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. . . . Keizer man killed in Seal Rock cannon blast


Duncan McGuyver

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It appears that from the picture that a home made cannon failed, taking it's most of it's crew with it.

News Article

Captain Duncan McGuyver

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17th & 18th Century Naval Living History

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Kinda makes me want more info.....

Cannons don't "just blow up" for no reason. In the pic, there is nothing left but the wheels. Makes me wonder about the load, construction of the piece, etc........

>>>>> Cascabel

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Kinda makes me want more info.....

Cannons don't "just blow up" for no reason. In the pic, there is nothing left but the wheels. Makes me wonder about the load, construction of the piece, etc........

>>>>> Cascabel

Additional Story With a little more detail

Unfortunately I doubt we will ever hear the whole story, but from the single picture it looks like (insert assumption) the piece was grossly overloaded and / or had a serious flaw.

Edited by Duncan McGuyver

Captain Duncan McGuyver

Crew Of The Vigilant

Baltimore Maryland Based

17th & 18th Century Naval Living History

Crew Of The Vigilant

The Juryrig

MDRF Based Social & Renfaire Crew

The Juryrig

Port Tortuga

A Piracy based Pennsic household

B09 Block, The Highlands (Up Hill & Left)

Port Tortuga

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Just bloody lovely!! Not enough details to figure out what happened. Both articles said he was loading the cannon, but that may not mean much, considering few reporters know the procedures.

If I had to guess, I'd go for the seriously overloaded. Cannons with flaws generally break into a few large pieces. The article indicates this one fractured like a grenade into multiple small pieces.

Hawkyns

Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl

I do what I do for my own reasons.

I do not require anyone to follow me.

I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs.

if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends.

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Just bloody lovely!! Not enough details to figure out what happened. Both articles said he was loading the cannon, but that may not mean much, considering few reporters know the procedures.

If I had to guess, I'd go for the seriously overloaded. Cannons with flaws generally break into a few large pieces. The article indicates this one fractured like a grenade into multiple small pieces.

Hawkyns

I'm thinking also that it may have been made out of a piece of pipe, rather than being a properly made real cannon barrel.

>>>> Cascabel

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Hell yes. Stress builds up after multiple firings. Metal fatigue is a funny thing. It is very hard to track and generally requires destructive testing and microscopes to determine just how far it has progressed. Dad was a QC engineer on turbine blades for Rolls Royce. I heard plenty about metal fatigue testing while growing up.

Hawkyns

Cannon add dignity to what otherwise would be merely an ugly brawl

I do what I do for my own reasons.

I do not require anyone to follow me.

I do not require society's approval for my actions or beliefs.

if I am to be judged, let me be judged in the pure light of history, not the harsh glare of modern trends.

rod_21.jpg

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Aye Hawkyns like so many wannabes; they take a piece of black iron pipe put a pipe cap on one end drill a touch hole and think they've made a cannon. Saw that at the university here when I was a student; they'd fire it when they scored a touchdown at football games until one Saturday afternoon it blew up in the faces of the gun crew (blinded one young man and seriously injured 5 others). They had made the bloody gun from a section of sewer pipe.

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Unfortunately, several times on Mythbusters on Discovery Channel they have showed the construction of several home made cannon. Undoubtedly, someone in their home will say "oh hey, I can do that" or "that'd be cool to have." Then they run down to their local hardware store and get what they need to make a ticking pipe bomb cannon on wheels. I can almost guarantee there are probably websites on the internet that show how to make your own cannons as well.

~ Yes I am a Pyrate. 290 years too late.

~Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind

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It appears that from the picture that a home made cannon failed, taking it's most of it's crew with it.

News Article

Good Lord, that's just awful! Hopefully we'll eventually find out what type of cannon and why it blew.

We just listened to an audiobook with descriptions of how a potato cannon works, and after reading this I'm glad my boys know when the "don't try this at home" caption should go up.

Mistress Dobyns

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Kinda makes me want more info.....

Cannons don't "just blow up" for no reason. In the pic, there is nothing left but the wheels. Makes me wonder about the load, construction of the piece, etc........

>>>>> Cascabel

I have to agree. Most of these annual "Cannon Failures" are not really cannons at all. They are pipes and or the like labled as cannons . When one of these accidents occurs lawmakers do seem to jump more and more to outlaw CANNONS. There are rules to cannon construction. Too bad the backyard mechanic doesnt do his homework , and too bad some people make ornamental cast iron yard trinkets . A true cannon has a wall thickness of one caliber minimum in all directions at the breach and must be made out of approved metals.., with a correctly constructed breech . The research is actually quite easy. Its the cost of doing them right that gets expensive. However a cannon built right ., attended by people who know proper loading and CLEANING procedures isn't very likely to come apart ever. Proper cleaning procedures also include bore and breach inspection and a whole lots less metal corrosion. BP is very corrosive and will ruin anew cannon quickly if not properly maintained. CLEANED and OILED . If you cant afford to do it right ., downscale and be safe. but don't ruin it for others.

I am not Lost .,I am Exploring.

"If you give a man a fire, he will be warm for a night, if you set a man on fire, he will be warm for the rest of his life!"

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Unfortunately, several times on Mythbusters on Discovery Channel they have showed the construction of several home made cannon. Undoubtedly, someone in their home will say "oh hey, I can do that" or "that'd be cool to have." Then they run down to their local hardware store and get what they need to make a ticking pipe bomb cannon on wheels. I can almost guarantee there are probably websites on the internet that show how to make your own cannons as well.

The cannon that the Mythbusters welded together worries me. I think that they realize that it is questionable. They always run behind a lexan screen when firing it.

Years ago a friend made a 16th century "organ gun" out of iron pipes and wondered why I didn't want to be anywhere near it.

The article said that the barrel was 2 inches in diameter. That sounds a lot like steel tubing.

Mark

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