simple cannon

A place for general potato gun questions and discussions.
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fastcannonman
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Wed May 30, 2007 11:51 pm

Parts
2 feet of 2 inch dia. PVC or ABS pressure rated pipe
1 foot of 3 inch dia. PVc or ABS pressure rated pipe
screw off end cap for 3 inch pipe (note: clean out plug may be used)
slip to threaded 3 inch fitting
3 to 2 in reducer
PVC or ABS cement (note: do NOT mix PVC pipes with ABS pipes or fitting, only use PVC cement on PVC and ABS on ABS)
BBQ ignitor
2 drywall screws
hair spray
plenty of spuds


how to assemble
1. Cut pipes to correct length's with a hacksaw
2. Glue the barrel and the chamber to the reducer as shown in the diagram. (if PVC is used don't forget to apply primer first.

3. Close off the end of the chamber with the fitting and screw-on end cap or the drain plug cap.

4. Screw the drywall screws through the sides the combustion chamber so there is about a 1/4 to 3/8 inch gap

5. Connect the sparker to the drywall screw and make sure it fires properly, if no spark fires move screws closer and re-test.

6. Bevel the end of the barrel so that the potato will be cut to size when it is loaded. Beveling can be done with a Dremel or if one is not available a file can be used.

7. Let cement dry for about an hour (this time can be used to go buy some spuds!!)

Firing Tips
Caution: Only fire in open spaces far away from human life
1. Load the gun by cutting a large enough potato in half and then cutting it to the right size by pushing it into the barrel of the gun and letting the gun cut the potato's shape. If the potato is too small the potato will not go very far, for most of the gas will escape. Providing a good seal is the key to distance spud launching.

2. Get a stick that can be used to muzzle load the potato. Measure out how far on the stick the potato has to be pushed down to be right before the combustion chamber and push it down to that level.

3. Unscrew the back and fill with propellant. I like using pure propane from a blowtorch, but if one isn't available then hair spray can be used. This is the trickiest part of all. The correct mixture of gas to air has to be present for the gun to fire. Experimenting is the best way. One thing that is important to remember is that the gas needs oxygen to combustion therefore after each time it is fired air must be allowed into the chamber.

have fun!!
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homedepotpro
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Thu May 31, 2007 12:03 am

its good but you don't need pressure rated ABS, plus its hard to find and that could confuse some noobs
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fastcannonman
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Thu May 31, 2007 8:48 am

yea, my friend when to a store and bought old pvc pipe. About 10 shots l8er, I noticed cracks in the tupeing, so I wanted to make shure i dident blow anyone up.
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jimmy101
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Thu May 31, 2007 1:09 pm

A good basic description of a basic canon. (There are many much more complete ones for similar canons available on the web.)

Some things to consider;
* Barrel might be a bit too short, I would lengthen it to 30" instead of 24".
* Put a bevel on both the inside and outside of the barrel.
* Might suggest using 1.5" for the barrel instead of 2" since ammo is much easier to find (and cheaper).
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jimmy101
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Thu May 31, 2007 1:22 pm

OOOPS, missed a big error in the OP!
7. Let cement dry for about an hour (this time can be used to go buy some spuds!!)
The glue should be allowed to dry at least overnight.

It may not be as critical in a combustion gun as it is in a compressed air gun but nonetheless PVC glue takes a while to fully set.

An amazingly frequent accident in the building of combustion guns is people looking into the barrel of a newly built and "unfueled" gun to see if the sparker is working. Ooooops, eyebrows are gone! There was enough fuel in the chamber, from the solvents in the glue, for ignition.
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fastcannonman
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Thu May 31, 2007 1:27 pm

ok thanks for the info :D
SpudBlaster15
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Thu May 31, 2007 1:54 pm

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Last edited by SpudBlaster15 on Wed Jul 14, 2021 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
MetalMSTR
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Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:23 pm

bye bye eyebrows jejeje yes i had an accident like that but it was trowing a match inside the comb chamber
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Zen///
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Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:48 pm

jejeje
What?

Oh and this WAS a dead topic until you bumped it.
MetalMSTR
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Thu Nov 15, 2007 7:49 pm

jejej = :lol: (in spanish forums sorry...laugth)
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Redcoat
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Fri Nov 16, 2007 2:57 am

It would be better if you could have some pics and stuff. (Not that I need to know). :lol: .

But still, It is a good thing for some beginners in Spudding.

Happy SPuddin'
Poo.
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BigGrib
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Fri Nov 16, 2007 3:37 am

Please don't bump dead posts to get your post count up
Yea, that's definitely going to get you at least a tazer.
<a href="">DONT TAZE ME BRO.. DONT TAZE ME... AHHHH</a>
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