CDSG Member Jack Buckmeir has begun an ambitious project to restore Battery Pratt, a circa 1900s seacoast artillery battery at Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon, to "active status." With the help of the Friends of Old Fort Stevens (FOOFS) and Fort Stevens State Park, Jack has begun to build a working replica of one of the 6-inch disappearing guns once installed in the battery. As of April 2006 the main parts of the gun and carriage are complete. Jack has finished reworking the elevation arm and has now fitted on the gun. Next will be the retraction gearing & shafts and the counterweight system.
Battery Pratt, April 2006
January 2006
Jack had to spend some time building an engineering model of the gun and building some specialized machinery. For example, he built a drill press capable of boring large holes in the sideframes in-place. The largest hole he has bored with it so far is 4 inches in diameter through 1 1/2 inches of plate.
November 2005:
Jack has installed the elevation band and some of the elevation mechanism. The cutting has since been incorporated into the elevation arm. They have been attempting to unplug the gun well drain (to no avail) and it's usually dark by the time they get finished. Jack thinks a bunch of kids packed it with rocks and needs to get the pit drained to install some of the mechanism.
He had to revise some of his plans for the retraction mechanism and since have acquired all the necessary gears and shafts.
Right now, he is building an engineering model mock-up so he can accurately gage the preponderance of the counterweight and the spacing for the elevation band. The counterweight will be cast in concrete pieces since the barrel is lighter than the original, which will allow them to avoid the use of lead.
October 2004:
Jack has finished the construction of the gun levers and has brought them to the site and mounted them on the carriage. Jack plans on removing the wooden platform the barrel sits on and placing it on the other side of the battery for the new barrel after the levers can support the original barrel. There is a possiblity for CDSG Fund participation in the Pratt reconstruction. Jack is working on possibly having the CDSG fund the sighting platform and column with some related hardware. The column would have a donation plaque placed on it denoting the CDSG Fund Grant participation.
November 2001:
I ordered 12,272 lbs of steel at the end of June 2001 for the carriage. This included all I needed for the base ring, roller assembly, top racer plate and both carriage sideframes. Expenditures thus far have been $13,000 for the project. With the barrel and counterweight, I am expecting the finished weight will be around 30,000 lbs. for the entire work.
I also ordered a bent crane piece to replace the original crane hoist, from the rolling mill and installed it in early July. I use the crane to lift smaller pieces onto the battery. It comes in real handy as I am able to lift 600 lbs. with it.
August 2002:
Construction has proceeded more slowly than anticipated. Since we are working with incomplete and much revised original drawings, engineering has become a nightmare of fitting the puzzle together so it forms a nicely finished piece. Progress is steady but too slow to suit my tastes. I'm as anxious as anyone to see the work completed, but it has to be done right.
In addition to completing the base ring assembly I have so far erected the side frames and raised the barrel with additional cribbing to give more working space to install retraction gear, elevation gear, and crosshead mechanisms. I am installing those mechanisms now and preparing to install the recoil transom and cylinders. More pictures to follow soon.
February 2003:
The Board of Directors of FOOFS approved the project of completely restoring Battery Pratt to operational status within the next 5 - 10 years. This includes rebuilding of the plotting tower behind the museum and building a disappearing gun and carriage for emplacement #2 as well as complete restoration of the galleries and equipment. The Board set the budget meeting for gun #2 this July, at which time an Action Plan will be implemented to achieve this goal. FOOFS has decided to farm out more of the fabrication work in order to speed up the project.
The Friends of Old Fort Stevens (FOOFS) had this 200 lb. Parrott Rifle built locally out of steel. The bore is 8 inches and the rifle is fired with a salute charge with a spring recoil mechanism that pulls the rifle back the length of the carriage to simulate recoil. FOOFS expended $2000 for the rifle tube and $2500 for the carriage. This is one of a series planned to be built to completely re-arm the Ft. Stevens Earthworks. Next on the list will be a 15-inch Rodman and carriage.
In the summer of 2004, a interpretive replica emplacement was built near the museum for the 200 lb. Parrott Rifle. FOOFS named the emplacement Bty. Lewis E. Scott after FOOFS Board Member Lew Scott, who was the driving force behind the construction of both the weapon and the emplacement.