Next level harmonica pistol

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No, if a misfire occurs, the bullet hasn't left the cartridge, so the harmonica will be held down
by the bullet. From what you're describing, a misfire or squib would be a disaster.
Furthermore, that "1MM" you are so happy with will work against you, as well as for you.

While I can imagine we all would love to see a working prototype, I doubt it would get much
traction with the purchasing public.
 
Very reliable and basic gun is my goal, that doesn’t have any small parts to clean and mechanics to fail, no magazine jam etc.
Click to expand...
Sam Colt did it in 1836. Revised designs have followed, and are quite successful today!
The "simplicity" you desire in your design is complicated massively by all the possibilities of what could go wrong. It is a mecca for proving Murphy's law.
 
Maybe I'm missing something here, but in case of a mis-fire, dud primer. The magazine cannot be raised with a bulleted round in the barrel. The magazine would have tobe removed through the bottom of the pistol to clear the jam. No racking the slide as in an auto, or skipping that chamber in a revolver.

Empties still must be manually ejected from the magazine much like a Single Action revolver. A no. 2 yellow pencil for the job?

I still think escaping gas downward through the hooded portion of the barrel might wreck the innards of the pistol. That gas has wrecked thumbs!


O.K. Other than an interesting concept/experiment, what advantage over convention actions of contemporary handguns? Novelty will only sell a few guns, such as the Dardick or Gyrojet.


Bob Wright
 
In the search for "simplicity" your progression in post #15 has spun your design out of the universe of "simple and reliable". Cartridges, loaded into individual chambers, loaded into a magazine, loaded into a grip that doesn't hold it in because the magazine full of individual chambers, loaded with individual rounds has to move up, blocking any sights, or barrel alignment.
Now only if the chambers were machined into the magazine, which were curved into a circle, and moved by a mechanical hand when the hammer cocked, and indexed by a pawl into a groove in the circular magazine!:rolleyes:
My run on sentences are only exceeded in complexity by your "simple" design.:D
 
I think such a design might have been of interest 125 years or so ago. But IMHO, even if produced, it would have been short lived as much better designs were already in production, with more on the horizon.....ymmv
 
Those chamber tubes look pretty fat. It would be no biggy to make them strong enough to contain the pressure all by themself, tround style.

I bet you could figure out a way to dispense with the block altogether.
 
I am of the opinion that the downward blast of gas from the bottom of the barrel will damage the gun, and certainly be unpleasant to the shooter. I have seen blown cartridges wreck the magazine of auto pistols.

Consider the blast of gasses escaping from the barrel/cylinder gap of a revolver. Shooters have been burned, even badly injured, by this jet of hot gas.

Bob Wright
 
Prototype update

I made a harmonica derringer prototype out of paper, here’s some pictures:

https://imgur.com/1P1vBJs
https://imgur.com/dBNrudR
https://imgur.com/mgsvSGu
https://imgur.com/Fwd8W1U
https://imgur.com/AKrVuz5

The harmonica (magazine) holds 11 rounds, and i made it heavy, 7mm walls between each chamber. Since i aiming for a .22lr it could be made lighter and smaller, or in the same length containing more rounds.

I think i will use mild steel sheet to make this gun, except for the hammer and trigger that need to be hard. The chamber and the barrel will be made of tempered 4340 steel, i think, i read that it is stronger than 4140 and can be brought pre-hard, so it doesn’t require any heat treatment after working with it. But feel free to give me your thoughts about steel choice of this gun.

I will use a ball bearing detent, or two, to index the harmonica.

However, the advantages of this harmonica derringer against a revolver, is that it holds more rounds. You could easily carry two magazines, which will give you 22 rounds, in this case. The risk of a accidental discharge is very low, or basically non existent, if you don’t carry the magazine inserted into the gun.

The disadvantage is that it’s bulky when the magazine is inserted into the gun, and you have to manually operate the magazine, i didn’t find any good solution other than that, and i don’t think it will be that much of an issue, it will still be easy and fast operated.

If the harmonica is positioned below the barrel instead of along, it could be made less bulky when inserted, the bad side of this, is that the magazine will travel up and block the sight, and in this derringer case there is no space for a design like that, since your trigger finger is located below.

I think i will make a version with the magazine below, but i think i will use a open bolt action instead of a hammer.

Eventually i will experiment with my other designs to, but i think many of them will fail and be unsafe to shoot.

Anyway, give me your thoughts about this project.
 
Alright, you have deviated from your original concept in that bulleted cartridges now may pass the barrel stub. That is, now the entire round is contained within the "magazine." With your original concept, unfired rounds would not pass the barrel. Essentially you have recreated the harmonica pistol.

You must have some type of retention of the cartridges in the magazine plus an ejection method.

And, how would you plan on carry of this pistol so that it would be easily and quickly accessible?


Further..........use of an open bolt, you've created a feed strip like the Benet-Mercie machine gun of old. And added complication into the design.

What does such a design offer, other than novelty, over conventional pistol/revolvers designs already in use?

Bob Wright
 
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I think, it may be a better solution, i though about a design which got a horizontal magazine, like a ordinary vertical one, it’s loaded with rounds and pushed by a spring, no harmonica chamber.

The barrel of the gun chamber the round, like a ordinary pistol chamber, and the magazine is located behind the barrel, and under the bore. The walls of the barrel block the rounds in the magazine from falling out, when you want to reload you simply push the barrel down so the magazine gets inline the bore, and a round is chambered, then just push the magazine up, inline the firing pin, and you good to go.

When you want to extract the fired round, pull the barrel upwards instead, and either the round will fly out by the pressure left, or a ejector/extractor (whats the different?) could be used.

Do you get my design? Give me your thoughts.
 
Better check with the patent office, think most of this has already been figured out for you.

images


images


682da120456b0da163e6c8c576c86f6c.jpg


693c08358f50807691e88b7e13e0a11d.jpg
 
Other than posts about some unworkable, unnessary designs the only other post by you was adding a safety to a cap and ball revolver, and if you can get cylinders for 6 shot revolvers that can be loaded with more shots.
Maybe you need to learn how various firearms actually operate before you try to reinvent a very successful wheel by making it square!
Do you actually own any firearms? Have you ever shot a handgun?
 
Each of your designs are designs that require two hands to function. A handgun should be just that, a one hand gun.

I'm not sure what you are trying to solve with such complicated designs. Why make a handgun that that does not offer any advantage over existing principles? In fact, not as handy, fast handling, nor likely to be as accurate?

I fail to see your reasoning.

Bob Wright
 
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Money,

Before you proceed with your rather complicated Rube Goldberg pistol, consider the auto loading pistol: Most auto loaders use the recoil of the cartridge to move the breech block (Bolt, slide) rearward, and a compressed spring to move it back in place. The rearward movement extracts and ejects the spent cartridge case and cocks the action while compressing the recoil spring. The magazine follower raises the next cartridge in the magazine into the path of the oncoming breech block. The compressed spring begins to drive the breechblock forward, stripping the fresh cartridge from the magazine and chambering it leaving the action ready for the next pull of the trigger. All of this happens in the blink of an eye in pistols that are reliable, powerful and very accurate, and in a very compact package.

What does your theory offer that improves on this process?


Bob Wright
 
I admire and respect creativity and innovation. Unfortunately as Rembrandt's photos show the "harmonica" design is nothing new. Monday you may have re-created this 'wheel' but it is a re-creation of a failed design. As an unusual weapon of days gone by, it would possibly have value to a collector. As a viable option for modern use, not so much.
 
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