My first gun thingy

[BurningApples]

I know nothing about this stuff. My dad and I just went to OSH and bought some stuff and put it together. It shoots grapes around 30-50 feet high(guestimate). I haven't measured distance yet.

Trigger is ball valve, barrel is 3/4 in. & 480 PSI max. Total was around $13.

[mark.f]

Please tell me that bike pump and soda bottle are not electrical taped to the gun.

[BurningApples]

It's PVC Cemented but he wanted to add that for protection.

[Novacastrian]

Hey Mr Apples, welcome to spudfiles. That looks like very nice first cannon.
I will have to *pull you up* so to speak, it is obvious that you do know enough about this wonderful hobby to make a cannon, so i don't want to hear that "i don't know nothing" talk
The first thing i will ask is if those fittings are pressure rated. It looks as though you only operate at lowish pressures (the little pump gives that away) however you should really only use pressure rated parts on all your cannons.
My suggestion would be to add a pressure gauge, i don't know where you would put one on your current setup though.
A tip for more damage would be to freeze your grapes prior to launching, like little cannon balls! If you plan on making another cannon (as if you won't it's addictive) i would suggest searching around a bit to find out how to gain the best performance, it's a lot better when you have planned a cannon.
Hope you stick around.

Nova

Edit: im not sure that pvc glue would work well on soda bottle plastic.

[clonejoe]

Thats realy good for your first gun. I might post my potato cannon.

[BurningApples]

@Novacastrian, Thanks for the tips, I didn't think about freezing them. I will add a pressure gauge on my next one.

@clonejoe, Thanks.

I'll add a video when I can find a good angle- don't have a tripod.



Michael

[BigJon]

Thats pretty good for a first but try lubing up that ball valve so you can open it faster.

[Maniac]

if you like extra safety take the tape off and add some epoxy tho the commecton on the pump and bottle then when it dries put the tape back on

[bob-a-lu]

are you sure that runs to 480 psi? because that is a lot of pressure for a soda bottle. and thats even more then the HEAL cannon or the copperhead prime.

[DYI]

It doesn't run at 480 psi, the valve is rated for that pressure.

Although the name may be deceiving, PVC cement is to cement together PVC pipes and fittings with close tolerances, not to attach soda bottles to PVC. Use epoxy for these things. It is the ultimate multipurpose adhesive, bar none.

Apart from the rather dangerous valve ---> chamber connection, it looks OK. I would recommend spring loading the ball valve and adding a longer barrel though.

[BurningApples]

are you sure that runs to 480 psi? because that is a lot of pressure for a soda bottle. and thats even more then the HEAL cannon or the copperhead prime.

It doesn't run at 480 psi, the valve is rated for that pressure.

Yeah.

Use epoxy for these things. It is the ultimate multipurpose adhesive, bar none.

if you like extra safety take the tape off and add some epoxy tho the commecton on the pump and bottle then when it dries put the tape back on

Thanks for the tip.

[Eddbot]

nice cannon, as for gauge placement you could put it on the inside of handle handle area so it's between the chamber connection and the pump

ps. what does the end of the pump look like

[BurningApples]

nice cannon, as for gauge placement you could put it on the inside of handle handle area so it's between the chamber connection and the pump

Thanks for the idea.

ps. what does the end of the pump look like

It's flat and screws onto a stem valve- but we used PVC Cement and it's working fine. I want to try to attatch a stem valve for my next gun though.


Michael

[666lucky693]

soda bottle cannons are pretty cool but way ghetto

[pm]

i don't like soda bottles kinda dangerous