Signal cannon

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its crap like that which causes it to be nearly impossible to obtain BP anymore in most areas. You need a little more respect for the materials you are handling.... and a little more common sense.
 
its crap like that which causes it to be nearly impossible to obtain BP anymore in most areas. You need a little more respect for the materials you are handling.... and a little more common sense.

Hey pal I can get BP, well..... pyrodex anytime. There's no shortage here. I've been doing things like this since I was a young man. I make my own ammo including making cases for my 8mm from 30.06 cases. I cast my own bullets, this ain't some 1st time tryout. I'm haven't a little fun online,maybe even get a little advice or ideas. When I do this nobody will be endangered. If you don't like it don't click on the thread. Thanks for your input.
 
You make it sound so dangerous. A 50 pounder WOW! That's like 105 Howister! :rofl3: I think Hartford is far enough from RI you'll be OK.:wink: I'll point it west let me know if you hear it. I don't have neighbors that close but, I'll go down to the river anyway and use a long fuse so I can get the heck out of the way!:shocked2: Maybe I'll setup a video camera to record the disaster.....I mean event! No balls no glory! Man your ramrod!

How much BP are you planning to use?

Go with the carbide, it gives a satisfying boom without shrapnel
 
How much BP are you planning to use?

Go with the carbide, it gives a satisfying boom without shrapnel

The only sharpnel will be newpaper...confetti:D I'm actually thinking of welding the barrel of an old .69 flintlock horse pistol with broken lockwork that would cost more to fix then to buy another one to the "bottom" of the cannon. That is after cutting off the 4 inches from the tank bottom turn it over put the barrel at the base of the valve hole and weld the bottom through the valve hole. Then turn the tank over and weld a couple of stiffners to the inside of the tank with collars that secure the front of the pistol barrel. Details like drilling a hole for the fuse and lining it up with the hole in the pistol barrel I'll work out I'm still in the planning stages. About 70grains of FFF BP and a little balled up newspaper should make quite a bang coming out of that tank!:wink: Plus it'll look like a real cannon!
 
On a more interesting note, one of the reason's that BP is hard to find in many parts of the world right now is that its one of the most efficient ways of dealing with IED's. So the army's are buying it up in large quantities.

As for the cannon, I recently watched the firing of a carbon steel replica 12 pound canon fired. It made one hell of a boom with an 8oz powder charge in a small nylon bag. The apparent trick was that the charge was loaded into the bag and a steel pin was jammed into the bag to break up the nylon and gain access to the powder. There was no wadding used. Thought it was a rather slick way to make a boom.

Now with a cannon made from a Steel 72 that didn't pass hydro, I wouldn't be using much more than 6oz for a charge as it would be very nasty if she broke apart.

-- nielsent
 
Read my last post it's a little more than just stuffing BP into a tank. You're talking oz. I'm talking grains.
 
its crap like that which causes it to be nearly impossible to obtain BP anymore in most areas.
If you have trouble accessing BP, make your own. My brother and I used to make it all the time when we were kids. 75% potassium nitrate, 15% ground up charcoal, 10% sulfur. My Dad used potassium nitrate to cure hams, and he used sulfur as a fungicide for plants. Then we discovered that home made BP could become more "aggressive" by simply replacing the potassium nitrate with potassium chlorate. Those were good old days, before the age of "nanny-states" and other fear motivated changes in lifestyle.
 
If you have trouble accessing BP, make your own. My brother and I used to make it all the time when we were kids. 75% potassium nitrate, 15% ground up charcoal, 10% sulfur. My Dad used potassium nitrate to cure hams, and he used sulfur as a fungicide for plants. Then we discovered that home made BP could become more "aggressive" by simply replacing the potassium nitrate with potassium chlorate. Those were good old days, before the age of "nanny-states" and other fear motivated changes in lifestyle.

Very, Very, bad idea. Sulfur and chlorates can create a friction and impact sensitive mixture. .

Potassium chlorate, in many ways one of the best fireworks ingredients, may under certain conditions of temperature and acidity, slowly break down giving chloric acid, or chlorine dioxide, both of which are more active oxidizing agents than potassium chlorate itself. When this happens, potassium chlorate mixtures are extremely hazardous, with disastrous results often occurring. Sensitivity to heat, shock, friction and impact are greatly enhanced with ignition occurring, in some cases, as little as a flick of the fingernail. Sulfates, sulfides, and sulfur itself may be slowly oxidized to form sulfuric acid, which can then break down the potassium chlorate into dangerously active chloric acid.



The nanny state hasn't quite taken over

http://www.skylighter.com
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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