# Where can we buy/rent a cannon? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 15, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838 "2014-01-15T00:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/21 "2014-01-15T17:22:23Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Acetylene in a balloon (with a little squirt of oxygen) makes a _ **hell** _ of a boom, I can personally attest to that. > > My cousin and I used to make “balloon bombs” and set them off at his parents’ farm. His mom (my aunt) made us stop because we were shaking the windows so badly. From over a quarter mile away. You can make it more cannon like by using a piece of heavy metal pipe with one end capped instead of a balloon. I use propane in my potato gun, but I don’t think it’s quite as loud as acetylene would be. A friend fills garbage bags with acetylene, hangs them from a tree limb and puts a candle underneath, produces a huge ‘whoomp’. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/22 "2014-01-15T17:55:33Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Acetylene in a balloon (with a little squirt of oxygen) makes a _ **hell** _ of a boom, I can personally attest to that. One of our chemistry teachers used to do that as a classroom demo, until he blew out the windows one year. That was the end of the demos. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/23 "2014-01-15T18:15:48Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > …Please, please, please, please don’t get a cannon. Drunk people and cannons are not a good combination, ever. Period. I mean it. But you’re explaining how drunks can use acetylene to make an explosion. I guess that’s slightly better being that no projectiles are involved, but a static spark will really light up this birthday party. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/24 "2014-01-15T18:26:50Z")
Damn. OPs been banned. Now we’ll never know what happened. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/25 "2014-01-15T18:47:10Z")
> [@Themis00](#): > > We will be out at his cabin. It’s in the middle of the forest, so we don’t have to worry about disturbing others. And the cabin is right next to a lake, so the ball would have somewhere to go when it lands. Even though the OP has been banned … Is this forest public land (local, state, federal)? The lake as well? If so, if you don’t have the proper permits (including notifying the authorities before the fact - read **VernWinterbottom’s** posts) you could be cannon fodder in no time. Assuming no one else would be around to be disturbed is a dangerous assumption. In this post-9/11 time you could even be charged with using a WMD. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/26 "2014-01-15T18:55:46Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > But you’re explaining how drunks can use acetylene to make an explosion. I guess that’s slightly better being that no projectiles are involved, but a static spark will really light up this birthday party. I was operating under the assumption that they were going to blow _something_ up no matter what. An acetylene fireball was the safest thing I could think of. I do love that she appeared to take the idea of dropping a giant lump of sodium into the lake seriously… ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/27 "2014-01-15T19:05:17Z")
> [@VernWinterbottom](#): > > I hold a Massachusetts cannon and mortar firing license. Only on the Dope… And just when I was about to Threadspot this thread for the exceptional stupidity of the OP and the exceptional reasonableness of many of the responses. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/28 "2014-01-15T23:49:40Z")
Nothing good come after “OPEN FIRE!” ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/29 "2014-01-16T00:44:42Z")
Perhaps the safest way to get a big bang is Tannerite. It is a binary exploding target. You combine two different powders, put the result into a bottle or small box, and set it off with a center-fire rifle shot. YOU MUST HAVE SOMEONE ON HAND WHO IS NOT DRINKING ALCOHOL. The only way to set off Tannerite is with a “high powered rifle”. A .22 won’t do it. You can order from their [website](http://www.tannerite.com/), or perhaps find it at a local gun store. Used properly, it can’t cause a fire - a Good Thing[sup]TM[/sup] in the woods - and is safe to handle. It is fun, but please designate a sober person to handle and shoot the stuff. You’d be surprised how often you use your thumbs and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/30 "2014-01-16T02:52:21Z")
That’s it. You’re done. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/31 "2014-01-16T05:10:17Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > One of our chemistry teachers used to do that as a classroom demo, until he blew out the windows one year. That was the end of the demos. When I was working as a lab assistant in college, my prof had me try the ammonium iodide and feather bit. Afterwards, when I went to the dining hall, this chick I knew came up and said “I _heard_ what you did!!!” I replied, “WHAT? I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” I’m kinda glad the ‘thermite’ didn’t work… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/32 "2014-01-16T05:45:13Z")
Las Vegas. On one of the few _Pawn Star_ episodes I’ve seen, the guys bought a working cannon. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/33 "2014-01-16T16:01:48Z")
It seems like every Renaissance Faire has a cannon. I’m not sure who owns it, but at “our” Faire, they use a [cannon](http://www.passwordmuseum.com/faire/IMG_9048b.jpg) that appears to be designed for actually firing things, rather than just making noise. Judging by the wood its base is made of, its barrel is six inches in diameter with a roughly two inch bore For use as a signal, they just load it with powder and use old bread for wadding. Cannon goes boom, and nothing goes downrange but burnt toast crumbs. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2014, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/34 "2014-01-16T16:10:43Z")
What is this ‘rent’ the Op spoke of? 6-pack, duct tape, swiss army knife, lighter fluid, BIC lighter & a tennis ball. Can be done in 5 minutes; less if you don’t drink any beer. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/35 "2014-01-17T05:14:37Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > What is this ‘rent’ the Op spoke of? > > 6-pack, duct tape, swiss army knife, lighter fluid, BIC lighter & a tennis ball. Can be done in 5 minutes; less if you don’t drink any beer. Well… if all you want is a ‘bang’, then, sure. But if you want to do it in _style_ (it’s a _party_, after all), you’re going to have to get more ‘historical’. You need that cannon. Just to make it look pretty. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/36 "2014-01-17T06:33:09Z")
I’ve heard Pachelbel is flogging one on eBay pretty cheaply. What? ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/37 "2014-01-17T14:12:55Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > I’ve heard Pachelbel is flogging one on eBay pretty cheaply. > > What? In d…eed. I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/38 "2014-01-17T14:47:10Z")
For a small extra fee you can get Drummer Hoff to fire it off. Presumably if you fire a cannonball at a lake at a low angle there’s a non-zero chance of it skipping across the water to the other side, where Bad Things could happen. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838/39 "2014-01-17T14:54:15Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > Well… if all you want is a ‘bang’, then, sure. But if you want to do it in _style_ (it’s a _party_, after all), you’re going to have to get more ‘historical’. You need that cannon. Just to make it look pretty. Scope out some county parks, get tow cables & a Really Stupid Guy With A Pick-Up Truck. (any similarity to this character and people in real life is strictly coincidental) [del] Felony [/del] Hilarity ensues… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-can-we-buy-rent-a-cannon/678838.md?page=1)