How to machine the end of a 1.5" dia rod perfectly round?

[toysareforboys]

being as how steel is harder to machine than other non-ferrous metals, some light duty machines struggle with it

I haven't tried to machine steel yet, but I'm going to try and machine stainless soon! Good thing my gears are metal

-Jamie M.

 

[markba633csi]

Interesting hobby, be careful

 

[toysareforboys]

Interesting hobby, be careful

Always am. Unless you're shooting explosive rounds (mostly illegal for civilians in Canada) there isn't too much that can go wrong. One thing to remember is to always make sure your gunpowder is packed tight. Say if there's a gunpowder cup in the 40mm case/hull, if you only fill it up half full, when you go to launch the powder settles to the side of the cup, allowing the primer flame to go across the top of the powder, which ignites it all at once causing a big pressure spike. If you're only filling a cup half full use tape to hold the powder down or pack some wadding on top of it

I think in Cali you can own 37mm smooth bore launchers without any special permit right?? But 40mm rifled launchers are registered as "Destructive Devices"? In Canada 37mm smooth bore launchers are "non-guns", i.e. you can launch them "anywhere", anyone can own them, no licence required. Colt M203's (40mm rifled) require a CDG (dangerous goods) licence (basically a destructive devices permit, mostly just for the military, very difficult for a civilian to get) but LMT M203-2003's (40mm rifled) are available for civilian sales (I know, makes zero sense) as non-restricted firearms (you just need a PAL/firearms licence). Because the LMT 40mm is a "real gun" you can only launch it where it's legal to discharge firearms (i.e. not within city limits unless at a gun range, but you can at a friends farm out of town, etc.).

-Jamie M.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

One thing to remember is to always make sure your gunpowder is packed tight.

Black powder does need to be packed tight in order to avoid problems with detonation.
Smokeless "gun" powders do not.

 

[Eddyde]

Black powder does need to be packed tight in order to avoid problems with detonation.
Smokeless "gun" powders do not.

What about Pyrodex? Asking for a friend...

 

[Mitch Alsup]

Pyrodex conflagrates and sane packing densities--just like smokeless gunpowders.

 

[Latinrascalrg1]

Black powder does need to be packed tight in order to avoid problems with detonation.
Smokeless "gun" powders do not.

Regardless if smokeless powders need to be pack tight or not Wouldn't it be Good Practice of making it a habit to pack all gun powders so that there is less chance for making a fatal mistake?

Ive never loaded anything with any kind of gun powder so I Am clueless here but i would be sure to follow proper/safe usage instructions and do my research beforehand regardless.

 

[toysareforboys]

Black powder does need to be packed tight in order to avoid problems with detonation.
Smokeless "gun" powders do not.

Nice to know smokeless doesn't like to detonate like BP! Using super hot shotgun primers (209A) doesn't help with the BP detonation issue. I've only used Goex Fg (black powder) so far (in my 37mm, that's the one in the fireball pic), makes such a mess of the barrel. For my 40mm I've set up loads using Triple Seven FFg, a little "hotter" but supposed to be easier to clean up than Goex but so far haven't found a place I can launch it so can't testify to that.

I'd like to switch to using smokeless but have zero experience with it (I've been using black powder for all kinds of "projects" for 15 years or more). I made an extra thick/strong hull to help develop smokeless loads:



The 1/2" dia tail of the projectile is a press fit into the hull so should allow somewhat complete combustion of the smokeless. The big pressure spike will be absorbed by the case/hull and the projectile will be moving well by the time the gas is allowed to escape the hull into the barrel so the barrel itself shouldn't see too much pressure (hopefully).

-Jamie M.

 

[cjtoombs]

Poor propellant bed ignition is the culprit behind the pressure spikes. It's not that the powder settling below the primer is getting "ignited all at once", it's that it isn't. It's a bit counter intuitive, but I've seen it first hand. If the ammunition isn't going to be handled much, you can load the propellant charge and then top it off with cream of wheat or corn meal (depending on which you like the smell of better, breakfast or popcorn). For ammunition that is handled enough that the propellant and filler might mix, you have to use something else. We even had some special cases that were partially filled with epoxy for a certain project in order to tailor the case volume to the load. And this was all with smokeless powder.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

I reload 45 LC using about 1/2 a case of Trail Boss.
Trail Boss is a powder that has been designed to occupy a large space (with little weight) and still burn <relatively> slowly.
The typical 8 pound canister only holds 5 pounds.

You might get enough umph out of TB for your project.
And there is basically no way to have so much that something goes boom.