Oh my gawd what have I done...

[Butterfingers]

I decided to make a potato cannon to quelch my boredom... It was an abstract idea and it ended up working really well.

Introducing the worlds first ultra high pressuure pnumatic potato cannon.

The chamber is made out of high strength carbon steel piping and a 1 1/2 in stainless steel ball valve to handle the 800-1000psi max pressure. Approx volume is 40ci. this will act as a dump chamber.

The barrel is 5 feet of 1.5 in diameter schedule 40 330 psi rated PVC piping. All attached together in a linear fasion. Just like an automag without the bolt.

The valve lever is hooked up to a spring loaded actuator designed to slam open the valve as fast as possible.

The Power Source is a 3000psi air america raptor tank. lasts about 8-10 shots BAH. Going 20 lb co2 soon.

PROBLEMS:

I have to fix my tool shed now cause the POTATO blew a hole through the door. 1/2 inch plywood. Albeit slightly weathered. Potato vaporized.

HORRIBLY innefficent. Should be fixed when I get a bulk co2 tank.

Leaked like a sieve. FIXED heh nothing like 2 bottles of loctite red to seal things together.

Computerized results:

I put the figues through a FPS calculator. Given the weight of the projectile, the pressure of the cannon. The size of the dump chamber the length of the barrel and other such fun figures the computer calculated my muzzle velocity to be over 1200 FPS!!! Yep actually faster than a speeding bullet.

im scared...

[Cliffio]

take some pics of this monster

[Butterfingers]

here ya go

[Butterfingers]

pictures

[Restola]

please dont aim that at ohio.... :)

[CRiZO]

AHAHAHAHA dude thats freakin awesome.... i think there should be a potato cannon contest.

[SoupRman]

be careful man. that soudns really crazy. but fun :D

[Cliffio]

Originally posted by Restola
please dont aim that at ohio.... :)

BAHAHAHA

good call

ohio or big hole in the ground:)

Soup- nice piece man

[vf-xx]

can you make plans and shopping instructions? :)

[Butterfingers]

I don't have anything drawn out I sketched it out in my head while pacing back and forth in the plumbing isle in home depot, the salesmen were looking at me funny... :)

Just give me some time for detailed plans. Pretty much self explainatory ask if you have questions. Just think of how an automag works with a huge valve in place of a bolt and the regulator on the tank instead of integrated. Its nearly identical.

and... I am not responsible for any actions or consequences that might occour as a result of you building this. :)

[Army]

You are absolutely crazy to build and fire that thing...............that's why I love ya!

[Smoken]

That's awesome. Just awesome. As I think of the wide open field next to my house a thought comes to mind: How far will that sucker launch a potato or whatever? And don't make me do the physics on it, I just got done with an exam today.

[Smoken]

My curiosity got to me, so I did the math anyway. Assuming your figure of 1200fps muzzle speed is accurate and without air resistance, this thing would launch a potato 7.34 miles when launched at an angle 30* above horitontal. Due to air resistance we could only hope to achiev a fraction of this distance. But still, WWOOOOWWWW!!!

[udtseal]

HAHA!!!!!! Hey, Aim it at my college then maybe I wont have to go there anymore!!!! HAH!! :D

[Hexis]

I wonder if it recharges faster than a WDP reg.

[wyn1370]

how much kick does that thing have?

[Thordic]

How much did that thing cost you in parts? THe metal end anyway...

Do you realize that a 1200 fps potato breaks the sound barrier? :)

You have invented the first Mach 1 Potato Gun :)

[BTAutoMag]

good god i am laughing so hard right now. a mach one potato. you have got to stick some instructions up. ive gotta build be a morter launcher.
fille a balloon with paint and put it in a cardboard cilinder and launch it into a wall and see what happens. then take pictures. you could have the first supersonic paintball cannon. stick that on the hellhound tippmann...:D

[joeyjoe367]

POST INSTRUCTIONS!POST INSTRUCTIONS!POST INSTRUCTIONS!!!!

Now, if we could borrow some tank shells from Army....*evil grin*

[clockworkmiller]

Umm, I dont mean to be the naysayer, seeing as how that is by far the coolest thing Ive seen on this forum to date, but...

Would a patato be dense enough to remain in one piece with that much air pressure hitting it?

Since its a boom acceleration as my fisix teacher likes to call it, it starts at rest and is suddenly hit with all this energy, I would imagine you'd be shooting mashed potatoes out the other end.

Then again, I hope Im wrong.

My friends and I are gonna be putting something similar together using our spare 20oz liquid tanks. We figure 4 of those wired together should get some amazing pressure, and the expansion rate should be safe enough so we wont have to worry about our chosen projectile (still under debate, but the leading idea is the tippman squadbuster).

When we finish it, I'll be sure to post our mortar cannon on here.

[cphilip]

Slap a piece of half inch mesh hardware cloth over the end and Boom! Ooodles of French Fries! if you can find em... :)

[the JoKeR]

I'm no lawyer, and have no intentions of being one, and hate to rain on parades, but one word: caution. Mainly with the plans for one. I wouldn't be surprised if lawsuits could be directed towards the originator of the plans. With that said, I'd LOVE to see that thing in action! How 'bout some pics of the damage??

[ThePatriot]

That is no doubt one of the nicest things i have hmmmm....EVER seen, u gotta get us pics of the damage that mother does....dam, just dam

[Thordic]

Couple things -

1) I don't think potato guns are legal anywhere, so thats kinda a given.

2) You could use 40 CO2 tanks, and you'd still only get 800 PSI.

3) If you made ice shells for this gun, you could probably launch them a good couple miles. Of course, they'd land like an artillery round. I'd bet an ice projectile for this gun would go straight through a car roof :)

For anyone who doesnt understand how to make ice projectiles for potato guns, well, its rather easy :)

[synreal]

<pre> DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
Washington, DC 20226
E:CE:F:TE:RAT
Sep 12 1995 3311.4

Mr. XXXXXXXXX
address...
City, State Zip

Dear Mr. XXXXXXXXX

This refers to your letter of August 18, 1995, in which you ask about
the legality of a device known as the &quot;Spud Gun.&quot;

These subject devices are generally constructed from PVC tubing and
fittings and are designed to launch a muzzle loaded potato using aerosol
hair spray or other type of propellant. Ignition is by means of some
type of &quot;spark&quot; igniter.

The Bureau has previously examined devices known as &quot;Spud Guns, Potato
Guns, or Spudzookas&quot; and have determined that such devices, in and of
themselves, are not firearms as defined in Title 18 United States Code
(U.S.C.), Chapter 44, S 921(a)(3) or 26 U.S.C., Chapter 53, S 5845.

However, any similar devices which can be determined to be weapons by
reason of their design construction, intended use, actual use,
ammunition or other factors may meet the definition of a firearm under
Title 18 or 26 U.S.C.

We suggest that you contact your State and local law enforcement
authorities concerning possession of such devices.

We trust that the foregoing has been responsive to your inquiry. If we
may be of further assistance please contact us.

Sincerely yours,

Edward M. Owen, Jr.
Chief, Firearms Technology Branch
</pre>


some areas have bans/restrictions on them, but there is no nationwide law against such a device

good thing, because they are really freaking fun to set off

[Thordic]

THey called it a spudzooka! hahahahahahaha

[spacemanspiff]

:D Dude that thing is so kewl. I'm sittin here laughing my arse off. Potatos flyin all over the play. Hey look ita UFO no its a UPO (unidentified potato object):D :D

[rhetor22]

If he aims it at Ohio, there would be 5 million potatoes flying right back at him!

That thing is really awesome. How does it compare to an aerosol operated beast?

[FooTemps]

The air fired ones usually have been rumored to be more powerful... mach 1 potato!!!

[Butterfingers]

Originally posted by Thordic
How much did that thing cost you in parts? THe metal end anyway...

Do you realize that a 1200 fps potato breaks the sound barrier? :)

You have invented the first Mach 1 Potato Gun :)


The metal end excluding my tank cost less than 50 dollars. I had a lot of the 1/8 inch npt fittings from my paintball stuff. Carbon steel pipe is pretty darn cheap. The ball valve is the most expensive part. $21 on yellow tag special. The cables and parts used for the firing mechanism I had laying around in the toolshed, which ironicly has a hole in it now... :)

It should be pretty safe according to the pipe company normal guage steel pipe has a bursting pressure of around 4000-5000 psi.

[Butterfingers]

before i post anything i gotta work out the legalities... i dont want this coming back and shooting me in the bum...

[Thordic]

Hmm.. I could make it pretty easily.

What was the overall cost? Im wondering how much it would set me back in parts...

[BTAutoMag]

Originally posted by clockworkmiller
still under debate, but the leading idea is the tippman squadbuster

thank you that way my idea im glad someone saw the humor...
anyways my friend has an old scrap go cart and he started fixing it up today after school. we're going to try a swivel mounted paintball morter/potato launcher on top. if it works we're going to see about useing it for the senario game with william shatner. "warp speed mr. sulu and duck scotty thats a moch 1 paintball launcher."

[BTAutoMag]

btw i posted one of those pics as wallpaper on my comp

[Butterfingers]

Originally posted by Thordic
Hmm.. I could make it pretty easily.

What was the overall cost? Im wondering how much it would set me back in parts...


Less than 100

the ball valve is probably the most expensive part besides the tank.

[FooTemps]

Could you make a demi-version of it for firing foam peanuts? That would be funn....

[pumpamatic]

I think you need to rethink that velocity a lil bit. 1200 fps? The fastest shotgun loads shoot 1500 fps, and they only fire around 3/4 oz of shot. Now, you have a, lets say, quarter pound potato going the same speed as a pattern of shot. That small amount of shot has no trouble downing any small game out to 40+ yards. Assuming your spud gets there in one piece, your cannon could probably take out anything it strikes. I wouldn't mess around with power like that. Of course, no offense to you, but I believe that the real velocity of your potatoes is closer to that of maybe a daisy air rifle, somewhere between 500-700 fps. A slower velocity will also mean a lesser force, a lesser force means lesser injuries. It would be great to see the chronograph's reading of this velocity, and generally it will differ greatly, because of the inconsistency of the potatoes.

[Thordic]

Lesser injuries? Why the HELL would anyone aim a potato gun at a person? You shouldn't even THINK about aiming these things are people. High speed spuds are dangerous!

[Butterfingers]

3/4 inch particle board with formica laminate...

ENTER...


This was with a SMALL potato... It fit in the barrel without needing to be shaved.

[Butterfingers]

3/4 inch particle board with formica laminate...

EXIT


This was ONLY 600 psi.

[FeelTheRT]

my friends and i made a patato gun for a science fair proj, but we didn't use air... we used FIRE . we were shooting it off of my friend's roof but the recoil was so great that i almost fell off, heh it was a huge house, more liek a mansion really.

[ThePatriot]

You could bring that thing to afghanistan and fight with it. That slaughtered particle board so so badly, you could easily wipe out a regiment of troops with it....lol :D :D

[FooTemps]

Wow, that's a nice big hole in the particle board. How would we regulate this down to make a nice big paintball cannon? I mean BIG paintball cannon... It would be nice for a paintball tank. I literally mean tank to, not one of those go karts or fixed up cars, a fully enclosed paintball tank...

[Butterfingers]

Originally posted by FooTemps
Wow, that's a nice big hole in the particle board. How would we regulate this down to make a nice big paintball cannon? I mean BIG paintball cannon... It would be nice for a paintball tank. I literally mean tank to, not one of those go karts or fixed up cars, a fully enclosed paintball tank...


That would be pretty easy actually. I would just cut the reg to around 50 psi output.

[Jonno06]

I hate people who say paintballers are dangerous!BTW guess who has a new project for fun..errr...school?ME!I am goind to make a spudzooka.One that you hold,and push a button to fire.:D

[Sir. Foxalot]

Hey butterfingers id pay good money for a plan of it or if legality is an issue maybe a "Hint or two". My parents say i need a new hobby might as well be launching spuds:D

That pesky police helocopetr... j/k it would actually be really neet to see and play with it!!!!!!:D :D :D :)

[HoppysMag]

Draw up some plans and specs. My and my friend will make one. we could get our local feild owner to let us use it as stationary artillery. load it up with some paintballs and let it fly. aim at 60-70 degrees and fire! I can mount it on a golf cart!!!!! will that work of a 50lb co2 tank???


Spudzooka + paintballs + golf cart + 50lb CO2 tank = One Heck of a feild artillery cannon!

[Butterfingers]

Im not selling the plans, If I knew for sure I wouldent get in any trouble the plans would be free. But like everything else in this world nothing is for sure.

I will be answering questions though. So if you have a question ask away. I just don't want the ATF busting my door in or a bunch of lawyers slamming me with a box full of lawsuits.

Its real easy to make so look closely and ask for details, happy spudding. Make sure you use only high strength STEEL piping for the air chamber.

Just think a bunch of pipes attached to the valve with a 1/8 inch NPT fitting tapped into the back.

The rest is as easy as hooking up a paintball gun. Clue: there is nothing but an empty void (and lots of loctite) inside the pipes.

Once again I will be HAPPY to answer questions.

[Butterfingers]

more clues firing procedure:

1) Ram a potato down the barrel.

2) Cock the spring loaded ball valve so that it is in a closed position.

3) Blow the slide check so that the chamber fills. Takes a few seconds.

4) Aim.

5) Stand back and pull the "rip cord" attached to the valve release mechanism.

6) Examine damage caused by flying spud.

[Butterfingers]

Originally posted by HoppysMag
Draw up some plans and specs. My and my friend will make one. we could get our local feild owner to let us use it as stationary artillery. load it up with some paintballs and let it fly. aim at 60-70 degrees and fire! I can mount it on a golf cart!!!!! will that work of a 50lb co2 tank???


Spudzooka + paintballs + golf cart + 50lb CO2 tank = One Heck of a feild artillery cannon!

Yes it most definately will work off a 50 lb co2 tank. That was its original design intention when I thought it up. However the projectile speed would be somewhere around 900fps. You are gonna have to regulate that co2 down to about 50-100 psi for it to be safe.

[HoppysMag]

ya, i really have no need to shoot potato's or paintballs for that matter @900fps

[MagMan5446]

I will buy that off of you. I was going to build one for science, and this will save me all the time.

[Jonno06]

How about this....you put all the plans down,i will cocver my ears so that I can't here you.Then ill say i thought of it myself.Hear no evil,speak no evil,read evil!

[Butterfingers]

Originally posted by MagMan5446
I will buy that off of you. I was going to build one for science, and this will save me all the time.


I will cost you more than the cost of the cannon itself to ship it from NY to CA.

Heres another clue:

My completely unrelated Home Depot reciept.

2 in steel end cap
2x6 in steel nipple
2in - 1.5 in steel reducer fitting
1.5x2 in steel nipple
1.5 in brass/stainless ball valve.
Loctite red.
SCH 40 10x1.5 IN pvc piping
1.5in pvc thread fitting.

The rest of the stuff I had laying around. Next time I will keep you entertained with how to make a fast "water valve" opener. So that you can turn on your "faucets" really really fast.

[clockworkmiller]

I wouldnt suggest using PVC. If something goes wrong and it explodes, PVC shatters and creats shrapnal. You'll want tubing that splits, instead of shattering.

[spyderkiller]

Woohoo! I thought me and my friend john were the only crazy ones around! We have about 4 or 5 of those things laying around...Not quite as efficient as the raptor but we use a compressor so we never run out. This way its safe too because the compressor only fills the air chamber to around 60 psi so whatever we're shooting out of it isnt going terribly fast. We havent actually chronoed the things but they launch stuff pretty fast pretty far...about 300 fps id guess. we are eventually going to mount them on an old golf cart and turn it into a tank for scenario...its gonna be great.

[Butterfingers]

Originally posted by clockworkmiller
I wouldnt suggest using PVC. If something goes wrong and it explodes, PVC shatters and creats shrapnal. You'll want tubing that splits, instead of shattering.


The PVC is only for the barrel not the chamber. If I used it for the chamber it would DEFINATELY burst. I don't think at any point the potato will resist 330 psi of expanding pressure. Gasses always flow the path of least resistance (ie.) pushing the potato out of the barrel. At its maximum resistance this only equates to 20 lbs of pressure.

Using a steel barrel would require me to hone the welds out of the barrel to make it smooth.

[845]

You have to post the quicker faucet valve recipe quicker I damn near almost killed myself trying to brush my teeth. But I managed :D (<--see) It would be excellent if you get them soon or I might not be so lucky next time :rolleyes:

[845]

I have 9oz 20 oz 20 oz and a 16 oz tanks would i be able to use any of these? I dont really want to use my dad or my N2 systems. This is all about super powerful water pressure to get those hard to clean dishes.

[Butterfingers]

Yes, it would probably be more powerful. That hole in the particle board was caused by 550-600 psi regulated. Unregulated co2 is around 800-900 psi on a warm day. Just try to keep liquid out of the system.

Remember do this at your own risk. I am not responsible damage caused by mach 1 spuds or you dumping insane amounts of pressure into the chamber. If all of you can agree to that I have no problem posting more tips.

Also try to keep it below 800 psi it will give you a fair saftey margin.

[Thordic]

Ok, here is a diagram I drew up. I have nothing to do with Butterfingers, I drew this myself. A couple things to note:

First off, the parts in this thing are only rated at 400 PSI. I wouldn't go over 600 PSI or so if you plan on using it much :) My diagram also has a couple changes off Butterfingers design, and I'll explain:

First off, Home Depot doesn't seem to carry 1.5" ball valves, 1" was the biggest they had, so I shrunk the whole design by .5" to make everything match the valve.

That would have shrunk the dump chamber, so instead of using a 2" x 6" nipple, I used a 1.5" x 8" nipple. Its a smaller dump chamber, you could use a 10" nipple if you wanted, 10" would bring you closer to the 2" x 6" volume.

If anyone has the means to buy a larger ball valve, please let me know, then I could jack up the size a little bit on mine.

But anyway, that being said, here is the diagram. Total parts cost so far: Less than $24. This isn't including loctite or PVC sealant, which I had, or air fittings, which I have, or the nitro tank, which I also have :) As I said, I strongly reccomend that your air source be regulated down to 600 PSI or less, or you risk serious injury.

Added on edit: I highlighted every other part with red so you can tell where one part stops and another begins :)

[Thordic]

I'm in the process of doing the rough physics behind these designs. Butterfingers numbers are way off because he miscalculated the size of his dump chamber. :)

If anyone wants to give it a shot, post your work here.

[Thordic]

Ok, I went to a different home depot today because I found out that the working pressure for the 1.5" ball valve is 600 PSI, as opposed to a 400 PSI working pressure for the 1" valve. So this one set me back $35, but I also got a larger dump chamber, etc, so mine will now be identical to butterfingers, pretty much. Heres an updated diagram:

1- 2" Black Steel Cap ($2.25)
2- 2" x 6" Black Steel Nipple ($2.80)
3- 2" to 1.5" Reduction Coupling ($2.94)
4- 1.5" Close Nipple ($1.28)
5- 1.5" Brass Full Release Ball Valve ($35.00 on sale from $41.00)
6- 1.5" Male PVC Fitting (Less than $2)
7- 5' SCH 40 330PSI WP PVC (Less than $5)

So what I have now is basically 2 potato guns :) I may turn the smaller one into a paint cannon for scenario games. CO2 with a reg down to a low pressure should get it under 300 FPS with a wad of paintballs :) Or maybe a mortar instead...

[Butterfingers]

Thanks thordic. The dump chamber size was just a guestimate. Thanks for posting diagrams. I would be more likely to be struck by lightning than to find the time to do what you did. I hate work, and school has been taking up every wink of time I have. Props to you.

That is a 2x10 nipple. Compare to the size of the 114 ci tank...

Whoops! 32.5 ci for the large nipple plus 3.53 for the small nipple so around 35 ci...

So around 821 fps... at 600 psi not to shabby.


Thordic for the trigger mechanism.

You need

2 U brackets
a pulley
a good length of cable
a heavy spring.
cable end clamps
2 carabiners or large chain links.
and a bolt and a few nuts to be drilled through the handle.


It dosent too work well if you cant slam that ball valve open fast enough.

[Thordic]

Im actually getting a high-pressure solenoid valve for free from my dad, so then I'll replace the ball valve, and all will be well :)

[zads27]

Originally posted by Butterfingers
The size of the dump chamber the length of the barrel and other such fun figures the computer calculated my muzzle velocity to be over 1200 FPS!!! Yep actually faster than a speeding bullet.


My Weatherby Mark V Accumark does 3350 fps ;)

[Micromag5371]

you people dont know what your talkin about. that potatoe gun is super sweet, but if you want real fun, get a smaller barrel...one that can fit a golf ball. EVERY BODY knows how bouncy Golf balls are. potatoes, potatoes suck compared to a golf ball. if you shot a half inch if plywood with a golfball gun you would not only put a hole in it, but i can image the reflex of the golf ball knocking the foor off of its hinges. a golfball would get better effiency for air, its dimples would make it fly further, it would be faster, and it would DEFINATELY cause more damage. image hitting a stop sign. the golfball would most likely go through it, and thats kinda like having a 55 millimeter cannon thats not illegal. HAHA im so damn sinister. i think it would be fun. shoot some lowflying aircraft, or if you have enough money and time and resources, you can make a firing line of like 4 of them so you can rip them all right after each other. definately not toys to shoot people with, a spud can take somebodys head off and a goldball would implode your cranium and....
and...........
*sigh*
and im getting too worked up and emotional.
lemme know if anybodys got the nugz to make a golf ball gun.

[MagMan5446]

damn...you crazy son.

I'm gonna do it..

[BTAutoMag]

Three Men Killed By Golfball


I can see the headlines now

[Butterfingers]

im not responsible

Disclaimer:

"Not for use with golf balls"

[Thordic]

The point of a potato gun is distance, not damage. People like you will get them made illegal...

On a side note, I'm working on a design for a much more powerful gun :) 1000 PSI operating pressure with a larger dump chamber.

[BTAutoMag]

youi all are psycho... let me in i wanna make one!:D

[tunaman jr]

they are more popular then you think
do a search on the web you will be surprised to find a webring about them.
even an online store.
im experienced so far as launching limes till ya cant see em' i did a project with all schedule 40 pvc and a battery powered grill ignitor which works like a mini stun gun. i used starting fluid for propellant by removing the cap and using a "basketball air pin valve" (glued into a small hole in the 2 ft by 4 in chamber) to atomize the liquid right before ignition.
one time my neighbor had a flashback from vietnam and his daughter told me he thought it was mortors. that was the end of my spud cannon recreation.

[Thordic]

Rob -

I know, I've done some research online, and I also have been emailing Joel from Spudtech.com about a design I am working on :)

[Butterfingers]

Thordic keep me posted on your developments! I would like to know how my alpha product will do and what it will develop into. I saw his webpage that breach loading oxy propane launcher is insane!

[Micromag5371]

Thordic- spud guns might be focused on distance, but check out the second page...it has ALOT to do with distance. the pics, the pictures of the distance the spuds went...they went through formica board thats a half inch thick! HAHA im sorry but i think i got you burnt there. no offense:D

anyways, i dont think i will make one. but on a side note, you shouls make a dump chamber with PVC thats triple wrapped with KEVLAR. something sort of like a nitr tank, fiber wrapped...dump chambers with pressures of 2500 psi, thats very dangerous but i know theres a way around it. and as for the golf ball, im not serious about the lowflying aircraft, but hitting a stopsign might be fun. i wouldnt recommend hitting a stopsign, just incase the bacon squad decides to show up in the blues.

and, before i get arthritus from writing this mini-novel, i must comment...i think a golfball would go WAAYYY further than a spud.

[zads27]

these are crazy spud cannons:
bolt action, electronically activated, aluminum construction (this is a combustion type spud gun):
http://www.spudtech.com/sp9004.jpg
http://www.spudtech.com/sp9004c.jpg

this is a pnuematic spud cannon, 20 ft long.. meaning it uses a dump chamber filled with compressed air (the dump chamber is under the 20 ft barrel, hidden beneath the wood) second picture is the 20 ft spud cannon, basically vaporizing a large watermellon. picture is 1/30th of a second after impact. spud was going 300-500 mph.
http://acm.cs.umn.edu/~fuzz/images/pics/angle-600.jpg
http://acm.cs.umn.edu/~fuzz/images/pics/mellon.jpg

[FooTemps]

Just imagine a select fire spud gun... Full auto!!! Aluminum full auto spud gun that loads in clips of 30! w00t! l337 blaster! GATLING GUN!!! w00t!

[zads27]

Originally posted by FooTemps
Just imagine a select fire spud gun... Full auto!!! Aluminum full auto spud gun that loads in clips of 30! w00t! l337 blaster! GATLING GUN!!! w00t!

'Take the red pill, and I'll show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes...'
http://www.techleague.com/images/0003.gif

[FooTemps]

ARHGAWDSOGNASDLHJN!!! SOO FRICKEN COOL! That has got to be the coolest spud gun i've ever seen! I want to build one now! stupid Butterfingers, you gave me the spud bug!

[RT_Luver]

YO dude,u gotta tell me ur address.I WANNA COME DOWN THERE and shoot it.AWESOME

[FooTemps]

New idea... Flaming spud gun... heh, I'm evil...

[Scooter/Cootie]

Originally posted by rhetor22
If he aims it at Ohio, there would be 5 million potatoes flying right back at him!


Jeez, don't fire that thing at Idaho! :D

[zads27]

Hm.. maybe I should get it and bring it to some paintball scenario games.. gatling paintball grenade/mortar launcher....

[Exodus]

(drools)... MUST BUILD.... FIND GOLF BALL...

[Dubstar112]

wow... Im going to make one with a metal barrel.. It will have an inline reg on it to keep the velocity around 280 fps.. fill a balloon with paint.. :)...

[Thordic]

Potato gun got tested this weekend, distance was impressive, but could be much better. I plan on enlarging the dump chamber and trying again...

Note to all, valve, although rated for a 600 PSI working pressure, leaks at 600 PSI. 550 PSI was needed to stop leak.

Also, never forget to glue the barrel to the PVC adapter. Flying potato good, flying barrel bad.

[Hasty8]

http://www.techleague.com/home.htm

This psycho created a 6 round spud gun with a 3 second delay in firing time.

[Bonx0007]

Originally posted by zads27


'Take the red pill, and I'll show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes...'

"why o why didn't I take the blue pill!"--cipher

[ER FFballa 8]

yeah i made one of them a while ago also.. we finished off the potatos and got the bright idea of using other things so we figured out that we could use the plastic bag for a wad and putting MUD into it and letting loose... needless to say it was soo funny from then on all we used was the mud shot.. by the way ours was the fire kind.. made with PVC piping..

hint use grill starter for ignition..

fire procedures for us..

1 put spud in launcher
2 ram spud home
3 unscrew the back and fill with favorite aerosol wait a few seconds(so that it isnt all wet) and then screw back on...
4 get in firing position
5 hit the little red button
6 watch the destruction..

[BTAutoMag]

Originally posted by ER FFballa 8
yeah i made one of them a while ago also.. we finished off the potatos and got the bright idea of using other things so we figured out that we could use the plastic bag for a wad and putting MUD into it and letting loose... needless to say it was soo funny from then on all we used was the mud shot.. by the way ours was the fire kind.. made with PVC piping..

hint use grill starter for ignition..

fire procedures for us..

1 put spud in launcher
2 ram spud home
3 unscrew the back and fill with favorite aerosol wait a few seconds(so that it isnt all wet) and then screw back on...
4 get in firing position
5 hit the little red button
6 watch the destruction..

i did that but the problem i had was i used tennis balls and when i hit something the tennis ball decided it would rather fly at me. it hit me square in the forehead, causeing me to fly over backwards and the guy that was there was laughing so hard he wet himself.

[Thordic]

I can't believe this thread came back from the dead :)

[WickeDKlowN]

Holy (bleep)! I want one now! guess ill have to get off my lazy arse and make one now.

[AcemanPB]

do you have a video of that beast shooting?

[Thordic]

Uhm, I could probably get a couple short videos, but I dont know how good they'd be.

[Schnitzel]

wow

[Ultimator]

Me and my friends used to make smaller ones (hanfgun sized) when we were about 12.

We would get some pvc, put a cap on it and drill a small hole in it. We would glue that to a longer piece of pvc (the barrel) and fill the part with the hole in it with lighter fluid from a hole in the top. Wait a little while and stick a spud down the barrel and put a match down the hole and ka blooie ... flying spud. We froze one once and shot it through my wood fence.

[WickeDKlowN]

did you have to drill the endcap to put the air line in, or did it come pre tapped?

[WARPED1]

Originally posted by Butterfingers
Im not selling the plans, If I knew for sure I wouldent get in any trouble the plans would be free. But like everything else in this world nothing is for sure.

I will be answering questions though. So if you have a question ask away. I just don't want the ATF busting my door in or a bunch of lawyers slamming me with a box full of lawsuits.

Its real easy to make so look closely and ask for details, happy spudding. Make sure you use only high strength STEEL piping for the air chamber.

Just think a bunch of pipes attached to the valve with a 1/8 inch NPT fitting tapped into the back.

The rest is as easy as hooking up a paintball gun. Clue: there is nothing but an empty void (and lots of loctite) inside the pipes.

Once again I will be HAPPY to answer questions. If you atatched some form of disclaimer you'd be all set:).

[TXStorm]

*sorry if one like this has been posted before, this thread was 4 pages long and i only felt like reading the first page*

me and my bro made a "potato gun" a while back... well it didnt actually hold a WHOLE potato, but part. k what we did was got some real thick PVC pipe, it was probably about 3inches or more in diameter, then we got some 1" pipe and a little converter(sorry if its hard to understand, im kinda typing wordy) we use an aerosol hair spray can as the propellant. we put two screws in the larger pvc part, and made them where they were almost touching in the middle. we put a wire on one screw and put a bar-b-que grill starter on the other end of the wire... since the 1" pvc wasnt big enough to hold a whole potato(it was originally intended to shoot grapes, but they werent dense enough) we sharpened the edge of the pvc and we would just dig the pvc into the potato and take a circular chunk out... it shoots a little bit farther than a paintball gun, i took out a squirrel with it :) i used to go squirrel hunting with it and my bro's airsoft pistol(didnt want to waste paintballs on those little rascals :D )

[ZSigErik]

wow, this post is back?

Havent seen this since my semi-early AO days...

[RT_Luver]

I wanna make one. how would you attach your tank to it? anyone know how many shots per tan you could get??

[Dubstar112]

Anyone know how much air pressure Id need to move 30 paintballs around 200 fps from a gun wiht these dimensions:

3"x6" chamber
1.5"x3' barrel
1.5" ball valve/ solenoid is an option too.

how woudl i calculate this, or how could i chrono this? Make a projectile with the same mass as the group of paint Id be shooting? and just chrono adjusting hte pressure each time? helpo :)

[Thordic]

Use a much longer chamber, mounted under the barrel, and you'll run at 120 PSI, tops.

The style of cannon butterfingers designed doesn't work well at low velocities.

[Dubstar112]

I cant go over 115 though, Im using a solenoid sprinkler valve. :) Ill just have to play around. Im thinking that if I weigh the projected amount of paintballs, then construct a pellet that weighs the same, I could chrono with that? I dont want to kill somone...

[magnj]

wow, I have another summer project to add to the list. Last year we made one with fire and PVC but this seems so much more fun.

[Cryer]

I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I read that first post.:p :D

[WickeDKlowN]

Damn... I remember this thread from back in the day.

Now I have 3 summer projects: Harpoon Gun, Trebuchet/Catipult and a Pneumatic 'Tater gun

[LittlePaintballBoy]

try putting like 300 paintballs in it and shooting. take a picture of that!

[Johnny_Reb]

Hey Butterfingers I know this sounds really stupid but could you...um..could you.....launch a frog outta that thing against a brick wall and take pictures?:confused:

[HoppysMag]

Originally posted by Johnny_Reb
Hey Butterfingers I know this sounds really stupid but could you...um..could you.....launch a frog outta that thing against a brick wall and take pictures?:confused:
you sir, need serious counciling.

[magking1971]

For you pie lovers out there..
FILL THAT SUCKER WITH PIE!!!!!!!!!!!!
(I wanna see that!)

[FalconGuy016]

Oh man! I was reading this ENTIRE THREAD and I realized when thordic said so (even though even THAT was a long time ago) how OLD THIS THREAD IS!! I feel... violated

[valafar]

That's a great project!

I have a friend who did something similar to shoot 30 paintball at once. Works great too.

What I would recommend to simplify your design (and make it a bit smaller): instead of using a manual valve with a spring, use a sprinkler electric valve. Only requires 9V to open and is sold for about $25 (CAN). Those should be easy to find in big renovation center.

Note: these electric units only works with 120psi or less...

Have fun!

Valafar
Canada

[Brak]

my older brother had a friend who uses propane to propel his potatoes...or so he says

[Spleen]

This thread must be before my time here :) how much would i have to change from your plans, if... for some reason i was putting 1200 psi into it?

[f3rr3+]

Originally posted by Restola
please dont aim that at ohio.... :)

i second that...

[Thordic]

Originally posted by Spleen
This thread must be before my time here :) how much would i have to change from your plans, if... for some reason i was putting 1200 psi into it?

Everything. Don't use 1200 PSI.

The valve leaks at 600 PSI, you could have catestrophic failure at 1200. (In other words, something could explode and take your face with it.)

The pipe isn't even rated for pressure. It SHOULD hold but you'd have to be both crazy and stupid to use 1200 PSI. Paintball players lose respect for the power behind compressed air, and that can be a fatal mistake.

[Spleen]

yea, i was just thinking about that today at work.. my idea now is to use a preset pmi tank, reg it down to around 300 psi.

[Thordic]

This design is actually pretty ineffecient and underpowered at its current pressure. The design is far from perfect.

Youd do much better designing a system that ran at about 120 PSI, with a much larger dump chamber, and some sort of large-opening solenoid to fire instead of the crappy ball valve.

I'm pretty sure you'd get better results out of that sort of setup than this design. And it would be lighter, due to the fact you could build it entirely from PVC.

[ScatterPlot]

OK, I think it's time to bring back this thread. 2 reasons.
A. It's pretty cool.
B. I gots me a question- How are ou guys joining the pieces of the metal pipe together? Are you getting it threaded at Home Depot, or at you welding it, or what? Thanks

[Butterfingers]

Holy Thread Ressurection!!!

Threaded... Red loctite... lots of it.


About the ball valve. Its not inefficent if you take huge door closing springs attach it to the arm lock it in place and let her fly when you pull the release cable while standing behind a huge oak tree. :D

Be careful. I wouldent pressurize those pipes past 600. I still have the thing It is no longer funtional as I have bastardized the fittings off of it to use on paintball guns. :D

[Thordic]

I used quite a bit of 545 Loctite (Hydraulic/Pneumatic Sealant).

All the pipes are pre-threaded.

And my ball valve leaks around 500 - 550 PSI.

My advice is use a bigger dump chamber, lower PSI, and a solenoid. I'm just too lazy to rebuild.

[BobTheCow]

Wow, I dunno how I missed this thread the last couple times around, but... you guys RAWK!! :headbang: This stuff's mighty impressive!

[WickeDKlowN]

This thread needs to be moved over to the Historic section...

[ramenjames]

well im going to start to make a golfball gun bassed on the orignal design......should be interesting