What are the common calibers & ball sizes?

[Mark 42]

If I want to make a model cannon that is in a common caliber
that muzzleloaders tend to use (so I could buy a ball mold, or
lead balls), what size would make sense?

The calibers that come to mind (for whatever reason) are:
.22
.45
.50
.54
.69
.75
1.00
1.68 / 1.75

[GGaskill]

Lyman produces round ball moulds in the following sizes:

375    
440         
445         
451
454
457
490    
495         
500    
530    
535    
570    
575        
600         
610            
662    
690    
715    
735    

Lee Precision produces moulds in the following diameters:

.308
.311
.319
.330
.350
.360
.375
.380
.390
.395
.433
.440
.445
.451
.454
.457
.490
.495
.498
.500
.527
.530
.535
.562
.575
.600
.690

1 lb spherical sinkers are about 1.72".  That is OK for golf balls, too.  Custom made moulds can be had in almost any diameter.

Bruce Trimble (Grandmaster), 1815 Scott St, Cañon City, CO  81212, casts round balls and has a few additional sizes, moulds for which are no longer made.

[Cat Whisperer]

Consider also the diameters of common shotguns.

There are several makers of 'punkin ball moulds' as well as other forms of shotgun slugs.

[Powder keg]

Don't forget Beer can (2.6") and Bowling ball (8.6")

[Mark 42]

I just ran into a couple of others (I'm going by what sizes are sold as complete cannons & kits)
.22
.31
.44
.63
.80
3.00

From the posts above it looks like it's hard to find a caliber that
doesn't have ballls, bullets or molds available.

I already have a .45 caliber ball mold (and about 100 balls I molded around
25 years ago when I build a kentucky long rifle from a CVA kit).
I'll have to measure one of the balls... I always assumed they were
.450 diameter, but I never thought about the patch and the danger
of a tight fitting ball.

I'm thinking I'm going to need to sleeve the barrel I started down to a smaller bore.

Right now I'm at .810 (diameter of the base of a 12 ga shotshell).
I'm thinking of taking it to .875 (7/8) or .094 (15/16) and sleeving it
back down to something around .50.

But then the "boom" starts to become "bang"...

Which brings me to another question...

What affects the "boom" versus "bang" quality of a gun's report
more... the amount of powder in the charge or the bore diameter?

I know that blackpowder gives more of a boom and smokeless powder
gives more of a bang because of the burn speed (my theory: black powder burns
slower and results in a lower frequency sound output.)

[GGaskill]

Actually most of the report from a smokeless cartridge gun is a supersonic boom (the crack); since most cannon reports are subsonic, you get a boom instead of a crack.  One of the measures of a proper load for a muzzleloading rifle is getting a crack instead of a boom.  The crack says the shot is going supersonic.  As you get farther from the gun, the escaping gas slows below the speed of sound because the pressure becomes atmospheric and the sound becomes heard as a boom.

[Mark 42]

I did consider the sonic boom factor, but would that not be in addition to
the boom from the powder expansion explosion? Maybe that's why .22 LR
often sounds like it has an echo when shooting(?)

I started looking at how to proof test a barrel, and it essentially
came down to two shots with a charge equal to 1/2 the weight of
the projectile using a double size projectile or two projectiles
(for a round ball this would mean a cylinder with rounded ends
weighing as much as two round balls.

This would then be followed by a third shot using a charge of 1/3
the weight of the projectile and a single projectile.

Here's a link to the information reference:
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cache/agy4347.0001.001/00000041.tifs.gif

If that doesn't work, use this URL and select page 17:
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?sid=9a67ac609d058d0c6e126d8a702aafe5;c=moa;iel=1;view=toc;idno=AGY4347.0001.001

Then the barrel has to be inspected.

So I went to the "ball weight calculator" and looked at
the weight of various size lead balls. Of course the mass grows
exponentially (by 1/2 the cube of the diameter increase).

Here are a few numbers:

Caliber   Lead Ball Weight (Grains)
 .45        137
 .50        188
 .54        237
 .69        495
 .75        635
 .81        800
1.00      1,506
1.68      7,141
1.75      8,071

That's a big load for a 3/4 inch bore cannon.

It also may shed light on why large bore cannon don't use lead balls
(or do/did they?)

[GGaskill]

Most smoothbore cannon shot were made of cast iron.  It worked fine until the rise of armored ships which shattered the cast iron shot as if made from glass.

Cast iron is about 2/3 the density of lead.  A 12 pounder shot would weigh about 18 lbs if made of lead.

[Mark 42]

I didn't expect the density difference to be that small...
I guess I could've looked it up  :shock:

[Double D]

Tim do we have the link to Mordecai's  work posted to the references post?

Thanks Mark for those.  To bad Beartooth doesn't have zinc and iron on their choice of metals.  

George you could build a calculator like that for your web page couldn't you? Use lead, zinc and sacrete.

[Mark 42]

Dont' forget tinfoil and superball density rubber.
(golf balls are probably close to rubber in density)

[GGaskill]

What do you want the calculator to do?  Compute shot weight for spherical shot of various materials and diameters?

Post a list of the materials you want included.

[Double D]

Compute shot weight for spherical shot of various materials and diameters? Just like that computer on Beartooth.

Wheelweight lead
Lyman #2 Alloy
Pure lead
20-1 lead
Zamak Zinc
Concrete "cannonball grade"

[GGaskill]

OK, can do, but you'll need to locate the densities of Concrete "cannonball grade", Lyman #2 Alloy and 20-1 lead.  I'll check my sources and add other materials (like cast iron.)  Some materials will have densities that vary according to composition (multiple densities for concrete are likely to be found, for example.)  I'll state the density used on the calculator.

OK, the first cut of the Spherical Shot Weight Calculator is ready.  As I find or am given other materials and their densities, I will add them to it.  The density value of 20-1 Lead-Tin is a guess.

[Mark 42]

In a hurry, but for concrete (and possibly other materials)

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/1999/KatrinaJones.shtml