Going Bigger! Step-by-step Fabricating a .75 cal Black Powder Cannon *FINISHED*

No idea! I won't be firing this one in my residential neighborhood as it will be far too loud. I'll find some remote place to shoot it but will ask my local gun club if firing a blank charge from a signal cannon is within the rules. They don't expressly forbid it but I also don't want to upset the club.

There is a NH shoot coming up in a couple of weeks (and more over the summer).

Signal cannon are definitely acceptable there.
 
Anything new? Fire this bad boy?

I'll have updates tomorrow hopefully! I had to take a long break but this badboy is 99% done! The carriage was a lot more work than I expected. I also think tomorrow will be the first "real" firing with a full load. It being the 4th seems fitting to really make this thing go boom!
 
Okay here it is!!!

This took a LOT more work than I thought to build the carriage and i'm sorry but I didnt take as many in-progress pics. Here is a long summary of what I did since the last steps posted:
-Stained everything mahogany
-Built axles out of aluminum and turned/drilled then for pegs
-Bult slider with milled groover to ride upon which is used for elevation gain
-Turned the knob for the wedge and attached chain to frame
-Built trunnion caps which was a pain in the ass and then inset screws for acorn caps to hold it down
-Attached various aesthetic nails and hooks/fittings

75.jpg

76.jpg

77.jpg

78.jpg

79.jpg


Later today I hope to post a picture of it firing in its new carriage. This was an extremely satisfying project and it turned out fantastic! I will be putting this somewhere prominent in my home and I have no doubt it will be part of my family for a while. The only last thing I plan to do is to make a small plaque with my name, the date I finished it (awesomely the 4th of July) and my location which i'll fasten to the front of the carriage.

Thanks to everyone who followed along this build!!!

As a reminder, here's what this started as:
1.jpg
 
Last edited:
Okay here is the first firing. Holy shit. I saw neighbors come out of their houses on this one and it was only about 50% of the charge that I built this cannon for. Happy Birthday America!
[video=youtube_share;KSTme_8j1hs]http://youtu.be/KSTme_8j1hs[/video]
 
Here's my mill...also an insane crigslist score. I got it for 600$ DELIVERED and installed in my shop...i dont know what they were thinking as the scrap value for the steel was more than that. Its a 1944 Bridgeport "m-head" with a 36" table which is known as a "baby bridgeport" since it only weights around 1800 pounds and is a smaller overall height and size than a more modern one. Perfect for a home shop.
9.JPG


You lucky ****ing bastard
 
That's awesome. Fire at a target love to see it smash something? Maybe some grape shot. I bet you could sell these things!!!
 
Sweet

- - - Updated - - -

Okay here is the first firing. Holy shit. I saw neighbors come out of their houses on this one and it was only about 50% of the charge that I built this cannon for. Happy Birthday America!
[video=youtube_share;KSTme_8j1hs]http://youtu.be/KSTme_8j1hs[/video]


Ok that was fun, now bore it to an 1.25"
 
Cant bore this one to 1.25 without violating the 3:1 rule for bore diameter. I'd need to start with 3.75" stock to do a 1.25" bore....I honestly want to do a 1.70" bore so that I can launch golfballs into the ether but boring a 1.75" hole is not as easy as it sounds at any significant depth without a more hefty lathe than I have.
 
This was the most interesting NES project thread I have seen to date. Hope you are still firing this baby? Do you have any current photos?
 
This was the most interesting NES project thread I have seen to date. Hope you are still firing this baby? Do you have any current photos?

Hell yeah! I fire it the entire week leading up to the 4th and then it has become a family tradition that we blow up various piece of fruit with it on Labor Day. Here's a watermelon last year:
[video=youtube_share;mh3KwLAzqpg]http://youtu.be/mh3KwLAzqpg[/video]
 
Cool stuff.... heck I want a bench mill just to make small parts like sight mounts and such.
This is very cool.
 
Back
Top Bottom