Tennis Ball Mortar By Sonnimo1234

In this Instructable, you will learn how to make a fun and awesome Tennis Ball Mortar. Some supplies you will need are simple household objects, lighter fluid, and a regular tennis ball. I am not responsible for any injuries or damages to properties. I hope you have fun!!

Step 1 Supplies that you will need

For this Instructable, you will need.......
1. 3 cardboard tubes or cans approximately 10 inches long by 2 1\2 inches in diameter(potato chip cans work well)
2.tin snips
3.Duct tape or a strong type of tape
4.3\16-inch drill or punch
5.lighter fluid
6. tennis ball
7. wooden stick about 12 inches long
8.Thin walled, 4-inch diameter pvc sewer pipe( length equal to length of cardboard tubes or cans)
9. sand paper or sander

Comments

[ElQuirko]

Doesn't work with hairspray - I followed the instructions to the letter, and the most I got was a "Whoomph!", a gout of flame, then nothing. The only thing that happened to my tennis ball was that it burnt.

[sudharma]

In our youth, we use a bamboo tube with 3 or 4 nodes. Made holes through all the nodes using an iron rod, a small hole at the side at the bottom to fire the fuel (used good old kerosene as fuel) . Same principle as the tennis ball mortar.This is used only for producing cracking sound. We had to experiment with different hole sizes to get the correct effect. Gives multiple cracking sounds. Now I assume that if we had stuffed a tennis ball inside the Bamboo tube ( which we never thought of), we could have had a tennis ball mortar.

[WhiteTigerTails]

You need to make sure there is a FLUSH, SNUG fit.

[lighterkid19]

you could duct tape like 5 of em together then run a fuse through all the base holes and make like a repeater

[zafith]

im confused what do you mean run a fuse through all the base holes and then make a repeater? what do you mean by repeater also?

[ironman13]

if I were to add lets say 10 ravioli cans would this make a stronger mortar? I need a self defense weapon and I am in the process of making a on the shoulder bazooka but I am stuck because I need the maximum power possible. also does anyone know a effective and strong bipod? thank you. 12/21/12

[lighterkid19]

this would probably be a crappy self defense weapon, seeing as it takes so long to set up before launching. i would go with one of the numerous pneumatic air rifles on the site

[ironman13]

the way i have my bazooka set up is it takes a maximum of 3 seconds to set up. i attached a bottom loading clip, a trigger, and a quick fill upvalve using hair spray. i also made a explosive round for this. i drilled a hole in a tennis ball and filled it up with gunpowder and then i stuck a wick in it. the only problem with the round is you cant put it in the clip. i cant make a air rifle because my 300 pound air compresser is inside my barn.

[lighterkid19]

you could probably eliminate the wick by filling it partly with gun powder and the other part with strike anywhere match heads

[ironman13]

finally finished it. 4 days of work, 6 ravioli cans, and a sore stomach... = totally worth it. lighterkid19, your explosive round worked perfect. from around 100 foot away it put a hole the size of a basket ball in my barn. now i have to put a new side of metal sheeting on.

[WhiteTigerTails]

This is a HIGHLY ILLEGAL thing you're doing. You can be arrested for just CARRYING that...

[red9er]

Hey, could you make an Instructable about it or just email me you plans (what ever you have time to give me) @ [e-mail]? I seriously think you have something here and I'm also wanting to build it for selfdefence... that is, if the "US President" Obama takes away my guns!!!!

[lighterkid19]

damn thats epic. glad to have helped

[Brian Roth]

Lighter fluid is just naptha, you can buy it by the quart or gallon in most paint stores. This is a lot cheaper then buying "lighter fluid" at a tobbaco shop. I learned how to make these using a six pack of steel beer cans, yeah I'm old in years but I have'nt quite grown up yet, I just graduated to bigger toys. We cut out the tops and bottoms of five cans and left the sixth one intact with a quarter inch hole in the bottom side. Taped it all together with electricians tape put just a squirt down the barrel jammed a tennis ball down two cans deep and lit it. Word to the wise NEVER hold your hand in front of the opening, the flame that comes out of there will cook your fingers right now.

[Nattwood]

so technically a whole heap of cat food tins would work perfectly? cause i have alot of cats and go through a tin a day and they stack on their own adn the tennis ball fits with a minor gap but i was also wondering if it has to be lighter fluid cause i live in australia and don't know where to get it.

[falken16]

where in australia are you? you can usually buy it from all tobacconists. Cignall usually has it. Paddy's markets in chinatown (sydney) has a few chinese ladies selling it. Beware though, one of the women down there that we were buying lighters and stuff from is insane. She'll burn you if you piss her off.

[Nattwood]

well i live in brissie and im fifteen so they probly wont sell it to me even if i could find some. but metho or fero would work wouldn't they?

[falken16]

haha i'm 16, and i went there most when i was 15. metho wouldn't work as an explosive, because it just burns. good fun to play with. but it does scar if you get burnt...

[dietpoop]

Aussie! me and my friend used to crack open lighters and drip it on worms and ignite it if that would work (we were 7) (im Aussie to)

[12gtippett]

this thing looks sweet, my friends and i are planning on building an extreme version and using about a cup of lighter fluid!!! hopefully we dont light our asses on fire! lol

[evan_124]

dont forget that wut ur making here is a bomb... so IF you are guna go crazy with the fuel, make sure the ammo isnt too secure or u will be lighting a pipe bomb not a mortar.

[robocrazy155]

that would be an interesting story...

[sonnimo1234]

haha that sounds awsome

[chip123]

you'll need a large combustion chamber for the fluid to torn to gass to ignite. (its the lighter fluid vapour that lights, not the fluid its-self).

[sonnimo1234]

Ok whats it means is to take a 1\2 teaspoon of lighter fluid and just drip it down into the tube you had created..next you take a tennis ball and push it hard into the tube..finally with the tennis ball and the lighter fluid in the tube, carfully shake the tube so the light fluid is spread out equally...Thanks you for commenting:)

[Kendallkip]

hahaha, "push it hard into the tube" lol

[cornflaker]

lol sounds painful

[Crazy Kid]

These things are powerful i put a bunch of lighter fluid in mine and blew it to shreds and then it caught on fire

[andrew13]

will PVC pipe work?

[Jesusfreak101]

Doubt it because if it blows up, shards of razor-sharp pvc pipe shoot at you in all directions. Though it probably won't blow up, I still wouldn't use it.

[wiebevandomburg.hotmail.com]

i used pvc for a spudgun and even if the potato got stuck or jammed, all the pressure escaped trough the lighting hole

[DWordDtour]

It sounds cool and fun but i've been having troble understanding how we put in the lighter fluid. if you could explain its to me differently i should get it. its a nice instructable!

[PyroManiac96]

tennis ball+drill+hole+water+freeze overnight=:)

[sleath5]

Have any of you ever tryed firing like a lacrosse ball or something alot harder out of it??

[sonnimo1234]

ya it works but it doesnt fly as far>>>maybe around 100ft with somethin harder

[sleath5]

And if you added more gas and a stronger tube?

[sonnimo1234]

ya that would works:)

[sleath5]

Do you think that you could somehow make this into an airsoft weapon or something???

[sonnimo1234]

ya u can make the whole thing with smaller tubes so that it shoots airsoft. Also u would use less lighter fluid:)

[monkeywithawrench]

probably about a drop or two is about it. of course, with me if its worth doing, its worth over doing.
I made a sniper rifle potato cannon. its got a barrel about 4' long, a huge chamber, both a flint sparker and a grill sparker, a handle, and its green. it will fire a whole potato about 650 feet. thats the length of 2 1/6 football fields. NO JOKE the flint sparker is just for the insurance that it will fire, even if the grill sparker isn't working. the only drawback it you have to buy replacement flints for it. they sell for about $5 for 12, but you usually get more than 100 shots per flint. its worth $5 :)