Show us your pneumatic spud gun! Discuss pneumatic (compressed gas) powered potato guns and related accessories. Valve types, actuation, pipe, materials, fittings, compressors, safety, gas choices, and more.
This is not my first gun, but it is the first one i am willing to take the time to post on Spudfiles . It has a 2" serviceable piston valve and a 1" sprinkler valve as the pilot. (the pilot is maybe just a bit overkill haha) The golf ball barrel is made from sleeved 2" pipes. Being that i live in a residential neighborhood with a tiny backyard, i have not yet been able to test the range, but i do have some damage shots. Well, tell me what you all think!
I found that if I shoot golf balls at around 25 psi they actually get stuck in my 1" board.
These 2 big holes were shot at 40 psi, and the one smaller hole is from a ball bearing that i shot with a sabot at about 40 psi.
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It recently broke (, but i caught it on tape.
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Last edited by hyperspaz on Mon Apr 18, 2011 5:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Sleeving the 2' was definitely the most laborious part. i made a tourniquet to squeeze it in while i bashed it with a hammer. Took me like an hour and a half to get it in all the way. If your looking to sleeve a 2" i would recommend using some kind of grease or lube.
Orrr..find yourself some SDR 21, 1.5", which perfectly fits a golfball and sleeve it with Sch 80 2"...which also perfectly fits the SDR 21. Awesome golfball barrels!
I recommend high pressures, up to the pressure rating (whatever that be).
Since you live in a residential neighborhood, have you done any investigation into how far away it is audible from? I know my Trident at 1,000psi is almost deafening for the shooter without ear protection, but can't be heard inside the house. I'm curious if the same applies to your build...
It's all pressure rated, one of the main reasons I havent taken it past 40 psi is the noise. And the other reason is that ive been using a hand pump, since my compressor is trapped in the middle of my garage which is filled with boxes from moving. As for why I didn't use sdr 21, I couldn't find it at any local plumbing shop, and all the online stores had ridiculous shipping costs.
My piston is kinda ghetto right now, I'm hoping to build a new one out of epoxy soon. My last epoxy piston shattered, because i didn't have a very good bumper, and because I decided to make it hollow to reduce the weight.
Oh and one more thing, How much pressure can a sprinkler valve take? I'm always reluctant to pump them past 80 psi.
Erm... as I said before, have you had anyone stand 40ft or so away and tell you how loud it seems? I've found that the muzzle blast from my builds dissipates a lot over distance, but that might be because of the small displaced volume.
What's your current bumper made out of?
I'd check the pressure rating on the sprinkler valve first, then go from there.
Sounds like you've got some experience with pneumatics before becoming very active quite a plus.
The gun looks like all the parts will have no trouble with 120 psi. And the pilot valve isn't overkill, because your pilot volume is massive Good job on it!
@saefroch My backyards not even 40 feet haha, so no i havent tested the sound yet, but i'll make sure i let you know when i do. Heres a picture of my current piston, it has a 1/4" rubber bumper.
Do you have any suggestions for a bumper when i get round to making another epoxy piston?