Have you ever seen T-shirts launched into a crowd at a concert or sporting event and thought, “Forget the shirt, where do I get that cannon?” Follow these steps and you can make one yourself!
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T-SHIRT CANNON
SAFETY KEY:
+ Flying objects
SKILL LEVEL:
EASY
INTERMEDIATE
ADVANCED
APPROXIMATE TIME:
2 hours
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
+ ABS fittings
2-foot length of 3-inch ABS
2-foot length of 2-inch ABS
Adapter from 3 inches to 2 inches
Two 3-inch couplings
Adapter from 3 inches to 1½ inches
+ PVC
1½- to 1¾-inch slip to threaded adapter
Six ¾-inch threaded close nipples
¾-inch coupling
Two ¾-inch 90-degree elbows
¾-inch T-connector
End cap
¾-inch ball valve
+ Thread tape
+ Schrader valve
+ Saw
+ Spray paint
+ Proto-Putty (Chapter 9)
+ Bike pump
+ Black ABS cement
+ ABS to PVC green transition cement
+ T-shirts
LET’S BEGIN
PREPARING YOUR MATERIALS
1. Cut your three-inch tube to sixteen inches in length, and the two-inch tube to fourteen inches.
2. Wrap both ends of the ¾-inch threaded close nipples with a few layers of sealing tape to get a tight connection.
3. Drill a ½-inch hole in the top of the end cap. Push the Schrader valve through the hole.
PRO TIP: Instead of a Schrader valve, try a pneumatic quick adapt connector so you can fill your T-shirt cannon with an air hose instead of a bike pump.
4. Spray-paint the ¾-inch ball valve the color of your choosing. Let dry for a few minutes.
ASSEMBLING
1. Screw together your PVC parts. The threaded close nipples connect the elbows, T, end caps, coupling, and ball valve.
2. Spray-paint the unpainted parts with a second color of your choosing.
PRO TIP: When painting PVC you want to make sure you first do a light dust coat over the whole surface to let the next layer of paint bond to the plastic.
3. Now it’s time to assemble the body of the cannon. The sixteen-inch tube goes inside a three-inch coupling, and the fourteen-inch tube slides down inside one of the reducing adapters.
4. Take the 3 to 1½-inch adapter and place this one on the table bevel side up. Put the second three-inch coupling over it. Use black ABS cement to glue the pieces together.
5. Put the smaller tube adapter side down on the table, and put the bigger tube over it. Cement where the coupling and adapter meet.
MAKE YOUR PLUG
1. We’ll be making our plug out of Proto-Putty. Mix the Proto-Putty in a paper bowl, and when it’s good to go, toss some baby powder on a cutting board. Place the leftover one-inch piece of scrap ABS from the three-inch tubing on the cutting board and pack the Proto-Putty inside the mold.
2. Press down with a large flat object to ensure it dries smoothly. Set for ten minutes.
3. Now using a utility knife, cut the putty around the ring to loosen it, then pop it out. Clean up the edges with scissors and your Proto-Putty plug is complete.
4. Push into the three-inch ABS tubing until it makes contact with the two-inch tube inside. You can now pressurize the system.
FINISHING UP
1. Use ABS cement to secure the last three-inch coupling onto the end of the cannon.
2. Now take the green transition cement to attach the PVC handle to the ABS cannon. Coat the inside of the cannon adapter and the outside of the PVC handle—the opposite end from the ball valve. Quickly insert the PVC handle into the end of the cannon.
3. Now’s the time to customize! Use duct or electrical tape to decorate your cannon as a one-of-a-kind creation.
USING YOUR T-SHIRT CANNON
1. Hook up a bike pump to the valve and start filling your cannon with air. The Proto-Putty plug will shift upward to block the interior tube, and the air will fill up the large chamber on the inside. Pressurize up to 60–80 psi.
2. Shove your shirts down the barrel, packing them tightly with a stick.
3. Release the handle. The air will rush out, forcing the plug to slam down to the bottom of the barrel, the remaining air shooting out the center of the tube and launching your T-shirts quickly and powerfully—around forty feet!
ALSO TRY: Why stop at T-shirts? Try shooting Nerf darts, or really anything else you can fit down the barrel.
Shout-out to our friend Ben and his Coaxial Potato Cannon for being the inspiration behind this project! Why not use the same concept and common materials from a local hardware store to construct a fully functional semiautomatic Air-Powered T-Shirt Cannon? Just T-shirts at events? This device can do so much more!
