Updated!! 7/5/08 w/ vids- Fat Banana Cannon

[tansit234]

So, this is a cannon I made while I was at school in the welding shop. Its made from a 20LB propane tank and I tig welded the 1 1/2" standpipe on after using a dremel to cut out the old bung. I could have cut it other ways but I was worried about heat messing up the metallurgy. I'm guessing I could take the whole tank and standpipe up to the 250 psi working pressure of the tank but my ASCO pulse valve would fail long before that. Right now I have a 5' x 2" barrel on a 1 1/2" union fitting for storage. Only thing shot so far was a small nerf football and I never saw it leave the barrel. Actually I never saw it again even though I aimed for a tree. Needs a longer barrel since I'm going for the high volume approach rather than high pressure.

Sorry for the low light in the pictures. You get the idea though.

Video is being processed now.

UPDATE!!!
After a couple of months of the cannon sitting and me working and going to school I was finally able to scrounge a piece of 10 foot EMT conduit which now gives me my 3:1- C:B. There is an IPS nipple epoxied inside the conduit and the IPS fitting has some weld buildup studs that were turned down on the lathe as spacers. I shot it a ton yesterday (Independance Day) and it is amazingly quiet behind the muzzle but not so much down range. If a potato is too damaged over its length it has a tendancy to turn into potato salad in the barrel. (Note: my camera makes it sound 3 times as quiet, what you can't here is the echo in the entire neighborhood. Also I'm new to vid editing and am screwing around.)

Shooting a full tube of caulk (sorry if google butchered it on upload)
[GVideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 5802&hl=en[/GVideo]


Shooting a way to light wad of newspaper with the right barrel. (again, sorry if google butchered it on upload)
[GVideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 5741&hl=en[/GVideo]

[DYI]

Wow... I actually started laughing when I saw that picture

It just looks so misproportioned. But way to go on the ridiculous chamber volume. It probably stays within 1 psi of the starting pressure throughout the entire barrel

[tansit234]

That's why I dubbed it the Fat Banana, it just looks weird, I couldn't stop laughing while I had it hanging for paint. Super long barrel is on the way. I need to get a TB barrel ready and GB barrel as well as a longer full spud barrel (I hate half spuds 1.5")

EDIT: Test Fire Video. Good news its quiet, I get to use it without fear of noise complaints. Bad news, its quiet. Note: the cannon is pointed away from the camera, it sounds quieter than actual, and its darker than it really was.

ANOTHER EDIT: After doing some math the C:B is 6:1 (the tank is 1244 cubic inches or 5 gallons). I'm looking for about 2-3:1. The barrel needs to be a LOT longer....math.... 10 foot barrel for my 3:1 in 2" pvc, and 15 foot for a 2:1 in 2". (Hehe forgot to do math for round stuff instead of square earlier).

[GVideo]http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 7322&hl=en[/GVideo]

[sjog]

Good to see the Asco put into play.
Skip the 90 and make it a stand up gun.
Bolt action !!!


<a title="IMG_0579.jpg" href="http://s116.photobucket.com/albums/o12/ ... G_0579.jpg">
<img src="http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o12/ ... G_0579.jpg" border="0">
</a> I added bolt later. ROF very high. Just keep hose attached!!

[bigbob12345]

Looks funny but nice job
Hows the noise output?

[frocksie]

I really like the way that looks. You should paint the entire gun yellow, and then mount it on a yellow stand.

Just how long of a barrel are you thinking of?

[Mitchza89]

Holy heck that's a whopper of a chamber! with a 3m barrel (not at all practical) You'd have some serious power. I really like it. It's different .

[SpudFarm]

funny looking gun

i am also going to use a propane tank to make a cannon in the nearest future. 2m of 3" barrel and 11kg propane tank

enough of that: what about a damage pic?

[tansit234]

mkay so I built a new barrel recently and up at the top are just a few of the results, I'm out of potatos so I can't show that right now.

[THUNDERLORD]

Great cannon!
First vid, should've told the guy to sit on cannon to support it
Second vid, Something every paper boy would love!
Third vid, great. But I wish it hit something.
Cool Bananas! 8)
EDIT: BTW, I'd love to hand/shoulder fire that cannon!

[pocket]

lol i remember my first job as a paper boy i used a pneumatic cannon to deliver my friends paper and a crack head old fart saw me doin it and called in to the company and they freaking fired my ass...lol stupid shit at its best

[THUNDERLORD]

@pocket, That s*cks. I was dreaming up a big revolver paper launcher mounted in the sliding door of a van. Like a helicopter door gunner paper deliverer! 8)

[starman]

I'm not sure how I missed this one. This is a unique cannon for sure. A little heavy getting around but hey, it looks good getting there.. At least the tank neck acts like a handle when it's all broken down.

I like the yellow tank. Nice job!

[tansit234]

Some of the pics used in the second video here. Since the video I have hip fired it and there is very little recoil even when shooting a full tube of caulk at a tree. The gun is so heavy with the 10 foot barrel that it recoils straight back only about 4 inches.

With all the big bores I have around here I can't shoot these things off as much as I'd like in suburbia and theres no way I can go for an altitude or distance shot either.

If I get the money I'll probably start going for high pressure piston rifles that are a little smaller and don't take so much space.

[VH_man]

Wow. That cannon is huge....

Cant ASCO valves take like 150 or so? I thought they could.
anyway, dunno why i never saw this before, looks great.