Ways to bore a cannon barrel

4gsr said:
You mean a adjustable blade shell reamer? If you can still find them.
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That's them . I guess they are still out there . We use them all the time for cleaning up holes at work .
 
For projectiles there is need for precision. For a black powder signal cannon (No projectile) there is less need to be so exact on dimension and after a few shots it will have a nice black patina inside.

Problem with projectiles is if it sticks then you just have a pipe bomb.
 
Originally planned on trying with projectiles, but I am rethinking that now. A loose (er) fitting patched and well lubed projo was my thought in the beginning, but I sure would hate to have a squib load in the cannon......might ruin a perfectly good day! :eek 2:

I have ordered two more step up diameter sized drill bits (1 3/16 and 1 7/32) and will see if I can smooth it out a little this way.....
 
Need to buy you a chucking reamer or shell reamer to finish out the hole to the size you want. Drill bit is not going to smooth out the hole for you. I have a 1.250 shell reamer and a arbor that you more than welcome to use if you like. My next smaller reamer is 1.125", I believe you are already at that hole size. Ken
 
Thanks Ken - I appreciate that offer. I guess my concern is what minimum hole size do you think I need / recommend to use a 1.250 reamer - I would think 1.125 is not going to cut it. (pardon the pun) Is your arbor an MT arbor or straight shank? Length? I may have to do some improvising to get the 14"-15" depth needed. I could leave the back 2" smaller as it's just a powder charge area......
 
Still waiting on the 1 3/16 drill bit, but another question came up. Anyone have experience with Loctite 680? I'm considering anchoring the pintle bolts in the sidewalls of the cannon with this. The fit is very tight, but slip-fit size. I cut slits do let the excess escape when pressing in the bolts. Do you think this is strong enough, or is welding required?? Holes are 5/8"D X 3/4" deep.
 
I'd just go no projectile and call it a signal cannon. Will get PLENTY of attention with it and will be safer.

Are you going to make a wooden carriage mount with wheels?
 
Cadillac STS said:
If it is for actual firing often times those have a smaller diameter powder charge area at the bottom. Like a 3/4 inch diameter on that and 1.5 inches deep or so. That way there is more metal where the explosion occurs and your fuse hole is to the back of that cavity.
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Typically howitzers and mortars had chambers in them, an area of reduced diameter. These types of artillery used less powder and the projectile followed more of an arc to its target. Cannons were used for a flatter trajectory and required more powder for the same size projectile. Chambered pieces require that the entire chamber is full of powder, there cannot be any air space. Thus you cannot vary the charge in them as you can in regular cannon.

brasssmanget said:
Originally planned on trying with projectiles, but I am rethinking that now. A loose (er) fitting patched and well lubed projo was my thought in the beginning, but I sure would hate to have a squib load in the cannon......might ruin a perfectly good day! :eek 2:
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You should be all right with lubed and patched projectiles, if you can find them in the proper diameter and consistent in size. If you have to work hard to get them pushed down the barrel, or hammer them in, they are too tight. They should slide easily down the barrel with just a bit of resistance. If your projectiles are a little too small in diameter, wad up a piece of paper or two and ram it down the barrel on top of your powder charge creating a wad, then insert the projectile and ram it home on top of the wad. Just make absolutely certain that there is no air space between the powder charge and the projectile as the results can be disastrous.

A squib shouldn't cause a problem except that it will be difficult to extract the projectile from the barrel once it occurs. As long as you put in the proper volume of powder, the projectile should exit the barrel quite nicely. Squibs typically occur when you either have way too much space between the projectile and the inner surface of the barrel, allowing the hot gasses to escape around the projectile, or if you use too little powder, failing to generate enough force to eject the projectile.

brasssmanget said:
Anyone have experience with Loctite 680? I'm considering anchoring the pintle bolts in the sidewalls of the cannon with this. The fit is very tight, but slip-fit size. I cut slits do let the excess escape when pressing in the bolts. Do you think this is strong enough, or is welding required?? Holes are 5/8"D X 3/4" deep.
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By pintle bolts I assume you are referring to the trunnions, is this correct? See this web page for some proper nomenclature so that we know we are talking about the same thing: The Piece - Basic Terminology
Personally I would remake the trunnions and make them a solid press fit in the barrel, a shrink fit might be even better. Loctite is great stuff, but I would not trust it to keep the trunnions in place. I don't want to rain on your project, but I don't want to see you getting hurt either! The trunnions need to be very firmly seated. You could also try threading the trunnions and their holes, then use Loctite when you thread them in so that they do not loosen up, but I would not rely on Loctite to secure a slip fit in this application.

I have one last question for you: What are you planning to use for your powder charge, namely type and grade of powder and quantity?
 
yes - trunnions. I'm used to referring to the pintle pads and bolts on a 1919, so I carried that over - my mistake.....
I'll probably go with a silver solder or weld - I made some "caps" to cover around the seem at the barrel.
Haven't even thought about charge weight yet. Planned on doing research on that when the time comes up. This thing is a long way from being functional right now....thanks for the link to that page!
 
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