My first spudgun!

Boom! The classic potato gun harnesses the combustion of flammable vapor. Show us your combustion spud gun and discuss fuels, ratios, safety, ignition systems, tools, and more.
spamspam79
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Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:18 pm

Well, I've been lurking around here for quite a while now, and decided to put some of what I've seen to use. This is my first spud gun, not counting a spray and pray that my dad made me when I was 13.

It's a 24"x4" combustion chamber with metered propane injection, an internal fan, and ball valve for venting. It looks pretty rough right now, but now that I got it together and working, the paint job and other details are next.

Me and a couple of friends had a cookout, so we decided to try the cannon out, and we had a blast... get it? Blast... :lol: :roll: I made a compilation video of us out there.
[youtube][/youtube]

Here's another vid that I made, and before any one starts yelling "UNSAFE ACT!!!" It was completely fake and created using video effects. Actually the first shot from the other video is what we used to make this. It's a William Tell Shot, Spud Gun Style.


Cheers, I hope you like it. Feel free to give pointers.
Matt

Edited by jrrdw, video link removed.
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Here's a damage shot on a 55 gallon drum used for a fire barrel. I WISH I had that shot on video... the sound was great, and the plume of ash that flew up out of the barrel looked like an explosion.
Here's a damage shot on a 55 gallon drum used for a fire barrel. I WISH I had that shot on video... the sound was great, and the plume of ash that flew up out of the barrel looked like an explosion.
spudgundmg.jpg (39.88 KiB) Viewed 4047 times
now I have the ball valve installed.
now I have the ball valve installed.
spudgun3.jpg (25.44 KiB) Viewed 4047 times
mixing and ventilation fan.
mixing and ventilation fan.
spudgun2.jpg (28.96 KiB) Viewed 4047 times
Here's the gun before I installed the fan and ball valve.
Here's the gun before I installed the fan and ball valve.
spudgun1.jpg (33.48 KiB) Viewed 4047 times
Last edited by jrrdw on Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Fixed video.
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jrrdw
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 8:02 am

spamspam79 wrote:I WISH I had that shot on video...
Shot it again and this time film it. Nice cannon, looks like a lot of fun!

Welcome to Spudfiles. :D
spamspam79
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:28 pm

I would, but the owner of said barrel didn't know it would punch a hole in it in the first place. Because of the damage from the first shot, they nixed the idea of any further shots, but I'm sure I can find something else to shoot at. :D
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jrrdw
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:08 pm

All ready junked cars are the best to shoot holes through, perticurly if they still have gass oppppps I mean glass in them... :wink:
spamspam79
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Thu Sep 05, 2013 4:14 pm

True, but were kinda limited to what we have on hand. And all of the cars around here are currently serving other purposes than spudding targets. :wink: however, there is a large supply of old building materials... Maybe make a mini town to lay siege to... :o
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jackssmirkingrevenge
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Fri Sep 06, 2013 2:30 am

[youtube][/youtube]

Good stuff, that genuine laughter is what this hobby is all about :)

Looks like you need some Paris Gun style support for that barrel though...

Image
Last edited by jrrdw on Fri Oct 18, 2013 9:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Fixed video.
hectmarr wrote:You have to make many weapons, because this field is long and short life
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Gun Freak
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Fri Sep 06, 2013 7:08 am

Careful firing it with your face behind that cleanout cap. It's not pressure rated and they are commonly known to blow out... Would not be a fun experience!!
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spamspam79
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Fri Sep 06, 2013 2:49 pm

Gun Freak: Yeah, I thought about that after watching the video a few times, but now I have a coupler/reducer/ball valve there, so there's much more structural integrity there. I was actually thinking of mounting a small length of pvc to act as a sight/scope, but mainly for looks. I want a way to line it up easily that will keep heads and faces away from the body in the event of a rupture, but I'm not sure what to do yet.

jackssmirkingrevenge: I was thinking about a barrel support like that, but depending on the heat/humidity as well as thread cleanliness, the screw in barrel may not be lined up the same each time it's attached. That might make firing it more awkward than would be practical. A coupler setup might be the way to go if that support is what I end up doing with it. Another thought I had was to make a pvc bipod with a support sleeve in the middle to keep the barrel level, straight and easy to aim with a single operator.

And yeah, the laughing was all genuine. It was quite fun. :lol:
spamspam79
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Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:12 pm

I added a new epic spud gunning video to youtube. thought you might enjoy it.

Epic Spudgun Vid
Last edited by spamspam79 on Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Thu Sep 12, 2013 8:26 pm

Video was just black the whole time for me :lol:
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