# Golf ball mortar



## eugene13 (Mar 28, 2020)

I've always wanted to build one, and i guess the stars aligned; I started out with some 2 7/8 conveyor head shaft, the 1 1/2 drill at 60 rpm makes the lathe howl, I have another inch deeper to go, the bore will finish at 1.68.  Black powder or Pyrodex, that is the question.


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## owl (Mar 28, 2020)

I use black powder in mine.  with the wide bore, it is pretty easy to wash out


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## 38super (Mar 28, 2020)

Would pyrodex pellets work?
My bad, been done before


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## Dhal22 (Mar 29, 2020)

Most construction workers have made a potato launcher.   Mine would send a potato further than the eye could follow.   What fun.


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## Nutfarmer (Mar 29, 2020)

When finished please post a picture


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## Aukai (Mar 29, 2020)

Golf clubs don't launch straight enough?


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## DavidR8 (Mar 29, 2020)

I'm not sure what kind of range a ball launched from one of these might have but I recall being hit by a golf ball hit from the tee box on a golf course and receiving some serious injury.
Food for thought on usage.


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## mmcmdl (Mar 29, 2020)

I used to launch golf balls out of a pipe propelled by blockbusters (1/4 sticks ) . I never found a one of them !


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## eugene13 (Mar 29, 2020)

DavidR8 said:


> I'm not sure what kind of range a ball launched from one of these might have but I recall being hit by a golf ball hit from the tee box on a golf course and receiving some serious injury.
> Food for thought on usage.


Lots of open area around where I live, I'll be careful, like any gun, don't point it at anything you don't want to kill.


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## brasssmanget (Mar 29, 2020)

Lots of fun. Shot many a  golf ball off the AR launchers [w/blanks], and used to launch beer cans from seamless tubes w/35mm film cans full of BP. Both would launch to "out-of-sight" distances......better to know what's beyond the hill if you let one fly.


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## mickri (Mar 29, 2020)

In this day and age you had best check the laws on firearms on the legality of your mortar.  Anything that ejects a projectile by an explosive charge is considered a firearm.


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## rgray (Mar 29, 2020)

What about propane?
I've never built one or even been around one but remember hearing about potato guns that were propane.

Wouldn't think it would have the power of powder, but would sure be convenient.


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## Packard V8 (Mar 29, 2020)

rgray said:


> What about propane?
> I've never built one or even been around one but remember hearing about potato guns that were propane.
> 
> Wouldn't think it would have the power of powder, but would sure be convenient.


A search will give you hours of reading about fellow crazoids learning what to do and not to do with propane cannons.

jack vines


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## mickri (Mar 29, 2020)

You would need to get a legal opinion on what is considered to be an explosive charge.  In most state you can build a legal firearm for your own personal use.  I don't know if a mortar is a legal firearm.


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## Dhal22 (Mar 29, 2020)

rgray said:


> What about propane?
> I've never built one or even been around one but remember hearing about potato guns that were propane.
> 
> Wouldn't think it would have the power of powder, but would sure be convenient.



I'm a plumber so we used acetelyne.   Much much more boom!


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## rgray (Mar 29, 2020)

Dhal22 said:


> I'm a plumber so we used acetelyne



Yes heard of that and butane also.
The rub with all of those is straight they are much weaker than with the right amount of air? Is that correct?
With acetylene you could just add oxygen easily....When one gets to that point the powder is starting to look like the safer option, as long as one starts with a small enough charge.


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## Dhal22 (Mar 29, 2020)

My potato launcher has a ball valve for gas introduction,  I just open the valve and my torch and let it fill.   Close the valve and it's charged.   I epoxied a grill lighter in my launcher,  1 click and goodbye potato.  Shot some potatoes into our construction (shipping) storage container years ago and dented the end wall of the container.   Vaporized the potatoes.


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## Cooter Brown (Mar 29, 2020)

mickri said:


> You would need to get a legal opinion on what is considered to be an explosive charge.  In most state you can build a legal firearm for your own personal use.  I don't know if a mortar is a legal firearm.




As long as the charge and the projectile are 2 separate parts and not housed in a metal cartridge this would fall under the definition of a muzzle loader and not a firearm, Muzzle loaders are completely unregulated. But if it was a firearm it would still be legal to own and build as long as its 26" or longer and not full auto..... lol

Your not in California you will have no problems with that....


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## pontiac428 (Mar 29, 2020)

I think what @mickri is suggesting is to Google the words ATF and destructive device together before going further. This is where good fun intersects with federal felony if you're not careful.


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## Dhal22 (Mar 29, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> I think what @mickri is suggesting is to Google the words ATF and destructive device together before going further. This is where good fun intersects with federal felony if you're not careful.




Good point.   My cousin's boyfriend years ago (army demolitions) made pipe bombs for fun.   He would blow them up on the other side of a pond dam.  Back in the 80's btw, since big brother just noticed this post.   Tremendous boom but no way in the world would any sane person do that today,  no matter how far out in the country you are.


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## Cadillac (Mar 29, 2020)

From what I've read anything powered by black powder is ok to own.


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## eugene13 (Mar 30, 2020)

Glad to have generated such interest, as far as the legality of this thing goes, I operate on the principle of;  "It's easier to get forgiveness than permission".  I used a automotive cylinder hone to finish the bore at 1.681" a golf ball slips in with just a little pressure, then I turned it around to machine the attachment for the elevation screw.  Must have gotten the feed and speed right, look at that nice blue chip. I didn't like the square boxy look so I tapered the bottom of the barrel 30 deg.  QUESTION when cutting a taper like this is it better to go ID to center or center to ID?  In this instance ID to center gave a better finish but center to ID seemed to take less effort.


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## mattthemuppet2 (Mar 30, 2020)

this'll be a fun build! Not much interested in guns, but cannons, that's a different kettle of fish. Would love to make a potato cannon one day. I guess if I wanted "armor piercing" I could use sweet potatoes instead


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## Tolerent (Mar 30, 2020)

Dhal22 said:


> I'm a plumber so we used acetelyne.   Much much more boom!


Oh my... We had someone at the plant I worked at fill a 32 gallon trash bag with acetylene oxygen mix and set it in the bed of a pickup truck. They tossed stick matches at it from 3 floors above in the parking garage. Broke EVERY single window in the truck and blew out the old wooden bed floor. broke a few windows about 200 to 300 feet down the alley. The truck was probably 1950's vintage. To be fair I never noticed the truck windows prior to the big bang. Some may have already been broken. Not sure.
I never thought about it till just now but wonder how they avoided a static electric micro-spark setting it off while maneuvering the bag around.


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## Dhal22 (Mar 30, 2020)

Stick a 2-3' piece of copper pipe in an aluminum soda can and let the heavy acetylene gas trickle down it and into the can.   Light the pipe and it burns like a candle but the flame slowly gets bigger.   Eventually the flame makes it's way down to the can and boom,  now you have a split can. 

Just stuff we did on big construction jobs, owned my own company for 20+ years and no time to play anymore.


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## Cadillac (Mar 30, 2020)

Some twenty five years ago I watch two fellas build a caged ramps for some half a dozen oxy tanks. Placed the ramp in the back of a full size pickup. Drove down to the lake front “Lake Michigan” loaded the tanks valve down and slammed the valve off with sledge hammer. Man what a sight this was before cell phone cameras so it’s all memory. They must of shot 100yds if not more and pretty straight for no fins. Was pretty cool expectially at that age.


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## Dhal22 (Mar 30, 2020)

The things we do as kids.......


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## Cadillac (Mar 30, 2020)

And still have ten fingers and toes Be safe


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## Tolerent (Mar 30, 2020)

Cadillac said:


> Some twenty five years ago I watch two fellas build a caged ramps for some half a dozen oxy tanks. Placed the ramp in the back of a full size pickup. Drove down to the lake front “Lake Michigan” loaded the tanks valve down and slammed the valve off with sledge hammer. Man what a sight this was before cell phone cameras so it’s all memory. They must of shot 100yds if not more and pretty straight for no fins. Was pretty cool expectially at that age.


That would be pretty dangerous with nitrogen or CO2 tanks. I would not have had the courage do it with an Oxygen tank.  

Oh... for anyone doubting my courage to do it with a less reactive compressed gas tank. I think you're probably right.


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## eugene13 (Mar 31, 2020)

When I was a little kid I watched some older kids fire CO2  cartridges off through a piece of pipe, using a hammer and nail to pierce the seal, they went pretty far, I've always dreamed of ramping it up with a bigger pipe and a compressed gas cylinder, I figured you could shoot the valve off with a rifle. Mythbusters did a similar experiment to see how thick of a wall they could penetrate, I think they used a Gullotine type device to bust of the valves.


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## macardoso (Mar 31, 2020)

eugene13 said:


> When I was a little kid I watched some older kids fire CO2  cartridges off through a piece of pipe, using a hammer and nail to pierce the seal, they went pretty far, I've always dreamed of ramping it up with a bigger pipe and a compressed gas cylinder, I figured you could shoot the valve off with a rifle. Mythbusters did a similar experiment to see how thick of a wall they could penetrate, I think they used a Gullotine type device to bust of the valves.



I did that with those small CO2 cartridges and a pipe with a nail at the bottom. Felt exactly like firing a mortar, drop one in and boom! They didn't fly very straight but you probably got 100' or more out of them.

I also got into fireworks and very amateur rocketry. Would make big bottle rockets in rolled paper tubes made specifically for the fireworks industry. I figured out after some time that it was easy to cap both ends and make a big M80. Refined the design with some carefully cut open Christmas light bulbs stuffed with black powder as electronic igniters. Put some sizable craters in my parents yard this way.


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## Janderso (Mar 31, 2020)

eugene13 said:


> When I was a little kid I watched some older kids fire CO2  cartridges off through a piece of pipe, using a hammer and nail to pierce the seal, they went pretty far, I've always dreamed of ramping it up with a bigger pipe and a compressed gas cylinder, I figured you could shoot the valve off with a rifle. Mythbusters did a similar experiment to see how thick of a wall they could penetrate, I think they used a Gullotine type device to bust of the valves.


I lost 2 and a half fingers to a CO2 bomb. Emptied out we put match heads inside and compressed them = boom.
Knocked me out cold. When I woke up my head was ringing, I couldn't hear a thing and I had blood shooting out from two formerly positioned fingers.
It was not a great day.
I still love black powder and the 4th of July


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## matthewsx (Mar 31, 2020)

Yeah, be careful. This kind of stuff can get you dead in a hurry.

Two related stories (yeah just two but I could probably come up with more).

First the fun one, when I was young before Burning Man days we used to do some shows with Survival Research Laboratories. Founder Mark Pauline also is down a few fingers but that's a different story. Anyway we were doing a show in Seattle I think and one of my jobs was filling balloons with oxy/acetylene mixture. They made a great boom when hit by one of the flamethrowers but what we hadn't anticipated was some of them didn't go off. At the end of the show we were running around like mad men and women stomping on them because kids wanted to take them home

Second story, not fun. I worked for a while at a company that made airbag initiators, think ammunition plant. One day two of the load room techs were transporting explosive at our sister facility in SoCal and the batch went off. As IT I had to be part of reviewing the video footage from the incident, two fatalities

Be safe out there.

John


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## brasssmanget (Mar 31, 2020)

Man I had forgotten all about the match head pipers from my childhood. Thanks for refreshing some horror moments in my life.


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## Winegrower (Mar 31, 2020)

So a number of years ago i built a compressed air cannon out of PVC pipe and used a lawn sprinkling system electric valve to trigger it.    It was amazingly powerful, and had fun shooting green lemons at a target.   Then, thought I should see how high it would shoot, reviewed the physics, and saw if I timed its fall, I could compute height.   I went out to the driveway, armed an associate with a stopwatch and fired it.   Man that green lemon went high, later we computed it at 600’.    But, just as it started down, I realized that we had 4 cars in the driveway and a rock hard lemon starting down.   I prayed that if it missed the cars I would never shoot it again...it hit 3’ from a new Lexus.   Wow.   I hung it up for good.


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## epanzella (Mar 31, 2020)

Yes it can be dangerous but by using loose black powder poured into the muzzle it is not a firearm. Even a black powder muzzle loading  rifle or a cap & ball black powder pistol is not a firearm.


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## eugene13 (Mar 31, 2020)

epanzella said:


> Yes it can be dangerous but by using loose black powder poured into the muzzle it is not a firearm. Even a black powder muzzle loading powder rifle or a cap & ball black powder pistol is not a firearm.


Whats makes a device a firearm?


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## matthewsx (Mar 31, 2020)

I suggest some research.





__





						Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives |
					






					www.atf.gov
				




If you still have questions contact a qualified lawyer.

John


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## matthewsx (Mar 31, 2020)

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title18/pdf/USCODE-2011-title18-partI-chap44.pdf


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## eugene13 (Mar 31, 2020)

This is getting pretty deep, but I am vastly entertained.


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## Superburban (Mar 31, 2020)

matthewsx said:


> I suggest some research.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Plus, State and local laws define firearms and explosives differently then the feds do.


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## westerner (Mar 31, 2020)

Many years ago, two coworkers were involved in a game of practical joke one-ups-manship. You know the drill. Sooner or later, someone gets their feelings hurt, at least. The last joke in the progression was when the mechanically inclined, uh, participant, filled a garbage bag with acetylene, placed it under the hood of the other fella's car shortly before quitting time,  next to the spark plug wire recently pulled off the plug.
I was not there, but I have it on good authority that the explosion changed many things, including the profiles of the hood *and* the perpetrator's nose.


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## epanzella (Mar 31, 2020)

eugene13 said:


> Whats makes a device a firearm?


The ATF defines firearm as having a self contained cartridge. A shotgun shell in the case of a shotgun and a metallic cartridge in the case of rifles and pistols. A muzzle loading rifle, a muzzle loading shotgun, a muzzle loading pistol, or a cap and ball pistol are not firearms and are subject to the same regulations as a potato.


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## pontiac428 (Apr 1, 2020)

Barrel with a bore more than one-half inch in diameter:



> (4) The term ‘‘destructive device’’ means— (A) any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas— (i) bomb, (ii) grenade, (iii) rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces, (iv) missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce, (v) mine, or (vi) device similar to any of the devices described in the preceding clauses; (B) any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell which the Attorney General finds is generally recognized as particularly suitable for sporting purposes) by whatever name known which will, or which may be readily converted to, expel a projectile by the action of an explosive or other propellant, and which has any barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter; and (C) any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting any device into any destructive device described in subparagraph (A) or (B) and from which a destructive device may be readily assembled.



I will have to re-read to find where canons fit in.  Not many people shooting steel canon balls, usually just tamped wadding to make a boom and a smoke cloud.  I'm sure the answer lays in ATF law, it's just been awhile since I read up.  Somehow the appeal to push the regulatory limits fades with age.


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## Cadillac (Apr 1, 2020)

I work in the golf industry. Our courses up sell at outtings only that if you want to pay five dollars you get to tee off with a air powered golf ball cannon. Similar to a potato gun. All the pvc is schedule80, uses a off the shelf irrigation valve that can be had at Home Depot and the trigger is a air blow gun. You charge the system to 90psi. and if you get the right arc it’ll shoot 150yrds. If you google air powered golf ball shooter it’ll come up. Alittle safer than the typical potato gun charged with propane as we did as kids but still pretty powerful.


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## matthewsx (Apr 1, 2020)

Cadillac said:


> I work in the golf industry. Our courses up sell at outtings only that if you want to pay five dollars you get to tee off with a air powered golf ball cannon. Similar to a potato gun. All the pvc is schedule80, uses a off the shelf irrigation valve that can be had at Home Depot and the trigger is a air blow gun. You charge the system to 90psi. and if you get the right arc it’ll shoot 150yrds. If you google air powered golf ball shooter it’ll come up. Alittle safer than the typical potato gun charged with propane as we did as kids but still pretty powerful.


I had no idea, is this within the regular rules or just for fun?

John


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## Cadillac (Apr 1, 2020)

matthewsx said:


> I had no idea, is this within the regular rules or just for fun?
> 
> John


No it doesn’t follow pga rules. We only do this option for personal/company outings that would want this. They really don’t follow rules in outings it’s more for the enjoyment of the game. Forgot to add that it’s only on the first tee not all eighteen.


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## Dhal22 (Apr 1, 2020)

Cadillac said:


> Forgot to add that it’s only on the first tee not all eighteen.



Bummer......


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## matthewsx (Apr 1, 2020)

Cadillac said:


> No it doesn’t follow pga rules. We only do this option for personal/company outings that would want this. They really don’t follow rules in outings it’s more for the enjoyment of the game. Forgot to add that it’s only on the first tee not all eighteen.


It would be interesting if it were optional for all shots 

John


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## MikeInOr (Apr 1, 2020)

Pretty much anything that is muzzle loaded is OK as far as the feds are concerned.

Pretty much anything breach loaded with a bigger than .5 inch bore is a "destructive device" and requires additional license / tax stamp.

I recommend FG Pyrodex.  I *believe* black powder is classified as an explosive and requires a license to purchase and handle.  A lot of people talk about black powder when they really mean Pyrodex.

The tighter the projectile fits the bigger the bang.  Hence the use of wading.


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## epanzella (Apr 1, 2020)

MikeInOr said:


> Pretty much anything that is muzzle loaded is OK as far as the feds are concerned.
> 
> Pretty much anything breach loaded with a bigger than .5 inch bore is a "destructive device" and requires additional license / tax stamp.
> 
> ...


Black powder doesn't reqire a special license as an end user but it is classified as an explosive so dealer cannot store it on their shelves.  To sell black a dealer has  to store it in a special magazine so most dealer just carry the substitutes like pyrodex, 777, BH 209, ect.


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## eugene13 (Apr 1, 2020)

Now that the tube is almost finished I can turn my attention to the trunion ring, the material is a 2 1/2" piece of 5" OD X 3" ID tubing, too big on the ID but will have to do.  Cutting it in half is a challenge but with a pair of press plates and a machinist jack I got it done, not quite in half but close enough.  The part on the left tapers .003 from top to bottom, and the one on the right tapers .015 from top to bottom, I'll use the one on the right.  After a 300 degree pre-heat I'll build up the ID with weld, and bore it to fit the tube.  I should have bored the holes before welding, the heat affected zone got really hard and the cutting tool just stops, I'll have to finish the bottom of the holes with a carbide rotary file, good news, the Feds haven't kicked down my door yet, bad news, I broke my 7/16" end mill trying to cut the slot for the elevating screw in the bottom of the tube.


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## eugene13 (Apr 5, 2020)

Now that all the legal ramifications have been explored, I can get back to the build.  The welder finally showed up and we got the tube mated to the trunion ring, the small cylinder is the nut for the elevating screw. I don't know what the materiel for the trunion ring is, but it's the toughest I've ever machined in my shop.  Just to find out if my heating and welding was the culprit I chucked the other half up and yes, it's just as tough and delivered a beautiful finish but without the hard spots induced by the welding.


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## eugene13 (Apr 9, 2020)

Here it is with the first fit-up, I would rather had 8" channel than 10", but everything else was too thick or too thin.  I will work on the aesthetics later in the build.  This Corona Virus stuff is really taking a bite out of my shop time, since my son is exposed to many vectors at his job, I don't want to be exposed to him, so I have the   shop alone four days a week and he uses it three.


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## Tolerent (Apr 9, 2020)

Has anyone seen or does anyone know the potential for a golf ball mortar using only the impulse from a 209 primer? I am thinking that could be a fun project and the golf balls would be recoverable. Any idea how far they could be flung?


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## epanzella (Apr 10, 2020)

Tolerent said:


> Has anyone seen or does anyone know the potential for a golf ball mortar using only the impulse from a 209 primer? I am thinking that could be a fun project and the golf balls would be recoverable. Any idea how far they could be flung?


probably 6 feet.


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## Tolerent (Apr 10, 2020)

I have heard 36mg of priming compound and also heard 61mg and finally 1 grain which is closer to 65mg. maximum legal firecracker is 50mg. I was thinking closer to 50 feet. Any estimates based on experience?


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## eugene13 (Apr 10, 2020)

I'll start out with 5 grains of ffG, should be ready to test fire next week.  Bummer, our local golf course is closed, I walk by every day and was hoping to pick up some free ammunition.


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## Superburban (Apr 10, 2020)

Look at the golf course, and figure out which houses get the most balls in their yards. Stop and ask, they might sell you a bucket full cheap.


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## Cadillac (Apr 10, 2020)

eugene13 said:


> I'll start out with 5 grains of ffG, should be ready to test fire next week.  Bummer, our local golf course is closed, I walk by every day and was hoping to pick up some free ammunition.


Walk the tree lines their out there and since nobody is out there ballhawkin they should be plentiful.


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## eugene13 (Apr 14, 2020)

I've always wanted to build a tracked vehicle using timing chains and crank sprockets, finally got my wish. I simply pressed in a bushing drilled to the axle size, with a .002" interference fit.  The first pic is a stock single row chain, and the next is a double row roller, I like the look of the single row best and as soon as I get one I'll change it over.  The third is the finished trunion legs and the small square objects are clevis' to adjust the chain tension, and of course the last pic should have been the first.  I smell taco's cooking and I'm really hungry.


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## Tolerent (Apr 14, 2020)

Is this something that will get a drive train and end up being remote controlled? Should we be worried you might have plans to conquer the world with micro tanks? 

I am already jealous of the mortar as I don't think I am allowed to build one in Washington. > .50" bore, easily converted to powder even if starting life only powered by a 209 primer. Our legislature has not much sense of humor.


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## Cadillac (Apr 14, 2020)

Eugene I like you ideas looks awesome! I vote for the double row chain look beefier.


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## epanzella (Apr 14, 2020)

eugene13 said:


> I've always wanted to build a tracked vehicle using timing chains and crank sprockets, finally got my wish. I simply pressed in a bushing drilled to the axle size, with a .002" interference fit.  The first pic is a stock single row chain, and the next is a double row roller, I like the look of the single row best and as soon as I get one I'll change it over.  The third is the finished trunion legs and the small square objects are clevis' to adjust the chain tension, and of course the last pic should have been the first.  I smell taco's cooking and I'm really hungry.


Looks AWESOME! Always liked tracks. If you're gonna drive this thing I'd really be interested in how you build the steering.


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## eugene13 (Apr 14, 2020)

Thanks for the compliments, It's not going to be driven or towed, the tracks will roll but are mostly for eye appeal, I think it's beginning to look a little Steam Punk.  As for the mortar, just build one, it's easier to get forgiveness than permission


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## Inferno (Apr 15, 2020)

I'm going to take this back off track for a minute. 

I made my first black powder cannon when I was 14, in high school. It had a 9/16" bore and was almost a foot long. I had a lot of fun with it. I packed it with paper towels for years. A good thing too because one 4th of July I accidentally shot my mom in the back from 30 feet away. The paper towel wad left a nasty bruise. 
Now I have a 6 shot, 3/4" bore signal cannon and a 1-1/2" brass signal cannon (I've shown it on this website). I'm not bragging. I'm letting you know I have 40 years of experience with black powder cannons. 

Many years ago, my best friend, who also had a black powder cannon, and I decided to find out what kinds of crap we could fire. And of course we experimented with pipe cannons and the like. We even, once, buried 3 stick of dynamite 3 feet deep to make a crater. It didn't go off and we're pretty sure we retrieved all the dynamite but it was sort of, well, spread out from the blasting cap. 

Again, this isn't to impress. 

A former coworker and I were bored when it was slow at work and we played around with the chemicals in the shop to see which one would make the best propellant. Starting fluid did pretty good. 

Now, this is why I am writing. 

My best friends cousin ended up losing all the hair on one side of his face and head while breech loading a cannon without waiting for any remaining embers to extinguish. 
My best friend made a 2" pipe cannon and we buried it in the ground with the barrel opening just above ground. I didn't see that he lit it and ran right past it, luckily right before it went off. The pipe didn't contain the explosion and turned into a tulip. We never found the top half of the pipe. It was packed with jelly beans. 

A different friend and I were firing grade school glitter from my first cannon. We were firing it into the sky. It was really pretty coming down in the streetlights. It wasn't pretty having my friend remove pieces of glitter from my eyes. 

As I said, I have experience. 

My coworker and I managed to find the best propellant. We were using a 3" tube with a golf ball and a carrier. We shot one so high we couldn't see it anymore and scurried under cover in case it came down near us. It wasn't far off. Maybe 30 feet. It bounced almost high enough to not see. Ended up hitting the hood of a car. 

OK, so what's the point here?

You mentioned the golf ball was a snug fit. This could be a bad thing. Gold balls deform pretty easy, relatively speaking. When the pressure is applied to the bottom of the ball, the ball will spread and, possibly, create a tight plug. This could be a bigger bang or it could be an explosion. 

Chances are you will be fine. Chances are, that is. 

If I were going to fire a projectile from a cannon, I wouldn't use anything that could compress and plug the bore. And if I did do that, I'd take cover before it went off, just in case. 

Also, FWIW, if you want a good bang, cheap bread works better than paper wadding.


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## Tolerent (Apr 15, 2020)

And that is why my homemade Tannerite white lightning never gets mixed and shot. I am afraid of getting the wrong kind of experience.


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## Cadillac (Apr 15, 2020)

Tolerent said:


> And that is why my homemade Tannerite white lightning never gets mixed and shot. I am afraid of getting the wrong kind of experience.



while looking for chem mixture for hot bluing process I came across a vague thread on diy tannerite mix. Care to elaborate on the recipe?


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## pontiac428 (Apr 15, 2020)

Cadillac said:


> while looking for chem mixture for hot bluing process I came across a vague thread on diy tannerite mix. Care to elaborate on the recipe?


Well, for informational purposes only, the basic concept is the same binary solid fuel mixture that propels our ballistic missiles: ammonium perchlorate and aluminum powder.  Missiles have reliable ignition systems, so for a bullet to detonate the mixture, the commercial mix has a touch of titanium powder, ammonium nitrate, and zirconium hyxroxide in it as well.  Now please don't go and hurt yourself.


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## Tolerent (Apr 15, 2020)

Tannerite:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannerite

Flash Powder:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_powder

In the United States, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives advises: "Persons manufacturing explosives for their own personal, non-business use only (e.g., personal target practice) are not required to have a Federal explosives license or permit."[5] However, "persons falling into certain categories are prohibited from possessing explosive materials".[5] Those prohibited from possessing explosives include most non-citizens, unlawful drug users and addicts, those convicted or indicted for serious crimes, fugitives, and those who have been officially declared mentally defective or have been committed to a mental institution.[5] Restrictions imposed at the state and local level also apply.[3][5] In California in particular, a permit may be required to use or possess the product.[6]

Various regulations also govern the storage of unmixed explosives. As oxidizers and combustibles, the unmixed components still have some shipping restrictions in the United States.[8][9]

None of the above is legal or technical advice. Just me pointing to what I read and cut paste from the wiki article regarding legal implications. Also, Laws and regulations change from time to time so what was legal or winked at last week has the potential of being a crime today. 

Note: there are strong recommendations about some mixes and some ingredients being overly sensitive. Any mix containing Potassium Chlorate is a lot more dangerous than Perchlorate and anything with Sulphur for example.


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## MrWhoopee (Apr 15, 2020)

A friend (now passed) who, prior to retirement, taught fine arts metalworking at UC Berkeley, built a bowling ball mortar in his home shop. He lived on a very isolated homestead surrounded by SPI timberland. From time to time an SPI employee would return one of his bowling balls from over a mile away.


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## Tolerent (Apr 15, 2020)

MrWhoopee said:


> A friend (now passed) who, prior to retirement, taught fine arts metalworking at UC Berkeley, built a bowling ball mortar in his home shop. He lived on a very isolated homestead surrounded by SPI timberland. From time to time an SPI employee would return one of his bowling balls from over a mile away.


That smacks of irresponsibility firing an 8 to 16 lb. projectile into timberland with no idea what the backstop or traffic in the target area would be. Not entirely unlike someone shooting into the air indiscriminately. I anticipate the cannon was fired infrequently and understand the area was not densely populated. But, still...


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## MrWhoopee (Apr 15, 2020)

Tolerent said:


> That smacks of irresponsibility firing an 8 to 16 lb. projectile into timberland with no idea what the backstop or traffic in the target area would be. Not entirely unlike someone shooting into the air indiscriminately. I anticipate the cannon was fired infrequently and understand the area was not densely populated. But, still...



Mostly fired during E Clampus Vitus get-togethers (he was past Noble Grand Humbug). Drunkenness, firearms and irresponsibility mandatory. For some odd reason they could never convince me to join.


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## eugene13 (Apr 15, 2020)

All done with the chassis, I shortened the legs on the channel iron 5/8" and welded in some 1" angle to close off the ends the first pic shows the detail of the chain adjusters. Tthe best measurement I could get on the chains was 7" center to center so I put in .4" of adjustment, .3 shorter than my measurement and .1" more, good guess, it tightened the chains and had a little ways to go.  Now I'm wondering what color to paint it.


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## Cadillac (Apr 15, 2020)

MrWhoopee said:


> A friend (now passed) who, prior to retirement, taught fine arts metalworking at UC Berkeley, built a bowling ball mortar in his home shop. He lived on a very isolated homestead surrounded by SPI timberland. From time to time an SPI employee would return one of his bowling balls from over a mile away.


Their was a show on history if I remember correctly called gun smoke where a gun dealer and his family built a bowling ball cannon from a oxygen tank. Made it look like a real cannon was pretty dam cool. They showed them shoot a ball and it went nearly out of camera range. They were on a farm I believe in Colorado. Since then I have had the want to build one but don't have anywhere where I live to test that type of power.


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## eugene13 (Apr 15, 2020)

My last post got interrupted by supper.  Since everyone is telling near miss stories, I better tell one also.  In my sister's back yard is really deep sewer manhole.  One night, drunk, stoned, and bored my friends and I decided to dump a quart of gasoline in the manhole, followed by a gasoline soaked burning stick, the gasoline ignited the methane in the sewer and for the next thirty seconds flames roared and gushed out of the manhole while the lid rolled around in it's rim.  It was quite a show so we tried it again but nothing happened.  Of course not, we'd burned up all the fuel and oxygen, so we waited till next Tuesday and tried it again with the same spectacular results.  All during the summer of 1965 this became a weekly ritual, my sister and her husband would go square dancing, and my friends and I would watch the kids, get drunk and blow up the sewer.  No one got hurt, we never did any real damage and we never got caught.  Red Mountain wine was $1.98 a gallon and my dad would buy as much as we wanted as long has he got a free jug for himself.  Last time I visited was in 2003 and my nephew and I wanted to do it again but my sister wouldn't let us, bummer.


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## eugene13 (Apr 16, 2020)

This project is making me do something I've never done. Because I wanted clockwise to be up on the elevating screw, I have to cut a left hand thread.  But first I have to solve a problem, both my chuck's minimum opening is 3/8".  So I made a collet, using a 2" long piece of 1" aluminum I drilled and reamed a 3/8" hole, then I slit it down the side, it pinches down on the material and away I go.


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## eugene13 (Apr 22, 2020)

Spent the afternoon with a couple of friends at the rifle range, and I'm not in custody  a level tablespoon of Pyrodex makes a golf ball disappear.  I pretty much gave up on cutting a left hand thread everything would go along pretty smoothly and then the tool would dig in, any advice will be appreciated.  This is the tool I use, Dorian MTVOR. This is a right hand tool, do I need a left hand tool to cut a left hand thread?  Wanting to finish the project I went to plan B, 3/8" all thread, if I can get this figured out I'll go back to plan A.


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## pontiac428 (Apr 22, 2020)

That's a purdy RH tool, but wouldn't you want a normal 60 degree threading tool for the job?

So when you say disappear, is it on the arc when it does, or is it still flying straight?  Are you at risk for shooting down satellites?


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## fixit (Apr 23, 2020)

tennis ball & 2 1/2 pipe fun & much safer


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## eugene13 (Apr 23, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> That's a purdy RH tool, but wouldn't you want a normal 60 degree threading tool for the job?
> 
> So when you say disappear, is it on the arc when it does, or is it still flying straight?  Are you at risk for shooting down satellites?


I'n not sure what you mean by a normal tool, I've cut a number of right hand threads with this tool and it does fine, but nothing but trouble with the left hand.  As for the golf ball, boom, and it's gone, I was shooting at a high angle, we heard one hit the ground but was not able to find it.


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