Author Topic: cannon molds  (Read 2565 times)

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Offline GGaskill

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Re: cannon molds
« Reply #30 on: June 09, 2007, 12:56:09 PM »
If you want to cast zinc, you will have to get some steel moulds.  The melting point of aluminum is too close to the melting point of zinc for comfort.
GG
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Offline Double D

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Re: cannon molds
« Reply #31 on: June 09, 2007, 08:17:16 PM »
I picked up the do-it mold, and it is a little sloppy. I use a towel as patch and it seems to work ok. Boy you can sure go through a lot of lead... I here zink would be better, but where do you find it? Lead is everywhere. Thanks

Zinc is all around you also.

Start of course on the cannon resource board.  Standard Zinc alloy suppliers listed there.

Watch Ebay.  A fellow bought a large lot of  annodes at  Goverment surplus sale and then parted them out on Ebay.  I got 50 lbs for next to nothing shipped to me in those fall apart  Post office flat rate boxes.  Actually that's two sources...Ebay and Government surplus.

Cast Boolits board... those guys over there hate zinc and are always finding it.  One guy was given a large ingot of Zinc and ask what to do with it. I told him to send it to me. He did. It weighed 60 lbs.  Cost to me- postage.

You are going to need a little more heat for Zinc.  We used  a weed burner to melt zinc. Worked...marginally.  You definitely need steel moulds.  This primitive set up produced 10 zinc  6 PDR balls.







Casting these 10 balls was a real learning  process.  I am going to have to build some serious equipment to cast the next batch.  Turkey fryer burner for melting.  Some sort of pour from the bottom swivel hanging pot.  Handles for the mould...

Here are 7  3/4 balls..



These balls can be recovered and shot again...but becareful where you shoot.  I fired two in a field and only recovered one.  This one bounce out of the hole, apparently the other didn't bounce.






Offline jeeper1

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Re: cannon molds
« Reply #32 on: June 09, 2007, 10:39:54 PM »
Quote
These balls can be recovered and shot again...but be careful where you shoot.  I fired two in a field and only recovered one.
That's why I like shooting golf balls. At about fifty cents each there not worth trying to recover.
I may not be completely sane, but at least I don't think I have the power to influence the weather.

Offline Double D

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Re: cannon molds
« Reply #33 on: June 09, 2007, 11:39:00 PM »
True enough Jeeper...but they just ain't the same....

Offline Cat Whisperer

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Re: cannon molds
« Reply #34 on: June 10, 2007, 12:34:54 AM »
Quote
These balls can be recovered and shot again...but be careful where you shoot.  I fired two in a field and only recovered one.
That's why I like shooting golf balls. At about fifty cents each there not worth trying to recover.



That's why I'm going to re-bore the Napoleon - to shoot the golf balls that I got at under two cents each.
Tim K                 www.GBOCANNONS.COM
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