Quote:
Originally Posted by edgarspencer
Sitting in the wad, they almost look like a sabot. What kind of clearance do you have between slug diameter are bore? Lists of short barreled 28ga guns we’re still choked tight and I’d hate to have you bulge your barrels.
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This is so scary!! Slugs "rattling down" the barrels remind me of the
time we didn't swage the smaller white potatoes we fired out of our "Spud Cannon" (a Rube Goldberg device resembling a recoiless rifle, made up from PVC plumbing pipes and joints of different diameters. (Think mini-clones of "Pumpkin Chunkin" ordnance).
The chamber was made up from a common PVC toilet union reducer collar going from 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 inch, mated with a 4 foot PVC 2 1/2 inch barrel. The toilet union had a threaded plug in the rear; you charged the cannon for each shot with a robust spray of WD-40, hairspray, oven cleaner, or G-96 Gunscrubber (about a 5-second burst, then screwed the cap on tight).
Ignition was a common gas grill piezo lighter fixture, epoxied into the chamber wall. The muzzle of the barrel was reverse-chamfered (sharpened) with a sander to a sharp edge. Potatoes of just over-diameter muzzle size were swage-fit (hammered) into the barrel so they fit tight and the excess shaved off to fall away.
With proper propellant charge and safe line of fire, this thing would take a hardball-sized chunk of bark down to moist tissue off of the biggest tree we could aim at within 30-35 yards.
The time we didn't pay attention to excess pulp, the forward end of the chamber area (think forcing cone) and the rest of the barrel disintegrated into 2-3 ft. plastic shards upon detonation. Apparently that someone had used carburetor cleaner for the charge didn't help (loaded with MEK, Ether & acetone!).
Be careful!! Hate to see those Vulcan tubes turned into wind chimes!
Threaded Mode