Spud Cannon Suppressor (CHEAP 'n EASY)
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2008 8:19 pm
Spud Cannon Suppressor
Ok, I know this sounds counterintuitive but when i built my cannon; i did not want the thunderous BOOM of an internal propane explosion. I own multiple firearms and have a licence for my AR (M-16) pre ban rifle's suppressor. I began to wonder; is it possible to muffle the sound from my potato cannon? Turns out; there is! Without any design or extensive thinking beforehand I headed off to my local hardware store. I picked up a few items and began to experiment. The following is my instruction on how to create a supressor for ALMOST ANY potato cannon without extensive modification or cost (for me; less then $15 USD) but a fair warning to beginners oor non-firearm users: homemade building of a firearm suppressor is a federal offence and id punishable by a huge fine and prison time :O A suppressor is a classIII weapon (equivelant to a full auto machine gun) you must fill out a BATF form, undergo a background check and pay a $200 USD tax...
That said, dont try this at home... or just dont get caught.
anyways; my suppressor is made out of PVC Pipe and wood:
my supply list assumes that the barrel of your cannon is 2'' and you want a suppressor that is only 3'' (the sizes are highly interchangeable)
Supply List:
2'' to 3'' (THREADED!!!) PVC adaptor (the 3'' should be threaded)
3'' threaded adaptor
about 3 feet of 3'' PVC Pipe
3'' diameter, circular, wooden blocks (about 5, but its up to you.)
File (wood/carpenters file)
PVC Primer
PVC Cement
Power drill (drill press worked best for me)
Spray paint (not essential, but cool)
1.) OK, so you first have to prep your materials; take the 2'' to 3'' PVC adapter and file off the stoppers on the inside so that a 2'' pipe is able to 'snugly' pass through.
2.) Then you have to drill out some holes in the end of your potato cannon barrel (about the last 1.5 feet, but not too close to the end; as this will compermise the integrity of the structure)
3.) Next drill out holes in your 3'' diameter wooden blocks. your hole should be about 2.25 inches (the potato must fly through these holes so extra room may be needed)
4.) Prime and cement the 2'' to 3'' adapter to the barrel of your cannon. (close to the holes you drilled earlier) about 1.5 feet from the end of your barrel.
5.) Prime and cement the 3'' PVC barrel to the 3'' threaded adapter, let dry...
6.) Glue the 3'' wooden blocks to the inside of the 3'' PVC pipe (these blocks will be your baffles, do not glue more than 1.5 feet inside your Pipe; as they will may come into contact will the 2'' barrel and disallow the threadings to readh each other)
7.) Paint your Suppressor some sweet color, let dry...
8.) Screw your suppressor onto the fixed portion of your cannon... if the BATF comes knocing on your door; unscrew the suppressor and melt it to destroy the evidence, lol, jk...
Here is a side cut-away picture of the first one i built...
Again, i must stress two things:
1.) Actually building this could get you in SOOOO much trouble.
2.) if your baffles are not correctly alligned, the potato could catch onto one of them and destroy your cannon, and possibly cause death to the user(s) use extreme caution!!!!
and by the way, do not cement the threadings together, as you will have to remove the suppressor in order to load the next potato... at least on my original design... i have since [not] built several cannons testing suppressors and have more complex designs if you would like me to post them... Unfortunately i will not be posting any real pictures because of legal reasons.
Hope you enjoyed; to learn more about suppressor designs visit wikipedia and become your own expert!
Remember this is all for informational purposes ONLY, do NOT ATTEMPT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Ok, I know this sounds counterintuitive but when i built my cannon; i did not want the thunderous BOOM of an internal propane explosion. I own multiple firearms and have a licence for my AR (M-16) pre ban rifle's suppressor. I began to wonder; is it possible to muffle the sound from my potato cannon? Turns out; there is! Without any design or extensive thinking beforehand I headed off to my local hardware store. I picked up a few items and began to experiment. The following is my instruction on how to create a supressor for ALMOST ANY potato cannon without extensive modification or cost (for me; less then $15 USD) but a fair warning to beginners oor non-firearm users: homemade building of a firearm suppressor is a federal offence and id punishable by a huge fine and prison time :O A suppressor is a classIII weapon (equivelant to a full auto machine gun) you must fill out a BATF form, undergo a background check and pay a $200 USD tax...
That said, dont try this at home... or just dont get caught.
anyways; my suppressor is made out of PVC Pipe and wood:
my supply list assumes that the barrel of your cannon is 2'' and you want a suppressor that is only 3'' (the sizes are highly interchangeable)
Supply List:
2'' to 3'' (THREADED!!!) PVC adaptor (the 3'' should be threaded)
3'' threaded adaptor
about 3 feet of 3'' PVC Pipe
3'' diameter, circular, wooden blocks (about 5, but its up to you.)
File (wood/carpenters file)
PVC Primer
PVC Cement
Power drill (drill press worked best for me)
Spray paint (not essential, but cool)
1.) OK, so you first have to prep your materials; take the 2'' to 3'' PVC adapter and file off the stoppers on the inside so that a 2'' pipe is able to 'snugly' pass through.
2.) Then you have to drill out some holes in the end of your potato cannon barrel (about the last 1.5 feet, but not too close to the end; as this will compermise the integrity of the structure)
3.) Next drill out holes in your 3'' diameter wooden blocks. your hole should be about 2.25 inches (the potato must fly through these holes so extra room may be needed)
4.) Prime and cement the 2'' to 3'' adapter to the barrel of your cannon. (close to the holes you drilled earlier) about 1.5 feet from the end of your barrel.
5.) Prime and cement the 3'' PVC barrel to the 3'' threaded adapter, let dry...
6.) Glue the 3'' wooden blocks to the inside of the 3'' PVC pipe (these blocks will be your baffles, do not glue more than 1.5 feet inside your Pipe; as they will may come into contact will the 2'' barrel and disallow the threadings to readh each other)
7.) Paint your Suppressor some sweet color, let dry...
8.) Screw your suppressor onto the fixed portion of your cannon... if the BATF comes knocing on your door; unscrew the suppressor and melt it to destroy the evidence, lol, jk...
Here is a side cut-away picture of the first one i built...
Again, i must stress two things:
1.) Actually building this could get you in SOOOO much trouble.
2.) if your baffles are not correctly alligned, the potato could catch onto one of them and destroy your cannon, and possibly cause death to the user(s) use extreme caution!!!!
and by the way, do not cement the threadings together, as you will have to remove the suppressor in order to load the next potato... at least on my original design... i have since [not] built several cannons testing suppressors and have more complex designs if you would like me to post them... Unfortunately i will not be posting any real pictures because of legal reasons.
Hope you enjoyed; to learn more about suppressor designs visit wikipedia and become your own expert!
Remember this is all for informational purposes ONLY, do NOT ATTEMPT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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