassonesfromalocalhardwarestore,whichwillusuallyselltheminsmallerquantitiesthanbigboxhomeimprovementstores
1Becauseofthelengthsofwoodavailableatmoststores,itmaybemoreefficienttomaketwocratesatthesametimeinsteadofone.Ifmakingtwocrates,purchaseasixfootlong1x12,aneightfootlong1x10,andaneightfootlong1x2.
Flatolivegreenlatexpaint–toensurethecoloriscorrect,gotoSherwinWilliamsandaskthemforapintofexteriorflatpaintinacolorcalled“NPSCannonGreen”.It’sthesamecolortheNationalParkServiceusestopainttheircannoncarriages.Ifyoulocalstorecan’tfinditinthecomputer(minedidnot),havethemcalltheGettysburgSherwinWilliamsandtheycansendyourstoretheformula.2
Whitepaint–Iusedan8fl.oz.testerofWeatheredWhiteavailablefromHomeDepot
CardstockpaperCircularsawTablesaw(optional)ChopSaw(optional)TapeMeasurePencilCarpenter’sSquareSandpaperHammerWoodglueWoodfiller(optional)Puttyknife(optional)PaintbrushMaskingtapeStencilbrush(optional)Drillanddrillbits(sizewilldependonthesizeofthecutnailsandscrews)CountersinkbitX-ActoknifeTheRichmondArsenalAmmunitionCrateBeforebeginningconstruction,studythefollowingexamplesofsurvivingRichmondDepotcrates,oneformusketammunitionandonefortheSharpscarbine.3UnfortunatelytheonlyexamplesIcouldfindwerefrom1864(unsurprisinggiventhedisposablenatureofthesecrates),sowecan’truleoutachangeintheArsenal’sdesignatsomepointinthewar.TheRichmondArsenalcrateistallerthanthestandarddimensionsusedbyFederalarsenals.ItisbuiltwithsimplebuttjointsratherthanthemorecomplexdovetailjointsseenonthecratesofmanyFederalarsenals.ThehandlesalsolackthebevelededgesorcarvedouthandholdsseenonFederalcrates.Thecratesarepaintedgreen,butduetotheageoftheartifacts,itisdifficulttomakeouttheexactcolor.Presumably,theyusedthestandardordinanceolivegreen,butthisisanassumptiononmypart.Noneofthecrateshavesurvivinglids,sowehave2IamgratefultoCharlieMitchellofCharliesBoatworksforthistip.Charlienolongermakesammunitioncratesasofthiswriting.3PhotosfromOldSouthAntiques;http://www.oldsouthantiques.com/os427p1.htmandhttp://www.oldsouthantiques.com/os1540p1.htm.
someguessworkthereaswell.Thelabelsarestenciledonbothendswithwhitepaint(notblackoryellowasseenatsomecommerciallyavailablecrates).
Construction1. Usingacircularsawortablesaw,ripthe1x12sothatitis10¼”wideand
the1x10sothatitis8¼”wide.2. Cuttwo15”lengthsfromyour1x10¼foryourlidandbottomusinga
circularsaworachopsaw.Cuttwo8¾”lengthsandtwo15”lengthsfromyour1x8¼forthesidesofthecrate.Takethe1x2andcuttwo10¼”lengthsforyourhandlesandtwo8¾”lengthsforyourlidstops.
3. Sandallyourcutedges.4. Usingwoodglueandeitherwirebradnailsorcutnails,assemblethesidesof
yourcratesothattheshortsidesaresandwichedbetweenthelongsides.5. Attachthebottomtoyoursidesusingwoodglueandnails.6. Glueandnailyourhandlestotheshortsidesofthecrate½”fromthetopof
thecrate.Iestimatedthisdistancebasedoffproportionalmeasurementsfromthephotos,soIcannotattesttoit’sexactaccuracy,butyoucanclearlyseethatthehandleisnotflushwiththetopofthecrate.
7. Glueandnailyourlidstopstothebottomofyourlid.Ifoundthebestwaytodothiswastomeasureoutwheremylidstopoughttosit,tackthestopsinplaceandthentestitonthecratebeforeaddingtherestofthenails.Thiswilllikelytakeafewtriesbeforeyoualignthemsoyourlidsitssquareontopofthecrateanddoesn’tsliparoundorfalloff.Youmayneedtosanddowntheendofyourlidstopstoensurethefitisnottoosnugandyoucaneasilyremovethelidofyourcrate.
8. Ididallmycutswithacircularsaw,sosomeofmyjointsweren’tperfectandIhadsomegapsinplaces.Toensureawatertightcrate(thisisdesignedtoholdammunitionafterall),Iusedaputtyknifetoworkwoodfillerintoallthegaps.Givethecrateafinalsandingtosmoothoutanyerrors.
Painting
1. Painttheentireoutsideofcratewithyourolivegreenpaint,butleavetheinsidesunpainted.Afteritdries,paintasecondcoat.
2. Usingapieceofcardstock,printoutyourstencil.ImademystencilusingaperiodfontcalledElephant.4Itisavailableforfreedownloadonline.ImademystencilinPowerPointusingthisfont.Forthedecorativeflourishesatthetopofthetext,IusedimagesoforiginalcratestoapproximatetheshapeandthendrewthemfreehandwithapencilafterIprintedoutthestencil.IchosetodatemycratesApril1862,butifyoumakeyourownstencil,youcanchoosewhateverdateyoulike.Mystencilisattachedattheendofthisarticleforyouruse.
3. UsinganX-Actoknifecarefullycutoutallthelettersonyourstencil.Ifyouusemystencil,beawareIwasunabletofindanElephantstencilfont.Isimplytookapenandmarkedthesectionstoleaveuncutbylookingattheoriginalcrates’font.
4. Alignyourstencilontheshortendofyourcrateandattachwithmaskingtape.Carefullypaintoveryourstencilwithwhitepaint.Aftersometrialanderror,Ifoundthebesttechniquewastodipastencilbrushinthepaint,blotitabitoncardboardtoevenitout,andthenwipetheexcessawayonapapertowel.Youneedtoensureyoudon’thavetoomuchpaintonthebrush,otherwiseitwillbleedunderyourstencil.Useatinyamountofpaintonamostlydrybrushandslowlygobackovereachletteruntilitisfullyfilledin.
5. Removeyourstencil.Whenthepaintisdry,flipyourcrateoverandrepeatthestencilontheotherside.
FinishingTouches
1. Asyoucanseeontheoriginals,thehandleswereattachedusingfournails,twooneachend.Ichosetoaddtheseafterpaintingwascomplete,asseveraldesignsofFederalarsenalsincludeunpaintednailsonthehandles.Youcanomitthissteporpaintoveryournails.Useadrillbittodrillpilotholes,asthewedgeshapeofcutnailscansplitthewood.
4ThanksagaingotoCharlieMitchellforhelpingmeidentifythisfont.
2. Federalcrateswerescrewedshuttoensureawatertightsealandtomakeitmoredifficulttoopenthecrateswithoutthepropertools.IchoosetocopythisformyRichmondArsenalcrates.Usethecountersinkbittomakeholesforeachofyourfourscrewsonthetopofthelid.Iusedmachinescrewsthatwereonly½”long,soIdrilledashortpilotholeandscrewedinthescrewssothattheydidnotstickoutthebackofthelid.Ifyouhavelongerscrews,youcancuttheextraoffwithahacksaw,orremovethescrewsentirelytosimulateacratethathasalreadybeenopenedinthefield.
Ammunitioncrateswouldhavebeenafrequentsightincampand,asthisarticleshows,buildingthemisnotchallengingandisinexpensive.Thepaintisenoughforseveralcratesandthelumberfortwocratescostmearound$30.Ihopeyoufoundthisarticlehelpfulandyoudecidetotryyourhandatmanufacturingsomecratesofyourown.
1000 CAR CA 57-58
E L O N G A T E D BALL
T . L .
96 lbs.