The "Clyde's Fabulous Cannon!" Story

Home-made cannon that my friend Clyde made.

It was an ordinary day.  Standing next to Clyde's cannon with my safety earmuffs in place getting ready to pull the cord to fire it.  Cannon has a barrel that is close to four feet long with a 4" diameter that holds a breech at the rear of it that can fire a 10 gauge Winchester shotgun shell that holds black powder.  On my third pull the cannon jumps off the ground with a puff of smoke coming from the end of the barrel and a percussion that can be felt throughout my body.  

The rear or firing end of the cannon.  The opening, also
known as the breech, is where you place the shotgun shell,
then close the back panel and lock it tightly in place for firing.

Wow!!  I had no idea of the noise or the explosive power that a black powder 10 gauge shotgun shell could provide, even in an open environ- ment.  Pretty impressive, to say the least.  I have known Clyde for over 30 years, having taught Industrial Arts at the high school level with him at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, PA.  He taught primarily wood shop and his mechanical skills are twice what mine will ever be.  

The original breech had to be cut from the cannon since
the red shotgun shell had expanded from the blast and
couldn't be removed.  A longer breech was made to correct the problem.

Some time ago he was watching a show on the History Channel on his small color TV in his two-bay garage shop about the Spanish American War when he saw several cannons being fired.  Brought back memories of his time spent in the Coast Guard when he was responsible for firing the company's cannon during the daily colors ceremony.  Thought to himself that it was time for him to make a cannon, so that's exactly what he did.  

Shell is in position ready for firing.

Rounded up the materials and set out to build a cannon that would impress his friends and scare the neighbors.  Machined the barrel and fitted a 1/4" thick metal cap on one end where he drilled a hole and fitted the breech.  Found the original breech wasn't long enough, since when the first shell was fired it couldn't be removed from the cannon because the casing was enlarged on the end.  Redid the breech, making it slightly longer, and that corrected the problem.  The main body of the cannon is made with Douglas Fir while the wheels are made from hickory with metal rims around the edges.  These were purchased from an Amish shop in Stevens, PA at a cost of about $100 each.  I must admit I was impressed when I had the chance to fire the cannon and see the results of his mechanical achievements.  

This impressive photograph illustrates the power of Clyde's cannon.

I did miss the evening ceremony when friends gathered with him on the hill behind his house to fire the cannon.  I did get a chance to frame the resulting photo taken by a friend showing the smoke and flames emanating from the end of the cannon's barrel.  Can't imagine what might happen if he would actually fire an object from the cannon.  Well, I helped Clyde push the cannon back into his workshop and thanked him for the chance to see his latest mechanical experiment that he has completed.  Can hardly wait to see what is next!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.