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The Spudding Handbook

Provided by the users of SpudFiles

This Spudwiki is here for you to learn about the spudgun hobby. All of this is totally free so be happy and get on to registering and posting!

-PCGUY (Kyle), maker of SpudFiles

What you can learn here

Here you can learn all about:

• What a spudgun is and how it works.
• The different types of spudgun.
• How to use and construct your spudgun well - safely and reliably.
  • How to build each type of spudgun, and which might be best for you.
  • The right materials to use.
  • The basic rules of shooting, loading and caring for your launcher.
• How to make basic spudding accessories like breech loaders, and how to fit pressure gauges.
• What types of fuel to use for your combustion spudgun, as well as the types of ignition.
• What valves you can use for your pneumatics.
• There is advice on good and bad types of projectiles for you to use
• How legal your cannon is.
• And a lot more besides.

Above all you will be able to find instructions on how to build things that you will love for years to come.

What is a spudgun?

An Advanced Combustion Cannon

Main article: What is a spudgun?

In short, a spudgun is a general term used to describe home-made recreational launching devices. The name is a little misleading, because in fact, many launchers will never launch a potato, but it's a name that's stuck.

They also go by several other names, commonly also called spud/potato/produce - guns/zookas/huckers/launchers/cannons. A lot of people commonly just call them "Launchers" or "Cannons".

Types of spudgun

So far, hobbyist launchers can be grouped into:

• A main category of pressure based launchers.
• A rare sub-group of electromagnetic launchers.

The vast majority fall into the former category, as they tend to be more powerful, as well as easier and cheaper to build.

Pressure based launchers can be sorted into two sub groups:

• Pre-compressed air powered, where air at greater than atmospheric pressure is used:
  • Pneumatic cannons
  • BB machine guns
• Flammable gas powered, where the pressure is generated by the heat from combustion of flammable vapours:
  • Combustion cannons
  • Hybrid cannons

The rarer electromagnetic launchers fall into three sub groups:

• Induction (Railguns, Induction coilguns), where the projectile is under a repulsive force.
• Reluctance (Most Coil/Gauss guns), where the projectile is under an attractive force.
• Electro-thermal/Electro-thermal-chemical, where electrical power is used to generate heated gasses to provide force.

Important & Related Links

Glossary/Index

Cannon construction

Useful construction links

Launcher configuration

Computer Applications

International Potato Launching Association

Safety

Legal issues

History (A Brief History of Spud Guns)

SpudFiles forum guidelines

External links

• Wikipedia's page on spudguns
• Air Cannon Barrel Length Numerical Analysis
• Gas Gun Design Tool, simulation program for pneumatic guns
• ATF Correspondence concerning spud gun legality
• SpudFiles Forum (aka The Spud Cannon Database)
• Great source of spudgun information
• UK Spudgun Community (UKSGC) - The place for UK Spudgunning