Nag, nag, nag...man you guys are a tough crowd...I have mentioned now and again I am a putting together the material to build a bowling ball mortar. I keep getting emails and PM's saying hurry up and start the build. We want to see it. Events of the past year have put me off pace a bit.
Some years ago when we had the golf ball mortar making contest I called my entry the K.I.S.S. mortar---Keep It Simple Stupid! I followed that theme all the way through the build. The design was to keep the machining to the minimum-simple. Simple square turning, boring, and drilling on the lathe and the rest drill and tap in the drill press. Of course my drawing followed the K.I.S.S. principal and was done up on a dry erase board.
Last year I upscaled the design and made the K.I.S.S. the can popcan mortar. It is not the neatest cannon I own---my Dom Dictator by far is the neatest. But this little K.I.S.S. the can popcan mortar is one of the most fun cannons I own. It's small enough to easily carry around and set up. yet delivers a large projectile down range.
K.I.S.S. Golfball MortarThe K.I.S.S. the can popcan mortar is just an up sized K.I.S.S. Golf ball mortar.
Like most of us the idea of a bowling ball mortar intrigues me. I had it in the back of my mind to build one for a long while. I have been keeping my eye out for a pressure vessel, but like most of use can't seem to locate the right one.
I'm not sure when I came up with the idea to use seamless tubing--perhaps during the Technical Conference-braai-barbecue after CBCCI. The discussion at the time centered around getting seamless to build the K.I.S.S. the can popcan mortar.
After he returned home from CBCCI GeorgeG went on a scrounging mission for me and he found the material for the K.I.S.S. the can popcan mortar. George mentioned while at the scrap yard he saw some large seamless tubing that would make into a bowling ball mortar.. That really got the wheels spinning.
In the fall of 2010 after some thought I had George acquire the large steel for me . Friend Southpaw and his wife were headed south Snowbirding for the winter. They connected up with George in southern Cal and load up the tube that weighed some where around 150 lbs and the trunnion piece that weighed some where around 110 lbs in the back of their Volkswagen station wagon. Ernie was pulling the VW behind his motorhome and he said every bump he hit made the VW drag bottom. When he got home with the steel, he sold the VW and the motor home burned up---hey not my fault.
So here is the bowling ball steel collection.
I have already made a modification to the plan and changed the trunnion to 3 3/4 inch...George to the rescue again and the UPS lady delivered a 65 lb piece of steel to me yesterday.
I do not have a lathe big enough to handle this project and I will have to contract the work out. That means I am going to have provide working drawings of the project for who ever does this work for me. That need was certainly part of the motivation to return to college this past fall and take CAD classes. I have made 5 drawings so far. I still need to make the detail drawing for Assembly and the vent detail drawing. Since I am going to do the vent and assembly myself those drawings are less a priority to me. I do want to have a complete set to post here for guys.
Here is what I have so far.
I still have to take my final exams next week and drag the travel trailer home Havre. After that I will look around for someone ito do the work fore me.
Since I am depending on others to do the work for me, I have no control over when the work gets done. I also have to budget this work...there are limits to how far the monthly Social Security check goes. Work will be done one piece at a time.
I haven't even started looking at a base. The plan is to make a British traveling carriage for an 8 inch mortar.
The goal is to have this done in time for CBCCIII.
I will document this project as I go along as best I can.