In the early days of the aluminum can, I think that they came with both ends riveted onto the can, and no shaping to enable stacking, which made it possible to easily punch out both ends using a can-opener. In about 1980 all of this changed and we got the modern can. I do not believe this can be done without vintage cans.
Thus, when I was a kid in the early 70's, it was common to take 4 aluminum cans, remove the ends from 3.5 of them, and build a tennis ball cannon. The cans could be stacked together with duct or electrical tape. We used a small amount (less than a thimblefull) of gasoline as a propellent. The first step was to load the tennis ball. In the second step, A small hole, about the size of a triangular can-punch opener, was used to insert the match and ignite the fuel. Tennis balls could thus be driven 400+ feet into the sky. if you caught it, you were a wizard !!!
Warning : don't use too much gasoline as I am told that 1 gallon of gas is enough to put 1 pound into orbit !!!
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA