The Mighty 35

[Evil Dog]

I cast a lot of different size round ball for muzzleloaders, one of them being a .345 ball which works well for loading "Buck & Ball" in a 75 caliber Brown Bess.  3 of them lay flat in a layer and generally print a nice triangular pattern surrounding a .715 ball.  Traded that much beloved Brown Bess a few years back but for some reason have held on to the Lyman double cavity .345 ball mold.

Then the threads concerning "micro" and "nano" mortars showed up on the board.  Hmm.... how about a Mini-Dictator that would use that .345 ball?  Justified it with the thought that I could use it in the back yard trying to lob those little balls into a 3 pound coffee can at 10 or 15 yards.  Got in touch with Michael Brooks over at Brooks Engineering and worked out the details of what I had in mind for a barrel.  He gave me a delivery window of 4 to 5 weeks and sure enough 5 weeks later the barrel arrived in my mail box.

Found some nice 1/2" oak at the local hardware store that looked like a mortar base in the rough.  A couple nights puttering in the shop and I now have The Mighty 35 !!!



Still have to make brass straps to go over the trunnions and then it will be pretty much complete.  The barrel is 2" diameter by 2 1/2" long and the trunnions are 3/4" diameter.  The vent was drilled with 1/16" fuse in mind.  There is no powder subchamber as I really didn't feel one was necessary.



Now I have to make up a couple of suitably sized mops... modified 38 caliber pistol cleaning mops come to mind.  Mount them on 3/16" dowel.  Possibly add a couple brass screw eyes to each side of the mortar to mount the mops.



So far have tried a few shots using aprox 7.5gr GOEX FFFFg.... makes about as much noise as a cap pistol.  Never did find the fired balls, will have to set out a plastic tarp with that coffee can in the center of it.

[GGaskill]

So we are going to have a micro contest too at Desert Marksmen?   

[Evil Dog]

If you have one, bring it with you !!!

[Tropico]

These are great mortars., that carriage looks GREAT !!!

[GGaskill]

It's a paint ball Coehorn.  A little too large, perhaps.

[Evil Dog]

Looks like I am going to be going for Plan B.  There was something about that carriage that just didn't look right to me.... finally figured it out by sticking a 3' dowel down the bore.  The trunnion cutouts are just slightly off kilter... enough to cause it to consistantly shoot a little to the left of where the carriage is aligned.  So.... back to the hardware store for another piece of 1/2" oak.  This time will drill the trunnion holes though both pieces at the same time with a forsner bit and then put a piece of 3/4" dowel through it to keep both pieces aligned while I work on them.

[Tropico]

That is EXACTLY how I build carriages.,both cheeks pressed together for shaping.

[GGaskill]

Should have sent it to me.  I would have recut the trunnion grooves on the Bridgeport; then they would have been aligned perpendicular to the base.

[Rickk]

If you try to cut a half-circle with a forsner bit, even in a drill press, it will try it's darnest to walk out of the hole. The lower piece in the stack will somehow be cut less deep than the top. It will also be more likely to splinter the edges. It might be OK if you clamp the heck out of it, but then you risk marking the wood up.

If you use wider wood and drill complete holes first, then cut the excess off to make half-holes it will be way easier in the long run.

[Tropico]

If you use wider wood and drill complete holes first, then cut the excess off to make half-holes it will be way easier in the long run.

This is another technique I use also in building a carriage., its really the only way to go.

[Evil Dog]

Yes, I had already decided to drill complete holes and then position the carriage around them.