Sewer Pipe Mortar

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HHHHMMMMMM............... now I am a pipefitter by trad and this really has my gears a turnin ;)
 
I like the way that the bowling balls whistle when they're fired off.
In some of the youtube videos it's really loud and clear, especially where there's mountains in the distance that create whistling echos.
 
Pipe + Black powder = BOMB

These mortars have sub chambers machined out of steel to contain the powder charge the pipe (which should be seamless) just guides the projectile kind of like the 40mm grenades they use the High/low pressure principle a small chamber area to contain the initial explosive forces and then a larger bore area where the lower pressure propelling gasses push out the projectile. A rule of thumb for powder chambers is at least one bore size wall thickness around the high pressure chamber area i.e. if your chambers bore is 1 inch your should have at least a 1 inch thick wall of steel around it. These mortars can be lots of fun I have golf ball sized ones and soda can sized ones. Loads of fun just be careful when constructing them and use proper materials.

Andy
Legion Ville Historical Society
www.legionville.com
 
That was great! Thanks for sharing!

I saw a similar stunt recently on Mythbusters: They cut the bottom off a large oxygen cylinder, inserted the fuse through the valve end, and were able to launch a bowling ball about 1600 feet, using 30,000 paper match heads as propellant!

I think the oxygen cylinder is a better tube than sewer pipe. The match heads are a gimmick - but something to remember for hard times...

All these ideas are fraught with danger, but the adrenaline rush produced by launching a large projectile over 1000 yards has to be a "high" as good as can be achieved by any other means!:D
 
Andy,

Neat website. I didn't get a chance to visit Stony Point the other week when I was at Fort Montgomery. We were there for The Company of Military Historians' annual conference. Had a talk on Fort Montgomery, a behind the scenes tour of the NY State Military Museum in Saratoga, a behind the scenes tour of the armory at West Point Army Museum, a visit to Waterveliet Arsenal Museum, the USS Slater (DE), Phillip Schuyler's home (Albany). Next year we're going to Fairfax County, Virginia and will probably have a behind the scenes tour of the NRA museum. Join!
 
I think I saw a piece of heavy pipe at work that just might work. It was left over from a prodject. It's about 2ft. long and about 1.5 to 2in. wall thickness. I'll check it on monday.
 
Pipe + Black powder = BOMB

These mortars have sub chambers machined out of steel to contain the powder charge the pipe (which should be seamless) just guides the projectile kind of like the 40mm grenades they use the High/low pressure principle a small chamber area to contain the initial explosive forces and then a larger bore area where the lower pressure propelling gasses push out the projectile. A rule of thumb for powder chambers is at least one bore size wall thickness around the high pressure chamber area i.e. if your chambers bore is 1 inch your should have at least a 1 inch thick wall of steel around it. These mortars can be lots of fun I have golf ball sized ones and soda can sized ones. Loads of fun just be careful when constructing them and use proper materials.
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Some great info in there about cannon design. I've seen the golf ball cannons and want to do one someday. Any suggestions on the amount of powder to use for a golf ball cannon? And if it is a fairly small amount what sort of powder charge chamber do you have in your own golf ball cannons?
 
NOTICE: BY REDUCING THE BORE BY ONLY +-.060" THOUSANDS AND USING ONLY ABOUT 400 GRAINS FFG, I GET AND EXTRA 300 TO 400 FEET OF FLIGHT FOR A TOTAL OF 3,350 FEET OF GOLF BALL DISTANCE WITH THE MORTAR AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE. (golf balls come in at 1.687" but need a bit of room for expansion and deformity, hence my calculations for bore diameter)
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http://www.cannonthunder.com/services.html

Look at the reasonably priced golf ball mortars and cannons that this outfit has, plus many others.
One golf ball mortar without trunions is $115 delivered, and another with trunions is $159 delivered.
Plus there's "booming" videos of some of these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfPq-vvSo58

Click around this site to learn more:

http://www.cannonthunder.com/index.html
 
LOL That mortor is just cool !

But, who chose the color for the base? :neener: Do you have that license plate frame? .... "I'd rather be shooting a titleist" :evil:
 
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