Need some help with my new cannon

[Super Bee 950]

I picked this up from a guy and I dont know a thing about cannons, but it looks cool as hell. Its an iron cannon with a 2.5 inch bore and a 13 inch smooth barrel. What is a good starting load, and what black powder type should i use? We are going to shoot this remotely with an electronic fuse using a Go Pro to see what happens.

 

[Rlbol]

Make sure it is not just a decoration first!!

Then hit u tube and learn all you can about there powder!!

If it works out, then let me know where to pick it up. I have wanted one fir a long time to shot off the boat and pis off the neighbor's!!!

 

[Super Bee 950]

Its not a decoration! I took it apart last night to check out the wood, and found a bunch of metal bolts bent from the recoil. The original owner didnt use graded bolts to hold it to the carriage. This thing has to be pretty powerful to bend parts like it did.

 

[Unknown]

I have a buddy that used to have a black powder mortar that would launch bowling balls. The thing had sidewalls about 2.5 inches thick, and was so heavy it took a number of men to load it into the back of a pickup in order to get it to a remote location to fire it.

Unfortunately, I never got to see it fired, although it did look neat sitting on his patio.

 

[Turd in the Pool]

Its not a decoration! I took it apart last night to check out the wood, and found a bunch of metal bolts bent from the recoil. The original owner didnt use graded bolts to hold it to the carriage. This thing has to be pretty powerful to bend parts like it did.

Just because some dumbass was shooting it doesn't mean it is safe. BP is pretty forgiving. As long as it is not cast iron, I'd upgrade the bolts and fire away;-)

 

[Super Bee 950]

It was turned on a lathe.

 

[Turd in the Pool]

It was turned on a lathe.

Cast iron turns pretty nice on a lathe if you can stand the dust;-)

 

[Smcarroll]

Cute cannon. I picked up one myself last summer. I need to make a carriage.

 

[Turd in the Pool]

Sweet!!!! smc. If you want avoid the burden of building the carriage, I'll take her off your hands;-) What's the bore dia? If it's golf ball, I have a mold;-)

 

[Smcarroll]

Sweet!!!! smc. If you want avoid the burden of building the carriage, I'll take her off your hands;-) What's the bore dia? If it's golf ball, I have a mold;-)

2-2.5" I cannot remember exactly. It has a steel bore liner and is about 3' long. I plan on eventually making a mold, right now its just chilling in my basement.

 

[Turd in the Pool]

2-2.5" I cannot remember exactly. It has a steel bore liner and is about 3' long. I plan on eventually making a mold, right now its just chilling in my basement.

Awesome! If you decide to sell it before you make the carriage, I'd like 1st shot at it.

 

[Smcarroll]

I highly doubt I will but you are first on the list.

 

[Punisher29073]

Years ago, when I lived in the country, my son and I were riding bikes around some dirt roads. He was about 5-6. I was ahead of him and stopped to wait on him as a shop door opened up next to this mobile home. 3 guys wheeled out a a cannon and started packing it. I didn't see any projectile go in but they were ramming it as if they had. My son caught up and we continued to watch them fire that thing off. I am assuming they just put a charge in there to make noise and packed paper or wading on top of it? It was loud as heck and kicked the carriage back a ways. Then the guys hauled butt and rolled it back into the shop, never to be seen again. By me anyways. That was awesome. One day maybe.

Ryan

 

[Turd in the Pool]

I highly doubt I will but you are first on the list.

Thanks!

Punisher, My 1st encounter was with a small one more like a mortar than a cannon but it had about a 1 1/4" bore and similar to the one that started this thread. They shot a piece of chain with lead cast on each end and it was unbelievable. Seemed to never stop. Hearing it rip thru the trees was an experience.

 

[maccrazy2]

When I got my cannon I was told the way to get the powder charge was to pour powder over the projectile untill the powder covers it like a little pyramid. Measure it and create a charge measuring cup. My 1in cannon uses a fired 2.75 12 gauge shell of 4f powder to shoot a lead ball.

 

[Smcarroll]

You can make a great mortar out of a oxygen bottle for oxy/ac cutting.

 

[88blazer]

I'd suggest start low and work up from there. These are pics of my friends cannon and he runs his hot loads with 1lb of cannon grade (1fG) and a 5lb turned steel projectile 2.5" diameter and 4" long. It leaves a 3" hole thru 1" steel plate! Now his cannon here is turned from 4140 steel stock, built for hot loads. I have a brass cannon I turned with a 3/4" bore I run 90gr of GOEX BP. My old mortar, 2.25" bore(1.25" wall, welded breech plug), lead cast ball, I ran 1/4lb 2fG GOEX.

Since it looks machined you said, If it was me, I'd probably start around 1/5 lb and work up from there. With cannons, some people run WAY too much BP. They burn a ton of excess powder outside the bore when it fires wasting expensive BP.

You can buy down rigger fishing weight molds for use as cannon ball molds. If your ball is slightly small, run a old t shirt patch and drive her home. Look in your area for BP rendezvous and civil war reenactments. There is a big cannon shoot in Wyoming this week. That's where my friend brought this big boy to fire.

Slowly work up a load and be safe. Get some pics of her firing!

 

[xs hedspace]

I built a golf ball mortar, using Schedule 80 2" pipe sleeved with a stainless tube that just fit a golf ball, with a 6000 psi pipe cap. Uses 2 scoops of 2F from an old shotgun 3 dram measure, and the thing goes about 450 yds. Reinforcing tube epoxied at the breech over the 2" sched 80. There's a photo on bucket, if I can find it.
Found it, URL didn't copy. I hate this shit.
One more try:

 

[xs hedspace]

Got it that time! BTW, airburst rounds can be done with hollow practice balls, 4F, and about 3/4" of fuse....but that would be illegal, so I don't do that.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Got it that time! BTW, airburst rounds can be done with hollow practice balls, 4F, and about 3/4" of fuse....but that would be illegal, so I don't do that.

,,,, much.






,,,,, around goose-hunting season.

 

[xs hedspace]

And those Bird Bomb 12 ga shells are useful for herding the deer from the posted property down the road to my deer stand area.......just a wild idea......

 

[Super Bee 950]

Update with pictures!

Shot the cannon last night and it went great. Ended up using about 2.5 ounces of 2f, and that shot a handful of gravel through plywood. Nice shot group as well! Now to find or make some solid projectiles....

 

[40xs]

My sixth grade history teacher was a member of the North/South skirmish assoc.. His team represented the "'First Virginia Cavelry" and had a cannon they pulled behind horses. your bore deminsions sound just about like theirs. They used aluminum drink cans filled with cement as projectiles and slow burning black powder, I imagine something like 1F, or cordite? Don't take my word for the powder without checking into it first! the drink cans worked rather well for their purpose.