For role-playing games and historical reenactments, you may need a more serious weapon than a bow or textolite sword. If you wish, you can even make a cannon, and decorate it for any old weapon, so that it is also suitable for a theatrical performance. Of course, making a real combat cannon at home is impractical, but a small salute gun is quite possible. But you need to be careful. Although the gun is homemade, it shoots just as well as the real one.
It is necessary
- A hydraulic cylinder from a tractor or any other, small size, having one plugged end and an oil line outlet next to it.
- Epoxy resin.
- Rope.
- A piece of metal wire.
- Pliers.
- Wooden rod.
- A piece of heavy linen or cotton fabric.
- Smoky gunpowder or homemade mixture based on sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal.
Instructions
Step 1
The tractor cylinder is practically a ready-made barrel for a homemade fireworks cannon. Make a cleaning rod. It is made from a wooden rod of a suitable diameter, precisely adjusted to the inner diameter of the trunk. The length of the ramrod should exceed the length of the barrel by 0.5 m.
Step 2
Pour the powder mixture into a metal can. Use a wooden stick (such as a twig) to plug the hole in the oil pipe at the base of the cylinder. Place the cylinder vertically with the "muzzle" up and pour the powder mixture into it 1 cm above the level of the hole in the oil pipe. Tamp the mixture with a ramrod.
Step 3
Roll a piece of either linen or cotton fabric in 2-3 layers and push it into the barrel with a ramrod until it stops. Seal the charge with a few blows on the ramrod. In this case, a piece of fabric will play the role of a wad. Then remove the wooden plug from the oil pipe. The cannon can be considered loaded.
Step 4
Bend the steel wire into an L-shaped bracket, in which the short part should be about 2 times longer than the height of the oil pipe, and slightly sharpen this part on a taper. It should fit freely into the opening of the branch pipe. The long part (70-100 cm) can be equipped with a loop-shaped handle made of the same wire.
Step 5
Before firing, set the cylinder tilted (approximately 45 ° to the horizon) in a safe direction so that there are no people, animals or flammable objects in the line of fire. The cannon can be fixed on a wooden "slingshot" firmly driven into the ground so that the breech rests against the wooden stake driven into the ground.
Step 6
Heat the short pointed end of the metal bracket over a fire and quickly insert it into the hole of the branch pipe. At the first tests of the gun, this procedure is best done from the shelter. The gun must fire, after which the barrel must be allowed to cool down and carefully inspected for cracks, chips and any other defects. If they are not found, you can start decorating the cannon. Clean and degrease the barrel.
Step 7
To give the cannon its historic shape, wrap a rope soaked in epoxy around the hydraulic cylinder. This can create decorative bumps or tides. After the resin hardens, sand the resulting structure with sandpaper and paint it under bronze with automotive bronze enamel or bitumen varnish. Cannon carriage can be made of wood. If you plan to make a gun carriage, then while wrapping the gun with a rope, it is recommended to immediately fasten and wrap also a transverse metal pipe, which will play the role of an axis of rotation.
