Artillery

[Sundance]

Been a member for a long time lurking in the background. This thread got me laughing. As a youth I did many of these things "Just Experimenting". We called the cans taped together a "Polish Cannon" and could launch a tennis ball as high as a 7 story building. Made carbide cannons and a marble mortar out of copper pipe using firecrackers as the propellant. We also built balsa wood airplanes, remember the small string guided, motor powered  planes that you got dizzy flying in a circle. My one friend got a model bomber kit, it had a balsa wood bomb that hung on a hook in its belly. We found we could substitute a Cherry Bomb in it. We would start the engine, light a long fused cherry bomb and take off. We would do "bombing runs". Every now and then the "bomb" would not drop from the plane and we would need to build another. I also had an unlimited supply of railroad torpedoes, they exploded on contact. Had smoke stains on fences, walls and other things that got in there path. Never tried an arrow though. In today's world I would have been locked up before I was 10.

[Timothy]

Sundance, I expect that we have a healthy respect for things that go boom BECAUSE of our youthful experiences and rather dangerous experiments!

I was lucky to have many friends who were of a same mind!  We're all still kicking!

LOL

Post more, we're mostly harmless!

[tombogan03884]

Another thought on the arrow.
If you screw a nipple into the end and put the cap on that there's a better chance it will go off.
 That's how Civil war era hand grenades worked.
If you use a magnesium arrow you might get one heck of a fire.

[PegLeg45]

In today's world I would have been locked up before I was 10.

Yep....same here.



I have it on good authority that it takes exactly three (3) sticks of dynamite to lift one of those old-timey solidly built refrigerators approximately 15' straight up.

And one from my youthful Wile E. Coyote files:
If you fill a beach ball with the proper ratio of acetylene and oxygen, then suspend it from a tree just above a pint Mason jar with a candle in it...then, hold the ball as far back as you can while a friend lights the candle...and then throw the ball to swing in a circle like a tether-ball.....(while you run like scalded ape) ...... when the ball finally stops swinging over the candle that it will make quite a ruckus indeed. 

[tombogan03884]

Thank God for the statute of limitations ! 

[Sponsor]

[Rastus]

Thank God for the statute of limitations ! 

Yep.

[MikeBjerum]

Majer reminded me of Saturday night acetylene balloons.  A pack of cheap balloons, some homemade fuse, and the oxy/acetylene tanks from the shop.

As we progressed through the fun and games, we learned that you could bundle the balloons together, think clown at the carnival, some with helium and some with o/a.  Your own airborne fun 

[TAB]

we use to use hydrogen and a strip of towel in paint thinner( slowed down the burn)


a ballon the size of a greatfruit will get about 100' in the air and make a 5' fireball, best viewed at night.

I am just greatful that its not like today where every one has video camera in their pocket and puts stuff on the net.


the only video of me doing something really stupid was from college.   it was one of those min vhs you put in a bigger vhs to watch in a vcr.  it was us having a bottle rocket war in the house.  Large quantiys of booze were envoled.

I have said it time and time again.  I don't know any one growing up that did not commit several felonys.

yet I still have all my fingers, toes and eyes. 

[tombogan03884]

we use to use hydrogen and a strip of towel in paint thinner( slowed down the burn)


a ballon the size of a greatfruit will get about 100' in the air and make a 5' fireball, best viewed at night.

I am just greatful that its not like today where every one has video camera in their pocket and puts stuff on the net.


the only video of me doing something really stupid was from college.   it was one of those min vhs you put in a bigger vhs to watch in a vcr.  it was us having a bottle rocket war in the house.  Large quantiys of booze were envoled.

I have said it time and time again.  I don't know any one growing up that did not commit several felonys.

yet I still have all my fingers, toes and eyes. 

Amazing isn't it ? We should all be stumbling around with hooks and eye patches.

[les snyder]

after the Columbine Colorado school shooting I was on the committee to re-evaluate our school emergency management plan...I was the gun wacko, science teacher member of the committee...local LEO and Fire were in attendance, and we brainstormed our "worst case scenario".... at the time we still had unsecured oxyacetylene torches in the construction labs ... I used a small trash can liner's volume for the demonstration... they locked up the tanks before we adjourned the first meeting.....