Signal/Deck gun

[DetroiTug]

That's a good question, I should be able to find some locally. I have a pound of 4Fg, but totally out of 2Fg. I use that in the flintlocks. There was a gun store up the road that sold it, but they went out of business.

-Ron

[stevey_frac]

I checked with the Canadian Regs... I'm pretty sure this is legal in Canada. Have to add that to the list of things I need for that boat...

--Steve

[Chris W]

We've been buying Goex black powder from Coonies for our ridiculously large arsenal at the Museum. We usually get 50lbs. or so at a time, cannon grade for the main charge and 4fg for priming.
Several year ago I was skipper on Lady Washington for the first tour down the coast with Hawaiian Chieftain. We would have mock gun battles with the ships and went through several pounds each battle. We would reorder and have it sent to the Harbormaster's office at our next port. The receptionist at the Ventura Harbor office was not happy with the 100 lbs of black powder by her desk.



Coonie's Explosives & Black Powder, Inc.
512 East Lea, Box 2062
Hobbs, NM 88240
800-713-6321, 575-393-0166,
Fax: 575-393-6060
E-mail: cooniesblkpdr@aol.com

[DetroiTug]

Gee, you guys are scary ... this is how arms races start. I might have to mount some midships torpedo tubes ...

Some torpedo blisters may come in handy in case Fred and I are in the vicinity



Thanks for the heads up on the powder..

[Lopez Mike]

There will be noise and smoke and stinks next weekend at Blaine, WA.

The Lady Washington will be there with her signal gun. There is a local signal gun. And I will be dragging along my mortar.

I made it may moons ago from a hunk of mild steel shafting. Just over a two inch bore. When provoked, I load it up with a half pound of 4F and a decent wad. The charge mostly burns well clear of the muzzle and the sound is way out of proportion to the size of the instrument. Exactly as intended.

I'll post a picture tomorrow.

Mike

[fredrosse]

"Just over a two inch bore. When provoked, I load it up with a half pound of 4F and a decent wad"

I think you may intend a half ounce of powder? A half pound is way too much I would think. My 3/4 inch bore cannon is loaded with 1/4 ounce of FFFFg, and has plenty of BANG.

[DetroiTug]

8 ounces is way too much for a 2" gun. And especially 4Fg, only 2Fg or 1Fg should be used in a cannon. For projectiles there is the 39/40 rule. Ten thousands clearance per 400 thousandths diameter. A 2" bore should have 50 thousandths clearance around the sabot or projectile. This is quite a contradiction from black powder rifles, with those, we try to seal the bullet as tightly as possible.

Here is a chart, looks like the 1" bore will use around 180 grain. A 2 inch would be less than 2 ounces. A short barreled mortar, most of it probably is being blown out, but I'd be very careful with it.



-Ron

[Lopez Mike]

Actually I do use a half pound of 4F and yes, most of it burns clear of the muzzle. And you are right. Care is everything.

The outside diameter is almost seven inches. The bore length is only about six inches and it's made of steel rather than cast iron. I inspect it carefully for any cracking on a regular basis. I've been firing it with these heavy loads for twenty years now. Sounds like a big gun. Ear protection mandatory within less than twenty or thirty feet. I use a line operated lock and a cap so that I have full control and can fire at an exact time for starting events like a tug boat race.

Cannons are one of my sidelines. I have built replica weapons for film makers. They look just like a naval cannon but are much lighter. By limiting the charge to heavy corn cannon powder that burns slower and with no projectile, I can hide a Shelby steel tube inside a wood exterior.

I have to include a hidden air cylinder connected to a port into the bore in order to get respectable recoil. The air cylinder piston connects to a heavy cleat on the boat's deck and the combustion gasses provide a very rapid recoil. Sort of like the setup on an M1 or M14 rifle. The motion looks like the real thing. A couple of feet of movement almost instantly.

Sorry about posting stuff on an internal combustion engine on a steam site!

Mike

[DetroiTug]

Fired the cannon over the weekend. This is with 200 grains of 2Fg and eight 50 cal balls. Pretty devastating.







-Ron

[Lopez Mike]

I trust you will limit the targets of such projectiles to large plastic yachts half way off the plane going past an anchorage.

I have confined my armaments in such situations to a paint ball gun.

Mike