Billiard Ball Cannon

Deltadart · August 26, 2022, 09:21 AM

I received a cannon barrel from my son as a gift. The barrel is 18 inches long about 4 inches in diameter with a 2 1/4 inch bore. Fires a mini soda can or billiard ball with a 2 oz black powder charge. I am making the undercarriage, a copy of the civil war 12 pound howitzer. It becoming a fun project so far, has anyone else done one of these? Any advise is welcome on this build. CCC 1.jpg

CCC 2.jpg

Pahoo · August 26, 2022, 11:10 AM

Quote:

has anyone else done one of these? Any advise is welcome on this build.

Absolutely and they are a hoot to work with and can be addictive. I have made mortars; naval ship guns/cannons and others. Now then, the carriage looks more like the Civil War shore batteries cannons. On some cannons, I made two carriages; one for show and the other for shooting. They are a lot of fun and not only can be addictive but dangerous. We once shot one, too close to my buddies truck and blew out, one of his side-windows. I find the location of the touch/fuse hole, a bit interesting. What is it's position, in relationship to the bottom of the bore?

Be Safe !!!

Deltadart · August 26, 2022, 01:56 PM

The fuze hole is to the back of the chamber, which is a pocket about 1 1/4 inches in diameter to the rear of the bore. The gun is very heavy to the back end. This barrel comes from Coaches Cannon Club in Utah.

Ricklin · August 26, 2022, 02:44 PM

Back in the crazy 80's my brother acquired a set of snooker balls.
Solid Ivory.
Don't shoot those.
Stolen in a burglary a year or two later.

Deltadart · August 26, 2022, 07:48 PM

No worries about that. Pool balls are way too expensive to shoot, I can not imagine anyone doing that. The mini pop cans filled with sand or
something will work for me. I have several large sinker molds for sturgeon fishing in the Columbia river that might work, however I want to be able to recover them, that's just too much lead to waste.

bedbugbilly · August 27, 2022, 06:46 PM

Years ago, I shot with a group that had a cannon that would take frozen orange juice concentrate cans - we collected them and filled them with cement.

Later, I shot with a group and we had two repro Civil War 10 pound Parrotts - on rifled and one smoothbore - 3" bore - both South Bend Replicas. the rifled tis took a conical round with lugs on it to fit the rifling - the smoothbore took round ball - we used aluminum scrap to melt down and cast with.

If you have a mold, you might try zinc to cast with.

That looks like a nice tube and a great project! Hope you'll share photos as you progress with your carriage - and don't forget to make a limber chest to go with it!

Deltadart · August 27, 2022, 07:05 PM

Bedgugbilly, I had to redneck the scaling of the plans from an 1841 drawing, but they came out OK. The stock trail, cheeks, and axel frame are cut out. They look pretty good at this point. The barrel is not a replica of any civil war tube that I know of, but you have what you have. I used Loral Mountain Forge browning solution on it for a deep plum brown. All went well except for a small spot in on the back face of the breech. It appeared to me they tig welded to fill the dimple where the live center was. That of course changes the grain of the metal and the heat affected zone show in the finish. It is not too bad a spot a little less than a dime but it does bug me. I will be adding a knob or ball to the back end to cover that.

darkgael · August 28, 2022, 04:27 AM

Additional and very good info, in addition to what is here, can be found at:
https://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php?board=88.0

Hawg · August 28, 2022, 08:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deltadart

I will be adding a knob or ball to the back end to cover that.

The ball is called a cascabel. Just sayin.

Deltadart · August 28, 2022, 09:17 AM

Thanks Hawg, I am just learning the terms for the parts of the cannon. The issue now is finding a cascabel to put on the tube. I am thinking at the moment a 1 7/8 inch trailer ball stripped of the chrome, fitted and browned may work.

**44 AMP** · August 28, 2022, 01:47 PM

Interesting project, hope it works out well for you.

Just FYI, and sadly I cannot remember the name of the outfit, but some years back there were some folks making complete replicas of WWII anti tank guns, I remember specifically the German 50mm PAK and the US/British 57mm/6 pounder.

Complete, faithful reproductions, everything down to the tires. The only thing not accurately reproduced were the bores and firing mechanism, they were bored as muzzle loading cannon to avoid legal complications. Projectile was reported to be a soda can filled with cement (powder, not concrete mix) to give a nice big "poof" of dust when it hit. No idea what the powder charge was, sorry.

And yes, they were on the expensive side of "spendy"...

Jim Watson · August 28, 2022, 01:53 PM

Old story about the guy who had a cannon overbored for his chosen size of can. A can full of concrete had a lot of windage and therefore did not carry very far.
But one day he loaded one with a void in the filler, it expanded to seal the bore and went a LOT farther. Moo, thud, hamburger.

FITASC · August 28, 2022, 05:08 PM

Check the size of solid rubber lacrosse balls, they might work and should be cheaper than billiard balls

44caliberkid · August 30, 2022, 03:02 PM

“When they wrote the 2nd amendment they didn’t mean you could have any gun you wanted. You couldn’t have a cannon.” - Pres. Joe Biden
Yes you could Joe, and you still can. Congratulations on your new boomer. I love the sound of a large charge of black powder going off. And it smells like victory.

**4V50 Gary** · August 30, 2022, 05:33 PM

Jim Watson - oppski on the mooski. Payout for the farmer too.

Deltadart · August 30, 2022, 06:03 PM

BAR-B-Q, I'll bring the Sweet Baby Ray's

Hawg · August 31, 2022, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deltadart

BAR-B-Q, I'll bring the Sweet Baby Ray's

I like Bullseye better. Just sayin.

August 26, 2022, 09:21 AM	#1
Deltadart Senior Member Join Date: April 26, 2015 Location: Washington State Posts: 286	Billiard Ball Cannon I received a cannon barrel from my son as a gift. The barrel is 18 inches long about 4 inches in diameter with a 2 1/4 inch bore. Fires a mini soda can or billiard ball with a 2 oz black powder charge. I am making the undercarriage, a copy of the civil war 12 pound howitzer. It becoming a fun project so far, has anyone else done one of these? Any advise is welcome on this build. CCC 1.jpg CCC 2.jpg

August 26, 2022, 02:44 PM	#4
Ricklin Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2008 Location: SW Washington state Posts: 2,013	Back in the crazy 80's my brother acquired a set of snooker balls. Solid Ivory. Don't shoot those. Stolen in a burglary a year or two later. __________________ ricklin Freedom is not free

August 27, 2022, 06:46 PM	#6
bedbugbilly Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2009 Posts: 3,287	Years ago, I shot with a group that had a cannon that would take frozen orange juice concentrate cans - we collected them and filled them with cement. Later, I shot with a group and we had two repro Civil War 10 pound Parrotts - on rifled and one smoothbore - 3" bore - both South Bend Replicas. the rifled tis took a conical round with lugs on it to fit the rifling - the smoothbore took round ball - we used aluminum scrap to melt down and cast with. If you have a mold, you might try zinc to cast with. That looks like a nice tube and a great project! Hope you'll share photos as you progress with your carriage - and don't forget to make a limber chest to go with it! __________________ If a pair of '51 Navies were good enough for Billy Hickok, then a single Navy on my right hip is good enough for me . . . besides . . . I'm probably only half as good as he was anyways. Hiram's Rangers Badge #63

August 28, 2022, 04:27 AM	#8
darkgael Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Homes in Brooklyn, NY and in Pennsylvania. Posts: 5,473	Additional and very good info, in addition to what is here, can be found at: https://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php?board=88.0 __________________ “Auto racing, bull fighting, and mountain climbing are the only real sports ... all others are games.” Ernest Hemingway ... NRA Life Member

August 28, 2022, 01:47 PM	#11
44 AMP Staff Join Date: March 11, 2006 Location: Upper US Posts: 28,833	Interesting project, hope it works out well for you. Just FYI, and sadly I cannot remember the name of the outfit, but some years back there were some folks making complete replicas of WWII anti tank guns, I remember specifically the German 50mm PAK and the US/British 57mm/6 pounder. Complete, faithful reproductions, everything down to the tires. The only thing not accurately reproduced were the bores and firing mechanism, they were bored as muzzle loading cannon to avoid legal complications. Projectile was reported to be a soda can filled with cement (powder, not concrete mix) to give a nice big "poof" of dust when it hit. No idea what the powder charge was, sorry. And yes, they were on the expensive side of "spendy"... __________________ All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

August 26, 2022, 01:56 PM	#3
Deltadart Senior Member Join Date: April 26, 2015 Location: Washington State Posts: 286	The fuze hole is to the back of the chamber, which is a pocket about 1 1/4 inches in diameter to the rear of the bore. The gun is very heavy to the back end. This barrel comes from Coaches Cannon Club in Utah.

August 26, 2022, 07:48 PM	#5
Deltadart Senior Member Join Date: April 26, 2015 Location: Washington State Posts: 286	No worries about that. Pool balls are way too expensive to shoot, I can not imagine anyone doing that. The mini pop cans filled with sand or something will work for me. I have several large sinker molds for sturgeon fishing in the Columbia river that might work, however I want to be able to recover them, that's just too much lead to waste.

August 27, 2022, 07:05 PM	#7
Deltadart Senior Member Join Date: April 26, 2015 Location: Washington State Posts: 286	Bedgugbilly, I had to redneck the scaling of the plans from an 1841 drawing, but they came out OK. The stock trail, cheeks, and axel frame are cut out. They look pretty good at this point. The barrel is not a replica of any civil war tube that I know of, but you have what you have. I used Loral Mountain Forge browning solution on it for a deep plum brown. All went well except for a small spot in on the back face of the breech. It appeared to me they tig welded to fill the dimple where the live center was. That of course changes the grain of the metal and the heat affected zone show in the finish. It is not too bad a spot a little less than a dime but it does bug me. I will be adding a knob or ball to the back end to cover that.

August 28, 2022, 09:17 AM	#10
Deltadart Senior Member Join Date: April 26, 2015 Location: Washington State Posts: 286	Thanks Hawg, I am just learning the terms for the parts of the cannon. The issue now is finding a cascabel to put on the tube. I am thinking at the moment a 1 7/8 inch trailer ball stripped of the chrome, fitted and browned may work.

August 28, 2022, 01:53 PM	#12
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,541	Old story about the guy who had a cannon overbored for his chosen size of can. A can full of concrete had a lot of windage and therefore did not carry very far. But one day he loaded one with a void in the filler, it expanded to seal the bore and went a LOT farther. Moo, thud, hamburger.

August 28, 2022, 05:08 PM	#13
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	Check the size of solid rubber lacrosse balls, they might work and should be cheaper than billiard balls __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

August 30, 2022, 03:02 PM	#14
44caliberkid Senior Member Join Date: May 15, 2017 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,104	“When they wrote the 2nd amendment they didn’t mean you could have any gun you wanted. You couldn’t have a cannon.” - Pres. Joe Biden Yes you could Joe, and you still can. Congratulations on your new boomer. I love the sound of a large charge of black powder going off. And it smells like victory.

August 30, 2022, 05:33 PM	#15
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,838	Jim Watson - oppski on the mooski. Payout for the farmer too. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

August 30, 2022, 06:03 PM	#16
Deltadart Senior Member Join Date: April 26, 2015 Location: Washington State Posts: 286	BAR-B-Q, I'll bring the Sweet Baby Ray's