Potato guns.

[PIE!]

OK i was looking on google for some good designs and many of the plans I've seen aren't really that great. Anyone here have some ideas? Pics?

[Eyespicks]

betcha didn't expect that
But seriously
Ive wanted to make one with a metal gas chamber. I always get finicky when loading the fuel because I've heard of stories of PVC exploding and spewing shards of plastic into everyones face. Potato guns are dangerous for stupid people. Safety should always be your first priority. If your dead how can you blow other shit up and take over the world, unless you deserved it in which case everyone else is thankful your dead.

[BlackZodiac]

OK i was looking on google for some good designs and many of the plans I've seen aren't really that great. Anyone here have some ideas? Pics?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Air-Rifle/?comments=all

There's a picture for you.

[pyr0]

I just searched youtube and found a good one that works really well. Except a few days ago, my friend shot it and the back end flew off, and there was fire coming out the back.

[Eyespicks]

Thats what I'm talking about man, safety. Just make sure your fittings are airtight, your sealant is dry, and you have the right amount of fuel

[x-Shadow-x]

ah I made one ill see if I can get a few pics.

[PIE!]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Air-Rifle/?comments=all

There's a picture for you.

Why, Thank You! Never heard of that instructables place either... yay :)

Also i don't trust youtube cuz people can post whatever they want, and it might be, well, shit.

[ww3sabitur]

back yard balistiks can be found at most book stores

[PIE!]

WTF? book stores? they actually sell shit like that at bookstores? DAOMN gotta pick me up that mo-fuckin' book

[ww3sabitur]

its not all that good for bombs but it is good for cannons and fire kites and its legal to own

[SniperHunter]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=f9WVFdlN0Qo

That is a pretty good vid I found off youtube.

[PIE!]

Like I said, I don't really trust Utube for things like this. I was hoping to get a bit from experience, but that A'ight :p

[Chode_Warrior]

if u want, i can post some pics of my potatoe cannon. If i feel like it, i mite even scan the book where i got the instructions from and post them up as well. I'm waiting for my camera's battery to charge....



Edit: 150th post.... nigga

[PIE!]

I can't wait to see. I've been wanting to build one for awhile now but I'm not good with technical things. My first thing that I made which used a projectile was a rubber band and Y-shaped twig slingshot.

[bladeninja16]

I say instead of making a potato cannon. that you get smaller pvc for the barrel and shoot golf balls.

[Buddha]

Why is this in weapons?

[PIE!]

1: Where else would it go?
2: It uses a projectile, and can be harmful (if you shoot really big potatoes, really really fast, that hurts!) so therefore it is considered a weapon and therefore belongs in the thread
3: There's some other guy who posted something about a homemade crossbow, so go figure. I'm assuming by weapons it doesn't mean ONLY guns.

[Deuce_Biggs]

PIE, please specify if you'd like a potato gun that uses some kind of fuel, or explosive to propel it, or if you want an air pressure type of launch.

[PIE!]

I thought that technically all potato guns use air pressure. Screw that I'm going with fuel.

[gunsmoke]

My friend has a pretty kick ass potato gun. Its the basic; a bunch of pvc pipe, glued together in the shape of a long barrel gun. A three pipe connecter in the middle to serve as the fuel chamber, a large pipe connected to one end of that for the barrel, a short pipe connected to the bottom of the T for the handle and trigger house and a removable cap at the port directly accross from the barrel. Inserted into the handle and going into the fuel chamber is one of those peizo electric grill igniters. The wires are run into the fuel chamber so that the spark takes place at the bottom right in the middle. The back cap is unskrewed and the fuel is put in. Put the cap back on and fire. With the size pipe my friend used, the barrell isnt quite big enough to fit a whole potato, so we usually end up cutting plugs and when we have the right fuel mixture and the potato plug is cut just right so that its air tight, the thing has one hell of a kick and send that potato flying. We have also used organes, apples, a whole bunch of fruit and a small styrofoam ball we cut in half and filled with BB's. That one was awesome, but we made the first one too heavy and the explosion couldnt push it out, so the back cap blew off and nailed my friend right in the side. It was actually really funny. So far the trickyest thing has been trying to find that perfect fuel. It hasnt really come to us yet, but what we are now is good. We have been using just some generic carb and choke cleaner. Problem is, the stuff is so flamable that the right fuel to air mixture is hard to get,and if we put too much in, it doesnt go off and we have to do what we have been calling a "purge" and opening the back and letting it flame out before readjusting the mix. I have lost so many arm hairs to that its not even funny. Any suggestions for a better propellant would be great. We used to use WD40, but it wasnt powerful enough, hence the Carb cleaner.

[Deuce_Biggs]

Well, I've heard of potato cannons, I'll check with my friend when he gets back from the bahamas, but I'm pretty sure he has one he used.

This is what I would imagine.

Take a pipe, whatever diameter you want, run a hose to the end of the pipe, all steel and all sealed. Have a tank. Seperate the tank and pipe by a K-valve (other valves will release the air too slowly) Rig a lawnmower engine to an aircompressor to a valve to the tank. Pressurize the tank, load your pipe, open the valve, and let fly.

[PIE!]

if you have the air compressor in place, what do you need the lawnmower engine?

[Deuce_Biggs]

You could get more power on a lawnmower engine to turn the aircompressor than say, the actual air compressor. 5hp(my lawnmower) - 1.5 (usual air compressor)

[ww3sabitur]

or look on EW i posted some plans there

[gunsmoke]

if you have the air compressor in place, what do you need the lawnmower engine?

Pretty much absolulty nothing is what Im guessing. Anyway, im not really hot on the idea of air pressure. There is too much room for error in the construction. Balistics are a little more forgiving, albeit more dangerous than air. I have tried air powered, but explosions, as always, give the most satisfying resluts. Pics of the gun I was talking about in the previous post are going to be up soon, so keep an eye out for them!

[camaro]

ive made one outta PVC and used propane and it did not explode idk if that happened cuz im lucky or what but its pretty dam loud and it will knocku on ur ass

[gunsmoke]

ive made one outta PVC and used propane and it did not explode idk if that happened cuz im lucky or what but its pretty dam loud and it will knocku on ur ass

Damn dude, propane. Thats crazy shit. Im guessing your probably just really lucky, but i would fire that thing so that the cap will come off away from you. Lol. Got a distance for farthest shot? Tell me more about the propane. What all do you do, stuff like that. Please. Id like to try that.

[ww3sabitur]

starter flued

[xavix]

I highly suggest backyard ballistcs, it has a very good detailed chapter on how to build a hairspray-powered potato cannon which is approximatly 5' tall when on its end, and is ignited by manual (not electric) lantern ignitor, and can fire a potato about 250 yards.

[PIE!]

what if you put an electric igniter anyway :)

[tutelo5570vcs]

Make your gun, and instead of air compressors or shit like that,use cheap hairspray. Three one second squirts of that is enough. On you endcap for the fuel chamber, have a Coleman lantern sparker. I've made three or for of these and none of them have blown up. Farthest shot was about 200yds.

[MetalMSTR]

use oust or lisol is relatively cheap and have no residuals like the hairspray
i have one
the ignitor is a piezo from a chinese ligther but it alwais broke im thinking in makina electrolitic condesator in paralel to make he spark with a batery and a pulseswitch
other thing you can use a pcfan in the chamber to mix the fuel with the air and have a better combustion

[turtle_what_the_f]

OK i was looking on google for some good designs and many of the plans I've seen aren't really that great. Anyone here have some ideas? Pics?

i made one that shoots 250+ yards with aquanet

http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/10/make_a_spud_gun_1.html

i did that, but turned the taser sideways to make it like a trigger

[numerator-91]

i believe that member is long gone.
remember kids, don't necro post

[twenglish1]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=f9WVFdlN0Qo

That is a pretty good vid I found off youtube.

this is the exact potato cannon i built it will shoot a potato over 2000 yards (about 1 mile) with just about a five second spray of aerosol hairspray in the chamber i have my drawings and stuff i made for it i can post them if you want

[dr pyro]

go to www.spudfiles.com, the best site for making cannons. as for what type u should make i would suggest an pneumatic over a combustion it jst a few more peices and a little more expensive but safer and if u got an air gauge attached then u can monitor the air pressure so theres less chance of it blowing up in ur face.

[GunMetal]

A patato gun ? Are we talking about, press the barrell into a potato, potato gun ? :S

[termanat252]

A patato gun ? Are we talking about, press the barrell into a potato, potato gun ? :S

no we are talking about press the potato into the barel potatogun. its also called the muzzle loading spud gun. what your thinking of is a pnuematic (or air powered) spudgun. they are extre***y hard to make right.

[oros]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Air-Rifle/?comments=all

There's a picture for you.

I thought of the same.
The first "DIY" on a potato gun where there.