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.