The cannon is 5 foot long with a 1.5 inch opening for the barrel. It fires pneumatically and the air storage tank and other mechanisms will be hidden by the rack. The intention was to use low pressure air to fire a soft ball across the yard as a kid’s game for the party. I ran out of time and hit a couple of snags so it has become a Halloween piece. I built the guts out of schedule 40 rated pipe, so it will fire at 150 psi max. In other words, with the right projectile it could hit the 300-400 yard range.
The cannon is built from rigid foam insulation and coated with "Foam Coat" a commercial product used primarily on theatrical sets. It proved to be a bit fragile and expensive for the results. I will fiberglass this cannon to stand up to years of use and some occasional abuse. The rack will be finished with foam and carved to look like wood.
If you want to build one, I working on a piece to be published on www.instructables.com and I'll let you know when it's ready.
Fire in the hole!
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