My new stupid project
Yeah, I know. Most of my projects are stupid. If not stupid, at least pointless. If not pointless, at least entertaining.
OK, I have a cannon. A 3-pounder RevWar period iron gun on a field carriage. Up on the top shelf in the gun room is also a golf ball mortar. it is not authentic to any time period, nor does it pretend to be. it is made of metal parts scavenged from the scrap bin at IPE, a place I used to work about a hundred years ago (my hair was jet black then, not a single grey).
For my next recreational artillery trick: a 60mm mortar. I've been wanting one for a while, originally wanting a US issue M2 mortar. I was shopping for a demilled one that had all of the parts except the tube intact with the intention of filing a BATF Form 1 and adding a functional tube for it. That way, we could make some mortar rounds for it that would be launched with shotgun shell blanks. (without getting too technical here)
Then I stumbled onto a Spanish one, circa 1960's, that was about 1/4 of what the price would be to gather the parts for the M2. When it came in, I was surprised to see that the tube was not demilled in the usual way which is to cut a bore-sized hole in the tube and weld rods across the bore so a projectile couldn't be inserted. Nope, this one came with the firing pin turned off and the end cap screwed onto the tube, then welded in place. It's a nice weld job.
My first thought was that I'd be able to turn off the welds in the lathe. Then it occurred to me that we could turn it into a black powder mortar! All it would take is to drill a vent hole in it to stick a squib. A better way would be to turn an insert for the breech that has a chamber in it, and drill the vent into that. The chamber allows for a smaller charge as it centers the force directly onto the projectile.
Now for projectiles...the actual bore ID is 2.24". That is NOT 60mm, more like 57mm (a European standard size). Wandering around the shop and house, I have test-fit several random objects into the bore...soda can, too big...Israeli rifle grenade, a hair too small...golf ball, too small, the plastic bottle that anti-skunk dog shampoo comes in, too small (but getting close)...the plastic bottle that camping toilet chemicals comes in...perfect!
I can't see myself ever using the camping toilet enough to accumulate enough bottles to be a good ammo supply, so on my next foray to the supermarket, I'll have to bring along my calipers. I'm thinking soup cans might work. We can fill them with cement and put an eyelet in the end to attach some surveyor's tape. The tape improves our chances of actually finding them to reuse.
Since I began to write this, I found myself upstairs in the kitchen, preparing to dismember the last of my Naragansett turkeys to put in the crock pot. All of a sudden, I spied a row of neat, orderly, alphabetized plastic containers that had just the right look to them. Spice jars! No, not the little glass ones that cost $5 for a quarter ounce at the supermarket, I'm talking about the larger plastic 2 3/4 ounce ones that cost $.88 at Ocean State Job Lots. I dropped what I was doing, grabbed an unopened jar of picling spices, and hurried downstairs to unlock the gun room. I slid the jar into the tube and found it to be a perfect fit!
What luck, an inexhaustable supply of projectile bodies! Since I use a lot of herbs and spices in my cooking and usually buy several jars at once so I'll never run out, what I can do is pour the contents of several plasitc jars into one glass canning jar, thus freeing up the plastic ones.
Going black powder instead of filing a Form 1 means I can take it interstate without filing more paperwork and also saves the $200 dollar filing fee for making a "destructive device". Saving that $200 frees up money that can be spent on other stupid, pointless yet amusing projects.
Sometimes it is a big pain in the ass to be me, other times it's pretty fun.
OK, I have a cannon. A 3-pounder RevWar period iron gun on a field carriage. Up on the top shelf in the gun room is also a golf ball mortar. it is not authentic to any time period, nor does it pretend to be. it is made of metal parts scavenged from the scrap bin at IPE, a place I used to work about a hundred years ago (my hair was jet black then, not a single grey).
For my next recreational artillery trick: a 60mm mortar. I've been wanting one for a while, originally wanting a US issue M2 mortar. I was shopping for a demilled one that had all of the parts except the tube intact with the intention of filing a BATF Form 1 and adding a functional tube for it. That way, we could make some mortar rounds for it that would be launched with shotgun shell blanks. (without getting too technical here)
Then I stumbled onto a Spanish one, circa 1960's, that was about 1/4 of what the price would be to gather the parts for the M2. When it came in, I was surprised to see that the tube was not demilled in the usual way which is to cut a bore-sized hole in the tube and weld rods across the bore so a projectile couldn't be inserted. Nope, this one came with the firing pin turned off and the end cap screwed onto the tube, then welded in place. It's a nice weld job.
My first thought was that I'd be able to turn off the welds in the lathe. Then it occurred to me that we could turn it into a black powder mortar! All it would take is to drill a vent hole in it to stick a squib. A better way would be to turn an insert for the breech that has a chamber in it, and drill the vent into that. The chamber allows for a smaller charge as it centers the force directly onto the projectile.
Now for projectiles...the actual bore ID is 2.24". That is NOT 60mm, more like 57mm (a European standard size). Wandering around the shop and house, I have test-fit several random objects into the bore...soda can, too big...Israeli rifle grenade, a hair too small...golf ball, too small, the plastic bottle that anti-skunk dog shampoo comes in, too small (but getting close)...the plastic bottle that camping toilet chemicals comes in...perfect!
I can't see myself ever using the camping toilet enough to accumulate enough bottles to be a good ammo supply, so on my next foray to the supermarket, I'll have to bring along my calipers. I'm thinking soup cans might work. We can fill them with cement and put an eyelet in the end to attach some surveyor's tape. The tape improves our chances of actually finding them to reuse.
Since I began to write this, I found myself upstairs in the kitchen, preparing to dismember the last of my Naragansett turkeys to put in the crock pot. All of a sudden, I spied a row of neat, orderly, alphabetized plastic containers that had just the right look to them. Spice jars! No, not the little glass ones that cost $5 for a quarter ounce at the supermarket, I'm talking about the larger plastic 2 3/4 ounce ones that cost $.88 at Ocean State Job Lots. I dropped what I was doing, grabbed an unopened jar of picling spices, and hurried downstairs to unlock the gun room. I slid the jar into the tube and found it to be a perfect fit!
What luck, an inexhaustable supply of projectile bodies! Since I use a lot of herbs and spices in my cooking and usually buy several jars at once so I'll never run out, what I can do is pour the contents of several plasitc jars into one glass canning jar, thus freeing up the plastic ones.
Going black powder instead of filing a Form 1 means I can take it interstate without filing more paperwork and also saves the $200 dollar filing fee for making a "destructive device". Saving that $200 frees up money that can be spent on other stupid, pointless yet amusing projects.
Sometimes it is a big pain in the ass to be me, other times it's pretty fun.
posted by MVTCoPete | 7:52 PM
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