Worlds Smallest cannon

[Guest TnRebel]

[hipower]

Deadly little toy. I was surprised by the shot on the glass mug.

[Sandman]

That's awesome.

[Guest 70below]

Wish I had a little metal lathe.......that looks like fun! I still want to build a bowling ball cannon.

[Il Duce]

must have

[Guest G-Pa Glynn]

Sweet little toy !!!

Might just havt to try my hand at building one.

[Guest jackdm3]

Think he'll wonder why his keyboard starts malfunctioning?

[vontar]

Pretty sure I won't find that at my local gun shop any time soon will I?

I would like to have one of those for sure.

[JPS]

Wow - I want one too!

[dariks]

Am I the only one that's gonna call BS on this?

There's no way that little cannon is putting a hole completely through an empty soda can without even knocking the can over.

And there's NO WAY that it completely shattered that mug. You can see how little power the cannon has by how far it moves after firing.

Edited June 3, 2010 by dariks
sp

[Garufa]

Am I the only one that's gonna call BS on this?

There's no way that little cannon is putting a hole completely through an empty soda can without even knocking the can over.

Have you ever shot a BB or pellet gun?

[I_Like_Pie]

Wish I had a little metal lathe.......that looks like fun! I still want to build a bowling ball cannon.

Lathe nothing....this could be made with a drill and $1.25 worth of materials at Lowes.

Am I the only one that's gonna call BS on this?

Yes...you probably are. One could almost do the same thing with a BB and a straw.

[dariks]

Yes, I've shot a BB gun a time or two.

I still call BS.

[Guest TargetShooter84]

awesome lil toy!

[gotigers]

AOW, i hope he has a stamp after advertising on youtube.

very cool tho.

edit:

snip......And there's NO WAY that it completely shattered that mug. You can see how little power the cannon has by how far it moves after firing.

that is a good point. Where is the equal and opposite,(Newtons 3rd Law). The kick doesnt seem to equal the power to shatter that mug. I could be over analyzing.

Edited June 4, 2010 by gotigers

[I_Like_Pie]

AOW, i hope he has a stamp after advertising on youtube.

very cool tho.

edit:

that is a good point. Where is the equal and opposite,(Newtons 3rd Law). The kick doesnt seem to equal the power to shatter that mug. I could be over analyzing.

3rd law will still apply simply because the amount of energy that pushed the cannon backwards was equal to the amount of energy transferred to the shot.

The shot, being round, impacted the glass at a point that is very small relative to the size of the shot. Draw a curve against a line and you will see how it effectively reduces surface area to the point where shattering the glass is very easy. Glass, as you know, is very hard and brittle. This was not plate glass either and appeared to be a highly tensioned piece. Shattered like tempered glass rather than a window pane.

You can do the very same with a piece of tungsten carbide or very hard material. Tap it against a car windshield and see what happens. Doesn't take much force at all!

[I_Like_Pie]

To all the naysayers....good grief this isn't rocket science.

If you have 10 minutes you can recreate this very same experiment in your basement. Get a tube, bb, and empty a .22 or 9mm casing if you don't have the powder readily available. 250-400 fps is very easy to produce without a barrel at all.

If that seems too complicated for whatever reason put a straw and a BB at the end of the blower attachment on your air compressor....if using a BB it will break skin. If using a piece of lead or steel shot it will do exactly what you are seeing on this video.

Jeez guys...didn't you tinker with stuff like this as a child. I think I did this when I was like 11...so did every other person I knew.

[G27]

AOW, i hope he has a stamp after advertising on youtube.

Don't think a tax stamp is required for a simple (no rifling, non breach-loading) BP cannon...

[vontar]

BTW, all seriousness, would it be legal to own something like that?

If it would be legal to own, what would someone have to do to own it, and then where/how could someone get one?

I would really like to have one, but only if legal.

[Sidinman]

Just google mini cannon, I'll bet you can find what you want.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

If this kind of black-powder cannon is legal, dunno why the tiny cannon would be illegal. But dunno much.

Cabela's -- Traditionsâ„¢ Mini Old Ironsides .50 Cal. Cannon

[I_Like_Pie]

Yes...you can legally make one that shoots bowling balls if you so desired.

This "mini" cannon is little more than a piece of metal with a big hole drilled in it for the bore, and a little hole drilled in it for the fuze. One could theoretically be made with little more than 2 pulls of a drill press. Make sure to use black powder rather than smokeless....otherwise you will shoot your eye out :-)

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Yes...you can legally make one that shoots bowling balls if you so desired.

Thanks, Pie

Is there an upper limit of legal size? Hmmm....

[I_Like_Pie]

Actually....as long as it uses black powder, has a smooth bore, and has a fuze rather than primer ignition system....one could make a cannon that launches 55 gallon drums full of concrete if they so choose (don't try this - you will blow yourself up)

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Actually....as long as it uses black powder, has a smooth bore, and has a fuze rather than primer ignition system....one could make a cannon that launches 55 gallon drums full of concrete if they so choose (don't try this - you will blow yourself up)

Thanks Pie. Interesting.

A mini-cannon or even one the size of that Cabelas example, might be a fun brass project on a mini-lathe.