OOH-RAH!!!!

Well - i have desired one since 6th grade and i have finally made one: A Potato Cannon AKA Squirrel-Bane.

i have never seen one shot til i fired mine and i never thought it would work but man oh man ....

Tale of the First Shot:
after completion i stuffed paper towels in it (so it wouldn't go far) and walked around to the backyard. aiming it in a safe direction i meekly pressed the ignition button. the gun lurched back and issued a 6inch conicle flame. the sound it made as it went off was enough to wake the dead. IT WAS LOUD! With a big OOH-RAH!!! i started laughing uncontrolably.



Pefecting the Beast:
Well after a few shots i realized that the barrel was way too long so i shortened it to about 18in.

A new chamber was made and the starter was placed nearer to the endcap. by doing this i make maintnence easier and increase odds of ignition.


Problems found and solved in the building process:

Everyone i saw online had held parts together with glue- Why? I found that if you use screws the hold is just as strong and now the gun may be disassembled and tinkered with.

now this could prove faulty but i really see no way you could be hurt any worse than if the other way were used. time will tell....


Lessons Learned(I hope) :

1. when assembling do not "test" the chamber by closing up one end and adding hairspray and then stuffing your lit- bic holding hand in the open end. The sound you will hear is not worth the pain that you shall receive- trust me , I KNOW!

2. NEVER EVER EVER EVER look down the[only btw] open end of a chamber after a dud and ,as if in a daze, repeatedly press the switch. you only validate darwin's theory by acting in this manner. In my case the copious spray just needed a bit more air. the force of the blast literaly knocked my head back and left me like whily coyote after a acme blast.


I cant wait til tomarow to see what she can really do!


/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

2:

thomas, that's my special gremlin! sasha said so /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

very nice elessar! i've always wanted to make one of those...

thanks roth!
its easy to make - took me 20 min

Hehe...I found this hobby long ago. Now it's a business...
http://spudlauncher.com/
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/naughty.gif
Did you happen to find that before? You'd be amazed how many people come looking for those per day...several hundred! I've actually had people tell me about my website not knowing it was mine... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

I would be concerned the cannon could backfire due to the PVC cracking around the screws. Be careful.

First rule of firearms us. Never, never point a weapon toward anyone even when unloaded. This also means don't point it at yourself. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif

Without glue I don't think you'll get a good seal.

As a long time spudgun experimentor, I can assure you that you are FLIRTING WITH DISASTER if you use only screws. The glue seals 360 degrees, and does not cause stress risers. By drilling holes for screws you have compromised the strength to a dangerous degree. The pressures that build up can exceed 300 PSI, and if that thing blows you WILL get injured. Some guys wrap an old cut-off Levis jean leg around the whole mess to contain the schrapnel should it fracture. Take my warning seriously!

That said, the optimum barrel length is around 33". Any less than about 28~30 will make more noise and less power. I get about 300+ yards from launch till it hits the ground with about a shot about 30 degrees off the horizon. At lake Havasu, a shot straight up in the air goes out of sight and takes several seconds to hit the water. These are not toys, and can easily kill someone at close range.

BE CAREFUL!

Also be sure that the local gendarmery (Cops) don't see this... as as far as I know it is considered a dangerous weapon (as well it should be!).

Thet are damn hip when they go off!

ok ill glue it

[ QUOTE ]
PlayboyJoeShmoe said:
Also be sure that the local gendarmery (Cops) don't see this... as as far as I know it is considered a dangerous weapon (as well it should be!).

Thet are damn hip when they go off!



[/ QUOTE ]

As far as the US is concerned, potato guns are prefectly legal and are not considered weapons, however, certain local areas have their own laws against them.

Cool Stuff!!
I'm still laughing from A's original post /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Tom

[ QUOTE ]
zmoz said:

As far as the US is concerned, potato guns are prefectly legal and are not considered weapons, however, certain local areas have their own laws against them.

[/ QUOTE ]

they arn't " firearms " but they can be weapons, depending on how they are used. If you hurt someone with one you are going to be in big troubble.

I have a pnumatic one that is breach loaded.

[ QUOTE ]
CNC Dan said:
[ QUOTE ]
zmoz said:

As far as the US is concerned, potato guns are prefectly legal and are not considered weapons, however, certain local areas have their own laws against them.

[/ QUOTE ]

they arn't " firearms " but they can be weapons, depending on how they are used. If you hurt someone with one you are going to be in big troubble.

I have a pnumatic one that is breach loaded.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, yes, but the same is true with a fork...or even...dare I say...an Arc flashlight... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

They built a spud gun on the "Screensavers" on Tech TV tonight!

Make one in CA, and I think you go to prison! Dump some dry ice in a 2L pop bottle and definately! I was visiting friends in Iowa and saw one fired /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif . He described hitting a siloh with a conical top which was covered in snow. Pretty spectacular when it uncovered. I have a 10+' pneumatic cannon in my garage which fires Budweisers at up to 500psi with CO2. Lead-filled tennis balls.....
So far I haven't had to mail that "receiver" outta state, though the single-shot.50BMG may have to go shortly.

Larry

visiting friends in iowa?!

boy, this had better been before you came to cpf /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/twak.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Uh, Larry, don't you need three hunting licenses to use a .50? (One for the state you are in, one for the state the game is in, and one for the state between those two.) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I used to make "polish cannons" (that's what we called them) out of steel pop cans, duct tape, cigerette lighter fluid, and tennis balls. If I remember right, all of the cans would be opened at each end except the very bottom one. Then the cans are taped together, and a small hole is punched in the bottom side of the lowermost can.

Squirt some lighter fluid in through the hole. Sqirt some on the tennis ball and light it if you want a "tracer" round. (This is a fire hazard in most areas!)
Drop the tennis ball down the business end of the cannon. Then, use a lighter or match to set fire to the lighter fluid you squirted in earlier, and pray it doesn't simply blow up instead of firing correctly. With a little bit of luck, the tennis ball should fire with a whoomp! sound, and sail really far away. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Then you can reload and do it again and again and again...until you run out of tennis balls or lighter fluid or if the cans blow up. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Aaahhh yes, potato guns! I made mine from heavy-duty black ABS. 4" combustion chamber app. 25" long, 2" dia. barrel app. 35" long, and definitely sharpen the end (I thought I was the only one who did that). I use a flint-type lighter (piezo-electric ignitors were not easily available at the time) from a coleman lantern, placed near the middle of the chamber. I have found that aqua-net plain hairspray works the best (4-5 second sprays), and this has been confirmed by many others I know. I have seen this gun shoot a potato well over 400 yards. Quite a pyro display at night, too! We used this at a friend's house to chase the deer away from his garden which was well below his house (he lived at the top of a pretty good-sized hill), and it was fun to launch those potatos across the valley he lived in (all the way across! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ooo.gif )!

I do not condone the use of potato guns, and any information you have learned from me is used at your own risk! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

PS - small Mexican limes work even better than potatos in these. If you can find some that will fit into the barrel, they seal better and fly farther because of their smooth skin (try not to break the skin when loading).