Help a Newbe

[milkyway]

Hi, I have been reading on this site for quite some time now, and I am finally posting. After hours and hours of searching the web you most undoubtedly have the best site  . I am particularly interested in building a golf ball mortar safely. I have a machine shop and I just happen to have a few pieces of cold roll that are 12" long with a 2.5" o.d. with a .625" bore all the way through.  It appears after reading other post on your site that a bore of 1.7" will still give me a wall thickness of .4" which is thicker than the recommended .375" so I think I am OK there. Secondly, can I make a breech plug for this and what shape and dimensions and attachment should I do? , and where should the vent be placed? I have looked for some plans for this and have not really seen any with a breech plug. Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks,


Mike

[onegreatshot]

Mike welcome aboard, If you search this site you will find others who are doing just what your attempting to do. The one I'm thinking of has photo's of his process and you can read the comments made, all by knowledgeable members.

[Double D]

Welcome to the  board Milkyway!   Glad have you.

Need a breech plug?  We can probably come up with one,  It really depends on what you want to do for a breech plug.  There are a number of ways to do a breech plug.   I will share with you my idea.  The other fellows   can share with you their different ideas. There is more than one way to skin this cat.

Take a look at these two posts.  They show how I made breech plugs.  K.I.S.S. bowling ball mortar and K.I.S.S. Golfball Mortar

I machine the breech plug and the bore.  The two diameter breech plug slips down the bore and seats on a lip.  The breech plug is pulled down against the lip by the bolted on trunnion.

For your piece of steel  using this style  breeching, your breech plug would  contain the chamber and that chamber to meet basic safety standards should be no larger than .833" in diameter.  (2.5/3=0.833)  The breech plug of course would have to be 1.7" in the big diameter.  The small diameter for simplicity sake could be  1.5" .

The vent should come in at the bottom of the chamber

[RocklockI]

DD's KISS mortar may be your answer . I'm sure someone will show a pic or diagram soon . I don't have one .
 
Good Luck and welcome aboard this IS the place.
Gary

[milkyway]

Cool, I really like the K.I.S.S. Mortar, that is exactly what I have been looking for. I guess I could not see the pictures till I registered. The only dimension I did not see is the O.D. for the barrel.  The other concern of mine was cleaning after use, and I am not too clear on that with what was said about the vent and cleaning from this design.


Thanks for your help,


Mike

[Double D]

  The other concern of mine was cleaning after use, and I am not too clear on that with what was said about the vent and cleaning from this design.


Thanks for your help,


Mike

I do the routine barrel swabbing during shooting, then stick a  garden hose down the bore  when I get home.  Wipe the mortar dry,  Spray the bore with WD40 and wipe the wood with boiled linseed oil.  Once a year I  disassemble the mortar and clean and oil the individual parts.