[TheForge] In a pickle now!

Mon Jul 21 13:17:01 2003

Well Jane, you are living up to your name Calamity, LOL! I appreciate your British-like sense of understatement, "the cannon project has run into a snag."

The problem began with your ex-friend as I can see it. He was a bit optimistic to indicate that only .001 was needed. You doubled that but still ran into trouble. 

Remember, all the energy from the cannon is going out the breech and touch hole when fired. If anything, the explosion will serve to expand the steel tube against the brass tube it is placed inside of. There is a miniscule probability that the steel tube will come flying out when you pull the lanyard if you increase the tolerance to greater than .002.

If, or when, you get the tube out you might call the cannon makers in Demopolis, MS and see if they have an engineer willing to lend you a sympathetic ear and offer a solution. Sorry, I can't remember the company name. Do a Google search.

I chuckle as I think about your predicament. My maternal grandfather was a mechanic and my father use to lampoon him and say his motto was, "If you can't force it, get a bigger hammer."

Putting this tube in with a molybdemum based lubricant might help you on your next attempt. It retains its ability to aid metal on metal movement even at something like 100,000 lbs/square inch. 

Keep us posted. Are you going to artillery school in Oklahoma when you are done? An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure Ben Franklin use to say. Learning safe firing is critical. It'll keep you from killing yourself, one of the cannon crew or a spectator.

I've been a part of an artillery crew and pulling the lanyard is a thrill, I'll admit, but safety is everything. We want to keep you around. It is not often we get such interesting reports from one such as you.

Reynolds

 --- On Mon 07/21, WinnonaD < [email protected] > wrote:
From: WinnonaD [mailto: [email protected]]
To: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 08:23:22 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [TheForge] In a pickle now!

Well, the cannon project has run into a snag. The barrel is a 660 bronze tube (4" OD 2" ID 24" long) The barrel is to be sleeved with a steel tube (1018 2" OD 22" long). A machinist friend (used-to-be-friend?) told me to use "0.001 per inch" for a press fit, (but I don't think he considered the depth - it has to go in 22") The steel sleeve measures 2.000", so I reamed the bronze to 1.998" with an adjustable hand reamer (a considerable job!) I started running the sleeve into the bore this morning with my 6 ton jack and a chain. The sleeve has a very slight taper for about the first 1/2" to get it aligned and it pressed in fairly easy for the first couple of inches and slowly stared to tighten up. I drove it a couple of more inches with the sledge (first mistake!) before my stubbornness subsided and I said to myself "This is too tight!" Then I tried ta get the sleeve back out by driving it with a bar f
 rom the other end. It went a ways and kept getting tighter. Even heatin the bronze tube with the torch wouldn't get it free. (I may have mushroomed the end of the sleeve a bit driving it with the bar - second mistake!) In any event, I'm in a pickle now with the sleeve 6" into the bronze 'n' tight as he!! I left a message fer my friend who has a 50 ton shop press. When I get a hold of him, I'll see if we can't press the sleeve out. Got a real nice memento now to - a big triangular burn on me forearm from the hot bronze (third mistake). Somehow my enthusiasm fer cannon-buildin's at a low ebb right now - $400 worth of material (and a couple of weeks work) what ain't together the way it otta be! So, instead of getting stubborn again, I'll wait and see if the press will do the trick - that means staying away from temptation by staying out of the shop! Lawrdy I hate MONDAYS! Calamity (bordering
 on calamity) Jane __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month! http://sbc.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge theforge mail list group photo site is http://www.photoaccess.com Login: [email protected] password: anvil ___________

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