Big Bang

[ModernMiner]

I dug this thing-a-ma-jiggy up today. It says "Big Bang Reg" on one side, and "PATD" on the other.
Part of a toy?
Thanks,
MM

 

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[Libralabsoldier]

Looks like some sort of gas regulator.

 

[junkdigger]

That is the igniter for a "Big Bang" cannon,a toy that is still available. You put a bit of "Bangsite" in it and some water I think. And I think Bangsite is calcium carbide. So when Bangsite and water mix,acetalene(sp?) is produced and when ignited,it goes BANG!!!!! Just do a search for BigBang cannons......you might need one of those! I made my own about 40 years ago,got the calcium carbide at a welding supply. My homemade cannon was.......well,pretty BIG! And.......LOUD!!!!!! But I'm older now,and I do not recommend that you do what I did. No,no one got hurt........but I do have a hearing loss,and treasure hunters need good hearing!!!

 

[ModernMiner]

That is the igniter for a "Big Bang" cannon,a toy that is still available. You put a bit of "Bangsite" in it and some water I think. And I think Bangsite is calcium carbide. So when Bangsite and water mix,acetalene(sp?) is produced and when ignited,it goes BANG!!!!! Just do a search for BigBang cannons......you might need one of those! I made my own about 40 years ago,got the calcium carbide at a welding supply. My homemade cannon was.......well,pretty BIG! And.......LOUD!!!!!! But I'm older now,and I do not recommend that you do what I did. No,no one got hurt........but I do have a hearing loss,and treasure hunters need good hearing!!!

What? I can't hear you.
Thanks Junkdigger. Great info.
-MM-

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Yep. I had one with a plug much like you found. It was placed in the very breech with a 1/2 turn, dumping the cup contents into a water reservior in the base. The cannon itself was about a foot long, had black rubber wheels, was otherwise all cast iron and painted green. I thought the "Bangsite" was something to do with bauxite - the ore of aluminum - that produced the acetylene and the little round end cup was all it took. The square opening was an ignitor that took Ronstan lighter "flints" (the little cylindrical kind) and there was a plunger out the back (in-line with the bore) that sparked the flint when hit. I put in an ounce or so of the Bangsite in the last time I fired mine and it ended the cannon's career. Say, maybe that is the plug out of mine?

 

[mercenary]

A summer camp I went to in Boy Scouts used one of them for taps. They're quite loud

 

[EDDE]

That is the igniter for a "Big Bang" cannon,a toy that is still available. You put a bit of "Bangsite" in it and some water I think. And I think Bangsite is calcium carbide. So when Bangsite and water mix,acetalene(sp?) is produced and when ignited,it goes BANG!!!!! Just do a search for BigBang cannons......you might need one of those! I made my own about 40 years ago,got the calcium carbide at a welding supply. My homemade cannon was.......well,pretty BIG! And.......LOUD!!!!!! But I'm older now,and I do not recommend that you do what I did. No,no one got hurt........but I do have a hearing loss,and treasure hunters need good hearing!!!

oh carbide canon was my guess!!!

 

[diggummup]

Cool.We used to make cannons with old coffee cans,the large ones.We'd cover it with a kick ball or basketball and shoot it down the road a block or two.Of course the ball wouldn't last but a shot or two sometimes,but it was fun.I wouldn't recommend it nowadays though,you probably go to jail for making a explosive device! It was fun to be a kid once upon a time.Here is a can of carbide that you mixed with water to produce the acetylene gas.

 

[PBK]

Yeah, Dig... did that, too. However, our version worked a bit differently. We used my dad's old carbide lamp to run the gas into a length of rubber hose, the other end of which emptied into one of those old square gallon antifreeze cans. When we could see the carbide vapor coming out of the can, we'd take the lamp away, blow gently into the open end of the hose, and touch it off with a match. (No flint on the lamp.) The hose served as sort of a long "fuse" (not long enough!), and a second later the can would ignite with huge BANG! A good shot would send it from the front steps of our house out into the street, and sometimes even across it. Then we'd scramble to get the can, hook it up, and blast off again!

KIDS... DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! (Or anywhere else!)
No, we weren't professionals— we were idiots! :P :P :P

 

[Montana Jim]

PBK - I was just about to ask if you should add the disclaimer! lmao...

 

[Blind.In.Texas]

Interesting find.....potatoes, pvc, 90% isopropyl alcohol....now that's a cannon.....

 

[ModernMiner]

After seeing the canon picture that JUNKDIGGER posted, and the metal wheel I found yesterday, do you think my wheel and the BIG BANG piece could be from the same canon? Or does the wheel look to be from a different time? Both pieces were found in the backyard.
Just a thought.
-MM-

 

[Montana Jim]

Heck yea MM... you bet.