Pegleg Pete

The feeling is totally mutual, GOF. I find myself burned out from many of my hobbies at this point. It sometimes seems difficult to step away, especially when folks are wanting to know your take on the situation. It's easier for us "lesser known" members to do so than it is for you. But, rest assured, you won't be forgotten, and you will be able to step in again at any point you feel is fitting. Feel free to step away and get your affairs in order. The hobby will be around when you return, and people will be eager to hear what you have for input on the topic at hand. Everything discussed here is meant to be a hobby, or things to learn to further a person's understanding. If it gets to the point of taking over a majority of your life, it's time to step back and take care of what's REALLY important. Take some time off and come back to a "family" that accepts you as their own. In the mean time, take care of your real family. May the wind always be at your back, and we'll raise a pint to you on your return. Enjoy some much needed time away. If and when you are ready to dive back into it, there will be plenty of things to discuss and debate. Have a good one.... See you at a later date. Brad AKA Pegleg Pete

Nuthin' wrong with that. You wouldn't even need to put a hole in the bottom. It's just the part where you light it and it goes BOOM that tends to make folks a bit nervous. Do a search for "grenades" or "grenadoes" in the Cap'n Twill area and you will find a relatively recent thread about it...with some pictures to boot. Some folks have done some very nice work with reproductions. Brad aka Pegleg Pete

Are you talking clay pots filled with black powder actually being set off? As Kass said, check your local regs. As an off-hand guess, I would say they probably won't fly, legally. Many areas of the country outlaw fireworks or any "device" filled with black powder that's encased in a strong cardboard tube...and that's just paper. If you are figuring the clay will just disintegrate into powder and make a big dust cloud...more than likely it won't. Black powder is a slow, low-order compound, and doesn't have the shattering effect to totally break up the case. There's always a danger of flying chunks. The clay container will break apart only far enough to no longer contain the pressure of the gasses. From that point on, the remainder of the pieces will fly through the air as projectiles. Even if the container is "raw" clay, and not fired in a kiln. Yeah, some if it will turn to dust, but there's no predicting how much or how many pieces won't. No way to tell when or where a chunk will take off like a bullet and cause damage. Like Kass said...check with your local laws, but they will probably frown on the idea. In WWII the Japanese had a "last ditch" grenade made out of clay. It was fired clay, but still...it was a pretty nasty little beastie. Brad aka Pegleg Pete

Harbor Master, If you get a notion to try the amber flints, throw out your two cents as to how they work for you. As I said in a previous post, I've often admired how they look in a lock. It wouldn't be too much of a bother to go and buy them meself, but I'm more than happy with the English flints from Track of the Wolf. But, should you give the ambers a go, let us know what you think of 'em. Beings you are an "English flint" person yourself. An honest opinion from one that has tried both would be a great help. Of the two links I posted, I would be more apt to try Horst than Dixie. I've got no problems with Dixie...I've ordered from them before and had no problems, but judging from their online descriptions, they don't seem to "specialize" in flints...they just carry 'em. Who knows what will show up in the mail. Let us know how it goes, should you give it a shot. Brad

Another source for ambers: Horst Amber Flints A bit spendy, but a few more choices in size, and a better description than "small, medium, large". Kind of a nice site. I like the amber flint down at the bottom for flint and steel, too. Brad

French Amber Flints: Dixie Amber Flints Dixie Gun Works. They have a few different sizes. Looks like they are probably "newly knapped", though. Brad

Track of the Wolf update... The pipes came today...that was pretty quick shipping. Kind of mixed feelings about them. They are sturdy construction. They smoke well. I've only actually lit one, but they both seem to draw equally well. The one downside is the apparent "glaze" on the pipes. I've been reading as much as I can about clays, since I am new to the topic. Some people like glazes, some like them "in the raw". Fortunately, these aren't "glazed" inside the bowl...and I mean REALLY fortunately. Because the glaze appears to be a lacquer or something, and not a true glaze. After a few good puffs on the pipe, the bowl started to get quite warm...which I guess is normal. Like I said, not having used one before and all that... Anyway, after the bowl starts to heat up, the "glaze" starts to discolor and turn brown. I've heard clays can darken in color, and become a "warm brown" color over time...but I suspect not after 4 or 5 puffs? The "glaze" also started to get a bit sticky, which makes me believe it's a lacquer. As I said, they didn't apply it to the inside of the bowl, which is very good news...I'd hate to inhale the fumes from it if it IS lacquer. So, that's the one downside to them. I think I will try to strip that off of my second pipe and see if it makes a difference. Too bad, if that's the case. Other than that, they're pretty nice pipes. So, for those of you that have used clays, does that seem a bit out of the ordinary? Who knows, maybe that's a normal thing...but it sure seems odd to me. That's the report on the new pipes. Brad

I personally smoke a blend. I mix one pouch of Captain Black Gold with one pouch of Borkum Riff Whiskey. I like the "nutty" flavor of the Captian Black, but it's a bit too mellow for me. I like the stronger Borkum, but it's always a bit dry and kind of harsh on the mouth and throat. The mix of the two works really well for me, and people are always coming up and saying "I like the smell of your pipe." I went to a local Ren Faire two weeks ago, and I was standing there in my garb and smoking my pipe, and someone said "You should get one of those old clay pipes." I've always wanted one, but never really found a good source. I like the looks of the really long ones, but you can bet money on the fact that I'd snap the stem first time out with it. Then, I got this e-mail from Track of the Wolf. Figured I'd give them a shot. Brad

Ok, now my curiosity is up. Not to stray too far from the original post, but...what's the secret? I've tried what Patrick suggests, and it does work, but it's kind of a pain. And even then, you still need at least a small quanity of the real stuff on hand to make it work. I've also had some limited success with blending 1 part black powder with 1 part Pyrodex. It eliminates the need for different loading steps, but it's still not as fast as straight black powder. So, how do you go about making it work? Just grind it to a fine powder? The only time I got straight Pyrodex to ignite, it was pretty much a "Clatch....sizzle, sizzle, sizzle....BOOM!" Not very practical...although kind of entertaining in a way. I'm sort of hoping the solution is rather involved, since I recently gave away nearly a pound of the synthetic stuff because I found it pretty much worthless for my flintlock. And as to the hazmat fees...yeah, I hear ya. The cost of the fees nearly doubles your price on a few pounds. Some online dealers will sell as little as a few pounds, but mostly they only go as low as 5 pounds per order. Most sell in quantities of 25 pounds. The thought of having 25 pounds of the stuff sitting around kind of gives me the heebie jeebies. Fortunately, I can still get the real stuff, but I need to spend the better part of a day and nearly a tank of gas to get it. So...what's your secret? Brad

For those of you that are pipe smokers, and are looking for something more "period", I just got a newsletter from Track of the Wolf. They are offering 6" clay pipes for about 7 bucks each: Track of the Wolf Clay Pipes I've been looking around for a good clay pipe ever since an earlier thread came up here. They don't carry the longer versions, but these will do in a pinch. I've ordered a couple. If anyone is interested, I will report on the quality when they show up. Brad aka "Pegleg Pete"

Pyrodex...firing outta flintlocks??? Do those even GO together? Tried it back when I was switching from cap lock to rock-lock. Thought I was doing something wrong. I think I got it to fire ONCE. It was discouraging enough to get me to drive 3 hours to buy 2 pounds of the real stuff. As to flints...I got my first ones at Scheels sporting goods. Two flints for, if I remember correctly, about six bucks. (Hey, I was new to flints...what did I know?) The first one was sacrificed in figuring out how to use the darned thing. The second one shattered after the second snap of the lock. From advise of a muzzleloader group, I went with Track of the Wolf. I got enough flints to fine tune the lock and never looked back. I've heard from folks that use the cut agate "flints" in their guns. The overall opinion is that they are pretty hard on the frizzen. I really like the looks of the amber French flints, but the more stories I read, they don't hold up as well as the English rocks. Some folks have really good luck with them, though. Still, they usually run for more than twice the cost of the black English flints. I wish the reverse was true, because the amber rocks sure look nice in the lock of a gun. But, in the end, go with what you like. If the amber appeals to you, and you don't do a lot of shooting, clamp one in your lock. If you want a good, sure fire rock, go with the black English flints. As Patrick said, the cut agates seem too artificial. But, if that's all you can lay your hands on...at least it's one step closer to period than a cap lock. Brad aka "Pegleg Pete"

I would have to agree with Harbor Master about Track of the Wolf. The Tom Fuller knapped flints are terrific. The price is very reasonable, and even better if you buy in bulk. But, at about a buck a piece, they are well worth the money. If you find your gun favors a certain shape, just let them know in the "comments" section that you would prefer shorter, longer, flat topped, hump topped, etc. and they will do their best to sort through their selection to find what you are looking for. I've ordered a few dozen from them and I've only had one that failed on me and shattered. That's a pretty good track record when you consider they are natural rock, and are sometimes prone to such things.

Could easily be. I have no problem with that. I just wish we had some solid evidence to point one way or the other. Brad

GOF, Yes, I see what you are saying about the effects of the fuze...but not as much as you would think. If a hollow shot is used in a cannon, the fuze is usually trimmed quite close to the casing. Yeah, there WOULD be some effects from wind resistance and such, but only to a small degree. Since the ball is tumbling as it travels downrange, the fuze is moving around the outside and can be in any number of positions at any given time. So, it's really more of an "equal opportunity" wind drag, which doesn't throw the ball off course to much degree...although probably a wee bit. But, it DOES have a drag effect that can reduce the distance it will travel. Even then, it's probably not a whole lot. Hollow "exploding" rounds could be shot nearly as far as traditional solid shot. Maybe a bit shorter, but they could reach a few hundred yards without any problem. The biggest concern of a protruding fuze would be in the barrel. If it's too long, it could catch on the barrel and actually snap off. If you are REALLY unlucky, it could turn and wedge the shot, and you end up turning the whole projectile into a wedged obstruction and burst the barrel. Although, I don't recall ever reading about any real incidences where that happened. The main factor in the ballistics of our round shot is the mass of the object. It all gets into complicated rotational physics and center of gravity, and centrifugal and gyroscopic forces, and vector forces around the arc of a rotating sphere, etc, etc. Very boring, and your eye's will glaze over. But, if you want to discuss it off board via e-mail, we can do so. I'm sure lurking readers are already saying "Shut up already!" You can also find the info on the web, I'm sure...if you are REALLY interested. But, in a nutshell, the biggest problem is the ball spinning around an invisible center of gravity. All projectiles spin, tumble, what have you. The more mass an object has, the less wind resistance is an issue, and the more the mass (weight) is the factor to worry about. Or, more precisely, the balancing of those forces. Sorry folks...bear with me once again, or just skip my post... Short Physics 101: Actually, a solid shot with a small defect inside would be less of a problem than a hollow shell. I was going to mention that in my last post. A small defect in the interior of a solid shot is a very small amount of mass (weight) that is displaced by the air bubble. Even though competition shooters have proven it can have an effect, it's rather small. BUT, if we are talking about a hollow shell, then the problem is magnified significantly. If the central core isn't close to center when the shell is cast, one side will be thicker than the other. That means, there is going to be more mass on one side than the other. If you are talking about a shell that's on average a quarter inch thick, and the core becomes offset by, say...an eighth of an inch, you now find the large percentage of the metal, or more correctly the large percentage of the overall MASS of the ball being in one side. As much as 2/3's of the actual mass is on one side. (That's not exact, since the metal is all around the sphere, but you get the idea.) That means the mass, or weight if you want to use that term, is grossly off to one side of the actual center of the projectile. Ideally, with a sphere, the center of gravity should be as close to the "true" center as possible. When the sphere tumbles, it tends to rotate around it's center. But, if the center of gravity is not the same as the true center, those forces tend to fight with each other. Over a short distance, the spinning around the "true center" wins out. But, as the shot travels down range, the forces around the center of mass wins out, so the projectile tends to drift off in a certain direction... But wait...in the case of the fuze I said it tumbles all over the place...so wouldn't the same be true about the mass? Not really. At first, yes. But the "wobble" tends to favor a particular side, because of the greater mass. (Newton's 3rd law and all that.) Eventually it tends to drift more and more in that direction, and the overall trajectory bends in that direction. Chain shot is a good example. When it flies through the air, both balls are spinning around an invisible center of gravity (center of mass). Wind resistance has little or no effect on accuracy, but it does slow the thing down more quickly. Now, imagine the same chain shot, but this time one ball weighs 2 pounds, and the other weighs 4. Since we are talking smoothbore cannon, there is no way to control the initial spin out of the barrel. That's one reason the idea of a rifled barrel was such a huge breakthrough. If a projectile can be forced to spin perpendicular to the flight path, it becomes much more stable. Not enough to overcome an unbalanced object...but a huge benefit to "normal" accuracy. Well, none of this has anything to do with period grenadoes. (Sorry folks), but it should help to understand why a shot with an offset cavity would be considered a "reject". Hope that helps GoF. Brad

One of the "obvious" situations would be if the two halves don't match up exactly, and it isn't symetrically round. But, you would be able to pick those out of a crowd with no problem. I think the biggest "hidden" flaw was that the central core was not centered correctly when it was cast. That causes the sphere to be heavier on one side or another. In a gun of any size, THAT can be a problem. In sport muzzleloader shooting, a few of the purists go so far as to weigh their cast bullets to make sure they are all consistent. A small air pocket in the casting causes an imbalance. As the ball tumbles down range, it tends to curve like a little bowling ball curving into the 1-3 pins. In their case, the loss of accuracy is very small. But, it can mean the difference between a winning shot and a losing one. Keep in mind, that's just from a tiny air pocket. If you start talking 3, 4, and 6 pound hollow shot with one side heavier than the other, you end up with HUGE problems down range. Accuracy is pretty much nonexistent at that point. Shots can fly wildly off course, causing you to totally miss your target. Not such a big deal if you have 20 guns pointing at the same thing, but possibly a "life or death" situation if you only have one or two guns. A foundry didn't want to get a reputation of producing flawed cannon shot. Like any business, if you produce poor quality product, people start to talk, and pretty soon, you have no customers. And in the case of the military, it wouldn't take too many of those poor castings before the foundry would lose their "government contract". Brad