Golf ball mortar

From what I've read anything powered by black powder is ok to own.
 
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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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 :)
 
Dhal22 said:
I'm a plumber so we used acetelyne. Much much more boom! :p
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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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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.
 
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.
 
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.
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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.
 
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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