Jump to content


Mortar Rack Design


  • Please log in to reply
71 replies to this topic

#31 Guest_PyroPDC_*

Guest_PyroPDC_*
  • Guests

Posted 24 May 2009 - 07:14 PM

Mat
Is there a sketch or picture of the steel racks available in public webspace? The one design I've seen was like a milk crate but 6ft x 6ft x 4ft high. It had about 80 - 100 tubes inside and was a challenge to assemble form barely luggable parts.


6ft by 6ft rack that's got to be heavy once loaded with mortars.


here's my design so far for my 4" mortars, i could put more mortars in it but at least it makes it very portable and easy to store.

Posted Image

can anyone see any big problems with this design before i get a load made up.

Edited by PyroPDC, 24 May 2009 - 07:24 PM.


#32 Arthur Brown

Arthur Brown

    General member

  • UKPS Members
  • 2,923 posts

Posted 24 May 2009 - 07:22 PM

Sorry but that design demands a perfectly flat floor to stand upright and there is no way to tip it slightly into wind to keep the breaks away from the crowd. Would work well on a concrete base but not so sure about real conditions in a rough and tussocky meadow.
http://www.movember.com/uk/home/

Keep mannequins and watermelons away from fireworks..they always get hurt..

#33 Guest_PyroPDC_*

Guest_PyroPDC_*
  • Guests

Posted 24 May 2009 - 07:27 PM

Sorry but that design demands a perfectly flat floor to stand upright and there is no way to tip it slightly into wind to keep the breaks away from the crowd. Would work well on a concrete base but not so sure about real conditions in a rough and tussocky meadow.


from what i was told i could add screwable feet on each leg which i could higher or lower depending on the angle needed. would that help ?

Edited by PyroPDC, 24 May 2009 - 07:28 PM.


#34 digger

digger

    Pyro Forum Top Trump!

  • UKPS Members
  • 1,960 posts

Posted 24 May 2009 - 07:53 PM

6ft by 6ft rack that's got to be heavy once loaded with mortars.


here's my design so far for my 4" mortars, i could put more mortars in it but at least it makes it very portable and easy to store.

Posted Image

can anyone see any big problems with this design before i get a load made up.


I would tend to go for racks with a single row of tubes at 4", you can then use an end plate/bars to lock several of them together. This will allow you to put some angle between the racks of tubes so that you are not just firing all of your shells into the same ish location in the sky.

P.S. One thing to remember is that if you are using fiberglass mortars then they are wider at the base than they are at the top.

Edited by digger, 24 May 2009 - 07:56 PM.

Phew that was close.

#35 Mixologist

Mixologist

    Pyro Forum Regular

  • General Public Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 284 posts

Posted 24 May 2009 - 08:36 PM

I would be more inclined to have a couple made up to destruction test... rather than a load.... then if there is a failiure that renders them useless you havent lost as much money.

#36 Guest_PyroPDC_*

Guest_PyroPDC_*
  • Guests

Posted 24 May 2009 - 08:37 PM

do you think this would be a better design ?

all 3 racks are separate but on site they join / bolt together using 4 bars with different holes to choose from to angle the racks.

Posted Image

#37 Mixologist

Mixologist

    Pyro Forum Regular

  • General Public Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 284 posts

Posted 24 May 2009 - 08:42 PM

Are the tubes flush with the floor there? They look like the racks are on legs.....

Starting to look better though....

#38 Mixologist

Mixologist

    Pyro Forum Regular

  • General Public Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 284 posts

Posted 24 May 2009 - 08:45 PM

Plus i`ll just add that any type of adjustable feet you may have will possibly be ok on hard standing but on anything soft,,,, even dry hard grass,,, will sink in as soon as the first mortar fires and could make your rack take a new angle and possible a dangerous one. I would abandon this idea all together if i were you!

#39 Guest_PyroPDC_*

Guest_PyroPDC_*
  • Guests

Posted 24 May 2009 - 08:54 PM

Are the tubes flush with the floor there? They look like the racks are on legs.....

Starting to look better though....


good point, i think i might add a wider bar on the bottom for the mortars to sit on


Plus i`ll just add that any type of adjustable feet you may have will possibly be ok on hard standing but on anything soft,,,, even dry hard grass,,, will sink in as soon as the first mortar fires and could make your rack take a new angle and possible a dangerous one. I would abandon this idea all together if i were you!


yeah good point, would it help if i added more area to the feet eg weld a 100mm by 100mm sheet metal on each foot or would i be better off better off scrapping the whole idea of feet

#40 Mixologist

Mixologist

    Pyro Forum Regular

  • General Public Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 284 posts

Posted 24 May 2009 - 08:59 PM

Firstly in my opinion...

All tubes should sit as close tot he floor as possible, if they are suspended in the air they will only try and punch through the rack to get to the floor.... for every force there is an equal an opposite and all that so if needs something hard to punch against.

The feet, yes if you had wider ones would help but the base of the rack if you best `plate` you could have, try getting that to tilt instead maybe....

#41 Guest_PyroPDC_*

Guest_PyroPDC_*
  • Guests

Posted 24 May 2009 - 09:21 PM

ok added a wide bar on bottom to support mortars and as close to the floor. also added wider feet. anything else i could improve on.

Posted Image

#42 digger

digger

    Pyro Forum Top Trump!

  • UKPS Members
  • 1,960 posts

Posted 24 May 2009 - 10:20 PM

ok added a wide bar on bottom to support mortars and as close to the floor. also added wider feet. anything else i could improve on.

Posted Image


Why the need for feet at all? Every rack I have seen hasn't had them, just a simple plate right across the bottom would suffice (no more than 2mm for a 100mm ish span).

When you bolt a couple of racks together it will become a very strong structure. If you are only using one rack then simply knock in a few stakes to support it.

Have a think about how many mortars you put in each rack. You may have to carry them by yourself (my wooden racks with 6 mortars are pretty heavy). It is easy to work out the projected weight before construction from your cutting/material list.
Phew that was close.

#43 Mixologist

Mixologist

    Pyro Forum Regular

  • General Public Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 284 posts

Posted 25 May 2009 - 08:14 AM

As i`ve said before and Digger has said now, just loose the feet unless you really really want them, i can only see them getting in the way when stacking/transporting etc....

As for how many per rack... I can carry mine on my own without much problem (constructed from wood and thick walled cardboard tubes) and they are as follows:

2.5`` 10 tubes per rack
3`` 5 tubes per rack
4`` 4 tubes per rack / 3 tubes with fan racks / some wide 2 fanned racks
5`` 3 tubes per rack
6`` 1 tube in a rack vertical with 2 x 5`` fanned each side

These are luggable, wou could reduce the weight with thin walled tubes, but adds to the risk in my opinion.

#44 Guest_PyroPDC_*

Guest_PyroPDC_*
  • Guests

Posted 25 May 2009 - 11:54 AM

thinking about it the feet would get in the way so iv lowered the bottom bar so it touches the floor (more area)

iv also reduced the amout of mortars per rack as after picker up 8 in one go (without the rack) i think would be to much.

i might try making one up next week just as a prototype.

Posted Image

#45 pyrotrev

pyrotrev

    Pyro Forum Top Trump

  • UKPS Members
  • 1,112 posts

Posted 25 May 2009 - 12:33 PM

That's looking better. It's worth pointing out that in the event of a tube blowing, it generally goes wrong somewhere in the middle of the tube, so it's worth not putting too many cross bars there, as they will get more force on them.
Trying to do something very beautiful but very dangerous very safely....




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users