I knew someone who had a bowling ball cannon.Originally Posted by Malcolm Schweizer
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I knew someone who had a bowling ball cannon.
[OP]
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I notice you use past-tense here!
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Remember Malcolm, you cannot fire bowling balls at the surfers until they are 10 days late with their payment and you have called them twice.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
[OP]
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I bet if I mounted a mortar on my board NOBODY would EVER drop in on me.Remember Malcolm, you cannot fire bowling balls at the surfers until they are 10 days late with their payment and you have called them twice.
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How about a bowling ball trebuchet?
More on the subject, Oldham makes really good negative tooth nail cutting blades for circular saws.
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Finally there is a topic on which I have some knowledge.
Malcom, I have no idea on the firearms laws in your area, but if you are really serious about using the bowling balls for projectiles, it can be done. Without getting into the gory details, it involves using an old oxygen cylinder cut to length, a gun mount, some black powder and cannon fuse. You really want to hold everything together and the only thing going airborne is the bowling ball. Also, start kinda low on the black powder charge, too much and the ball breaks up in the barrel.
[OP]
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Bradley Gray and Jim Kimbrough- we could be friends!!! I like the trebuchet idea. Sadly, since unregistered firearms bring a 10 year jail sentence here, probably firing a cannon would get me in more than just a little bit of trouble. That said, there are plenty of Cays (small islands) from which such shenanigans could be undertaken outside the jurisdiction of said laws.... or are they? Well, at least out of earshot.
Googling "trebuchet plans" now...
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I have neighbors who have a pumpkin farm and I have been thinking about launching their leftovers - but a bowling ball would probably work even better and you have ocean!
Do you think coral would grow on bowling balls? Maybe you could get a grant... I could come and help - I love the Virgin Islands!
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I probably used the wrong tense. I have no idea if they still have the bowling ball cannon or not.I notice you use past-tense here!
I only knew the owner(s) because they brought their cannon to an event I go to every year. After the second or third year bringing it and and firing it they were told in no uncertain terms to never bring it back.
[OP]
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I was being a bit silly- assuming they met their maker in some horrible bowling ball cannon disaster.
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I also do model rockets, and the bowling ball launch is an annual event for the LDRS* launch: http://ddeville.com/derek/BowlingBalls.htm
* Large and Dangerous Rocket Society
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The bowling ball rocket launches at LDRS ended after 2007 because the organizers got tired of doing it and nobody else took over.
The bowling ball cannon was not part of any rocket launch and the owner was shooting the bowling balls out of the cannon in the evening after rocket launching was over.
Last edited by Brian Elfert; 01-15-2017 at 11:23 PM.
[OP]
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Wow. That looks as fun as it is dangerous. I was considering tossing balls into the ocean on a short trajectory. You're talking literally launching them a mile high. Wow. So how do you control such an event to ensure nobody gets their head bashed by a falling ball? The control area would have to be at least a mile radius.
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Big launch area, redundant recovery systems, and people pay attention
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I saw a documentary on the LDRS. You guys are great! I particularly liked the scene where some guys mounted motors on a portable john and sent it aloft. I think someone else launched a big wooden cable spool. Great fun.
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