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There are a bunch of us out here who biuld and shoot homemade black powder cannons. Some as small as.75 inch to a nutbar buddy of mine wh has a 5 inch. Anyone out there that has tried this out?
 
Small Cannons

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Absolutely! I have an Atlas 10x36 inch lathe and an Aamco 7 inch metal shaper. I have built several working cannon.

Some of the old "Science and Mechanics" and "Mechanics Illustrated" magazines from before 1965 used to have all kinds of neat projects in them, cannons included. You might try "Live Steam" magazine for back issues of a working model U.S. Civil War Parrott gun. The author's name was William F. Green, and the construction plans were over four issues.

Mortars are relatively easy to make, but cannon are more difficult, due to the location of the trunions. Carriages are fairly easy if you can do woodworking.

There is a great book called "Round Shot and Rammers" that covers muzzle loading artillery, and has lots of detailed plans and drawings in it. You might be able to pick up a copy on E-bay, as they are out of print. There may be some in librairies that you could photocopy plans out of.

Start small......under one inch bore diameter. The larger you go, the powder charge increases dramatically, so the smaller models are more economical.

USE ONLY BLACK POWDER, NEVER EVER SMOKELESS.
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My son made the barrel for this one in high school :D it's a 50 cal
another board member here , built the carriage and wheels
IMG_0004.jpg
 
Any of you guys have trouble with the cannon's connection the carriage? I was watching a myth busters TYPE show and they had built a single cannon and a double barrel for shooting two balls connected by a large chain. Both cannons blew off their carriages and shattered the wooden frame no matter how well they reinforced it. The two ball and chain shot didn't work either as the force of the balls broke the chain apart, but it did add some shrapnel to the shot.
 
caljay30 said:
Any of you guys have trouble with the cannon's connection the carriage? I was watching a myth busters TYPE show and they had built a single cannon and a double barrel for shooting two balls connected by a large chain. Both cannons blew off their carriages and shattered the wooden frame no matter how well they reinforced it. The two ball and chain shot didn't work either as the force of the balls broke the chain apart, but it did add some shrapnel to the shot.
Click to expand...

Haven't had that problem .....yet..;) , never tried chain shot :)

Nice job Threemorewishes , a beauty.
 
Here's a question out of the blue: I will inherit two cannons sometime in the future. One is a 9-Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loader, the other a small caronnade. Before I get myself into trouble, what steps would a prudent man take to examine these tubes for faults or cracks? An industrial x-ray machine would show me answers to what sort of answers?
 
Some nice looking cannons there :D
Quick clip of a cannon at Heffley


I've circled the orange that was just fired .

IMG_0102.jpg


More Heffley cannons

Heffley.jpg


mini cannons I know there's a saftey infraction there, ;)that's why I posted it.

WCRRondy2005003.jpg


Saved the biggest for last.

HeffleyCannon.jpg
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
Here's a question out of the blue: I will inherit two cannons sometime in the future. One is a 9-Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loader, the other a small caronnade. Before I get myself into trouble, what steps would a prudent man take to examine these tubes for faults or cracks? An industrial x-ray machine would show me answers to what sort of answers?
Click to expand...

I've only seen X ray machines that would only do about 1" at a time, like a pipe weld.
There is a process called a dye penetrant test , it's the lowest grade of testing IMO,there is a test using magnetic particle, which might fit the bill for your cannons ?
Do you have an Accuren non destructive testing company nearby ? or any other NDT outfit ?
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
Here's a question out of the blue: I will inherit two cannons sometime in the future. One is a 9-Pounder Rifled Muzzle Loader, the other a small caronnade. Before I get myself into trouble, what steps would a prudent man take to examine these tubes for faults or cracks? An industrial x-ray machine would show me answers to what sort of answers?
Click to expand...

My modus operundi is to first proof fire with double charge and ball in a safe place , keep ball tight to powder ( no space) . Observers well in the clear and long fuse.
Then if (after inspection) only use light charges and one ball for normal shooting. Even consider re-lining the barrels to something smaller and less mass.

There is an incident in the U.S. about 7 years ago , a shooter used a wad of bread to fire a salute in his cannon , it failed and 2 people died. One of the dead was the local sherrifs brother , and the owner landed in jail.
Cannons are fun but damn , you MUST be careful.

Mortars , because of design , are way safer and the audience love to watch the trajectory.....
 
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Any commercial sources for cannons these days? For those of us lacking a full metal working shop.
 
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