my golf ball mortar

[freekforge]

i finished my golf ball mortar and went to my grandpas and shot it about 20 times and lost all my golf balls :grin: right now its sitting in its test bed made of 2 4x4s later im going to make one out of oak the tube now has a coat of black paint too

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[Muskeg Stomper]

Nice job on the tube. You'll have lots of fun with that. Post some "smoke & fire" photos!

 

[freekforge]

thanks it was so much fun to shoot and surprisingly it didn't take to long to make since it doesn't look like a deadly weapon and i didn't drill the touch hole i was allowed to bore it out at school it only took two 2 1/2 hour days to do it ( the out side was very rough so i had to true it up) then i took it home put it in my lathe and cleaned it up (after the pics were taken) drilled and tapped the breech end and put the trunnion on. now that i know it shoots ok i need to get some oak to make a real bed for it. yesterday i had to buy a bunch of golf balls for my new addiction :haha:

 

[54mountain]

Nice lookin' little driver ya got there. :bow: I've made a few of them myself,

They can be really addictive. How much powder does you chamber hold. I've found around 40 or 50gr to be about right. My current model holds 60 and it seems to be a bit much, It's hard to find the ball in flight with that much powder under it.

 

[freekforge]

my powder chamber holds 40 grains exactly (by accident) and that seems like enough we did pour 120 grains to make sure it wont blow up and we didn't see the ball at all

 

[sc45-70]

Nice job on the tube Freekforge!
Here's one I made years ago

Keep us posted on your progress with the bed!

SC45-70

 

[freekforge]

Do you guys use wadding under your ball or do you just put the ball in. we had to use news paper for a while but the when it was all fouled up i shoved a naked ball down it and it was a lot louder and went way farther. my bore is exactly 1.700.

here's a pic of it painted

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i havent decided what kind of base to make yet i think i will make an elevation screw for it though :hmm:

 

[sc45-70]

I do not use wadding. I just drop the ball ontop of the powder.
I wipe the bore between shots.

My powder chamber holds 100 grains of powder, but my barrel is much shorter than yours.

In my mortar, 100 grains of 3f will shoot a golf ball about 150 yards.

FYI, check out yard sales and thrift stores for used golf balls as they will be cheaper.

I made a round ball mold to cast lead balls but at 1 lb. a crack it gets expensive and you can't see them as well as golf balls.

Keep up the good work!
:thumbsup:

SC45-70

 

[TheDoubleD]

Your barrel is way longer than it needs to be. Here are the guide lines from the American Artillery association. http://www.americanartillery.org/aaa/mrt.html

Barrel length shall not exceed 2 times the projectile length, while projectile length shall not exceed 3 times the bore diameter.

I have found that if you follow the guidlines things will look better.

I have made a number of these now and they are getting better looking.

Here is a few starting with number one which is butt ugly.

And then there is this one.

Shorten your barrel and move your trunnion to center of your base. Make the base twice as long as the barrel and the same height as the OD of the barrel.Width should be two time bore diameter.

 

[BillinOregon]

Words from the maestro! Lovely guns, DD!

 

[54mountain]

I just drop the ball right onto the powder.

I'm with DD, drop 2 balls down the bore and cut it back to that length. They look better with the correct dimensions.

Galen

 

[freekforge]

i just got done facing it of until 2 balls fit inside i left it about 1/4in longer than the 2 balls so if the muzzle becomes damaged somehow i can face it off again

 

[freekforge]

do you guys think this will hold up to a lead ball being shot out of it :hmm:

 

[TheDoubleD]

do you guys think this will hold up to a lead ball being shot out of it :hmm:

Sure but why bother. You will have to recast them after every shot. Get some steel golf balls from Fox industries or Zinc golf bals from Rotometals. You can pick them up and shot them over and over again.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

bet it's lots of fun. I've shot old 'taters out of my pipe 'cannon', 3" schl 80 seamless alloy pipe.

 

[freekforge]

does any one have any experience with the cannon ball mold from dgw and can you cast zinc in an aluminum mold

 

[freekforge]

took it out again tonight i paced one shot at just over 200 yards also as a kind of proof test i loaded it with 200 grains and 2 balls which may have been the coolest thing i have done lately the barrel rang for about 10 sec and those 2 ball were not found :haha:

 

[TheDoubleD]

does any one have any experience with the cannon ball mold from dgw and can you cast zinc in an aluminum mold

Zinc melting temperature is too close to Aluminum. If you use aluminum mouldto cast zinc the heat will eventually distort the mould. Casting zinc is a lot more labor intensive than lead also.

You will spend more time shooting and less time casting if you get the zinc golf balls from Rotometals. Change your load and make your range 100 yards.

You won't lose as many balls and and will enjoy shooting this mortar much more if you can see the ball go and the see it land. Just firing off the the mortar and not seeing the ball in flight gets boring quick--ho hum.

 

[freekforge]

I recovered all but 4 which isnt a big deal because my little cousins will find them later (they are my retrievers :haha: ) i think i might buy a few zinc balls to try but i think i'm going to buy a mold and make lead ones just because i like casting

 

[TheDoubleD]

Before you buy a mould, suggest contact Rotometals and ask teh to send you two lead golf balls and two zinc golf balls.

Fire them and see if you really do want to shot lead in you mortar. The lead golf balls weight just over a pound. Zinc and steel just a little over 1/2 pound. When you shoot the lead recoil with be sustantial and the mortar will be come a secondary projectile.

Try first before you invest.

Here is a steel GB with 85 grains of g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xayna2oBOUw

You can expect twice that much and more recoil with lead.

I only speak from experience.