Wanna Have Some Fun?

[Mike K]

Go here: http://www.members.tripod.com/potatogunwarrior/plans.htm

You will find plans for building a "spud gun," which is a highly effective mortar-emulator which is capable of propelling an ordinary potato up to a quarter mile at a high arc of aim. It is constructed from PVC pipe and fittings and uses volatile aerosol sprays, such as starting ether, some hair sprays, etc., as propellant. It has potential to cause damage or harm, so it should be used responsibly.

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. I wonder if it can be modified to launch a turnip.

:crazy:

[DonP]

2. Regular or "assault" turnip? ntxt

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. No sault. Sodium is bad for you.

[Tim01]

3. You forgot the warning.

WARNING Do not eat SPUD GUN. Do not shoot SPUD GUN at face. Do not sit on SPUD GUN. Do not hit spouse with SPUD GUN. Do not use SPUD GUN to hail cabs or police officers. Do not fill SPUD GUN with gasoline.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

4. Careful, in some locales a potato gun is a "firearm".

And stick to a propane torch or starter fluid spray for the fuel source. It's TONS cleaner and offers more power.
Don't cheap out. Get sch80 PVC, propor fuels, and reinforce the barrel near the breach.
Do not use oxygen. Do not use hydrogen or acetylene. Do not use mixtures of oxygen, hydrogen and/or acetylene.

Practice getting the right stoichiometric burn ratios to maximize burn efficiency. Put that HS chemistry to good use.
Too much fuel and you burn rich - loosing power and expansion velocity.
Too little fuel, and you run inefficient... try to capitalize on ALL the air (volume) in there.

Barrel length is an important factor too. Too long and you have too much drag - the potato slows down.
Too short and the potato doesn't reach it's full potential speed.
Measure the potato/tube drag by hand to calculate the minimum pressure needed to push it.
Simple PV=nRT and combustion product calculation will give your initial and final static pressures.
Just trim the barrel to the right size. Don;t forget to soak your precut spuds in olive oil to reduce friction.

[junkyardbob]

6. Grammar Nazi

Also, put your high school English to use or you will LOSE credibility with those of us that may find you playing LOOSE with the rules of English usage! :-) Good post otherwise. Thanks.

[Hoopla Phil]

7. ATF does not regulate black powder breach loading cannon.

Why play with a toy made of PVC when you could have a real, black powder, cannon?

[Katya Mullethov]

8. Its Breech , and they do

Breech loading over half inch will fall under the auspices of the NFA . Muzzle loading they dont care , you can run one as big as you can afford to feed .

[Hoopla Phil]

12. Sorry guys, I had muzzle loading in mind but for some reason breech came out.

lol

[AtheistCrusader]

9. Varies by state.

Pretty sure you can't in Washington. At least, I know a guy that moved to Oregon when he retired, because this was legal there, but not here.

[Hoopla Phil]

13. Sorry guys, I had muzzle loading in mind but for some reason breech came out.

[benEzra]

11. A breechloader is a Destructive Device under the NFA if the bore is over .50 caliber,

unless it is exempted as a sporting arm (which is why .73 caliber 12-gauge shotguns are Title I legal, unless the BATFE decides not to exempt a particular model).

A breechloading cannon would fall under that. You can own one (even a 105mm howitzer), but you have to go the Title II route. Muzzleloaders are OK, though.


Just for fun, here's a privately owned 90mm field gun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9s6_vufc1ns


...and another privately owned 76mm:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx4vOvPsDfg&feature=fvw

[Hoopla Phil]

14. Sorry guys, I had muzzle loading in mind but for some reason breech came out.

[cowman]

10. Friend of

mine had one. We would take our boats out to Lake Mead for the weekend and just have a blast launching potatos. Had the Lake Rangers come by one time and they asked us to demonstrate it for them. They thought it was the coolest thing but told us to be careful. I said don't worry I am a firefighter and know what i am doing

[NewMoonTherian]

15. I love those! There is another variant...

that uses compressed air instead of combustible fuel. You get more consistent power because you can control and monitor the pressure you put in. For paintball games, I put a shot cup(dixie cup) in the bottom and fill the barrel with about 40 paintballs, and fire into the air just like a mortar. It's not very effective at getting players out, but it's hilarious, and that's what's important, right?

[SteveM]

16. Here's one we tried over Swan Lake one night in North Florida...

My brother pasted together several plastic dry cleaning sacks, concocted a witch's brew of flammable bi-nary (?) gas mix to fill the resultant blimp, attached a fuse/punk below, waited for the wind, lit the punk, and watched it carry out over the lake. As the fuse exhausted its time to burn before igniting the baloon, I yelled:

"SPACE SHUTTLE!!"

Everyone from half a mile around looked up to see a shore-illuminating flash and hear a ppFFRUUMP! Great applause and laughter trickled in from over the waters.

When in graduate school at U.Texas, we launched one night a similar "frimp pod" up North Lamar (a 4-lane) and some 100 ft above the street: K-balOOOm! Great traffic-stopping flash.... and no evidence!