Where do I start

[KAA]

New guy here. I've been looking around here and there's a lot of info. Wanting to build my first cannon and was wondering where is a good starting place on here? Like the right materials,size.etc. Thanks in advance.

[metalmeltr]

Read the wiki
make the best decsion for you
look at the showcase

[Technician1002]

Read the stickies in the how to database.

[MrCrowley]

Decide what you want, for example:

• A cannon for peformance
  A cannon for aesthetics
  A cannon for plinking
  A cannon that is portable

You may want a cannon that has good power and is portable, in that case an advanced combustion would be best. If you don't feel up to it, start out with a basic combustion and then build a more advanced cannon later on.

If you want a cannon that fires small bore (say, 1" projectiles and below) but has a lot of power and is good for plinking, you might want to build a pneumatic. Sprinkler valves are very easy to mod and make a good valve for a first pneumatic.

Look through the Showcase forum sections, bookmark some cannons you like and some cannons you think you will be able to build with a little help. Then decide what type of cannon you want (pneumatic or combustion), what you want it to shoot as a projectile, the budget for the cannon, the performance you expect, the size of the cannon, the layout etc etc.

A good first cannon is generally a basic combustion (using WD40, hairspray etc as the fuel) or a sprinkler valved pneumatic.

[KAA]

Thanks for the responses. Not really sure about type of projectiles but would like to do t- shirts at times. Which would be best for that? ( pneumatic or combustion )? Thanks again.

[Crna Legija]

Thanks for the responses. Not really sure about type of projectiles but would like to do t- shirts at times. Which would be best for that? ( pneumatic or combustion )? Thanks again.

pneumatic unless you want burnt shirts

[Technician1002]

If you do shirts, most sporting events will not allow combustion due to fire and safety regulations and insurance. The liability of possibly launching something flaming into a crowd is extreme.

[Fnord]

While you're researching a full-size design you could throw together a mini combustion. They're a lot of fun if you're just starting out and give you an idea of what to expect.
Most people just use a small pill bottle and a 1/2" or smaller barrel. Pen tubes are ok but won't give you much choice in ammo. Mine fired marbles from a piece of hulahoop.

[reedfe]

my first cannon was a 1 inch pneumatic that was faithful untill i blew it up tuesday because of the non pressure rated parts (DWV). hehehe. i'll put pic's up sooner or later.