SpudFiles

My first spud gun, I went low budget and used 1.5" on the barrel and 3" on the chamber. Piezoelectric igniter in a rude aluminum pistol grip. Been having a good time making different projectiles. I can feel the itch to move on to MAPP gas though, the spray seems problematic. It works...and then it doesn't and I'm not sure why.

Anyhoo here's a vid of the thing.
[youtube][/youtube]

Edit my MrCrowley:

Here's a vid of the parachute projectile in action
[youtube][/youtube]

Edit my MrCrowley:

I made a whirlibird projectile earlier but it's not quite ready for prime time...

I built the "whirlibird" type projectile from some UV reactive blue Acrylic. Just need to mod up a UV LED and it'll be awesome for night launches. I tinkered with it but I still need to get it to unfurl properly.


I routed out the little disks to perfectly fit the Spud Chucker 9000.


Holding it upside down to show how it opens the blades.


I used small cable ties for the "hinges" on the blades and some tire weights at the bottom.


I cable tied a little LED unit to the shaft.


It works pretty well to illuminate the blades and I was able to track and retrieve it at night.

I need to make a couple more adjustments... a rubber disk under the blades to make them spring open...the wind does not always catch them just right, and a UV led instead of green.

Edit my MrCrowley:

oh.. wow quadruple post. try to condense all of your pictures and video to one post, it one of the forum rules

And on topic now:
It looks like a very nice gun, worthy of some powerful upgrades like a fan and a proper fuel setup. Even if you don't want to change it that much, a longer barrel would help alot.

The reason for the inconsistency of the spray is that it is not properly metered for optimal combustion.

Still, great cannon, simple, clean, effective
Welcome to Spudfiles

Maybe one of the mods could take pity on me and edit the posts to conform.

Thanks

Here's a vid of a sky high launch of a little acrylic projectile I made today.

[youtube][/youtube]

I think there is something to be said about the simplicity of the design, less parts means easier problem diagnosis and repair!

Fun little cannon ya got there might just make me one hehe

Mountain Storm wrote:I made a whirlibird projectile earlier but it's not quite ready for prime time...

Sweet, if you can get it to survive firing it might be a good candidate for a small camera mount.

Thanks guys. I've made some more projectiles over the weekend and one of them is almost a stable ballistic round.




Being a woodworker by trade and having a full shop at my disposal makes tinkering a lot faster. I'm still learning what works and does not with this little cannon. The Scripto lighter I used at first is just dangerous. Once the pressure overcomes the internal structure of the grill lighter it'll blow fire right through the lighter casing and scorch your thumb. Yow. The $11 piezoelectric igniter I got from Lowes lasted exactly one short session before the cheap construction of it failed. I took it apart and it's not something you can repair...just cheap plastic that won't hold up. Rather than throw more money down the rat hole I found an electric igniter on eBay cheaper than anywhere else. Here's the link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWNX:IT

I am not affiliated with the seller and I just ordered it so I'll report back on how fast he ships, quality, durability etc. For $15 and free shipping it looks like a deal.

The kids were very impressed with the 3" hole my slug projectile punched in a tote lid. But we were all very disappointed when the piezo igniter gave up the ghost after that one shot.

The slug is simple to make. I happened to find a tape roll center almost the same size as the bore so I wrapped it in tape until it fit snugly then used it as a pattern to trace and cut more parts from a scrap of shelving material (white melamine). The first piece was time consuming as I hand to use my6" bench sander to true the bandsaw cut and reduce the diameter little by little until it fit perfectly in the bore. The next piece I super glued to the pattern piece and trimmed it in a few seconds on the table mounted router. I stacked a third piece with super glue and routed that flush and that made a 2-1/4" long cylinder. I then used a table edging router bit that put the classic bullet profile on the edge of the front part. Then to make it more durable I drilled through the center and bolted it together using a fender washer in the front to absorb impact.

It makes a spiral as it leaves the barrel...so I need to hand cut some rifling slots in the side of the slug and give that a try. Once it's dialed in a bit I want to makes some rudimentary sights for the Spud Chucker.

EDIT: For some reason the piezo igniter now works. Maybe the cold weather? Weird. Anyhoo I made a short vid that I will add later.

cool cannon, like the projectile

I've made some that are rounded using a large round over router bit and drilled out in the back leaving a 3/8" wall. Those work a lot better. The rifling just lets propulsion escape past. From what I could tell the rifled slugs tumble. Wood potatoes I like making them. Which is good because I have a hard time finding them after I shoot

This one is my first PVC spray and pray cannon. I broke it already and I might repair it, but I might just move on to bigger and better things. I'm itching to make a MAPP powered breech loader.