From time to time we get requests for blank loads-usually around 4th of July or New Year’s. I have not seen any credible documentation on blank load construction for muzzle loading cannons. (Send me any reference)
All too often the folks coming here looking for blanks are really looking for pyrotechnic noise makers, not blanks. Since, this board is about shooting and building antique black powder cannons and mortars, and not pyrotechnics we won’t be able help those people.
We can still however build some blank loads for our guns-safe blank loads.
Several months ago during one the periodic discussions we have here on blank rounds, I sat down and looked at the safety guide-lines for loads recommended by the North-South Skirmish Association and the American Artillery Association to see if I could figure out how to make safe blanks.
Reviewing those guidelines it suddenly came to me how simple it is to come up with a blank round for any cannon. Use a maximum safe charge with a filler equivalent in volume to the charge.
Our sticky’s contain references and links with all the info you need to build a blank round using this criteria.
Start by determining your maximum safe load.
Safe Loads
For guns under 2 inch use the chart below.
National Safety Rules and Procedures for Shooting Muzzleloading Artillery, as adapted by the American Artillery Association March 2000
Powder charges should not exceed 2 oz. of Fg or 3 oz. FFA or Cannon Grade Goex powder per inch of bore diameter. No excessive charges. Use black powder only.
Prepare powder charges in advance using heavy duty aluminum foil. Baggies may be used inside the foil, taking care not to allow excess air in the baggies and removing excess plastic where unnecessary.
North-South Skirmish Association National Rules.
10.8.1 CHARGES
Maximum powder charges for all cannon shall be limited to that amount permitted by the chart as published below in Table 10.1. Only commercially manufactured black powder of American standard Fg granulation (150,000 granules per pound/ or 220 granules per 10 gr. wt. (avdp.) sample), or a coarser granulation, may be used. Charges must be wrapped in a powder “bag” fabricated of at least one complete layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
For specific load for you bore refer to North-South Skirmish Association National Rules. Page 72 of 213 in the PDF file.
Moderator note: For guns smaller than 2 inch THE MORE COMPLETE CANNONEER compiled Agreeably to the Regulations of the War Department as published in "Artillery Drill" by George Patten, 1861 and Containing Other Observations on Antique Cannon By M.C. Switlik with selected excerpts from other artillery manuals Appendix I has a load chart which is posted here by permission of the author.
See Attachment for chart
This load chart is maximum load of an unpatched ball attached to a sabot.
Addendum For mortars and howitzers the diameter of the powder chamber is the considered the bore diameter.
Both Associations recommend for safety reasons that larger caliber cannons not be loaded with loose powder, instead use foil wrapped cartridges. Some locales have safety regulations requiring the use of foil wrap cartridges. Mortars, thunder-mugs and small cannons just load the powder loose.
Click on this link to be taken to the post on loading cannon cartridges:
Loading Cannon Cartridges
The original blank making instructions recommended filler of a weight equal to the weight of a standard iron round ball. Building actual blanks determined this to be impractical. The mass of most filler material is so much less than an iron ball, that a column of filler equal to the ball weight may exceed the length of the barrel and is totally impractical.
The recommendation now is that no filler material should exceed the weight of an iron ball for the cannon.
Determining weight of round ball for Bore
Using GGaskill's round ball calculator
http://gunneyg.info/html/ShotWeight.htm determine the weight of an iron round ball for your bore. Weigh out this weight of filler.
Filler-Wads
Dry newspaper, leaves and grass clippings need wadded tightly or tamped in place. They will increase report if enough material is used. In dry hot conditions they will burn and smolder on the ground and start fires.
Wet material-newspaper, leaves, grass clippings will also need tamping and will increase report, probably due to heavier mass. These items along with bread balls often leave the barrel as solid projectiles and can break the neighbors’ window across the street. No worry most home owners insurance will cover the damages. Loose powder can be contaminated by wet material. The report of wet material is louder than the same dry. The use of wet fillers should be avoided and is not recommended
Tamp only enough to seat the material. Excessive tamping- that is what amateurs do on YouTube to hurt themselves. Tamping will not make it louder. You only need resistance to the expanding gases to make it loud.
Wads of card stock or fiber should be tight fitting, firmly seated and the column-one caliber long. (Caliber-the diameter of the bore). Stacked wads should disperse on firing, but may stay together and act like a projectile for a short distance.
Filler should be finally powdered like flour, cream of wheat, bird seed, grain, or coffee creamer. They should approximate the volume of the load of the powder charge. Coffee creamer may or may not flashover. These fillers can be loaded ahead of the black powder in the cartridge.
To determine how much filler to use, weigh out your powder charge and measure its volume using a standard kitchen measuring cup. Make note of the measurement and load this same volume of filler into your cartridge ahead of your powder.
Make sure, when you load the cartridge, you mark the powder end and the filler end. If you load the filler in the cartridge ahead of the powder you can use a disc or two of wax paper to separate powder and filler. These fillers disperse on firing and seem to give the loudest report. These filler create the least mess and in the case of bird seed serve a useful purpose.
Do Not load these fillers in a separate cartridge and load in front of the powder cartridge. Loaded in that manner they will fly out the barrel like a solid projectile.
Special Effects
Sparks and colored fire. There are a number of different chemicals that can be added to the powder to make colored sparks and fire. I am not sure what effect these chemicals have on burn rates of the Powder. I also don’t know what effect these chemicals may have on the smooth bore of my cannons, so I cannot recommend them.
Colored/Increased Smoke. The use of flour has long been known to increase the smoke in blank loads.
Sound enhancement
If you fire a blank round in an open field, it will not be as loud as if it were fired with a wall or solid fence behind it for sound to bounce off. Think Echo!
