The Hicks Family will be building a traditional cannon with a fixed breech mounted to two wheels. They will need to be most concerned about the strength of their barrel.

The Washburn Boys are going to build a cannon with a removable breech, which will load from the rear. Their biggest concern, aside from barrel strength, will be that their breech wil survive three powerful blasts.

Both teams must worry about accuracy. Their first shot will probably be used to determine where they should aim to inflict the most damage.
 
 

The Hicks Family l to r; Captain Sam (dad) and daughters Anne & Jakey.  Bruce Paulson, expert	The Washburn Boys clockwise, from top left; Capt Ray(dad), sons Jon and Shane.  Bernie Paulson, expert
The Washburn Boys are going to load their cannon from the rear...	...while The Hicks are going with a traditional front-loading cannon
The Washburn Boys have an excellent thick-walled pipe for their barrel	The Hicks have an excellent pair of tires to set their cannon on
The Washburns are boring a hole in their breech as a place to put the black powder	The Hicks have a thick pipe but are reinforcing the end with a thicker pipe to prevent the pipe from exploding
Our Judge is Paul De Nubilo	The Washburns are going to fill soda cans with concrete for projectiles
Our two experts, twin brothers, meet for some backdoor trading	Brother Bruce doesn't want that wimpy piece of pipe
Jakey gets to work doing some welding	This a trunion, which is basically a pivot for each teams cannon
The Washburns are going to use 6 lb. solid steel cylinders as ammo	The Washburns launch an early attack with a squirtgun salvo
The Washburn Boys have finished early  and hold a parade in their honor	A cannon site gets attached to  hopefully improve accuracy

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