A Simple Beginner's Cannon
Posted: Sun Oct 01, 2006 4:32 am
These are some pictures of the first type of spud gun we came up with. I don't know if one like it has already been posted. If so, I apologize.
I made this gun with the standard barrel, but I conected it to a 4" to 2" flush reducer connected to the top of a 4" coupling with a 45 degree 2" cleanout. As you can see, the cleanout is a ready made handle, and a good place to put the ignitor. To place the ignitor, i just put a 2" threaded cap on the cleanout and drilled a 1/2" hole in the top. The grill ignitor fits just right, and with a little sealant, is air tight. I normally just connect the wires to the metal ignitor flange that comes with the ignitor kit, and attach it to the inside of the chamber with epoxy. After that, I used the standard 4" threaded cap to close things up. This model does not have a fan or propane injection, but can be made with about $25 and 2-3 hours of your time. One of the downsides I have noticed is that it is easy to overdo the fuel and flood the small chamber out, causing a misfire. Additionally, try to keep the threads on the back clean and dry, as I have had a few guns with jammed threads due to excess hairspray.
Just as a side note, I found that 2 or 3 of those cheap paper towels that come in bundles make great "wadding" so that you can put just about any size object in a 2" barrel. (I have embedded macaroni and spaghetti noodles in a piece of plywood!) Also, cheap fiber toilet brushes WILL fire out of a 2" barrel, but catch on fire on the way out, so beware of where it lands.
Happy spud gunning!!!!
JW
I made this gun with the standard barrel, but I conected it to a 4" to 2" flush reducer connected to the top of a 4" coupling with a 45 degree 2" cleanout. As you can see, the cleanout is a ready made handle, and a good place to put the ignitor. To place the ignitor, i just put a 2" threaded cap on the cleanout and drilled a 1/2" hole in the top. The grill ignitor fits just right, and with a little sealant, is air tight. I normally just connect the wires to the metal ignitor flange that comes with the ignitor kit, and attach it to the inside of the chamber with epoxy. After that, I used the standard 4" threaded cap to close things up. This model does not have a fan or propane injection, but can be made with about $25 and 2-3 hours of your time. One of the downsides I have noticed is that it is easy to overdo the fuel and flood the small chamber out, causing a misfire. Additionally, try to keep the threads on the back clean and dry, as I have had a few guns with jammed threads due to excess hairspray.
Just as a side note, I found that 2 or 3 of those cheap paper towels that come in bundles make great "wadding" so that you can put just about any size object in a 2" barrel. (I have embedded macaroni and spaghetti noodles in a piece of plywood!) Also, cheap fiber toilet brushes WILL fire out of a 2" barrel, but catch on fire on the way out, so beware of where it lands.
Happy spud gunning!!!!
JW
