Has anyone built a mortar that fires standard billiard balls? I searched and there was some discussion of this awhile back, but a lot of it was just speculation and not much in the way of actual shooting. I did find out that standard pool balls will not work in the commercial 2¼" bores (no windage) but this would be a scratch-built barrel with the bore sized appropriately.
This topic stems from a conversation with a coworker, as we looked at the stack of material I've hoarded (I have five uncut 100mm x 8¼" rams and one partial that is about five inches long). We were talking about my next project, and I told him that I had thought about building a sodacan mortar.
As the conversation turned to Union vs. CSA pattern, minimum wall thickness, windage specs, etc., his eyes sort of glazed over. I have to remember to keep these discussions simple: "Mortar go boom. Big boom good."
Anyway, he recently split with his wife (they're reconciling) and the first this he did was to go out and buy a pool table for the living room. That's how the subject of pool balls came into play. About this time another party enters the conversation. He sternly insists that pool balls are explosive and might burst inside the tube.
Now I know that at one time pool balls were made of celluloid, and that they would sometimes spark when struck and would burn vigorously if thrown into a fire. But AFAIK no one makes celluloid balls anymore. So even if they are a danger the odds on getting one are slim to none.
Standard billiard balls have a diameter of 2.25" which would require a bore diameter of 2.308" for windage. This would be a better choice than the sodacan, which is pushing the limits of my stock size.
I've seen well-used pool balls on eBay go for as little as 50¢ each (bought in sets), so if I lose one or two it won't break the bank. If I check around I may find some locally, I don't think there's a huge market for worn-out pool balls.
