Author Topic: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar  (Read 1849 times)

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Offline seacoastartillery

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Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« on: September 02, 2007, 09:30:01 AM »
     Mallet’s monster mortar, built for the Crimean War, 1853 to 1856 was designed by Robert Mallet for the primary purpose of crushing masonry arches in fortifications and the thick, rammed-earth coverings, which protected powder magazines in field fortifications with its huge, 36” shells weighing from 2,400 to 2,900 Lbs.  Designed to be ship and rail transportable, it was composed of 6 major sections, the heaviest weighing 11 tons.  Even the tube was divided into sections!
These sections which were designed to be gas-tight upon firing.  The large breech-piece containing the powder chamber was a huge, wrought-iron, forging for maximum strength.  It was not finished until the war was over, and was finally tested at Woolwich, outside London in 1857.  One observer of the Woolwich ordinance tests remarked that the impact of the 2,400 Lb. “blind shell”, (shell without explosive), was shocking, and that there was a 'great disturbance' at a mile and a half as cartloads of dirt and rock were ejected from a large hole, eighteen feet deep, in hard, dry, soil.

     The following is a description of the first rounds that this great mortar ever fired.  Credit for these quoted descriptions is given to "The Playbook of Metals Including Personal Narratives of Visits to Coal, Copper, Lead and Tin Mines with a Large Number of Interesting Experiments relating to Alchemy and the Chemistry of the Fifty Metallic Elements", by John Henry Pepper, published by George Rutledge, London, in 1862, E. Evans, Illustrator. The following quotes are from this book:

     “The limit of the strength of iron seems to have been reached in Mallet’s mammoth, 36-inch mortar, which might be called Lord Palmerston’s Pacificator.  The experiments with this terrific piece of ordinance (shown in the frontispiece) have not as yet been successful, partly because it does not project the shell as far as an ordinary 13 inch mortar, and secondly, because the rings of iron or portions of the strengthening system have given way after one or two discharges; but of its power there can be no doubt, when it is remembered that the shell weighs about twenty-five hundred weight or rather more than one ton and a quarter.  The momentum of such a falling mass must be enormous, and no existing fortification could withstand for any number of hours, the steady application of these shells.”

     “Even failures are instructive, and , therefore, one of the accounts of the Times of the
Trial of Mallet’s mortar is inserted here.” 
     “Another trial of the 36-inch mortar was made in Woolwich Marsh.  The experiments commenced at 11 o’clock and terminated at 1:30, with a charge of 50 lbs. of powder, &c.(sic), which obtained a range, as on the former occasions, of 340 yards to each 10 lbs. of powder.  A minute examination of the wedges, keys, rings, &c.,(sic) having been made and pronounced ‘all right’,  a second charge of 60 lbs. of powder, &c.,(sic) was introduced.  The second shot, like the first, was successful, the range in this instance exceeded 2000 yards, the shell alighting beyond the butt, in a ditch which separates the marsh from the adjoining property, and creating a tremendous eruption of water, black earth, &c.  According to the prescribed arrangement of adding 10 lbs. of powder to each successive charge, the third charge contained 70 lbs., and although the monster gun had withstood the first two rounds well, an additional degree of caution was observed by everyone present to stand clear of its proximity at the instant the match was ignited.  The effect of the third round was less successful, as one of the steel cotters broke asunder, and was rendered useless; but as the former experiments had shown the necessity of being provided against a similar casualty, the broken key was replaced, with some slight delay, with a second, wrought of malleable cast iron, supposed to be more durable.  The mortar was then reloaded with an 80 lb. charge, and fired with apparent success, the shell again mounting high in the air and taking flight over 2758 yards, considerably exceeding a mile and a half.  The elevation of the mortar was frequently varied, and was ultimately reduced from 48 deg. 30 min. to 45 deg.  At this stage of the proceedings it was found to be impossible to carry on the experiments as one of the main stays intended to secure the various segments of the barrel of the mortar was broken, and one of the principle wedges or cotters, a foot and a half in length, had escaped.”

   
Mike and Tracy



Mallet's mortar at Ft. Nelson in Portsmouth, U.K.




Lathe turning the 1018 steel round to historical dimensions.  The bore is bored out here to 2.730".  (OOPS, thanks Lance, the correct size is 1.730")




We always make a sketch or drawing before cutting any metal or wood; it pays dividends in that this prevents most wasted material and helps figure out details.



A full radius was bored in the ball-seat area using a single point boring took every 1 deg.




The bore size is evident here; how did that 7" Brooke Treble-Banded Rifle breech get in this picture?  Must have just been lying there.  ;) ;) ;) ;)





Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline lance

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2007, 09:59:48 AM »
Dear golf ball mortar newbies, either it's a typo, or you really are newbies. i don't think 2.730" bore will work too good for golfballs. ;D cool pics and great info Mike and Tracy, can't wait to see more.
PALADIN had a gun.....I have guns, mortars, and cannons!

Offline Cat Whisperer

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2007, 10:10:17 AM »
Dear golf ball mortar newbies, either it's a typo, or you really are newbies. i don't think 2.730" bore will work too good for golfballs. ;D cool pics and great info Mike and Tracy, can't wait to see more.


2.730" ?    They MIGHT be playing a genuinely SERIOUS game of golf!!!   ::)


Regardless, those are some great looking curves rendered in steel !!!
Tim K                 www.GBOCANNONS.COM
Cat Whisperer
Chief of Smoke, Pulaski Coehorn Works & Winery
U.S.Army Retired
N 37.05224  W 80.78133 (front door +/- 15 feet)

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2007, 10:27:31 AM »
     Thanks Lance!!  We were thinking of a theory to explain the extra acreage in the bore, but figured you guys wouldn't  buy it.  How does this sound, "The extra inch in bore diameter lets a greater portion of expanding powder gasses flow OVER the golf ball, thereby giving it a downward spin.  The idea here is to propel it violently for very SHORT distances, like 30 yards, and then  have it dig in, right next to the stake.  ;D ;D

     A serious game of golf THAT would be, Tim.  When you yelled "FORE", people would definitely take notice!!  Hate to get hit with one of those. :( :(

Tracy and Mike
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline lance

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2007, 10:37:18 AM »
Oh, i knew you guy's knew better, and see that you fixed the typo. i really love all that historical info, that would have been something to witness.
PALADIN had a gun.....I have guns, mortars, and cannons!

Offline Will Bison

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2007, 04:06:19 PM »
The original full size piece is a dainty looking machine.  ;) ;) ;)

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2007, 04:24:08 PM »
     You know what, Bill, you're right!  As dainty and graceful as a Hippo in leotards!  The animal that the big mortar really reminds me of is the Bullfrog, with its powerful rear end and the body's angle of attack and the promise of explosive action at the mouth when that lightning-fast tongue snaps a careless dragonfly out of the air!

     Well, we are a bit closer to completion now after Tracy and Mike got after it on Sat. night and a bit on Monday.  Pictures of the base ring/plate combo are shown here.  This is the structure which originally was a very heavy casting, which you can see by the shape, in the Fort Nelson photo.  We don't have time to duplicate all those casting pattern undulations in the form of the base, but we will round off the ends and run an outside radius milling cutter over the side edges.  The space between the vertical ribs shown is where the lower end of the tube segment clamping straps are secured and drawn tight with tapered wedges called "cotters" back in the 1850s and 60s.  Perhaps a super-size version of today's "cotter pin"?  We will use a simple cross pin here, press-fitted. 

     Just three more days, part-time, we figure, and she should be done; can't wait to fire this little beast.  We just have to restrain ourselves by saying constantly, "No nitpicking details", over and over and over again.  Photos of our progress are below:

Regards,

Mike and Tracy



An annular ring is milled in the base plate clamped to the rotary table.  This will be sculpted on the milling machine to form some of the cast features of the base plate.



The  lower Tube Segment Retaining Strap Securing Ring is sculpted with a 3/8" ball end mill.




Here you see the that the mortar's tilting base is milled out of one piece of boiler plate.  How did that 7" Brooke Rifle muzzle get in this photo?   ;) ;) ;) ;)




A solid block of white oak, with a drawing of the mortar bed out-line glued to it is sawed carefully on the band saw.




Here is the miniature Mallet's mortar at the range ready to launch GB shells.  You can see the elevation wedge in this photo.  The bed will be painted white.



Trial by fire has occurred!!











Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline lance

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2007, 04:49:04 PM »
Cool new pictures Mike and Tracy, you are right not a tree in sight. i'm almost scared to ask, but, what would one of those golf ball mortars cost. that's if you were going to sell them ;D ;D ;D
PALADIN had a gun.....I have guns, mortars, and cannons!

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #8 on: September 11, 2007, 07:26:21 PM »
     Lance, the only way to drive the cost down to a perceived reasonable level is to produce most of the major parts on NC equipment and also to have the individual parts  designed for simple assembly, OR to be a financially secure, retired person who does the work as a hobby and then sells it for the cost of materials and consumables only.  Mike and I own manual, read that, 'SLOW' equipment and we are not retired.   So, unfortunately, the answer has to be no until retirement which is a full five years off.

     We spent some long hours in the shop finishing this junior size Mallet's mortar, but other than learning a few new (BAD) words from the "Old Salt" as he was machining the base plate, retaining ring and trunnion out of a solid block of 1018 steel, everything went quite well.  After heating the base at 400 deg. F. in the oven for a full hour to provide easy assembly of the larger dia. tube into the smaller dia, retaining ring of the base, Mike slid the two parts together a full 30 deg. out of cync!  After 2 or 3 seconds he realized this and yanked the ring around to the correct alignment.  At this point I heard more of those words my mom forbade me ever to say.

The base, retaining ring and trunnion structure is all one piece of 1018 steel, carefully carved out with a variety of tools on our Bridgeport Mill.  Quite a bit of filing was needed in hard to reach areas as well.

Regards,

Tracy and Mike
 
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline lance

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #9 on: September 14, 2007, 02:29:18 PM »
been off line for a few days, the hillbilly phone company has been up-grading to keep up with the modern world :).......... sure would like to see details of those cool clamping straps,etc,....sure is one fine project!!!! i'm thinking i'll wait till ya guys retire, after a few weeks of stringing beads and playing bingo, well , you'll be more than glad to get back in the shop........ who knows? you might be so thankful to be doing something, i might get one of these free, plus material cost ;D hmmmm, wonder if i can get a Brooke that way too ;D ;D ;D
PALADIN had a gun.....I have guns, mortars, and cannons!

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #10 on: September 14, 2007, 03:24:51 PM »
     Appreciate the compliments on our GB mortar project, Lance. 
i'm thinking i'll wait till ya guys retire, after a few weeks of stringing beads and playing bingo, well , you'll be more than glad to get back in the shop........ who knows? you might be so thankful to be doing something, i might get one of these free, plus material cost ;D hmmmm, wonder if i can get a Brooke that way too ;D ;D ;D

     "Stringing beads?" Not too likely, Lance.  Stringing trout, maybe, string beads, NO!  Playing with powder and ball, very likely. Playing Bingo, not likely at all.  FREE?? Did someone say FREE??  Ice-cream for kids is free.  Advice is free.  Not much else, in our experience.  Tell you what, you pay my GMC Suburban's gasoline bill for six months then we'll talk about sending you a "FREE" Mallet's Mortar Junior GB Mortar.  ;D ;D ;D  The Brooke, do you mean the 1/6th scale, 1.1 M.O.A. super cannon we are currently crafting, based on the 7" Seacoast and Navy, Treble-Banded, Brooke Rifle, the only Confederate gun to ever put a hole in the U.S.S. Weehawken?  That Brooke?  Why Lance, you already know how easy it will be for you to earn one of those.  Have you been saving those aluminum pie plates lately?  :o :o

Best regards,

Tracy and Mike
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline Terry C.

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2007, 04:37:12 PM »
Hmmm ... Mortars?  Bingo?


You guys just gave me an idea for a new contest: Mortar Bingo.


A grid of squares could be made with pegs and string. The grid would consist of 25 equal sized squares, laid out 5x5 like a bingo card.

The object would be to shoot a golfball into five squares in a row (BINGO).

Least number of total shots (hits and misses) to BINGO wins. In case of a tie, least number of misses determines the winner.

Shots in an unoccupied square are hits. Shots outside the grid or in a square that has already has a ball in it are misses (a square can only be 'hit' once).

Perfect score would be BINGO in five shots. Not sure if there should be a maximum limit on shots, I guess that would depend on your supply of balls and powder. Misses could be picked up and re-shot if ammo runs short.

Grid size and range would need to be determined beforehand.

Offline lance

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #12 on: September 14, 2007, 04:43:33 PM »
TERRY C , that does sound fun!!! and would be safer than holding pie plates at 200yds and letting Tracy and Mike shoot at me,oops, i mean the plates. can we yell BINGO..............count me in!!! looking forward to it, the BINGO contest,that is, still thinking about the plate thing ;D ;D ;D
PALADIN had a gun.....I have guns, mortars, and cannons!

Offline Terry C.

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Re: Crimean War Behemoth Inspires Golf Ball Mortar
« Reply #13 on: September 14, 2007, 06:04:04 PM »
If a man yells BINGO in the forest and there's no one there to hear him...


A simpler version would be a 3x3 grid, or Mortar Tic-tac-toe, but somehow that doesn't have the same ring to it.

"Mortar Bingo" just rolls off the tongue.


Also, I used golfballs since this topic is (or at least was, sorry) about a golfball mortar. But if we do this it should be open to all mortars. Maybe have different ranges for the various calibers.


No pie pans allowed.


I'll start a separate thread on this tomorrow.