Anyone else own a cannon?

A machinist friend and I built this one. 1" dia. seamless, high pressure steam pipe. 3/4" wall on this pipe, and it's modern alloy.

We plugged the breech using a forumla from an neighborhood engineer. We cool the plug in liquid nitrogen and heat the breech to cherry red. Plug is oversized per a formula, and when the assemblage cools the pieces are molecularly bonded -- pressure welded. Plug runs 2" into the breech.

We ran a welded bead around the breech plug, just for added measure.

Barrel is 12" long. This for a couple reasons: One is lathe capacity. But mostly it's because a 12" barrel won't develop excessive back pressures for normal loads -- because the powder column takes up bore length and "oveloads" just spit unburned powder out the muzzle.

I built a carriage from oak pallets out of the local John Deere shop. 4 x 4 white oak, and hardware for fences from the feed store. (It's a country cannon, looks like a naval cannon, but doesn't "replicate" anything.)

Barrel weighs 22 lbs. Carriage weighs 15 lbs.

It shoots a 3 oz lead ball, or a C cell battery. 150 grains of f BP is impressive. But for "blank" firing at 4th of July and celebrations, it's spectacular with a 35 mm film can of f BP (approx. 500 gr.) and about six sheets of toilet paper wadding.


BOOM! Cloud of smoke the size of a semi-truck/trailer. Echoes down the valley for about 20 seconds.

I gotta find a PhotoBucket account and get some pix up here.

Ohhhhhh yeah . . . Link to Cannon Mania:

http://www.cannon-mania.com/

I built a replica Coehorn mortar using a 9" long stainless steel pipe, sleeved with 2 layers of Schedule 80 iron pipe, with a 6000 psi pipe cap on the end. Takes two 3 dram scoops of ffG, and puts a golf ball out of sight. Sorta like bigfoot's 9-iron. Used 5/4" mahogany for the carriage/platform, and 3/8" threaded rod for elevation adjustments. Last time I tried to post a photo, I got a "not allowed to post images" note.

Well, mine looks just like the 1848 Coehorn mortar that Cannon-Mania shows in their catalog. I never found just how far mine shot, but the splashes in a local swamp looked like 500 yds out.

Well, where's the picture??

Yep!! Built this one in High School machining class. 16" overall, 12" barrel, 1" bore. We generally just shoot blanks out of it. 650gr of FFg and a couple of magazine pages to hold it all in. Gives one HELL of a boom!!

Many decades ago, when gun-related projects were still tolerated in public school shop classes, we had a foundry unit in which we cast an aluminum cannon barrel, carriage, and wheels. I turned a steel bar to fit the bore and drilled a half inch hole for most of its length. We epoxied it in place and drilled a touch hole. I actually got extra credit for the enhancements. I proofed it behind the barn. I made a nasty little noisemaker and launched more than a few .490 roundballs during my early BP years. These days I suppose a kid making such an implement in school would end up in therapy, after being subdued by the SWAT team.

Not nearly as cool as an old Oxygen tank and ten pin bowling balls.

Having crewed on 3,6,and 12-pounder cannons, both Naval and Field artillery, while playing the Re-ennactor game for many years, may I offer a bit of advise? Any size cannon should have the bore swabbed with water between shots, especially if using any kind of paper product for wadding. The possibility of a latent spark residing in the bore from a previous shot is very real, and it will ignite the next charge as it is being rammed home. I've known it to happen. The guy has gone through life for 35 yrs. now with most of his right hand missing.

Swab with a wet sponge/mop of some sort, followed with a dry mop. In the "service" we went straight to ramming the charge after first "worming" the bore (to remove the big chunks of left-behind wadding/cartridge wrapper)and then wet sponging. Our charges were contained in foil, or sewn linen or silk bagged cartridges. We loaded swivel guns with loose powder, but still followed all safety precautions.

You haven't had a blackpowder "rush" until you've touched off a 12-pounder loaded with canister shot. That's 192 .69cal. lead balls propelled by a pound of powder. Think HUGE shotgun!

Sorry for being long winded. Cannon safety is a biggy with me.

quote:

Originally posted by El Deguello:
Well, where's the picture??

Yeah! Sorry -- posting here before I figured out the picture thing.



Our more recent stuff has welded trunions and they're longer. We have some w/ bores for golf balls.

But this is "Number 1" -- the prototype. Doesn't replicate anything, but gawd! Gawd! what a boom with just toilet paper and powder.

I run a broom-stick down the bore between shots. And give it all some time to "cool down" and "burn out" before a reload.

Shot enough muzzle loaders to know about cinders!