Blackpowder, bowling balls and sewer pipe! (Fire in the hole!!!)

One Fine September Morning... ^

[FLCowboy,]

Reminds me of my younger days when a buddy and I each had a cannon made of cold rolled steel tubing about 24 inches long, with a plug welded into the back end, and the fuse hole drilled into the chamber, similar to the one above. Our ammo was beer cans filled with cement.

Our gun mounts were the same, a few 2x4s and a shovel to set the back end of the cannon into the dirt. We only used a couple of tablespoons of black powder, a half sheet of newspaper for wadding, and a baseball bat for the ramrod.

Our range was about 400 yards, and we were accurate enough to put the beer can between two tree trunks about 10 feet apart. Thanks for the memories...

[Eaker]

A bowling balls diameter ranges from 8.496727273" to 8.591545455". While 10" schedule 160 pipe has a wall thickness of 1.125" leaving a bore of 8.5".

A bit of a tight fit. If you use schedule 60 seamless X-60 pipe you would have a better fit and lower pressures.

My .223 cents worth.

[Vigilantcitizen]

Some sort of electronic ignition system, such as model rocket igniters, would add some degree of safety.

Looks like fun.

[Eaker]

how he secured the breech to the barrel.

It appears that he welded a piece of plate to the pipe. He should have used a cap instead.

This is the same reason that you never see a rectangular pressure vessel.

Of course I have been wrong before!!! Just ask my wife!

;<)

[Noumenon]

wrap it with a couple hundred yards of fiberglass tape, it'll be just fine :)

As Red Green says, "Carpe ductum"

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I am pi$$ed you didn't ping me to this! I assure you I can come up with some haevy wall pipe and a place between here and Austin to fire it. I can even get a couple of cops and a judge to go with us and keep us out of jail.

All you need is the welding, powder and shot.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I want to take out a million dollar life insurance policy on ya Eaker before ya light that sucker ......figure I'll just have to make one premium payment........:o)

Great idea. Eaker does have a history of things like this blowing up in his face!!!

[lodwick]

OUTSTANDING!

I want one...

Cheers, mh

[Eaker]

I am pi$$ed you didn't ping me to this!

Old ping list mistake!! Won't happen again!

I think we need Squantos too. Safety, ya know!

[Vigilantcitizen]

"I do agree that sewer pipe is a poor choice."

I'm not a pipe guy, but would gas pipe, as in mains, be a better choice?

This looks like a fun project though I have a couple of improvements in mind.

First, an electronic ignition sytem, such as a model rocket ignitor system, would be far safer than a manual fuse.

Second, some sort of carriage type base, where the barrel sits on a slide and has springs similar to heavy duty trucks to absorb recoil. And, mount it all on a trailer with swing out down jack plates at the corners for stability.

The modeling portion of R and D starts tomorrow.

[Eaker]

See post #79.

I can fine tune the calcs. Monday at work.

We could make this happen!!!

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

The thing to do is take it to the beach, in winter. Pick a nice tall dune to get on top of, and pretend you're an artillery gunner at Fort McHenry.

Eaker this might work. I know the police chief at Jamaica Beach on Bolivar. He was in Rotary with me when he was a Lt in Missouri City and I would be happy to ask him.

[Darksheare]

Hey, didn't see ya in here!
Having been in artillery...I want one myself!
Heck, I'd also like to build a Railgun to fire off soda can sized objects..

[Eaker]

I'm not a pipe guy, but would gas pipe, as in mains, be a better choice?

Pipe engineering and design is part of what my firm does. We build grass roots natural gas compressor stations.

Post 79 details preliminary specifications.

We also need someone to deterime if a 9.5" bore is suitable for a 8.6" bowling ball. Schedule 140 pipe would give a bore of 8.75".

Anybody here know which would be better???

[Centurion2000]

And here's Al Gore teaching the folks on the range about mortar safety.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

.... Shoot the thing all month safely

Well hell, there goes the fun!!! ;-)

[Centurion2000]

And people ask me WHY I joined Field Artillery.

Shoot Move Communicate .... and watch the fireworks.

[AnAmericanMother]

Back in the day when we were professional fireworkers, we developed a system to electronically ignite our aerial shells. We were the only folks using an electronic system - but we were the only working team that NEVER had a hangfire on launch. It either WENT or it DIDN'T (sometimes on damp nights our lifting charge wouldn't lift though). Other teams were impressed and some started using it, but most folks stuck to the old fuse-and-quickmatch system.

I wouldn't use a trailer - there's a lot more play in a trailer than you would think. But I think a permanent carriage system (probably some sort of cradle) would be a good idea. I wouldn't try to absorb all that energy - let Mother Earth do it - she's used to it.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Eaker;

It seems you have most of the material needs worked out. I will look for a location if that's ok with you.

I would really be interested in how far the shot will travel and thought perhaps bobbyd could stand down range as a forward observer? He might even use his baseball skills and catch the thing!

[AnAmericanMother]

Famous last words: "Hey - I thought YOU were "Sponge" - and do I see something bright down in there?"

No gunner worth his salt would have any vital portion of his anatomy covering the muzzle.