melting metal

[BrokenBiker]

when melting metal to be cast, what is yield and how do you work it out?

I have a massive box of brass casings being saved for when I can melt it all down and cast it into a cannon.

I know how heavy the cannon should be once it is cast, and have allowed extra for machining etc, but have been told to allow for yield too

 

[brightspark]

when melting metal to be cast, what is yield and how do you work it out?

I have a massive box of brass casings being saved for when I can melt it all down and cast it into a cannon.

I know how heavy the cannon should be once it is cast, and have allowed extra for machining etc, but have been told to allow for yield too

here will give u an idea .i hope u have a fat wallet to pay for a decent size graphite crucible http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riser_(casting)try and get a load of old bronze gate valves to add to your brass it has a nicer colour to it and it flows a lot easier than just brass

 

[BrokenBiker]

here will give u an idea .i hope u have a fat wallet to pay for a decent size graphite crucible http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riser_(casting)try and get a load of old bronze gate valves to add to your brass it has a nicer colour to it and it flows a lot easier than just brass

i am quite a way off the casting yet, plenty of time to get a crucible, need to make the forge first, and have to move before that lol. Cheers for the link

 

[Pete.]

I had exacly half a ton of brass last week. Shame I didn't get to keep the scrap money from it :/

 

[BrokenBiker]

I had exacly half a ton of brass last week. Shame I didn't get to keep the scrap money from it :/

I only have about 4kg so far, I reckon ny the time the box is full it will weigh around 11kg, but there are bits of plastic stuck to the shotgun shells, I've cut the bulk off but still a bit needs removing. The cannon barrel will weigh roughly 1.6kg when cast, but that is allowing 1.5mm to be machined off the barrel, and have to drill the bore too

 

[brightspark]

I only have about 4kg so far, I reckon ny the time the box is full it will weigh around 11kg, but there are bits of plastic stuck to the shotgun shells, I've cut the bulk off but still a bit needs removing. The cannon barrel will weigh roughly 1.6kg when cast, but that is allowing 1.5mm to be machined off the barrel, and have to drill the bore too

arent the shotgun catriges pressed steel brass coated???

 

[Bill Edwards]

arent the shotgun catriges pressed steel brass coated???

I was going to say that at least most are, but when I think about it I am not sure you'll find any common ones that aren't.
Magnets on poles are often used to clear up cartridges that miss the bin at clay grounds and I can't think of seeing any that wouldn't stick, cartridges may be quite useless for this application!

 

[BrokenBiker]

arent the shotgun catriges pressed steel brass coated???

not the old brass ones. Had a load given to me by an old guy that used to reload. They are now past it and most are damaged. The new ones may be, hadnt thought about it really. The rest of the box is full of .22lr , .17hmr and unwanted .223 and .243 from mates with rifles

 

[Maker]

How big will this cannon be? I read cannon and was picturing 4"+ bore, then I read 11kg and now I'm picturing 1"ish bore. Is it a working model?

 

[BrokenBiker]

close, looking for 3/4 inch ish bore. Its not going to be a replica, just a toy really, but yes it will be a working cannon. Although will probably only fire wads lol

 

[Maker]

close, looking for 3/4 inch ish bore. Its not going to be a replica, just a toy really, but yes it will be a working cannon. Although will probably only fire wads lol

Sounds like an interesting project but when it works, you should scale it up to a more manly sized cannon.

Have you seen this, looks like there's some money to be made in micro cannons.

 

[Cyberprog]

Sod the cannon, I want a golf ball mortar!

 

[BrokenBiker]

good, we all share the same mentality haha. I have a few ideas. I like the micro cannon, but want to make one I sae on youtube that fires .22 blanks too.

cyberprog, get your self 2 Pringles tubes, cut the bottom off one, gaffa tape them together to make one long tube, drill 2mm hole in bottom, hotglue a bit of wire in so it contacts the bottom. Connect the wire to posi side of car battery, pit a capfull of lighter fluid in the tube and a tennis ball, flash neg wire from battery across the bottom of the tube and watch how far the ball flies. Makes a nice pop too haha. Takes a bit of fettling to get it to work properly, was a school science project about expansion of gasses lol

 

[Perry Owens]

As soon as you drill the touch hole you will have manufactured a prohibited weapon. Not a great subject to discuss on an online forum. On a more positive note, if you decide to go ahead I have 2kg of scrap cartridge cases I could donate to the project - quite like the idea of them ending up in a cannon.

 

[Cyberprog]

good, we all share the same mentality haha. I have a few ideas. I like the micro cannon, but want to make one I sae on youtube that fires .22 blanks too.

cyberprog, get your self 2 Pringles tubes, cut the bottom off one, gaffa tape them together to make one long tube, drill 2mm hole in bottom, hotglue a bit of wire in so it contacts the bottom. Connect the wire to posi side of car battery, pit a capfull of lighter fluid in the tube and a tennis ball, flash neg wire from battery across the bottom of the tube and watch how far the ball flies. Makes a nice pop too haha. Takes a bit of fettling to get it to work properly, was a school science project about expansion of gasses lol

Sounds like a job for some PVC tube, a spark gen off a boiler (hrm, where might I find one of those, oh yeah, the massive warehouse outside my office!), and some gas...

 

[tomsutton529]

Me and my dad looked into this a few years ago, Firstly we came to the conclusion that it would need to be covered by my Dads Section 1 Firearms license.. Which means simply padlocking it to a post in our field would suffice as a security measure. Just something to think about.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Me and my dad looked into this a few years ago, Firstly we came to the conclusion that it would need to be covered by my Dads Section 1 Firearms license.. Which means simply padlocking it to a post in our field would suffice as a security measure. Just something to think about.

its only section one if it will chamber and fire commercially available ammunition. None of my designs will be able to fire anything that isn't home made and specifically for this. If needs be I can also make them comply with the VCR act in the same way as a starters pistol. Already been through it with firearms department as I wanted to be able to use the powder in a shotgun shell as a form of propellant before realising blanks would be cheaper and easier to use

 

[tomsutton529]

its only section one if it will chamber and fire commercially available ammunition. None of my designs will be able to fire anything that isn't home made and specifically for this. If needs be I can also make them comply with the VCR act in the same way as a starters pistol. Already been through it with firearms department as I wanted to be able to use the powder in a shotgun shell as a form of propellant before realising blanks would be cheaper and easier to use

why, oh why on earth didn't I post my master plan to have my own celebratory cannon on this fine forum... I knew there would be a work around and I could be happily having my arrival home announced with a 21 gun salute from the field..

 

[BrokenBiker]

it is the same as an 1860 revolver. You don't need any license for it as you cannot simply walk into a shop and buy suitable ammo off the shelf for it. You can still make it fire though if you have a mate with powder and a suitable wad and ball shot.

don't take my word as gospel though, speak with your firearms team as they may have different views on it. My firearms team will not allow anyone to have an fac shotgun without being part of a club even if they have somewhere to shoot it. Other forces will hand them out like sweets.

 

[Fergus]

I thought cannon under 2" were held on a S2 shotgun licence? For what it's worth I've got S1 shotgun on my FAC for avian quarry.