What Type Steel And Size To Use.

[kvt]

I am looking to make a small cannon that can shoot golf balls, or I call it a golf ball cannon. What would a good steel be, I was thinking 1018 should work. Next how thick should the walls be. I was thinking somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4. I'm not an engineer and do not know near as much as most of the people on this site.
I am looking more for the noise factor than how far it will shoot a golf ball. But That will be fun as well.
any suggestions will be appreciated. Even places to look etc.

 

[John Hasler]

I am looking to make a small cannon that can shoot golf balls, or I call it a golf ball cannon. What would a good steel be, I was thinking 1018 should work. Next how thick should the walls be. I was thinking somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4. I'm not an engineer and do not know near as much as most of the people on this site.
I am looking more for the noise factor than how far it will shoot a golf ball. But That will be fun as well.
any suggestions will be appreciated. Even places to look etc.

Depends entirely on what kind of propellant you intend to use and how much.

 

[kingmt01]

For noise just smack a big piece of steel with a hammer.

3/4 sounds extreme but in this case extreme might not be bad. Considering once the projectile leaves the barrel the the barrel becomes a rocket pointed back at you. So the more weight the less the rocket can be propelled back.

 

[kvt]

I have a little cannon uses like a 1/4 inch projectile that uses the smokeless gun powder and figure using it in this as well. It should not be like a rocket pointed back at me as it will be mounted in something that should dig into the ground is all works right.

 

[kvt]

Depends entirely on what kind of propellant you intend to use and how much.

as much as I can without blowing up it up. When I put a golf ball in it instead of just a wad, I would like to see it at least go as far as you can drive it with a club.

 

[John Hasler]

as much as I can without blowing up it up.

That will depend on the type and quantity of the propellant and the dimensions and material of the gun. I suggest that you research spudguns, potato guns, and tennis ball guns that use propane.

 

[John Hasler]

I have a little cannon uses like a 1/4 inch projectile that uses the smokeless gun powder and figure using it in this as well.

Do that without proper calculations and design and you may find out the hard way that you've made a pipe bomb.

 

[kingmt01]

as much as I can without blowing up it up. When I put a golf ball in it instead of just a wad, I would like to see it at least go as far as you can drive it with a club.

I don't know how to proof a load without a case to read the pressure. In my opinion you'd have two options in powder for that. One would be the best performance being Red Dot & the other being Trail Boss which would be safer & hard to blow up anything built decently.

I've never built a cannon or launched a goofball. So take my advice with a grain of salt. I do work with several powders & work up loads with unknown powder that has no data. So I'd consider that there is very little weight to a goofball & very little surface contact with the walls of the chamber. Plastic is very flexible also so a fast building pressure will be hard to achieve. That would have me wanting the fastest dependable powder I could find. If the barrel is going to be 18ish inches or longer you might get by with a slower powder. But I'd stick to pistol powder.

 

[John Hasler]

I've never built a cannon or launched a goofball.

I have helped launch a bowling ball to 5000' feet but that was from a short mortar. We used schedule 80 pipe welded to a 1/2" plate and black powder.The pipe survived at least a dozen firings that I know of. The gun was buried with only the lip of muzzle uncovered and in a pit so that the muzzle was about a foot below the surface. The crew and observers were kept about 200 yards away.

 

[kingmt01]

That sound fun right there. I don't care who you are. Lol