New to this, where to start?

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Take apart a piezo cigarette lighter (not the wheely flinty spark ones, the clicky sparky one) and remove the ignition system, which looks something like one of these:



Clicking the clicky bit should make a spark between the metal cappy bit and the end of the wiry bit. This is your ignition, sparks yay!

The two screws in the pill bottle have to have a small gap between them, this is where the ignition will take place. Wire the cappy bit to one end of the screws, and the wiry bit to the other. Clicking should generate a spark between the two screws, if not adjust the gap - around 5mm should do nicely.

You need a tiny amount of gas in the pill bottle to ignite. For small launchers, the best is to meter it precisely using a syringe, like so:



You need around 3-4% of the volume to be gas, this range is very important. Too much or too little means no ignition. For example, for a 100mL volume pill bottle, all you need is 4mL of butane, a 5mL syringe will therefore do nicely.

*clicky* BOOOM! yay!

[Xzen]

Damn.... i'm not old enough to buy a cigarrete lighter.... only 16 But all i need is a spark right? Hmmm.... i will see if my mum can get me one of those lighters..... spark hmm...... lol. we shall see.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Clucking bell, has it become that bad in the UK that you can't even buy a lighter?!

[Ragnarok]

Clucking bell, has it become that bad in the UK that you can't even buy a lighter?!

Not become that bad. It's been that way for many a year, not any New labour created health and safety BS.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

I feel for you.

You'll find lighters are common litter all over the place though, personally I never actually bought one for ignitor purposes

[jrrdw]

Sellers here in the states can get up to $1500 dollar fine for selling to minnors. Anything that can be related to tobaccoo products.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

boo to political correctness and wrapping kids in cotton wool! I bought my first zippo when I was 14

[jrrdw]

Yea Jack, but that was waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in what centry?

[Xzen]

Well i shall start slowly gathering parts for a 'ghetto' pneumatic cannon and i will make one of these mini cannons a bit later...

Thanks
Nemesis

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Yea Jack, but that was waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in what centry?

Last century, matter of fact :p

Good lord, it was 11 years ago. I'm getting old

[jrrdw]

11 years ago? I have nothing else to say about it!

[ALIHISGREAT]

11 years ago i was 4! so yeah, that is along time ago

[Ragnarok]

Last century, matter of fact. I'm getting old.

I always get that feeling when I realise almost all the music I like is from a different century...

[elad311]

Well, you can always look in youtube on
"How to make a spud gun" videos
It's simple, easy, and powerful for a first cannon.

and you can always make a mini spud gun!

[jimmy101]

So er, just to be clear on the little pill box one (which i might try in a sec) do i spray deodourent in the box and set it on fire with a match or spark or something similar??? *confused* .... im sorry, i am very new to this.

For a pill-bottle (not box) mini you I would use the propane lighter (see my earlier photo) as the fuel source. Your wire the piezo igniter in the lighter to the two screws in my first photo. Inside the bottle the screws almost touch. When you pull the lighter's trigger it makes a small spark between the screws that ignites the butane + air mixture in the chamber.