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bowling ball mortar

fl23infl23in Member Posts: 404 ✭✭✭
edited July 2011 in Ask the Experts
well i seen someone make and sell one on a tv show and being a Cert welder and fab & gun lover well it naturally got me thinking about making one. So my questin is is it illegal to make/own/shoot one. if not is there a size that crosses over to illegal.

live in FL btw if it makes a diff
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    Bill DeShivsBill DeShivs Member Posts: 1,264 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    It's not illegal at all, any size.
    Welding a breech leaves small pits. Black powder residue is extremely corrosive, and it forces itself into these pits inside the breech. You can't clean it all out. After a while, it corrodes the breech from the inside out. There is no way to tell, short of X rays or Magnafluxing, when the gun becomes dangerous.
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    fl23infl23in Member Posts: 404 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    ok thanks for the info and tips.

    now my next question is that i work with alot of chromemoloy and i was wondering is it stong enough to shock as it is super tought for impact and bending
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    sandwarriorsandwarrior Member Posts: 5,453 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by fl23in
    ok thanks for the info and tips.

    now my next question is that i work with alot of chromemoloy and i was wondering is it stong enough to shock as it is super tought for impact and bending


    That is the 'standard' steel today for modern rifles. Stainless in one form or another is an upgrade. It is strong enough for what you are talking about doing.
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    MIKE WISKEYMIKE WISKEY Member, Moderator Posts: 9,976 ******
    edited November -1
    JUST TO NOTE: ANY 'MORTAR' IS LOW PRESSURE COMPAIRED TO A RIFLE OR SHOTGUN. IT USES A SMALL CHARGE OF POWDER (BLACK) TO 'LOB' A LARGE PROJECTILE. IF MEMORY SERVES I'VE SEEN THESE MADE OUT OF OXEGEN OR NITROGEN TANKS (2000 LBS +- DEAD LOAD). KEEP IN MIND THAT A 18 LB. BOWLING BALL AT 200 FPS WILL BE HARD TO STOP.
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    nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,880 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm not sure that it is a good idea.

    If something goes wrong, & it results in injury or death to an innocent person, it could have a catastrophic effect on your world.

    I'd stick to store-bought toys.

    Neal
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    Laredo LeftyLaredo Lefty Member Posts: 13,451 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Years ago there was a guy who would bring a BB mortar to a range I shot at in the local mountains. It was made from some type of large oxygen or acetyline tank cut off with a rounded bottom. It was mounted to a wood platform with brackets he had fabricated himself.

    He would pour a pre-measured amount of black powder, looked like about 1/4 cup in and touch it off with a fuse. The boom would set off the car alarms parked nearby and send the BB out of sight. I always made it a point to stand with several people between me and the mortar just in case it came apart. He would fill the finger holes in the ball with baby powder so it would leave a white trail in the air. It was very intertaining.
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    RobinRobin Member Posts: 1,228 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I helped a friend set up fireworks this week end. The fireworks were mostly 3", 4" mortar shells with a couple of 6" shells and four 8" shells. The 8" shells weigh about 30 lbs each and go 800' to 1000' in altitude depending on the angle of the mortar tube. The tubes are a type of PVC with 2 layers of 1 1/2" wooden plugs on the base. Up to 6" shells the tobues are mounted in a wooden crate. The 8" mortars were buried in the ground to a depth of ablut 1 1/2' The shell is roughly the same size as the tube but falls freely into the tube, I can't imagine that there could be much pressure. I like the idea of a bowling ball mortar......but not one that goes straight up.
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    gotstolefromgotstolefrom Member Posts: 1,479 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Robin...
    The mortars used in fireworks are H.D.P.E. or special fiber reinforced tubes. P.V.C. is NOT GOOD If you have a detonation in P.V.C. , it shatters into sharp 'shards' that cannot be seen with an x-ray. Most fireworks that are "re-uasable" use H.D.P.E. which tears into ragged pieces.

    Lobbing baseballs would be hairy enough.
    I wouldn't attemp a bowling ball.
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    TxsTxs Member Posts: 18,801
    edited November -1
    A tennis ball mortar isn't up to the ka-boom level of a bowling ball mortar, but is easy to put together, much safer and entertaining as hell.

    All it takes is a few tin cans, some duct tape and a bottle of lighter fluid. Old, dead tennis balls can be had for free if you ask the right people.
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    oscat271oscat271 Member Posts: 53 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Google videos "anvil mortar" and consider all options if you want cheap
    reusable projectiles. Make sure you have a fireing pit or other barriers
    between it and any thing within a Mile Or three because pieces/fragments will be lethal.
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    gunnut505gunnut505 Member Posts: 10,290 ✭
    edited November -1
    Some bowling balls are acrylic and shatter into large sharp pieces when hit with pressure. Most have a cement center if they are not swirly-designed.
    I watched a bowling ball "mortar" shred itself and 4 people standing within 50 feet when the "operator" dumped in a second dose of black powder before yelling,"Watch your eyes!"
    It appeared to be well-made out of a propane cylinder lined with concrete, and it was sleeved into a piece of steel pipe.
    Appearances can be deceiving.
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