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Cannon Boring Technology

Type Object Region Worldwide Time c. 1501–1510

Cannon boring is the machining of a smooth inner bore in a cast or forged barrel blank using rotating cutters or drills, key to roundness, uniform wa…

Timeline

  1. c. 1501–1505Venetian Arsenal · VeniceThe Venetian Arsenal used canal water power to drive large boring mills, fixing cast bronze barrel blanks on rotating frames and cutting the bore layer by layer with long-handled boring tools, replacing the uneven earlier method of casting around a core mandrel and significantly improving the range and reliability of naval and coastal guns.
  2. c. 1506–1510Nuremberg-Augsburg foundry belt · Holy Roman EmpireIn the later 1500s, foundries in Nuremberg and Augsburg introduced or imitated water-powered boring mills, boring and straightening wrought-iron barrels, enabling states of the Holy Roman Empire and Swiss mercenaries to equip more precise field cannon; boring became one of the core secrets of Europe's military industry.

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