A Clarion County man who could make a cannon out of a vehicle's drive shaft and had his own "lightning machine," pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court to selling firearms without a license.

Morgan Jones, 65, of Lucinda, was scheduled to go to trial this week. Instead he will be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose on Oct. 5.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Picking, Mr. Jones was one of several men targeted in Western Pennsylvania as part of an undercover investigation into the sale of illegal firearms and militias that began in October 2006.

During the investigation, Ms. Picking said, recordings were made of conversations between Mr. Jones and others regarding the sale of firearms with undercover agents, including selling an AK-47 to a man he believed was from Ohio.

During a search of Mr. Jones' residence on June 8, 2008, agents seized 93 guns and 60,000 rounds of ammunition, Ms. Picking said.

She also described a .50-caliber weapon Mr. Jones had that was fired with an armor-piercing incendiary round at one of his so-called "flamethrower" parties.

It was fired into a tire filled with oxy-acetylene to cause an explosion.

At a previous hearing, an investigator described another device made by Mr. Jones that was only 18 inches tall and 12 inches wide that could shoot a flame 40 feet.

Following Ms. Picking's summary of the evidence against Mr. Jones, defense attorney Martin Dietz told the judge that his client disagreed with some of what was said.

"Mr. Jones was never a member of any organized militia," he said. And, he added, he doesn't have any anti-government sentiment.

Judge Ambrose said she did not assume either of those things from the information provided to her.

According to Mr. Dietz, the recommended guideline range for Mr. Jones' crime is 18 to 24 months in prison.