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Projectile cannons

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MyRidzPhucked

20+ Year Contributor
932
0
Mar 1, 2003
QuebecCanada
Anyone have the BEST and SAFEST way to make a potato cannon, and what ignition should i use? psi or hair spray/wd40?

mostly going to be used at work on break, i do have access to a compressor, but would like the conveniance of having a prtable cannon...

war stories also encouraged :D :thumb:
 
With our hairspray guns, it's got the cool "fire" thing, but the air powered gun shoots farther. On the other hand, it's a hassle to always go back to the air compressor when it's time to refill it. It all depends on what you want to do with it. Oh, and neither is safe - that's why their fun.
 
I used to have one that used I think it was a 2" pvc barrel, about 2.5-3' long the pvc adapter to go from 2" to like 4" and a 4" pvc t section the t was threaded, and we had two threaded caps. We used a standard barbecue lighter for ignition, we drilled a hole in one of the caps just big enought to mount the igniter, and mounted that on the 90 deg portion of the t. Solidly glue everything together except for the cap at the end which you will want to be able to remove by hand. we also put a bolt through the barrel at the bottom to prevent the potato from going down too far. I will say use at your own risk, but we never had a Problem with ours.
 
LOL, now here is a thread i can jive with. before dsms poetatoe cannons and similar shit dominated my life. the safest and most powerful are air cannons, i have made two of those. they arnt much mor complicated and can #### shit up. pm me for more details, ill tell you everything you want to knwo
 
:D :D not sure what you guys are doing wrong making the spud guns(or how air could be more powerful)but i have made 2 that were fired using stp starting fluid.
2" pipe 4' long w/a 8"x10" chamber reinforced with fiberglass(stuff you would patch a boat with)
i used a propane piezo sparker with 3 internal striker points(gaurantee ignition)
now these things were focking insane.they shot so hard that it would rip from your hands if you did not have a good grip.the first time we shot it the spud went farther than i care to admit.i shot a metal trash can from about 15' away and it torn through it.at 25' it would pass through 1/4 plywood(it was old weathered plywood but still :D )
by the way,to get the right distance from the chamber(about 4" from the chamber)
cut a piece of pvc that is the right length and cap the ends
also use red spuds(harder)
 
I followed the instructions from the Spudgun Technology Center (sgtc.org I think)... wrapped a Tootsie Roll pop in a sock and fired it for the first time in my garage... splintered the thick ass garage door. You can still see where I unsuccessfully tried to spackle it.

Also took off my lower eyelash and burned my eyebrow quite nicely (good thing I wear glasses). Keep it safe.
 
www.rdx-page.com/spudgun.html

My website. :)

Oh, and with the gun that's shown on that page, I've launched a large potato over 300 yards. MAPP gas + Oxygen = FUN.

Also, thought I'd mention that the nozzle setup on that page is rather unsafe. It wasn't more than one time out that it spit a nozzle right out of the gun. The next time, I plan on tapping the ABS with a proper NPT tap, JB-Welding them in place, then attaching a nut on the inside of the barrell.

Another note: DO NOT try to run fuel and oxygen in the same line. If you compress fuel and oxygen in a rubber line, it WILL self-ignite.

Ask me how I know. ;)
 
my first air cannon was pretty slick, only about 5 feet long cause the barrel was mostly inside the pressure chamber. it used a rubber diafram for operation. that thing was insane, we fired cloriene pelets through inch ply wood, and it just made a perfect hole. firing floresent tubes are awsome too, cause they look like they just disapear into the wall.
 
dsm5150 said:
:D :D not sure what you guys are doing wrong making the spud guns(or how air could be more powerful)but i have made 2 that were fired using stp starting fluid.
2" pipe 4' long w/a 8"x10" chamber reinforced with fiberglass(stuff you would patch a boat with)
i used a propane piezo sparker with 3 internal striker points(gaurantee ignition)
now these things were focking insane.they shot so hard that it would rip from your hands if you did not have a good grip.the first time we shot it the spud went farther than i care to admit.i shot a metal trash can from about 15' away and it torn through it.at 25' it would pass through 1/4 plywood(it was old weathered plywood but still :D )
by the way,to get the right distance from the chamber(about 4" from the chamber)
cut a piece of pvc that is the right length and cap the ends
also use red spuds(harder)

i love the idea of the fiberglass, i've never heard of it before. sounds like a large nesessity more than anything, i've heard some horror stories....

thanks for the info guys :thumb:
 
its fun but be very careful(insert liability form)i used the fiber glass cause i didnt trust the abs glue to hold it together.
 
abs isnt the best idea, you realy should use pvc and its glue, and for god sakes let it dry full day, i got trigger happy one day and endded up shooting the barrel threw the rest of the cannon like 20 yards.
 
Sorry, but ABS is def. a better choice. If you're going to be firing in the winter, ABS is essential. Instead of shattering when pressurized (when cold), is flexes, so it's stronger. I just can't find any ABS at the local hardware stores, so I had to settle for PVC. :cry:

Edit: I don't know what this fiberglass talk is. You use ABS glue on ABS pipe, PVC glue on PVC pipe, and fiberglass... not on a potato gun.
 
i've actualy got one in the corner of my room right now....i don't use anything fancy for propellant...just aquanet extra super hold hairspray
 
thekellbeast said:
Sorry, but ABS is def. a better choice. If you're going to be firing in the winter, ABS is essential. Instead of shattering when pressurized (when cold), is flexes, so it's stronger. I just can't find any ABS at the local hardware stores, so I had to settle for PVC. :cry:

110% agreed.

I put 500 rounds through mine before it failed due to my own modifications (the pipe itself didn't fail, it just spit out a brass fitting from the combustion chamber). I fired it in the winter when it's 20* outside and in the summer when it was 90*.

The PVC-based one my roommate-at-the-time built splintered into shrapnel the first time we took it out in 40* weather.

Also, when ABS fails, it splits, it doesn't shatter. ABS, for the most part, is 300% more resistant to shock than PVC (there are exceptions to this, but not for the stuff you can get at Home Depot.) It doesn't handle pure pressure as well, (which is why they're not usually used for pneumatic cannons) but it will handle the pressure wave and shock of an air/fuel cannon much better.
 
my main chamber was bigger than most,thats why i used the fiberglass.plus i take it camping and it added a little bit more duribility to it.thats all.abs is the only way to go.i have been making these for close to 10 years.i also like to use the igniters used on propane stoves.a little more money but you can run a wire to the opposite side for a dual spark set up.and try using starting fluid,that stuff is FUN :thumb:
 
i like my small compressor style gun. I am able to swap different size barrels with it. I have shot all sorts of things including marbles, jelly beans, peaces of potato, golf balls and what not. Just buy a whole bunch of different size barrels and the reducers to get it to fit to the ball valve piece.
 
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