Dangerous thing to try

[phalanx]

A friend of mine asked me about using a Hydraulic Cylinder as a tube.
I told him at first that didn't sound real smart.
He continued telling me about Cyl. that pick up all this weight.
and that he knew people who have done it ?
I felt like asking ,are the standing upright and higher than room temp. ?
From what i remember in Collage, Hydraulics ,is a fluid ,Multiplied by Volume.
Pressure is only used to ad to that Volume.
A powder charge is direct expanding pressure ,and is hundreds of times stronger than Hydraulic.
I still told him to not be stupid in so many words.
Any input on this is greatly appreciated.
And am i wrong in my assumption?
Kabar even told him the tube had to be thicker ,that went right over his hard head.
Thanks Guys.

[Cat Whisperer]

Back to the basics.

Good, proven, design is where you have enough steel around the powder chamber equivalent to the diameter of the powder chamber.

The steel needs to be strong and not prone to being brittle.  Mild steel works, some chromium steels (4130 - 4140) work.

Hydraulic cylinders are not likely to have thick enough walls where it counts and may well have surface hardened areas that would be prone to cracking.

[phalanx]

Thank you Cat, I did ask for advise or opinion to tell my Friend who is a member here on GBO.
Only to back up what i had told him earlier as he is Hard headed.
But now he is confused ? In his Emails he asked me why you think i know nothing about Cannon?
Because i asked you about Mortars ? witch i do not Know a lot about ,and i never kept that a secret.
But i have shot my guns in his presence  in 06 ? He eats some really weird food.
12 years of this, Running with the best ,Learning from the best, who taught this before the Internet,Passing it down as an art ,a love ,Knowing they would not be at the next shoot.
I guess they didn't know squat,HUH .
Oh they didn't have a fancy calculator ,or a computer ,They had a slide rule ,an abacus,WW2 Vets,
Who learned from WW1 Vets ,who learned from Civil War Vets.
Who loved that a Kid like me was into this ,and would listen.
Who bought his first gun ,second hand,from a Guy at a shoot.
Oh yes ,they taught me things,a lot of things ,Things that go way back, Things that men learned when they had no hope ,no Chance ,other than to use this,and they would tell me the stories,Horrible stories,the tubes were not so nice,and were used as Claymores are now,but much better.
I think i will go with my old guys,i had to help Bury a  few of them.
I have their charts,Loads ,Equipment, Sights ,all i need . to use a gun like this ,from people who had to use a gun like this.
Handed to me by a widow ,with a note saying ,KID.

So why don't you teach me ? Because i know nothing,.
Before your post ,my son in law was going to come out,He is an IT tech ,and post all of this for you.

Letters ,Charts ,pics from WW1 .and things used in Artillery i don't even know what It does.
Brass stuff. in wooden boxes.
I will send it to my friend ,because i have nothing to prove to you.
DD has proved himself a friend ,I may talk to him on this .I told you i have things that could Really help this forum,and i would love to share it. Old stuff ,The real McCoy.

[Cat Whisperer]

How about ONE serious question at a time? 

That way we can get a coherent conversation going and discuss among all of us what works and what doesn't.

[dominick]

Posted by: Cat Whisperer 

Back to the basics.

Good, proven, design is where you have enough steel around the powder chamber equivalent to the diameter of the powder chamber.

The steel needs to be strong and not prone to being brittle.  Mild steel works, some chromium steels (4130 - 4140) work.

Hydraulic cylinders are not likely to have thick enough walls where it counts and may well have surface hardened areas that would be prone to cracking.

 

 
phalanx, I agree with Cat whisperer.  What he should also do before he even starts on the project is to find a metallurgicall lab near his location.  Cut a small sample of the tube he is to use. [approx 1 oz. in weight] He wants to ask for a "numerical designation by composition" test.  This will determine the AISI number. He may also want to ask for a Rockwell or Brinell test for hardness. The AISI number is a 4 digit number.  The first two digits are the material properties.  This will tell him for one thing if it is a weldable tube or not.  10xx is common steel,  11xx is resulferized, [not weldable]  [12xx is lead, phosprorus [I think]  [not weldable]  The last two digits are the point percentage of carbon content.  This also determines weldability but it also determines machinability to a certain degree.  The higher the number, the higher the point percentage of carbon.  Low carbon steel is xx18 [.18% carbon] thru xx26 or 1018, 1020, 1026, middle carbon is xx30.  As a rule of thumb I personally don't weld on anything higher than xx30.  Even though metal such as 1045 4140 can be welded, It is usually only done under controlled conditions.  The cost of the lab test can range from 40 to 60 dollars although other labs may have different prices. Dom