gonna make a new spudgun
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Joined: Jun 2002
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From: inver grove heights MN
gonna make a new spudgun
ok, my current spud gun is about to be retired, i havent shot it in about a year, and really dont trust it anymore. its had quite a few rounds through it.
my question is- should i glue the new one or will screws be better?
the one i currently have i built 5 years ago when i was 15, didnt really know whether i should glue it or screw it, so i put screws through the downsizer from the barrel to the chamber. i dont really think its safe.
would it be safer to use the pvc plumbers glue, or the screws? how strong is the glue? i might put a *slightly* smaller pvc tube in the chamber, like a size smaller, just to make it double thick in hopes that it might not blow up, i dont care how much it weighs.
i know this is the place to go to for info- !! thanks
my question is- should i glue the new one or will screws be better?
the one i currently have i built 5 years ago when i was 15, didnt really know whether i should glue it or screw it, so i put screws through the downsizer from the barrel to the chamber. i dont really think its safe.
would it be safer to use the pvc plumbers glue, or the screws? how strong is the glue? i might put a *slightly* smaller pvc tube in the chamber, like a size smaller, just to make it double thick in hopes that it might not blow up, i dont care how much it weighs.
i know this is the place to go to for info- !! thanks
Hotshot
Joined: Aug 2002
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From: BC, Canada
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2003
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From: Thomson, GA
gonna make a new spudgun
i cant recommend screws, they could make the PVC even more prone to crack. It would be like trying to nail jello to a tree. The plumbers cement actually chemicaly melts the PVC and cures the joint as one piece. I would definatly not screw it together.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Montana Territory
gonna make a new spudgun
If you are going to use propane, you should "double" although it can be difficult to find 3 3/4" sch 40 pipe. You might as well go for schedule 80 and have only one combustion chamber. Thats what I have and I shoot it every day. If you just use hairspray or AXE, " gee, those are some great smelling spuds" AXE works very well because it has propane in it. I went with a 18'' x 4'' combustion chamber, and a 4''-3''-2'' two piece reducer, and a 6' x 2'' pipe. I get about 400 yards with AXE and about 550 with propane.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Jul 2002
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From: South Dakota
gonna make a new spudgun
i reccomend doing both glue and screws, that's how i built mine.
make sure that you use a drill bit to pilot the holes though. Every joint on my gun has 2 metal screws and glued joints.
make sure that you use a drill bit to pilot the holes though. Every joint on my gun has 2 metal screws and glued joints.
Gone but not forgotten.
Joined: Jul 2001
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gonna make a new spudgun
Just be careful with that thing. There was a very sad story in the news lately about a young man who was blinded after being shot in the face with a frog (that's right - a frog) fired from one of those contraptions.
Dono
Dono
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Joined: Feb 2003
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gonna make a new spudgun
Mine just uses 4'' schedule 40, about 5 ft. long, with a two foot chamber. I used PVC cement on the cap, it's not going anywhere. I don't have any reducers on mine. I want to shoot larger stuff, it doesn't have to go 1000 feet, a few hundred is fine. Mine is double barrel too. I will try it out for the first time on the fourth. I'll let you know how it does. I'd go with the glue over the screws though.
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Montana Territory
gonna make a new spudgun
There are scales that apply to pipe of all types. THe strongest I have seen is schedule 180 steam pipe, thats what I used to make my my golf ball cannon. Schedule 40 is the minimum thickness that should be used for a spud gun. Sch 80 is harder to find and basically available in whole sizes onle ie. 2'', 3'',4''. You don't need to be afraid of the chamber exploding unless you use a hot load of propane or ether, *DO NOT USE ETHER WITH PVC PIPE* ether reacts with the pvc and severly weakens the pipe. I have an aluminum gun for ether use.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 251
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From: Phoenix USA
gonna make a new spudgun
You guys need to stop and think about what you are doing. PVC is not made for compressed gases at any pressure, no matter how much wall thickness you are working with. It will explode unexpectedly at any time with low pressure such as a compressed air system. Do you have any idea how much pressure and shock load you are putting on a piece of plastic when you use it as a spud gun? There have been threads in the Garage section on this very subject. I suggest you read up on this dangerous practice, and make your toys out of a safer material(heavy wall steel pipe). Just because you haven't been hurt YET doesn't mean you aren't going to be. Be Smart, Be Safe.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Montana Territory
gonna make a new spudgun
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blahblah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Sch 40 is strong enough to take 3,000 lbs crush. With caps that go over the end of the tubve its strong enough to do anything that you want with in reason.
Sch 40 is strong enough to take 3,000 lbs crush. With caps that go over the end of the tubve its strong enough to do anything that you want with in reason.
Senior User
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: northwest
gonna make a new spudgun
I connected a compression tester to my cousins spud gun and fired it off and the pressure inside the combustion chamber was only 34 psi. In the intrest of safety my next gun will be a pneumatic, made of stainless with parts proccured from work.
Faster than a speeding russett...
Faster than a speeding russett...
Posting Guru
Joined: May 2003
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From: Thomson, GA
gonna make a new spudgun
I have never heard of one blowing up, not saying that it doesnt happen, i have just never heard of it. After some thought, screws would be OK, just make sure that you drill a properly sized pilot hole.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 10,323
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From: Montana Territory
gonna make a new spudgun
Screws make the gun weaker. I have never built a gun like this but I have seen a few built like that. I don't think that a gun that is all cracked is going to hold any pressure.