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MORTARS Introduction A well built mortarwill providemany hoursof safe entertainment and yards, it can shoot enjoyment.l{ith a maximum rangeof near'lyfive hundred a beer can (ftlled with sandor gravel) with amazing accuracy. l.lany black powder clubs haveadded nrortarfiring to their list of contestevents. Parts List p i e c e6 u X 1 2 us o l i d s t e e l s h a f t i n g 1. One 2. one2" X 10" Steel shaft 3. Two s o l i d s t e e l b l o c k s- 3 " x 4 " X 2 " 4. One10" X !i" threaded rod with two nuts 5. Eight - 2' - #I0 wood screws 6. Four- 4Lz" X 3k" bolt andnuts 7. Four - 3" X #10woodscrews B. Six feet 2u X 4" fir or pine (optional) 9. l4aterialsto constructcarryinghandles NOTE: lle can assume no responsibilityfor the manner in whichthe enclosed information is used. To constructthe barrel first locate a master machinest.He should accomplish the followingworkon the 6" X 12" steel shaft. a ) . D r i l l a p i l o t c e n t e rh o l e a n dt h e ne n l a r g e it to 2 3/4". The drawings enclosed shouldbe fol'lowed closely. b). Turna buil noseon the butt endof the shafting (an alternate taper maybe usedr.ri th no functlona'leffect) . c). Mill a half roundslot in the butt endof the shaft to accepttne trunion shafting. d). Turn the outsidediameter of the trunion smooth.

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Arc-weldthe trunion to the butt-end of the shaft. Drill a 2" hole in the centerof the 3" X 4" X 2" steel b l o c k .

f) .

D r i l l a 2 : 3 / 8 " h o l e s t h r o u g ht h e s h a f t . C u t t h e p i l l o w b ' l o c ki n h and i ne the surfaces fiat. rnach s). h), D r i l l t h e s m a l l t o u c hh o l e . Ali metal work on the barrel (tube) is nowcomplete. To prevenE

a g a i n s t r u s t , t h e b a r r e l ( t u b e ) s h o u l db e E i t h e r b r o w n e db , l u e d , or painted b l a c k . ( T h eo r i g i n a l s w e r ep a i n t e db l a c k ) In constructing the vlooden carriage, select the best grade of wood p o s s i b l e . F i r o r p i n e a r e a c c e p t a b l eb , ut oakvJould be by far the best. Follow the encloseddiagrams carefully. A1 I woodjoints should be giued

(as t.lell as bolted) for extra strength. For the most protection, the smooth and coveredeither clear varnish wooclen carriage should be sanded o r p a int . Using The Beer Cani,lortar Alrvays remember that your mortar is not a toyl comrno sn ense w h e nf i r i n g i t . (1). and Use goodjudgeirent

T h e f o l l o w i n g r u l e s s h o u i db e f o l l o w e d :

powder. If this can not be Try to locate a sourceof cannon

- it ignites pot^rder.(i'leveruse black blasting powder found, use FGor FFG too slowly for satisfactoryresults in our mortar) (2), r harge A f u l l p o w d ec will fill r avity compietely. t h e p o w d ec

designed a n dw e l l b u i l t m o r t a r . safe in a proper'ly T h i s s h o u l db e c o m p l e t e l y The mortar nay be usedr.ri th as little (3). chargefor firing. as 1/3 powder

out of for use in our mortar. It comes llo waddingis necessary

areas. the barrel burning and mayset fire to the sumounding

7
(4). w h e nl o a d i n go r f i r i n g . (5).

-3Remember that mortars can be very dangerous whenused improperiy.

NEVER, I repeat, never bendover and look into the barrel of a mortar. The temptationmaybe great, but keepc)ear of the muzzleat all times

For the best resu'lts, use dynani te fuse forigniting

the motar.

Buy plenty and experiment with different lengths to determine the best burning time (experirnent awayfrom your powder and motar). (6). Beer and sodacans are the best and most practical projecticles

you can use. Fill themwith clean, -d.rysand. Youmust crimp or tape each can to insure that the sanddoesnot trickie out. Though it would be far

ntoreexpensive,you could have iron balls cast to fit the fore of your mortar. These b a l 1 s , p a i n t e da b r i g h t c o l o u r , w o u l db e r a l a t i v e l y e a s y to find if you have some capablespotters downrange. If you are using actual cannonballs,try to avoid a very soft impactarea. The ball may bury itself one or more feet deepon landing. (7). chamber with black After firing clean both the bore and powder

powder of two different thi6, you will need swabs solvent. To accomplish your oun swabs or by nailing pieces of sheepskin diameters. You can make a thoroughswabcloth bags to the end of a cut off shovel handle. l.lhen bing has beenaccomplished, Jou mayclean the touch hole by running a small diameterbrass rod through it. Y o u rc o m p l e t e f i r i n g s e q u e n c ie s as follows: (1). (2). (3). (4). (5). bore with black powder soivent. Sr,rab pollderchamber solvent. Swab with black powder C l e a nt o u c h h o l e w i t h b r a s s r o d . powder Pour measured charge into cavity. te fuse into touch hole. Insert dynami

-+-

(6). Check to see that your target area is clear and iight fuse. (7). Stand backandawait detonation. If for some reason,the flanc goesdown into the touch hole and does - do not panic! Wait at least ten minutes not ignite the charge beforeapproaching the mortar. D0NoTL00KINToTHE BoRE FoR ANY Approach REASoNI v/ith extrenE care. From one side, usethe brassrod to clear the touch hole. Cut andinsert a newfuse andtry again. After five more minutes. if the motarstill has not gone bad off, you musthavegottenhold of some powder. In this casetake a smallmetalcan full of waterandpourit into the bore of the bore. BECERTAIN TOKEEP CLEAR OFTHE BORE ATALLTIMES! Wait for five more minutes andthendump the entire mess out andbeginover. Aiminq YourMortar With a little practice, you will be amazed with the rangeandaccuracy you may your accuracy, you can achieve want with the mortar. To increase here. By to experiment with a gunners $g|;gq!. similar to the one shovrn powder weight' you can andprojectiles of uniform charge using a constant is fromthe quadrant) the angle in whichthe mortar(in degrees experiment with the resultant range. fired compared CharEes BurstingProjectiles and Impact A bursting projectile is onethat is set (usuallyby fuse or powder train) to burst ln the alr. is onethat is rigged to An impactcharge

object. it contactsanother detonate when It is this writers opinionthat both bursting projectiles andimpact are inherentlyunsafeandnot suitable for sport mortarfiring. charges to haveoccurred while using sport rnortars,almost 0f the injuries I know p r o j e c t i l e sa n di m p a c c t harges. a s a r e s u l t o f u s i n gb u r s t i n g a l I h a v eb e e n

-5Theabove CAUTIoN: information has beencompiled and presented from sourcesthat we feel to be accurate. l,lecan assume no responsibility for in whichthis information either the manner is used,or any actionsthat mayresult from its use. Always checklocal lawsbeforedischarging any black powde r device! Theoriginal idea for theseplansandthis writefrs interest in b'lack powder mortarscame lolaqazi ne from an artic'le in the March1974issue of Guns by trlas on t.lJlliams.

Copyright1977DELTA PRESS LTD.

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