Since you mentioned that it weighs about 1100 pounds (est) and is unmounted,
this shouldn't be too much of a hassle. If you have a shop crew or access to
someone like Freighters and Craters it would be very helpful for you in the
long run to have a cradle built with casters that will support the weight.
For the cradle, you would want to support the tub in at least two places,
both fore and aft of the trunions so that the weight is fairly evenly
distributed. The cradle supports would also be cut to match the tube profile
and padded with something like ethafoam over cotton batting. Once it's in
storage, I personally would leave it on the cradle so it can be moved when
needed.

As for lifting the tube, if you have a forklift or larger pallet jack, put
some padding on the forks (tape a piece of ethafoam on them) if you can get
under the gun. If you need to lift from above, the heavy nylon straps
designed for lifting will work-use two. You don't need to go very high, just
enough to get it off the floor and onto the cradle. Once on the cradle,
again, if you have access, the forklift can then move it to the transport
vehicle. My guess is that this tube, even if it has been outside for a
substantial amount of time (unless under salt water), is not going to be
degraded so much that you have to worry about it crumbling. Your two biggest
worries are damaging the patina/surface and possibly dropping it, but if it
is well supported, then that's not much worry.

If you'd like to address the specifics of your situation, please feel free
to contact me off list at:

dtwiss [at] mainehistory.org or danatwiss [at] prexar.com


Dana Twiss
Inventory and Cataloging Project Manager, Maine Historical Society
Black Powder Artillerist

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