Another Breech Loading System

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Hubb
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About 6 months ago, I built a pneumatic cannon. It is a 1.5" barreled cannon with a modded sprinkler valve and breech loader. It was designed primarily for paintball use and shells were loaded with sabots. I attempted to model the breech loading system after the BECC and feel that I did a pretty good job. This system did okay, that is until I went to fire a potato.

The shell was loaded, and the cannon was charged. I grabbed the beast and pulled the trigger. The potato sealed too good and the whole shell popped out of the receiver part, sliding the entire barrel forward. This may not sound bad but it did. It sounded really bad. The pressures coming from the sprinkler valve (sitting right next to my ear, of course) was so loud that my ear rang for about an hour.

This mishap caused me to redesign the breech loading system, so I did. No it works wonderfully with any type of ammo.

I am not going to post step - by - step instructions because the pictures should explain it for the most part. Any questions, just ask.

Note: The system works wonderfully with the 1.5" cannon. I don't see why it couldn't be scaled up or down to accommodate any other type of cannon as well. Okay, now for the pictures.
Attachments
This is the whole setup.
This is the whole setup.
This is the breech parts. It consists of the locking mechanism, the shell, and the receiver.
This is the breech parts. It consists of the locking mechanism, the shell, and the receiver.
This is the receiver holding the shell. The shell is made of a piece of pipe (same size as barrel). A piece of coupling is cut (in the case, 1" wide) and glued about an inch from the end.
This is the receiver holding the shell. The shell is made of a piece of pipe (same size as barrel). A piece of coupling is cut (in the case, 1" wide) and glued about an inch from the end.
This is the receiver with the locking mechanism shown. The locking mechanism is constructed using a cutout piece of pipe. A piece of the coupling used for the shell was then glued on the end, as shown.
This is the receiver with the locking mechanism shown. The locking mechanism is constructed using a cutout piece of pipe. A piece of the coupling used for the shell was then glued on the end, as shown.
This is the front view of the receiver with the locking mechanism on it. As one can see, the front portion of the locking mechanism is sharpened to allow the shell to easily slide in place.
This is the front view of the receiver with the locking mechanism on it. As one can see, the front portion of the locking mechanism is sharpened to allow the shell to easily slide in place.
To allow the barrel to slide smoothly, the tee was hollowed out, the 2" coupling was secured to it and the whole thing (coupling and tee) was slit. It slides good.
To allow the barrel to slide smoothly, the tee was hollowed out, the 2" coupling was secured to it and the whole thing (coupling and tee) was slit. It slides good.
This system allows the barrel to slide forward to open the breech. The larger coupling (2") was screwed to the 1.5" tee because it was slightly too big to use glue. The coupling was then gapped out, as shown, to allow for a locking mechanism. The tee was slit and secured to the chamber with a clamp.
This system allows the barrel to slide forward to open the breech. The larger coupling (2") was screwed to the 1.5" tee because it was slightly too big to use glue. The coupling was then gapped out, as shown, to allow for a locking mechanism. The tee was slit and secured to the chamber with a clamp.
this is what happens when a gauge doesn't do what I tell it to (actually, I broke it trying to screw it on).
this is what happens when a gauge doesn't do what I tell it to (actually, I broke it trying to screw it on).
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origin unknown
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Did your first version of the cannon shoot the potato out when the shell popped out or did the shell pop out with the potato still inside?
Ecclesiastes 1:9 - What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
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SpudUke5
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I think thats its awesome!! im gonna try it..........eventually :lol:
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Hubb
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The first version was designed for paintball and shot the sabots quite nicely, as long as I held the barrel. It also shot the potato, but it only went about 5 feet from me. Most of the force was directed to try and break my eardrum.
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tomthebomb137
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thats rather funny because i built a system exactly like the BECC as well and, just like you, it worked fine untill i fired a potato, and just like you i messed up my ear. Nice work here
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