Anybody out there got one of these? Mine's got a T-shaped 3" diameter chamber with a 1.5" barrel 42" long. It will launch a spud 1/8 mile using Right Guard Sport. Sometimes the bang is loud enough to make your ears ring. Total cost about $35. Who thought making french fries could be so much fun

If ya got one, let's hear about it. How's it built, what do you shoot, etc. I could use some ideas for a bigger and better one.

 

man, my buddy wants to biuld one out of ABS pipping. im kinda interested in building one. how do i go about starting it?

 

Ok you asked.

We use drill stem pipe. The barrel is made out of 3" pipe, 4' long. The combustion chamber is 18" of 8" pipe. It is built on a adjustable tripod that can elevate. It is fired by 2 sparkplugs from a Cat magneto. It will launch a billard ball a 1/4 of a mile as well as a dodge oil filter. The oil filters leave nice smoke trails.

Using a one liter plastic bottle filled with water, it will rip apart the bottle before it makes 30 feet.

What do we use for fuel? Glad you asked! Oxygen with acteyline (sp) with a few shots of either (really gives it a extra kick!).

 

Well, mine's made out of PVC pipe, but ABS would work too. Lust make sure it's the schedule 40 heavy walled stuff. You can build them just about any way you please, but here's what I did. First you need a combustion chamber. Mine's shaped like a T. At the top center of the T is a 3 inch T fitting. This T fitting has short lengths of pipe glued into the top part, just long enough to cap off the left part of the fitting and use a 3 inch to 1.5 inch reducer on the right. The bottom part of the T has a pipe that's about 1 inch longer and that has a fitting glued into it for a threaded 3 inch plug. This is where you squirt in your propellant. Glued into the reducer is a length of 1.5 inch pipe for the barrel (mine's 42 inches) but it can be whatever you want. The chamber can be any shape you want, but I went with the T because it feels more like an actual gun instead of just a simple cylinder. For the ignition I used a gas barbecue grill ignitor. I drilled a hole in the T fitting where you would expect the trigger to be in a gun. You could just glue the igniter directly into this hole but I didn't like that idea. I took a short piece of 3/4" PVC and glued a coupler and cap onto it, glued that pipe into my hole with the coupler and cap on the inside of the T fitting, i.e. so that the coupler rests against the fitting and can't be blown out. The igniter will it inside this 3/4 inch pipe and the two igniter wires can be routed through a small hole and sealed. This way I can change the igniter if I need to and it isn't being subjected to the pressure in the chamber. Then I used screws on all the joints to make sure it wouldn't come apart. Let it dry and have some fun :-)

Everything you need to build one can be found at a decent hardware store. Mine cost about $35. The igniter was about $9 and was the most expensive part. Obviously the more fittings the more it will cost. Simpler is definitely cheaper.

I think Right Guard works about as well as anything. I tried starting fluid but surprisingly it didn't work well. I was expecting a big bang but not much happened. For some reason it wouldn't vaporize and was pooling in my gun. When I tried to fire it the stuff would just burn in there like gasoline. Not good and almost had a meltdown. Anything with propane in it should work well.

 

Holy Crap! And I thought I was doing big things... Billiard *****??? Acetylene?!?! HECK YAH !!!!

 

A spud gun is a bomb you hold in your hand. They are dangerous. Read the posts regarding the use of pvc airlines in your shop and consider that you are attaining pressures far higher than the pressure in your air compressor. That pvc will come apart and you will be digging out of your hands, face and other areas that you don't neccesarily want hurt. Yes, they are fun, BUT are they worth it??????????????????? On another note, in the state of Texas they are an illegal weapon. Look in Section 46, Texas Penal code. You might as well cut the barrel off a shotgun and make a pisol of it, same charge. The acetelene cannon is the same deal but it's probably safer since it's made of steel. It's amazing what can be built out of a backyard shop. BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Gee Ranger don't be a party pooper just havin a little fun.Talk about blast anybody use blackpowder?



Wiz

[link:www.clubfte.com/users/thewiz427/index.html|"Wiz's Place"]

 

I made one with interchangable barrels from 1 inch to 2-1/2 inches
uses a 4 inch clean out about 10 inches long for the chamber and a gas BBQ igniter for ignition. mine unscrews into 4 or 5 pieces so its just old plumbing parts behind the seat of the truck. Not really sure about the legality of this thing here in canada, but it's fun.
If you wad up a bit of wet newspaper and put it in the barrel first, you can get one of these things to shoot almost anything.... great for making an 1/8 mile cast when your fishing, or blasting partridge guts at your friend in his Toyota when your hunting....
My favorite propellant is either lysol or Tame hairspray.
WD-40 used to work great, but they did something to it a few years ago and it isnt the same any more

 

Black powder.

I have seen a device that used black powder. It was set up so that it looked like a anti-aircraft gun. Complete with shields. I had the chance to get it but where I live now I have no room for it. At the bottom of end of the barrel was the spot to put your ignitor. Simply hit it with a hammer and WHOOOOOM!! It was good to launch stuff 1/2 mile.

Black powder gets expensive real quick when you start trying to move things that weigh a little more then billard *****.

As far as the post about spud guns being dangerous. They are. So when you glue one together - glue it well.

 

I live such a sheltered life....You guys are all a BIT crazy!
BTW, in the World Record book, it lists somebody as shooting a pumpkin 1,496 YARDS! with an air cannon...

 

Hey bud, I like to have fun with things that go bang. I just think that this is a very dangerous toy. Try stuffing a rabbit hole in a cliff full of dynomite and then shooting at the charge with a 30-06. You'll know when you hit it Yes, I like things that go bang.

 

Simpler, and slightly safer -

2 inch, or 2.5 inch PVC for spuds. Find a PVC pipe that fits a racket ball fairly tight and you have something that's easier to explain if the cops come...

Cap one end, and then drill the cap, thread it, and epoxy an air line coupling to it (Yep - cheap to use too ). Alternatively 3/8's inch hole with a piece of threaded tubing allows you to screw it onto an air nozzle!

Squirt a bit of oil or tranny fluid around the sides before ramming the ball down it with a mop handle and you can rain racket ***** down all over the neighborhood!


http://greywolf.clubfte.com/headbanger.gif
Yeah-yeah!!!

 

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/

Guys, I too have a potato cannon and it is a lot of fun. But we've got pea shooters compared to these guys!! A pumpkin shot 3881 feet !!!

Check it out!

Brian A

OBTQ: unscented Aqua Net hairspray is great!

 

Aerosol furniture polish works really well too. Look for the cheapest stuff with the most warning labels

 

When I worked for BigOil, the Drilling department built a gun out of 2-7/8" production tubing. Every morning Drilling would raise the flag and then shoot a tennis ball over the Production department's office. Man those Production guys hated that! LOL!