Damage. How do I prevent it?

[jeeper1]

I need ideas on preventing any further damage caused by fuses.

[GGaskill]

Lay a metal or sacrificial plate over the back of the mount where the burnt fuze falls.  If you make it L shaped, it will prevent the burning fuze remnants from being blown out to the rear.

[jeeper1]

That's what I figured I'd have to do, I was hoping there was a no cost trick I wasn't aware of.

[CU_Cannon]

I had the same problem with my first mortar.  I used the piece of foil to cover the base at first then gave up on it.  The burn marks give it character.

[Rickk]

I am going with "character" as well... whatever happens happens. Mine is supposed to look like it was made around 1845-ish, right?

[Powder keg]

To help minimize this you could just leave it on a shelf and not use it:O)

[jeeper1]

To help minimize this you could just leave it on a shelf and not use it:O)

Not a chance, I was shooting it again today. I also shot the bronze cannon. For today I made a cardboard shield.
I went through about 40 golf balls. Most were launched with the golf ball firing attachment on my 86 Colt CAR.
I had a friend up from Portland. He brought a couple of his 37mm's and I brought one of mine. we each went through about 40 rounds of 37 ammo. Of course between launching gb's off the muzzle of my CAR I bump fired 250 rds of 5.56 ammo. All in all, we had a great, if expensive, time.

[Double D]

Shorten fuse.

Use quill.

enlarge vent.

Paint the bed.

[Rickk]

I concur with Double D about using quills instead of fuse. They leave alot less residue on the bed.

Be sure to use a linstock to light the quill so that you are a ways away when it goes boom.

[Cat Whisperer]

If you straighten the fuse, it will blow further away when it fires.  (Then you need to worry about fires 5 - 10 feet behind the mortar.)

[freddo]

Wet your bed

[Double D]

Wet your bed

Colin you are shameless!!   

[jeeper1]

Wet your bed

I don't, do you? 

[Rickk]

freddo is on to something... a damp rag maybe?

[freddo]

Jeeper. I might if I had a mortar. I must admit some of the fine cannons that I have seen in the gallery have placed my pants at serious risk.

[jeeper1]

Seriously wetting the base to prevent damage is not possible, the polyurathane is waterproof. Although I suppose a wet sponge setting there might work. Still a shield would be less hassle. 

[Tropico]

jeeper1 This is not my mortar., I collect cannon and mortar pictures., I have quite a lot now., I get ideas from them. Anyway I hope I am not in trouble by someone somewhere but you may want to look at this., I looks like a piece of angle iron you could find something decorative to put on the steel . Myself., I would be looking for a skull and crossing blades. I believe this would deflect the sparks down onto you trunnion bar and off the deck.

[jeeper1]

I thought that a shield like that was to keep burning fuse remnants from hitting people behind the mortar.

[CU_Cannon]

I believe that the shield is more to protect people behind the mortar than the bed.  It would be worth a try in any rate.  You should be able to get a drop for cheep from a steel yard. I would turn the shield around from what it is in the picture.  This would allow the hot embers to fall on the angle its self rather than the trunnion.  As it is pictured the embers would fall between the trunnion and the bed damaging the bed.

[Double D]

If you have a vent of the proper diameter, the fuse embers should blow clear.

By the way that's a great picture I took isn't  it?

[Tropico]

By the way that's a great picture I took isn't  it?

Yes its an awesome picture., Thanks Double D., I did not remember where it came from ., but I  like it.

[Cat Whisperer]

If you have a vent of the proper diameter, the fuse embers should blow clear.
By the way that's a great picture I took isn't  it?

I thought I recognized it from Winchester (Ft Shennendoa).

[Blaster]

I recall seeing some pictures of an old cast iron skillet with it's handle poked down in the ground immediately behind the mortar. This was to protect the folks behind the mortar from the molten fuse.  But then the fuse may bounce right back on the mortar bed and cause some burn damage.  I bought a set of inexpensive cast iron skillets but am afraid to bring them in the house - my Mrs. may use one to get my attention!

[brass cannon]

Several guys said use a quill.  I concur as they are very fast and almost free.  Get coffee stirring straws from your neighborhood 7-11 or someplace similar.  Get 1/4 wide masking tape from a car painting supply shop.  make a long needle from a piece of wire longer than the straw and fasten  it to about 4 feet of the tape.  Coat the tape with 4f powder and slide the straws onto the tape using the wire needle.  Space the straws with about 1/2 " of tape between and cut them apart.  You will have over a dozen quills in a few minutes.  Light them with a linstock as they are very quick.   

[Cannoneer]

 
    It's just an opinion but it seems to me that GGaskill has offered the best solution. I just went back to the thread where you posted a full shot of your near finished mortar. You did a fine job on the bed. The angle or L shape wouldn't be necessary; just use a piece of sheet metal to cover the whole rear and half way or a quarter way up the sides of the top of the bed. All you would need to cut is a square in the middle of the front of the plate for the bottom of the mortar to fit through and two rectangles to fit around the cap-squares. You could use a sheet of cardboard as a template to get the exact measurements of the area you'd have to cut away. My cousin recently gave me a old brass kick guard from the bottom of a door, that he decided not to use. This plate has a decent thickness to it; it would be heavy enough to stick to the top of the bed when you fired the gun and the brass finish would look good combined with the natuarl red color of your wood. When your done firing the gun, remove the plate and your all set to display the mortar in your home.