Oh-Oh.......Looks like someone called out the big gun, bigger than even a seacoast gun. Don't worry Bill, no one is mad on this end and we hope no one is mad at us, but really don't care if they are. Everything's cool. This thread has enough good information to be a stand-alone resource as it is and our interest was terminated when it seemed to be turning into just another "Lost in Space" episode in which the guardian robot constantly bleats it's warning message which just about everyone will recognize: "Danger, Will Robinson!"
Sure this hobby has some dangers; sure BP is a vigorous propellant, but for goodness sake, why dwell on the negative? We are trying really hard to advance this hobby, not kill it! After reading and actually studying the recent thread titled, "serious cannon accident at Plymouth NC this weekend" by Navy Gunner, we knew how really bad a 'warning type thread' could get. Gotta give Navy Gunner a lot of credit, he tried to calmly get it back on track at least 3 times, but all the rampant speculation and one-upsmanship had developed a life of it's own. DD even had to jump in to quell minor riots between members who became overheated. We decided THAT was never going to happen to one of our threads, Ever and it won't.
To JeffG's credit, he came up with the first important safety principle in that accident thread when he wrote in reply #11, "(unknowlegeable) People get bored with the care and time I take between shots... I like all my parts right where they are." Right on! This, in our opinion, this is in the top two safety actions a cannon shooter can actually take to minimize the chance of serious injury while shooting cannons. The most important safety action which a BP gun crew can take, in our opinion, was put forth by GGaskill in reply #29 and amplified by Victor3 in reply #36 which is the following:
Re: serious cannon accident at Plymouth NC this weekend
« Reply #36 on: April 30, 2010, 05:57:26 AM »
Victor3, reply#36
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Quote from: GGaskill on April 28, 2010, 01:15:47 PM
“One thing that would have helped here and in other events of this nature would be to put away the period rammers and only use the U-shaped ones that keep the loader behind the muzzle and have no head to be avoided. Military practice has been lax regarding safety things in wartime since the basic activity causes so many deaths and injuries but recreational users don't have that excuse.”
Victor3: “I don't see why U-shaped rammers are not a requirement with the N-SSA and similar groups today. Don't the majority of serious injuries we hear about among CW artillery reenactors involve a body part in line with the bore during loading?
I understand the desire to be 'period correct' and all, but IMO that shouldn't be more important than a simple safety feature that will prevent someone from losing a hand if there's a premature ignition.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX The Seacoast Artillery boys are NOT AFRAID to use a “Shepards Crook Rammer” having got all that MACHO BS out of our systems while serving in the US Army and the US Navy and firing plenty of the big ones in our youth. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
These guys know what they are talking about in this post and in many, many others they have both made, making them both terrific assets to our hobby. We thank them both and JeffG very much for advancing the safety element of our hobby.
That’s it, if you have any good information to offer on the making of black powder, please post it on Gary’s BP thread which is now the ONLY ACTIVE THREAD on this topic.
Thank You and please remember what a fireworks professional, who lived right across the street from me for years ( in the past) said, "Black Powder is the most stable compound we handle on a daily basis. Observe the standard safety rules and you will be O.K. BUT, Stay away from the Chlorates!!!! If you want to keep your fingers, hands, eyes and your life, Stay far away from the Chlorates!" Good advice!
This thread is over for us; please contribute to Gary's hands-on BP making thread. If he really gets into it we will make some hydraulic press tools for him so he can prepare the powder pucks for the corning process. THAT will be our further contribution to this subject.
Regards,
Tracy and Mike
