Redstone · Contraption · Java & Bedrock

How to Make a TNT Cannon

A TNT cannon launches a projectile across the map. Charge TNT explodes over a water cushion that keeps the cannon intact, and the blast throws a single TNT on a long arc to its target.

Water cushions the cannon

more charge = more range

Ignite the charge TNT over water and the blast launches a projectile TNT in an arc to a far-off target. The water is what stops the cannon blowing itself up.

What you need

Water (the cushion)

Charge + projectile TNT

Redstone to ignite

Or flint & steel to test

The water cushion

The trick that makes a cannon possible is water. When the charge TNT detonates, the water absorbs the blast on the blocks so the cannon does not destroy itself, while the explosion still flings the projectile TNT forward. Add more charge for a longer arc; nudge the projectile to aim. Build it on your own land or where TNT is allowed.

Quick answers

How does a TNT cannon work?

A row of charge TNT sits in a water trough and is ignited all at once. The explosion is cushioned by the water so the cannon survives, and the force launches a separate projectile TNT in an arc toward a distant target, where it detonates.

Why does my TNT cannon blow itself up?

Almost always the water. The trough of water absorbs the charge blast so the structure holds together; without it, or with the water placed wrong, the first shot destroys the whole cannon.

How do you increase a TNT cannon's range?

Add more charge TNT to the trough and fire it together. More charge means more push, which sends the projectile on a longer arc. The projectile's starting position also tunes where it lands.

What is the difference between charge and projectile TNT?

The charge is the line of TNT that explodes to provide the push. The projectile is the single piece of TNT that gets thrown by that push and flies to the target.

Are TNT cannons allowed on servers?

It depends on the server. Many disable or restrict TNT, or only allow it on land you have claimed. Use cannons on your own builds or where TNT and PvP are explicitly allowed.

Do TNT cannons work on Bedrock?

Yes, but explosion and entity timing differ a little between editions, so a cannon tuned on Java may need its charge count or projectile placement adjusted on Bedrock.

Database →

TNT & redstone

Look up TNT, its blast radius and the parts you need.

Guide →

How to make TNT

The recipe and fuse basics before you load the cannon.

Why a cannon fires instead of just exploding

The propellant and the projectile are the same item

A cannon works because water holds one charge in place while the other charges push it. TNT primed in water takes no block damage and gets pushed by the blast, so the stack under the water is the propellant and the single block above the water line is the shot. Get that order wrong and the whole thing goes up on the spot.

Timing is the range control

Every extra tick between the propellant firing and the shot priming sends the projectile further, which is why cannon designs are full of repeaters set to different delays. If your shots land short, add delay before the projectile rather than adding TNT, because more propellant mostly means a wider spread and a broken cannon.

Build it on stone you can afford to lose

Obsidian survives the blast and almost nothing else does. A cannon on a wooden or dirt frame will fire once and then be a crater, so the frame, the trough and the water channel all want obsidian if you plan to fire more than a single shot from the same spot.