Hi guys, I'm new here, but I have been 'lurking' for a while and learning a lot.
I have wanted a cannon for as long as I can remember, and indeed I have made a couple of small ones.
I have made a nano mortar in BB caliber, and I also made a tiny little cannon in .31. Both were made using only a cordless drill, files and a hacksaw.
The nano mortar actually looks quite good, the cannon not so much
I have come to terms with the fact that I will only be happy once I own a 1" bore cannon.
Unfortunately, money is an issue. For some reason, my wife has got it into her head that our money is for rent, food, our new baby etc, so I don't have a great deal of disposable income.
I have been considering buying a chunk of steel and having a machine shop bore it for me, and add trunnion pockets.
I have priced the steel, and I can get a piece of 3" x 12" 1018 from speedy metals for around $55 shipped.
I have a couple of questions:
Is $55 a reasonable price for the steel?
I don't live near any metal supply places so buying online is much easier.
What is a machine shop likely to charge to bore a 1" x 10" hole in the thing? How about the trunnion pockets?
I have never used the services of a machine shop, so I literally do not have the slightest idea whether this would cost $20 or $200.
The idea is to have the barrel made as above, and then maybe have the outside turned to shape some time in the future.
Also, I was wondering if it would be at all feasible to drill it myself using my cordless drill?
I have drilled straight holes in steel many times before, and I figure once I get the hole deep enough, it would keep the drill bit straight by itself.
Is that idea as dumb as it sounds?