Poof goes the cannon! Whether you call it a Smoke Ring Shooter, Air Vortex Cannon, or Airzooka, this awesome toy can shoot down solid targets, suck up and fire out dry ice, and launch giant rainbow air rings over thirty feet.
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SMOKE RING SHOOTER
SAFETY KEY:
+ Sharp objects
SKILL LEVEL:
EASY
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
APPROXIMATE TIME:
2 hours
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
+ Plastic bucket (without a spout around the lid)
+ Wood stake
+ Drill
+ Saw
+ Three #12 24 × 1-inch machine screws with matching nuts
+ Clear shower curtain
+ Clear packaging tape
+ Nylon screw and nut
+ Bungee cord (with bead on end)
+ Spray paint
+ Empty soda bottle
LET’S BEGIN
PREPARING THE BUCKET
1. Use a utility knife to cut a circle out of the bottom of the bucket, leaving a 1½-inch rim.
2. If your bucket already has a string handle, cut it off now. Line the wooden stake up on the bucket and measure how long you want the support for your custom handle to be. Cut the stake to size.
3. Place your support rail flush against the bucket. Using a Sharpie, mark three points near the top, middle, and bottom. Drill through the wood and the bucket in each of the three spots.
4. Hold the remaining piece of the stake against the half you have already cut and drilled. Measure how long you want it to be as a handle. Cut this piece.
5. Drill two pilot holes through the support rail into the handle. Securely fasten both pieces with screws.
PRO TIP: Sand your handle down to make it more comfortable to hold on to.
6. Cut the top two inches off your empty soda bottle. Hold a nail by the tip with a pair of pliers and then use a lighter to heat up the head. While it’s still hot, melt a small hole near the neck of the bottle. Melt a second hole on the other side.
7. With a Sharpie, mark two points on opposite sides of the bucket, almost at the bottom. Heat up the nail again and melt holes in the bucket where you marked it.
PRO TIP: By melting the hole instead of drilling it, you get extra strength from the melted plastic.
CONSTRUCTING A PLASTIC DIAPHRAGM
1. Spread out your plastic shower curtain. Place the top part of the soda bottle in the center of the sheet and trace around it with your marker. Move the bottle underneath the sheet of plastic in line with the circle you just marked. Screw the bottle cap on from the top of the sheet, securing the bottle to the plastic.
2. Place the bucket in the center of the sheet. Press the soda bottle and the plastic halfway down into the bucket. Mark where the plastic and the top edge of the bucket meet.
3. Remove the plastic and measure the distance from the soda bottle to the mark you just made. Now measure that same distance from the soda bottle all around the plastic in a circle. Connect the marks together to get one continuous circle.
4. Cover the whole circle in a layer of packaging tape. Once the whole circle is covered, cut it out by following the line you just drew, and reattach the soda bottle to where it was before.
5. Drill a hole through the soda cap and plastic.
PRO TIP: If your hardware store doesn’t carry nylon screws, try toilet seat–hinge hardware. A metal nut and bolt would also work.
6. Cut your bungee cord to remove the plastic ball, setting the cord aside for later.
7. Thread the nylon bolt through the plastic ball and then through the hole in the soda cap. From the inside of the bottle top, thread the nylon nut onto the bolt.
Before you assemble all your pieces, spray paint your Air Vortex Cannon to match your personal style, so long as you don’t paint the plastic sheet.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER
1. Center the bottle top inside the bucket. Attach the edge of the plastic sheet to the edge of the bucket using a piece of duct tape.
2. Take a second piece and tape it directly across from the first. The next two pieces are going to be at a 90-degree angle from those. In between those four corners, make an accordion fold with the plastic to get it to lie flat against the bucket. Tape over any gaps so that the whole edge of that plastic is secured to the bucket.
3. Now all that is left is to attach the handle and make it spring-loaded. Thread your bungee cord into one of the holes in the inside of the bucket, through both of the holes in the soda bottle top, and then out through the other bucket hole.
4. Mark the bungee cord where it leaves the bucket. Now stretch it out and tie an overhand knot.
5. Place the handle and support rail along the bucket aligned with the drilled holes. On the inside of the bucket, attach three nuts and then tighten with a screwdriver.
SHOOTING YOUR AIR VORTEX CANNON
Simply point the open end of the bucket at your target, pull back the plastic, and let go! As the air is forced out the front of the cannon, the air in the middle moves faster than the air on the sides, forming a ring. Try setting up a pyramid of paper cups to knock over! Or experiment with dry ice.
Launch it at targets, shoot it long distances, or just have fun messing with your friends, family, or pets. After all, it’s just air. You can’t go wrong with this cool contraption!
FUN FACT: These cannons can come in a variety of sizes. The largest air cannon made was built in the Czech Republic and shot down a wall of cardboard boxes from three hundred feet away.