Monday, August 22, 2011

Day 2: The Cannon "Barrel" Assembly is done






A hot day, sweaty work... but I got it done. The frame is finished. I even found enough time to start on the crank handle. The "cross" is made from 12 mm solid steel, 33cm at each side, strengthened by a 16 mm steel tube in the critical first 15 cm. This is all welded together, very strong.

Transmission of the crank is 26:1, means, if I go up to 500 kg (1100 lbs) of a draw, I have to pull with 19 kg (42 lbs) force at the end of the handles, very doable. 

I decided to go with the clamp-on attachment method, will increase safety be using a round rod as an additional "wedge". This is the strongest known attachment method.

Tomorrow, the winch has to be finished, and the two drawing ropes have to be installed. With some luck, the weapon will be able to fire tomorrow evening. Wednesday is reserved for the carriage assembly.

47 comments:

  1. I appreciate the hot sweaty work (I'm demolishing my old tool shed and re-cycling some of the lumber). But look at it! Wow! Just how long is the barrel? It does look very strong and capable. Every time I take a break, I come inside to the a/c and look to see what has developed and this time, I am not disappointed.

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  2. now im really looking forward to seeing this

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  3. The poles are 3 meters long (about 10 ft).

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  4. What are you going to be shooting at?

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  5. uah scary. May the zombie hordes come

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  6. I can't even picture what its going to look like yet, but it does look well thought out and I'm sure its going to work. Although your expectations maybe much higher than mine!

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  7. Well done! I'm sure that the construction is strong enough. The lumber is probably much thicker than it needs to be and the steel parts give additional safety.

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  8. Well, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. We shall see.

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  9. uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawesomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  10. I'm very impressed with the design, the craftsmanship, and especially with the tremendous rate of progress you're making. I would have expected this slingshot cannon to be built over a few weeks or months, not a few days. Thanks for sharing the experience, your great ideas and great attitude are truly inspiring.

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  11. Cool....that's absolutely amazing.

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  12. I CANT WAIT TO SEE IT SHOOT COOL WORK AS ALWAYS

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  13. *jaw drops*
    very nice work i cant wait to see it shoot
    cant wait to see what gets shot :)

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  14. This looks massiv!!!

    I do not want to be the target.

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  15. I've been trained on the M119 and love getting to fire that howitzer, but your slingshot cannon is full of eccentric old school charm, I would love to be able to shoot that beast

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  16. Hi Jörg.
    Greeeeaaaat.Awesome. Aber bist du dir sicher, daß der Kreisausschnitt nicht zu klein ist? Da muß ne Menge Band, das Leder und die Kugel durch.
    Ich würd´ja auch gern alles in englisch schreiben, aber mein Schulenglisch ist 26 Jahre her. Das sieht so besser aus.
    Viele Grüße aus dem Hunsrück

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  17. I hope I get the Panther this week so i can cherish it for the rest of my life.It would mean a lot to me!Good luck with the rest of the assembly Jörg.

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  18. Gonna be awesome! i can't wait to see that thing fire.

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  19. Line up the zombies in a line, aim, headshot!'
    Looks awesome.

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  20. They are right: this isnt a slingshot, this is :
    RUBBERPOWER !!! :) I would like to see the faces of the other drivers on the road when you have this cannon behind youre car driving to the shooting spot :) :) Love it ! Its a 6 hour drive from my place to youre's but for this i would come over and see.

    All the best.

    ps i did have a tec question but i,m gonna wait untill after this project :)

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  21. Nice work! it looks good except the lock and the band attachment. Imo it would take a bigger peace of wood to clamp the bands on and somewhat more stable than a 2cm wooden rod with iron core. do you tested it or something? or is it just me, because of my level of (not) knowing?

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  22. I cant wait to see the destruction this beast does!!!

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  23. i hear epic music and thunder when i look at the pictures! lol this is going to be insane!
    thanks for sharing with everyone

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  24. He he ))) looks sweat))), need more rubber bands on the short length of the barrel i think

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  25. That really is a monster! I Can't wait to see the YouTube video for this!!!!

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  26. Nice work of art. I'll like to see it in action.
    I hope you will make a clip of it when ists redy.

    Greetings

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  27. Fantastic work Jorg,
    wow that thing is going to be huge!
    keep us posted ..
    Ian

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  28. Horstel, the dimensions are misleading. The wooden rod (birch) is 35 mm in diameter, and the "weakly" core is a massive 12mm threaded stainless steel rod.

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  29. Ya know, the fourth picture is disconcerting. At least it is for me who had a nightmare of it last night. It was the last thing I saw and then I woke up in a cold sweat! I don't think I want to see that image anymore! Poor zombie car! :)

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  30. How did you get the transmission of the crank to be a 26:1 Ratio?

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  31. How far do you think it will shoot?

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  32. I just started hunting. I want to get a deer with a slingshot, using an arrow as a projectile.

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  33. All the best for your cannon - project Mr Sprave !
    I'm very interested in your hobby 'cause it's my hobby ,too .
    You can contact me over YouTube at DJJuMaXXX or at
    steinschleudern.jimdo.com .

    Yours 12-year-old Julius M. S.

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  34. It's time for car destruction!!!!!!!!!

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  35. Joerg--great project. Have you read "The OSS Crossbows" by John Brunner? There's lots of information on a very similar weapon--the "Joe Louis Grenade Thrower" (1200 lb pull, 24" draw length). The book is a great read, lots of pictures, experiment set-ups, descriptions of construction materials, etc. on the Joe Louis and other smaller rubber-powered weapons(Little Joe and Big Joe crossbows).

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