I have been searching the internet to see if I can find where someone has built a cannon like what I have in mind. So far, I have found a few that were close, but none that were just what I would want. Here are the criteria that I am looking for.
COMPACTNESS. I want it small enough and light enough that it isn't overly burdensome to carry along with other equipment for extended periods of time. I think a design with the barrel inside the pressure chamber and a piston valve might work best for this. Or a short barrel with a relatively short pressure chamber configured in-line.
SPEED. I want it to have a triggered valve that will dump air into the barrel quickly. The faster the valve opens, the lower the pressure required to launch the load. A hand operated ball valve is simply not fast enough unless the shooter sacrifices accuracy to slap the valve open as quickly as possible. Sprinkler valves work fairly well, but are still somewhat bulky when using a 2" bore cannon. If only someone made a 1/4" sprinker valve!
AIR SOURCE. I don't want to have to use or carry a seperate air source to power it if there is another way. My idea on this is to mount a good quality bicycle pump to it. They now make bicycle pumps that will pump up to 135 psi, far more than required to shoot a 2" foam rocket. If a CO2 source is used, I would want it mounted in-line with the pressure chamber, and regulated so as to automatically repressurize the chamber to the proper psi after the valve closes.
Cosmetics. Not as important, but it does need to look kind of cool and realistic. I prefer the look of a LAW.
Any more suggestions?
COMPACTNESS. I want it small enough and light enough that it isn't overly burdensome to carry along with other equipment for extended periods of time. I think a design with the barrel inside the pressure chamber and a piston valve might work best for this. Or a short barrel with a relatively short pressure chamber configured in-line.
SPEED. I want it to have a triggered valve that will dump air into the barrel quickly. The faster the valve opens, the lower the pressure required to launch the load. A hand operated ball valve is simply not fast enough unless the shooter sacrifices accuracy to slap the valve open as quickly as possible. Sprinkler valves work fairly well, but are still somewhat bulky when using a 2" bore cannon. If only someone made a 1/4" sprinker valve!
AIR SOURCE. I don't want to have to use or carry a seperate air source to power it if there is another way. My idea on this is to mount a good quality bicycle pump to it. They now make bicycle pumps that will pump up to 135 psi, far more than required to shoot a 2" foam rocket. If a CO2 source is used, I would want it mounted in-line with the pressure chamber, and regulated so as to automatically repressurize the chamber to the proper psi after the valve closes.
Cosmetics. Not as important, but it does need to look kind of cool and realistic. I prefer the look of a LAW.
Any more suggestions?
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