...and this thing is like a freaking CANNON!. I contructed it from 3-inch SCH-40 PVC for the combustion chamber and 1/5-inch PVC for the barrel at a ratio of about 1.4:1 (Combustion chamber to barrel volume). 18-inches of 3-inch PVC Combustion chamber to about 42-inches for the barrel. I've found that Aquanet is the perfect propellant, and a re-constructed BBQ starter/paper clip is a great trigger. I shot it at some lawn furniture and completely blew it to pieces. I don't know if these things are legal or not but man, are they fun. Barry, if you use chum in any of your fishing adventures, boy do I have the perfect delivery system for you.
People here actually use something like that to shoot chum upcurrent so that it drifts back under the boat as it sinks. They use compress air though. Aqua net is sticky, but it does work good. For a real bang mix in a little shot of pure oxygen. Oh, and wear safety glasses if you do that.
We used to have potato gun fights, from about 100yds, so as to not really have to worry about hurting someone. We used 3" with a 4" adapter, then about 6" of sch40 4" then cap it with a 4" clean out, with the screw out top. Took a coleman gas grill replacement ignitor as the switch, just screwed a hole in the square part of the clean out cap. Mop handle 'loader' and aquanet. My friends dad owned a plumbing company and we would wreak havoc on the field of port-a-potties he had out at their shop. Something about that 'FOOOOONNK' sound as the potato comes out, and the 2ft of flame that follows it.
when I had the Liquid O2 Dewar for glassworking, i made a melon Mortar. worked great, almost got e arrested
Cannons are always cool. Something that can fire a bowling ball. Propane for propelint and electric model rocket igniter for safty.
thats basically what i made, but a bowling ball is a cannon ball. I used a lean mix of propane oxygen, with a torch igniter from a GTT It wasn't really mobile, unless you wanted to dig a hole, and i only fired it twice, but I only found one remnant of a melon, 400 yards away in this womans front yard. Needless to say, she called the police
Your grampa sounds pretty cool. Mine made 'zip' guns as a kid, then he was in a mortar crew in germany and france. So he kinda got burned out on blowing shit up..... I made a zip gun once, but it never worked right. Probably a good thing.
I have wanted to make one of those for years. I couls see myself pushing the limit with more explosive combustables. Be carefull if you decide to take it farther with faster burn chemicals with higher combustion think about figuring out optimal barrel length for a given rate of burn. I'd be onehandedjoe instead of the veritable icon of logic I am if I had one of those for very long. Of course the bike is already like putting a moth in front of a flame. I hope to survive to pay it off then count my blessings.
Kill me on my bike and make it look like an accident, blow my hand off with a potato gun and make it look like an accident, or build a potato gun?
Ive got an idea..... Everybody builds there own type of launcher. Then joe comes down the road on his bike and whoever shoots him off the bike with a potato wins! ;D vvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmm -chick -vvvvvvvvvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmm FOOONK Puirkt AHHHHHH SCCCCRERRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEECH Boom. It would be fun as long as joe didnt get seriously hurt or anything.... ;D
Hey I got a helment. That was a cool website Dis I like that kind of stuff. My old favorite is hackaday.com
