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The Duck Killer

Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 7:25 pm
by Pilgrimman
THIS IS NOT MEANT TO KILL DUCKS! I go to Oregon State University, and our rivals are the U of O Ducks. That said, here it is! This is a 2" piston with 1.5" porting for shooting golfballs. I built it because I have gone for months without building anything! (Dorm life is not conducive to big projects, as you may have imagined). The only real distinctive parts are the handles, but I still think it's quite an achievement! It cost about 100 dollars, give or take.

Specs:

Valve: 2" with 1 1/2" porting
Pilot Valve: 3/4" QEV
Secondary Pilot Valve: Blowgun

Barrel Size: 1.7"
Barrel Length: 5'

Chamber Size: 2"
Chamber Length: 4'

The handles are made of 3/4" fittings, and are able to unthread from the main body for easy transport. The blowgun is stuck inside a short length of 3/4" pipe, which makes it ergonomic for minigun-style firing :D In the pictures, a tire valve is used to fill, since I only have a bike pump for testing. However, when I get a chance to go to the machine shop on campus, I can use that quick connect I bought :twisted: The piston is made of threaded rod, with neoprene disks backed by 2" washers.

I plan on having someone who can do calligraphy paint "The Duck Killer" on the chamber in orange.

Pics:

Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 7:30 pm
by Hubb
Nice. I think I'm digging the minigun style handles. Now it's time for some stew, right?

Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 8:03 pm
by VH_man
Noice Gun.

Must be fun to fire heavy projectiles out of that. Lots of kick....

Damage is a must... as usual

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 12:36 am
by Pilgrimman
Thanks for the comments :D Me and my buddy plan on testing it on a deserted floor in the parking garage tomorrow, along with our Rubens tube :twisted: I know it works because I've vaporized a ping pong ball with it, but I can't wait to see it fire a real golfball! And, to Hubb, yes, the handles do, in fact, rule :D

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 12:43 am
by jackssmirkingrevenge
Pilgrimman wrote:yes, the handles do, in fact, rule :D
Reminds me of this adaptation of what looks like an M249 or similar recently posted on the AAC blog:

Image

Image

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:45 am
by starman
Nice job Pilgrimman! The design looks pretty ergo and if your piston is up to snuff, more powerful than you might think.

The schrader valve on the butt may get brutalized. There is a tendency to stand a gun up on its butt for several reasons so take care there. You might consider repiping it in some other way.

Otherwise, obviously a lot of effort well spent!

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:14 am
by Pilgrimman
@ starman

Yeah, good point 8) I am going to relpace the tire valve with a quick connect, but I need a ride to the home depot so I can get a 1/4" brass 90 degree elbow. Until then, It's gotta stay this way.

@ Jack

That's a pretty good likeness! Someone's been spying on me and reporting my ideas to weapons companies!!!! :shock: ... My roommate, perhaps?? :lol:


In all seriousness, this thing really is a ton of fun. I had doubts about the piston sealing, but it seals, even with the bike pump I use for testing! Our first dry fire at 60 psi made a nice loud "BOOM" down the hallway! Good thing most people were away for the weekend :D

Keep the comments coming, guys!

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:51 am
by Ragnarok
hubb017 wrote:I think I'm digging the minigun style handles.
Interesting to see they go by the name of "minigun style" handles, despite the fact there are no real-world man portable miniguns (save perhaps one off things chambered in .22 LR, or airsoft/paintball guns).

The vast ROF of miniguns makes their recoil completely uncontrollable by humans, not to mention the weight issues.
When they had the M134 on the set of Terminator 2, the only person capable of moving it with any grace at all was Schwarzenegger (i.e. VERY heavy), and in that case he didn't even have to worry about the batteries (which would be several lbs alone), the 4hp motor was powered by a cable running to batteries out of shot.

So in the end, that's Hollywood science for you... Well, that's my pedantic side partly satisfied.

But that said, I love the handles, even if their naming is somewhat in doubt.
Looks like a great cannon to me.

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 12:50 pm
by Pilgrimman
@ Ragnarok

Yeah, you're right about the Hollywood science... I actually modeled them after the minigun in Timesplitters Future Perfect :lol: (Great game by the way :D ) Thanks for the comment!

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 1:56 pm
by Ragnarok
Pilgrimman wrote:I actually modeled them after the minigun in Timesplitters Future Perfect
Well, fortunately you didn't go as nuts as the dual miniguns from TS 1 :roll:.

Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:59 pm
by jackssmirkingrevenge
Ragnarok wrote:The vast ROF of miniguns makes their recoil completely uncontrollable by humans, not to mention the weight issues.
When they had the M134 on the set of Terminator 2, the only person capable of moving it with any grace at all was Schwarzenegger (i.e. VERY heavy), and in that case he didn't even have to worry about the batteries (which would be several lbs alone), the 4hp motor was powered by a cable running to batteries out of shot.
There was the XM214, basically a Minigun chambered for the smaller 5.65x45 round, that could technically be carried by a two-man team, but it was not intended to be fired from the hip.

Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 12:32 am
by Lentamentalisk
That is quite a gun you found there JSR, but by far the coolest I saw on that site was this:
Image
Why nobody has made a cannon mounted on a body part, I don't know. The head may not be the greatest of places, given not wanting to get wiplash, but there are so many cool things that could be done!

Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:22 am
by jackssmirkingrevenge
Lentamentalisk wrote:Why nobody has made a cannon mounted on a body part, I don't know. The head may not be the greatest of places, given not wanting to get wiplash, but there are so many cool things that could be done!
The one you posted looks like a 22LR, which is about as much recoil (and that's quite a leverage from the top of the skull to the base of the neck) as anyone's spine can take, so the head isn't really the ideal place.

The British did develop a suppressed sleeve gun in WW2 that attaches to the forearm, here's a variation of the idea:

Image

Infinitely more practical that running around with a helmet gun, especially for covert operations.

Of course, if you're not too attached to your right leg or are already an amputee, there are other options ;)

Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:09 am
by biggsauce
That handle looks familiar. 8) I like it. Got any picutres of things with golf ball sized holes in them?

Re: The Duck Killer

Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:31 am
by jackssmirkingrevenge
Pilgrimman wrote:I plan on having someone who can do calligraphy paint "The Duck Killer" on the chamber in orange.
Not as difficult to do as one might imagine, one of the most important things is to use a flat brush kept constantly at a 45 degree angle to achieve the variation in character width.

I did this quickly with paintbrush, a btt wobbly as I'm more used to pens than a mouse, but there you go: