Ideas for cannon ball extraction?

[Richard]

What better place to store cannon balls but in a cannon?

Hopefully there's only one ball left in the cannon....

Maybe this is a new-fangled repeater cannon? Like a pump action shotgun??

 

[MossRoad]

Run a rod down the barrel until it touches the ball. Mark it at the muzzle.
Remove the rod and lay it on top of the barrel with the mark at the muzzle.
Measure the distance from the ball end of the rod to the fuse hole.
If the distance is about 1 cannonball's diameter, there's only 1 ball left in the cannon. If it's twice, there's two.

I'm guessing that would work.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Run a rod down the barrel until it touches the ball. Mark it at the muzzle.
Remove the rod and lay it on top of the barrel with the mark at the muzzle.
Measure the distance from the ball end of the rod to the fuse hole.
If the distance is about 1 cannonball's diameter, there's only 1 ball left in the cannon. If it's twice, there's two.

I'm guessing that would work.

I was thinking he should do that.

 

[ultrarunner]

TBN members threads are opportunities to learn and I have learned a lot following this thread…

Thanks for posting!

 

[bcp]

TBN members threads are opportunities to learn and I have learned a lot following this thread…

Thanks for posting!

Just checked: there are 341,539 members now. I wonder how many of those members have a problem with a stuck cannonball, or have a cannon but don't yet know if there is a ball inside.

I've learned that if I find that I have a cannon, there may be a ball or two inside.

Maybe this thread will be brought back every years or two by someone with a stuck cannonball.

Good entertainment!



Bruce

 

[ultrarunner]

I’ve learned trying to blast it clear could spell disaster many ways… never would have occurred to me multiple cannon balls…

Chalk it up to another thread on safety…

 

[scaredychicken]

He's a cop, machinest, some form of engineering degree and is the 'Armorer' (sp?) for the City. He's the one that does all their gun maintainance and fix it up stuff. From what he told me he owns dozens and dozens and dozens of guns, rifles, has built a bunker on his (200 acre) property so he can shoot, store blah blah blah.... He's not into this stuff, he's seriously, into this stuff. Said he'd be happy to come out and look things over before I kill myself! Oh, said he woke up one day, said "I'd like to build myself a cannon" and did so.

This is a good guy to have as a friend

Progress is made, good for you Richard.

 

[Richard]

Run a rod down the barrel until it touches the ball. Mark it at the muzzle.

I know you're in Indiana.... (so here comes a someone from Ohio to someone who lives in Indiana joke...)

Maybe in the next decade, tape measures will make it to your state... (now, before you get your panties in a wad, know that I lived in Indianapolis for two years)

Anyway, I've not done it with this second ball, but used both my tape and my drill extension with the thumb marking the spot.

I never mentioned it but that was one thing that I found curious. Let's just say the barrel is 30" long. The (first) ball was let's say, 10" back at its FORWARD most position. When I pushed it back, it was lets call it, 20" back. This left a 10" remainder to get to the ignition hole. (I'm making these numbers up just to stretch my story out a bit longer)

Anyway, I was befuddled about that as it implied a chamber much larger than I expected. Not being an expert on the internal construction of a cannon, I figured it was the 'blast chamber' where the powder goes, has room to ignite and then the pressure from this chamber exits down the barrel, blowing the ball out.

yeah.... or maybe there is simply a 2nd or 3rd ball in there!

So now that I know what I know, I'll be measuring to the ignition hole. Side comment, I'll be VERY surprised if there's another ball in there based on (gut feeling) of where this ball is. However, I've been surprised twice now so going in with open mind.

 

[scaredychicken]

Richard,

i thought that this might amuse you, given the state joke comment

and i live in Canada (but studied in the States for a few years)

 

[Richard]

Maybe I'm a bit OCD.... but I'm constantly harping at the wife (when doing projects of measuring/cutting) to ALWAYS use the same tape measure for measuring, and then to cut. That perfectly illustrates my (perhaps a bit OCD) logic....

She always rolls her eyes but in truth, SHE's the perfectionist, not me... so she'll redo it 15 times to get it perfect when it might have only taken three times had she used the same measuring format.

 

[dodge man]

I’m not sure I’ve learned anything but it has been entertaining. The saga is not over yet either.

 

[npalen]

The OP dances to his own music. Says he doesn't want to drill into the ball, then drills into the ball. Says the bore is crusty, but only kinda cleans it (a 2 1/2"flap wheel mounted on an extension would make that bore clean and shiny). Use any 80 weight oil to lubricate the bore or help seal the ball if pushing with air blown through the touch hole - NOPE. Several posters have made suggestions that would have gotten the job done by now, but the OP is dancing to his own music and ordering black powder.

I believe he will get it out. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra "He'll do it his way"

I did it my way.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Just another bit of blackpowder technical trivia here. (Probably the last).

When it comes to actually loading and firing your cannon, or any other blackpowder muzzle loader, you must always seat the bullet/ball/projectile completely against the powder charge. NO air space allowed. When the ignition pressure starts to build, it must be pushing against the projectile from the start. If there is an air space between the powder charge and the ball (in this case), the pressure builds quickly without ball movement and can actually "ring" the barrel. This ends up as a swelled area right behind where the ball was sitting in the barrel.

So when you take that thing out and fire it for the first time, (you know you want to!), make sure the ball goes all the way down against the powder charge, and some light compaction of the powder from the seating of the ball is preferred.

 

[ultrarunner]

I’ve seen hand held cannons used to announce a wedding day in the alps…

Of course no cannon ball but a wad is rammed or packed tightly… and VERY loud as the sound echos through the mountains.

The tradition dates back hundreds of years and started as a way for mountain sentries to warn the village of approaching danger…

100mm is now max size in Germany I believe.

The first video is the group I have seen…

 

[2manyrocks]

Maybe some little boy put some more canon balls into Dad's cannon when Dad wasn't looking?

 

[Richard]

Good thing for me, the balls didn't exist when I was growing up! (his office workers got them for him many years later)

Anyway.... I just did the MossyToad method....and used a fanciful tape measure. I put some Toads in, head to toe.... counted the flakes of moss on them and it didn't add up!

The second ball is still in there (wife has some projects we're going to work on for while so this is on pause) None the less, measuring to the ball....measuring to the ignition hole, suggests that indeed, there just might be a THIRD one in there.... If not a third ball then SOMETHING might be in there holding the second ball in place or otherwise indicating a gap behind the ball. I really hope not, this is getting old lol.

Pretty much decided that this first ball has about TWO chances to start moving, if not, I'm pulling out the drill and having at it.

Won't know anything for sure until I can get it out.

 

[Jstpssng]

I nominate this thread for best in show.

 

[shooterdon]

Good thing for me, the balls didn't exist when I was growing up! (his office workers got them for him many years later)

Anyway.... I just did the MossyToad method....and used a fanciful tape measure. I put some Toads in, head to toe.... counted the flakes of moss on them and it didn't add up!

The second ball is still in there (wife has some projects we're going to work on for while so this is on pause) None the less, measuring to the ball....measuring to the ignition hole, suggests that indeed, there just might be a THIRD one in there.... If not a third ball then SOMETHING might be in there holding the second ball in place or otherwise indicating a gap behind the ball. I really hope not, this is getting old lol.

Pretty much decided that this first ball has about TWO chances to start moving, if not, I'm pulling out the drill and having at it.

Won't know anything for sure until I can get it out.

I hope the "third ball" is not black powder.

Slowpoke is correct. If you ever fire that thing, be sure there is no space between the ball and the powder. At the minimum you need a ramrod to seat the ball on the powder. In many cannon demonstrations you will see the barrel wetted before the second shot to address debris that was left in the first shot that could be smoldering. (Not a good outcome to put a fresh powder down a barrel that has a source of ignition). After wetting, the barrel is swabbed out to "dry" most of the water.

I am a safety ****. But here is a true story

A guy not far from me fired a cannon for the 4th of July Never got the full story but "something went wrong". He blew the arm off his four year old son. His son was air-lifted and lived.

 

[MossRoad]

Good thing for me, the balls didn't exist when I was growing up! (his office workers got them for him many years later)

Anyway.... I just did the MossyToad method....and used a fanciful tape measure. I put some Toads in, head to toe.... counted the flakes of moss on them and it didn't add up!

The second ball is still in there (wife has some projects we're going to work on for while so this is on pause) None the less, measuring to the ball....measuring to the ignition hole, suggests that indeed, there just might be a THIRD one in there.... If not a third ball then SOMETHING might be in there holding the second ball in place or otherwise indicating a gap behind the ball. I really hope not, this is getting old lol.

Pretty much decided that this first ball has about TWO chances to start moving, if not, I'm pulling out the drill and having at it.

Won't know anything for sure until I can get it out.

Or maybe a ball and a bunch of dirt/debris, or, gunpowder. Who know? Anyhow, again, thanks for the documentation of the project. It is fascinating.

 

[MossRoad]

I hope the "third ball" is not black powder.

Slowpoke is correct. If you ever fire that thing, be sure there is no space between the ball and the powder. At the minimum you need a ramrod to seat the ball on the powder. In many cannon demonstrations you will see the barrel wetted before the second shot to address debris that was left in the first shot that could be smoldering. (Not a good outcome to put a fresh powder down a barrel that has a source of ignition). After wetting, the barrel is swabbed out to "dry" most of the water.

I am a safety ****. But here is a true story

A guy not far from me fired a cannon for the 4th of July Never got the full story but "something went wrong". He blew the arm off his four year old son. His son was air-lifted and lived.

If you google 4th of july cannon injury death explosion, etc. you get more hits than you'd think.