Bowling Ball Cannon. Fired with Black Powder. How far can we shoot it?!

Рет қаралды 29,189

Explosive Science

3 жыл бұрын

Home made black powder powered bowling ball cannon.
With 1 POUND OF BLACK POWDER!! not 1/2 a pound 🤦‍♂️

Пікірлер: 170

@FerdinandFake 3 жыл бұрын

Wrap the ball with a simple cloth patch like they did with round ball in muskets, helps to stabilize and bridge that horrendous gap.

@michaelmay5453 3 жыл бұрын

With wadding that thing will go well over a mile. The cannon can handle it for sure and the ball will be wadded in so it won't break apart either.

@earthknight60 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I was baffled why he didn't do that. In my middle school field trips to forts they had us practice loading canons and a cloth patch was always a part of the loading process.

@explosivescience9389 2 жыл бұрын

The problem we have is space. I’m sure the cannon could handle 2kg of BP, but I’m pretty sure it’ll breach our land boundary.

@Rational_thinker_212 2 ай бұрын

from an old muzzle loader hunter that has experimented with different loading techniques using a chronograph: use layers of bath towels cut to size, lathered in Crisco, until you achieve a tight fit and press ball in with a ram rod in with a ramrod. Another way is to construct a sabot that just fits the bore, flat on the back and a concave ball matching shape on the front. Or better yet: both.

@rcchronicles25 3 жыл бұрын

The car yes! That! But please film the trajectory of the ball, that's the satisfaction curve 👌

@john_barnett 3 жыл бұрын

i hope this channel gets into the algorithm, can't wait to see what sort of ammo you come up with for it 👍

@lloveAphmau 3 жыл бұрын

I would love to see the same charge but with some wadding just to get that pressure up, see what its really capable of

@MotoGoato 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome .... you so need to use some wadding though, or wrap the ball in a bit of old carpet to get a decent fit. Looking forward to your next bowling ball cannon vid 😁

@blahorgaslisk7763 3 жыл бұрын

Old carpet! That's an excellent suggestion. I was sitting here thinking about what could be used for wadding but everything was so thin. An old carpet should however do it. Did a group work on the feeding of old style black powder canons back in grade school. Still remember the steps. Powder. Tamp it down. Wadding. Tamp it down. Projectile(s). Tamp it down. Wadding. Tamp it down. Prime, and fire. Swab the barrel to putout any still glowing embers before reloading the canon again. That wadding atop the payload was to prevent the ball from rolling out of the barrel when used on a sailing ship, so it might not need to be used if the canon is used as an artillery piece on land. The first wadding could be applied wet if the canon balls were heated as they sometimes did on warships. A iron ball that's glowing red hot is not what you want to have close to the powder charge, but wet wadding could keep it from going off for at least a few minutes. You just didn't want to wait to long before sending it. The hot projectiles was used as they could set wooden ships on fire. Still as the ship it was fired from was also wooden it wasn't without risks. Wood, fire and gunpowder is not the safest combo, and just to make things even better the ammo had to be carried from the heating forge to the canons on a ship that was moving with the wind and the sea. Not the safest working environment.

@MotoGoato 3 жыл бұрын

@@blahorgaslisk7763 Some cracking info there, thanks for taking the time to reply 😉

@Ferenczyg 3 жыл бұрын

Waiting for the test of a 'good fitting' ball, that will be a blast (phun intended of course) :D

@klasandersson7522 3 жыл бұрын

Nice one! 😎 But heck, I do get itchy to wad that ball with a towel or something like that... 😁

@Erebus.666. 2 жыл бұрын

That is definitely the most professional looking bowling ball cannon I've seen. Nice job guys.

@sinisterthoughts2896 3 жыл бұрын

You can always use wadding get a better gas seal. Awesome project either way.

@Erebus.666. 2 жыл бұрын

I don't usually click the like button, but this definitely deserves it. Great job guys.

@rorydonaldson2794 3 жыл бұрын

I cannot wait for this channel to blow up, the quality of content here is superb

@jamestankitwo8461 3 жыл бұрын

Underrated channel, came here from jorge's channel and happy I stayed

@Eagle8599 3 жыл бұрын

That's a cracking good example of British engineering! Would love to see more.

@martinpollak7039 3 жыл бұрын

Keep the videos coming. Good Job and thank you!

@MyMy-tv7fd 3 жыл бұрын

utterly brilliant, but you need a dedicated cameraman, rock on

@Meerschwein 3 жыл бұрын

5:25 500 Grams are half a pound? Do Britains have other pounds than the rest of the world?

@explosivescience9389 3 жыл бұрын

Ohhhh balls! Yes that’s a pound! 🤦🏼‍♂️

@tnmoe- 3 жыл бұрын

Maybe slipped on saying half a kilo?

@emmepombar3328 3 жыл бұрын

Marsian pounds it is.

@hopefilledsinner3911 2 жыл бұрын

500 grams is half a kilo. A kilo is just over 2.2 pounds So 500 grams is 1.1 pounds of black powder. 20 grams with a good seal would still blow a ball into outer space. It's a waste of powder.

@Dr.JustIsWrong 2 жыл бұрын

Well, maybe it very inexpensive black powder.. £ 0.50

@Jefflantern483 Жыл бұрын

Holy cow that bowling ball is gonzo in a hurry from that cannon & that ball went bye bye too! 😆🤣😆 Laughed so hard as that ball whistled too & still laughing!😆🤣😆🤣😆🤣😆

@beanyboom18 3 жыл бұрын

Looks like wicked fun times were had. Impressed by the black powder. Would love to see what a tighter fit would do.

@Ceyx1265 3 жыл бұрын

what if you put in wading between the charge and ball ?

@micky5150 3 жыл бұрын

Just what i was thinking. Tightening that gap between the ball and the tube would send it absolutely ballistic. The sonic boom as it passes through Mach 1 would be quite something!

@hellshade2 3 жыл бұрын

it would increase the pressure and send the ball further and probably faster but you have to be careful on how muchyou seal it as with any increase in pressure also increase a chance of a barrel failure and rupture.

@NellaCuriosity 2 жыл бұрын

The bowling ball loopy-loop looks like a thing of terror and wonder.

@johnmckenna8989 2 жыл бұрын

...Great entertainment.....We make cannons that shoot oranges and compete at hitting circular sawblades from sawmills, about 5 feet in diameter, that are hanging in a frame (children's swing set.....) ...A perfect shot goes through the center hole (not often) ....Mostly the orange hits the saw with a loud ringing noise and a perfect starburst pattern, which is met by a roar from the spectators.....This 'competition' is done at the closing of black powder events called "Rendezvous" (usually a 3 day event)...All great fun.......Try 'patching' the ball for a snug fit.. ...John (west coast,Canada)

@alancoe1002 Жыл бұрын

A papièr-mache sabot would be cheap and easy to make, exactly to the measurements of the barrel. Would harness a lot of that escaping power. Awesome job, gentlemen.

@papapsadventures6119 2 жыл бұрын

I used to be a Civil War reenactor and belonged to an artillery unit. Several of our members had their own cannons and mortars. Most of our charges were placed in plastic bags as well but we shaped ours with aluminum foil wrapped around them so they "resembled" charges from that time period. Of course we only shot the powder during reenactments, however I did have to attend an artillery school and we actually fired live rounds. Incredible the pressures produced from just good old black powder!!

@alger8181 3 жыл бұрын

I like big ba-da-boom. I'm ex-artillery, and cannon always make me smile. Well, as long as *i* get to do the pointing, not the other guy!

@raytheron 3 жыл бұрын

That must have been HUGE fun!

@garyspoering2463 2 жыл бұрын

Enjoyed your episodes with Dave! I will have to send pix of my cannon, a replica Carronade. Keep up the good work.

@MeleeTiger 2 жыл бұрын

Yesssssss, I vote to make giant bowling pin targets, maybe cardboard or plywood? Drywall or sheet-rock could also make for a good visual.

@explosivescience9389 2 жыл бұрын

Or maybe some gas bottles 🤔😁

@GRT1865 3 жыл бұрын

Dave called. He would like his bowling ball back. He also wanted to know if you've seen his car. HAHAHA Stay safe. Take care. Have fun. 😎

@papapsadventures6119 2 жыл бұрын

Oh we also used friction primers instead of the old "touch hole" method. Also setting the barrel at a 45 degree angle will give you the optimal trajectory.

@andreasnewitsch59 2 жыл бұрын

Why does this make me laugh? John candy would be proud. He was one of the farmers film reviewers.

@RchrdNaylor 3 жыл бұрын

This relatively new channel is absolutely fantastic. Great ideas and your presentation skills have increased exponentially in the last few videos. Bravo!

@livrasyt166 3 жыл бұрын

that was a nice throw

@Grosswick 3 жыл бұрын

I'm wondering if some sort of cheap, expandable sabot casing (made out of foam, or a plastic) would improve the efficiency of that cannon by closing a gap in the barrel, or overpressurize it and cause explosion :D

@hellshade2 3 жыл бұрын

if it seals too tight it still may fire but the chances of the cannon barrel failing and exploding will increase...

@IamOutOfNames 3 жыл бұрын

They used cloth wads for muskets, same could work here.

@Dr.JustIsWrong 2 жыл бұрын

Yes, and yes.

@andrewburns3823 3 жыл бұрын

Would a wad between the powder charge and the ball give a better seal? I know they do this with black powder rifles. Good game anyway! Best!

@jasonb1776 3 жыл бұрын

if this was new tech, then I can understand you not wadding your shot or putting sabot beneath it. The tech is old and we know how they made cannons more efficient 400 years ago! A wooden sabot or a good cloth wrap will almost certainly make a positive difference.

@trentpeterson1354 3 жыл бұрын

Very cool! I hope this channel keeps growing :)

@bdubs3819 2 жыл бұрын

That was a lot of fun! 😆

@rags417 3 жыл бұрын

Next time use some wading - this will give a better fit for the ball and reduce your windage giving you much better range. On another topic, now imagine if the ball had been made of cast iron - it would have less wind resistance and have even MORE range. Next, imagine a team of experienced gunners loading and firing a battery of those cannon as fast as they could with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Finally, imagine being told to march into that maelstrom. I am SOOOOO happy that I was born in the 20th century !

@TGC1775 3 жыл бұрын

May I suggest a shot spacer? Better seal on the back of the ball. Pushes the ball while your ball goes out.

@prezzie1 Жыл бұрын

I would love to see this canon with a much tighter fitting ball. Imagine how far it would go if it was a tight fit instead of the gap. Great video though

@stuartnorton111 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, awesome video. Good luck with the channel

@EdwinDueck 3 жыл бұрын

Watch old movies with canons being used, I love seeming how it works. Loved this video.

@Marc43666 3 жыл бұрын

awsome work

@michaelmay5453 3 жыл бұрын

See... this right here... I like this right here.

@Just_A_Dude 3 жыл бұрын

I've got fond memories of an older video that fired a proper Model 1867 Napoleon 12pdr at the front of a car. Cored it like an apple, straight through the engine block and out the back, then buried itself into the berm they were using as a backstop. The projectiles weigh very similarly, though obviously the bowling ball is much less dense, so that will create some interesting results. The _biggest_ variable, however, is the powder charge. The standard charge for a Model 1957 is 2.5lb/1.1kg. Think that puppy can stand up to the whole enchilada? EDIT: Oh, and as other comments have mentioned... I'd love to see what you come up with for a wad/patch/sabot to try and get more pressure out of it.

@EnkaMexi 3 жыл бұрын

Awsome! But always be careful ;-)

@RobanyBigjobz 3 жыл бұрын

Fantastic. I await the car test with bated breath :)

@daver4510 Жыл бұрын

Good stuff

@solarfunction1847 3 жыл бұрын

@Explosive Science At the bottom end of the canon pipe place a welded cradle of square bar strips that place the ball more within the center of the canon pipe so that the force of the explosion pushes the ball out faster.. You would need to make a thick steel washer that has vertical square strips & ring around the top to join the strips all welded together to make a cage type cradle that would center the ball as well as the weight of it would remain at the bottom of the canon pipe if it's bolted down at the large washer end that sits at the bottom of the canon pipe. With this you could make different sized sleeves for other sized balls that are less than the canon's bore.

@loupiscanis9449 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you

@DGA2000 Жыл бұрын

Totally enjoyed your vid. It looked to me that you had the cannon at a great angle to achieve distance but I couldn't help but wonder if it was the optimal angle. I bet computer modeling would be a great help in figuring it out. Anyway, thank you for a great vid

@georgesmith8113 Жыл бұрын

Awesome! 👍👍👍👊😬

@CognosSquare 3 жыл бұрын

Great video guys. The power of that "thunk" is insane, throwing a 6 kg ball that distance. Could you talk a bit about this loading thing with the powder in the "inner" pipe, how does it look inside at the back.

@arthurcrego8297 2 жыл бұрын

A car? oh hell yes

@michaelhrivnak1719 2 жыл бұрын

Sweet!!!

@CH3FFI3 2 жыл бұрын

Would be good to place a camera with a good mic in the impact vicinity to hear that whistle coming at ya out of nowhere. Would be interesting to hear the time lapse between the whistle and the boom.

@Ulthar_Cat 3 жыл бұрын

Also I'm from Mexico and I support the metric system 💜

@professionalidiots101 3 жыл бұрын

This was awesome 🤣😂🤣

@Henrik.Yngvesson 3 жыл бұрын

Could you line the inside with cardboard to make a tighter fit with the bowling ball?

@LoremIpsum1970 3 жыл бұрын

You need a drone for extra shots! great job.

@okiedoak201 10 ай бұрын

Let's wrap the bowling ball with a rag to create a tight fit... Nice video ...is there a build video on the way?....asking for a friend 😁

@darrenhitchcox6345 3 жыл бұрын

Awesome stuff Mike, love it. How far would this go with a tighter seal, or would it destroy the ball with the powder force?

@byroncox9465 2 жыл бұрын

Hey you need to put the powder in an put an old T shirt in an then put bowling ball in the ball will go farther an put some white grease on T shirt not alot just a little bowling ball will come out before smoke it makes a seal

@MrPLC999 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for volunteering to mass produce these devices for the Ukrainian army.

@Oldmankingspiffy 3 жыл бұрын

You should use a towel as a patch to seal the chamber better

@explosivescience9389 3 жыл бұрын

I was thinking maybe a full workshop blue roll might be the best wadding

@zumbazumba1 3 жыл бұрын

@@explosivescience9389 Althou his idea of using towel is good since they used it in muskets for a century i recommend a different approach! Wood board ,or plywoood cylinder wad -that way you would build a huge shotgun slug !Maybe add a patch of leather around the plywood disc so that it doesnt damage the bore and seal it even better-but since its a smoothbore you could probably fire anything -a few kilos of nails or wingnuts would be fun to watch on a close targets !Maybe buy a pork carcass and see what happens ! Or ballistic gelatine!

@zumbazumba1 3 жыл бұрын

A peace of old leather belt and a plywood cylinder/disc would seal that big bertha tight !

@jackbehling5694 Жыл бұрын

I never knew English people are so much fun.

@fg146 3 жыл бұрын

Explosive cannon balls next please.

@marste4619 3 жыл бұрын

5:50 Does this kind of black powder always have that grain size? It should be called black pellets.

@karljg19 3 жыл бұрын

No. Black powder comes in different grain sizes depending on the application. Cannon powder is the coarsest. 4F is the finest and is used for priming flintlocks.

@graywallace47 2 жыл бұрын

YES

@KingOfChaos213 3 жыл бұрын

Could use a sabot for the bowling ball to engage with the barrel better.

@demolitiondavedrillandblast 3 жыл бұрын

You really need some wadding to make the projectile seal better, I believe that some Americans have loaded 2 pounds of BP in a gas cylinder mortar without damage... I would like a lot more distance between yourselves and the bang though!

@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse 3 жыл бұрын

Would you not get better performance of the projectile by adding a seal around the ball like used in a musket? Oh and add a tracker to the inside of the ball to make it easier to find.

@Ulthar_Cat 3 жыл бұрын

Hi. Great video. I can recommend a wadding of cheap coarse cloth between the powder and the ball to make it more efficient. I also recommend watching videos by Edwin Sarkissian and his bowling ball cannon. Hilarious XD

@Jellyf0x 3 жыл бұрын

I wonder what would have happened if you used an old bath towel as a patch or wadding.

@violakrone8429 3 жыл бұрын

Would have flown a lot further or blow up the cannon i guess lol

@varney2010 3 жыл бұрын

Chuck some straw wadding down it.

@dgundeadforge17 3 жыл бұрын

Could you patch the bowling ball with a tshirtor blanket to get better seal?

@ducthman4737 3 жыл бұрын

What would be the percentage of cannonballs recovered by the army after a battle to be use an other day ?

@jacobstevens4526 3 жыл бұрын

Use wadding, can't wait to see the results

@mikeymike758 2 жыл бұрын

Lower clearance between the ball and barrel is required.

@helmsman3082 2 жыл бұрын

PVC has a unfortunate tendency to generate a LOT of static electricity sliding against other material. Probably not the best choice for loading your black powder.

@mikemontgomery2132 2 жыл бұрын

Beals Science sent a 16 lb bowling ball over 2 miles with a cannon.

@pkz420 3 жыл бұрын

Why not make a sleeve out of thin metal for the inside of the barrel. It would make a tighter fit, and more efficient launch. Acting like a shell-casing, but the whole length of the barrel.

@emmepombar3328 3 жыл бұрын

Have you considered using some kind of sabot, perhaps made out of paper?

@gravitomagneticpower 3 жыл бұрын

great! Make some vid with acetylene spudgun please :)

@explosivescience9389 3 жыл бұрын

I have a couple. I will certainly do this!

@tytorubio3271 2 жыл бұрын

Thought you were accidentally going to kill a cow when you zoomed in with them on top of that hill

@dennisowen3717 Жыл бұрын

Guys. Here in the States we use 2 pounds of Black powder and it pushes an 8 pound bowling ball over 3 miles. Give it a try.

@explosivescience9389 Жыл бұрын

If only i had 3 miles of clear land! 😁

@dennisowen3717 Жыл бұрын

@@explosivescience9389 3 or more. Sounds like a good idea though.

@adriancox-thesantjordigolf3646 3 жыл бұрын

I want to see this.

@jansenart0 3 жыл бұрын

Pro bowling balls are unevenly weighted...

@dreamcruise2009 Жыл бұрын

Add some wadding, mate!

@penfish200 Жыл бұрын

how much black powder and type of black powder quality

@jamesberwick2210 Жыл бұрын

When all else fails, ... more gun powder.

@hopefilledsinner3911 2 жыл бұрын

Less powder more wadding.

@robmeglaughlin325 9 ай бұрын

the cows in the other field look like they would do ?

@nichterreichbar787 3 жыл бұрын

As i read bowling ball cannon i instantly think at the mythbusters incident with the bowling ball 😅 Why is the barrel so short maybe you could increase the distance 1/3 or more with the same amount of powder ?

@explosivescience9389 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah that Mythbusters accident was a scary thing! Luckily we have a whole lot more safety distance than they had. Plus with the job I’m always writing risk assessments, one simple mitigating factor is… point away from populated areas, I don’t think they thought about what was over the hill 😁 The barrel is so short because the cold drawn seemless steel tube was really expensive! A gas cylinder would have been sooooo much cheaper 😒