Yet Another Noob...

[CaveC]

I've been lurking as a guest for the past few days, and decided I'd sign up and spread my noobiness around the forums!

I've got nothing but time for the next month (no job, live in the country, 16 y/o, summer vacation half-over.. bah!), so I NEED something to do, and thought about spud guns, did some searching, so I ended up here.

I just need some advice on what to do, I know NOTHING of guns, only experience I've got is shooting air rifles (not to brag, but I'm a pretty good sniper ). I would go searching for plans and stuff, but after reading up on these forums I decided I'd ask you guys what the best plans are for safety reasons, as some random plans off of the internet could go wrong very quickly.

I'm not too familiar with this kind of stuff (I'd fix crap around the house, assemble desks/shelves, etc. I'm good at taking stuff apart and reassembling, as I've been told so numerous times), but I know a little, my brother and dad are car nuts, so I've got pretty much every tool imaginable, and I've got a decent amount of money to blow, and access to free metal (any kind, although I don't know if that is useful info) as my dad works at a forge.

I don't even know where to start, big or small, combustion or pneumatic, etc, etc. Obviously I'm leaning towards combustion, but it's not like I won't do pneumatic. My yard is about 150 yards back, if that's useful or not.

Thanks in advance, fellas.

[spud yeti]

OK, well first off, you really have to decide on pneumatic or combustion
a) Pneumatic - technical and quite a nice challenge, but impressive results
b) Combustion - slightly easier, but still a challenge, and give loud, decent results.


I personally (yes, redundancy there, oops) prefer pneumatic, but thats just my opinion.

Next you have to decide on the size cannon you would like building, and at the same time, what you would like to shoot.

Once all this is clarified, then we (the forum) can help you decide on the style, look, and general options to building your beauty.

[CaveC]

Well.. What is good to shoot? I've been reading about nerf stuff? I don't really know what would be easiest... Golf Balls are too hard, I'd rather have something squishy so it gets a tight seal, but potatoes are too hard/mis-shapen also, and that only leaves nerf footballs and nerf stuff, I'm guessing I should go for nerf?

If the nerf football is the choice, preferably I'd take the mini footballs, as I don't want my first gun to be a huge thing... So there's your size..

I am a technical person, but I doubt pneumatics would be good for my very first gun, would it?


My main goal is to eventually build an M79 Launcher replica, shooting either nerf or potatoes.

[spud yeti]

Yeah, I dont know much about nerf since I live in South Africa, but I do know that 3/4" cpvc tube fits paintballs really well. Then your cannon will be relatively small too.

If you want something really portable, go combustion. Pneumatics need either a compressor or a pump (bicycle). The one crap thing about combustion is they dont work 100% of the time, and pneumatics work 99.9%.
If you are a technically minded person, pneumatics are not really that hard, provided your work is thourough and built well.

[SpudBlaster15]

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[Modderxtrordanare]

I am a technical person, but I doubt pneumatics would be good for my very first gun, would it?

Why?! My first, and everyone thereafter, are all pneumatics.


What exactly is your budget on this gun?

[CaveC]

Maybe around a hundred bucks or so (that's Canadian, by the way).

But, again, I can get alot of the stuff for free, save for the PVC (if that's what I'll be using), which I'll buy new, for sure.

[Modderxtrordanare]

Maybe around a hundred bucks or so (that's Canadian, by the way).

Canadian dollars and US ones aren't much different. I belive 100cnd is like 95usd.

You mentioned having alot of tools, I presume you have an air compressor then. Since your dad is a car freak. He probably has alot of air powered tools.

[CaveC]

Got a big air compressor (atleast 75 pounds or so) , although we only have an air drill (I think that's what it is, no one uses it, we just use the power drill or a screwdriver..)

[Modderxtrordanare]

Got a big air compressor (atleast 75 pounds or so) , although we only have an air drill (I think that's what it is, no one uses it, we just use the power drill or a screwdriver..)

I was hoping you'd tell me how many gallons the compressor is..the weight doesn't tell me much. It could be a half pint nuclear powered air compressor with a 70lb nuclear reactor on it for all I know. 75lbs doesn't help much.

I'm just messing with you, but that sounds like a pretty big compressor. (I only have a small 2gallon one and a 6 gallon one)

Maybe build yourself a basic over/under or inline sprinkler valve'd cannon. Use a 1.25" diameter barrel, and shoot D-batteries out of it. *Goes and watches Demetri Martin. "J-ays, I vould like d batterys"*

[CaveC]

Ok! Sounds good!

Now..

I don't understand what any of that means.. :scratch:

basic over/under = ?
inline sprinkler valve'd cannon = ?

Got the 1.25 d barrel, and the d-batteries, though.



I said I was going to spread my noobiness... :newb:

[Redcoat]

yeah honestly as a first gun id go combustion i prefer them myself anyway. They are extremely cool and involve an explosion which is what i like about them but performance wise i'd go pneumatic they are more reliable.

Happ SPuddin'

[Modderxtrordanare]

Ok! Sounds good!

Now..

I don't understand what any of that means.. :scratch:

basic over/under = ?
inline sprinkler valve'd cannon = ?

Got the 1.25 d barrel, and the d-batteries, though.



I said I was going to spread my noobiness... :newb:

Click me.

[Fnord]

First, let's clarify something:

Noob - a person who is new to a particular subject and shows no willingness to learn on their own; often using badly constructed sentences to convey thoughts.

Newbie - a person who is new a particular subject who can use knowledge they have in other areas to help them understand something new. A newbie is also someone who attempts to understand information from others and experiments on their own.

Therefore, you appear to be a newbie


Anyway, the wiki link at the top is a very useful item. You can find almost anything you want to know on there. In this case, an inline sprinkler valve gun is a gun where the barrel is directly infront of the chamber, so they form a straight line.
A sprinkler valve is a valve designed for use with lawn sprinklers, which is also commonly used on this site to make cannons. They can be modified to open faster by using air pressure rather than electricity.

You'll probably end up making a sprinkler valve gun for your first pneumatic, but you might want to consider making a mini combustion sometime. Most of them are made from pill bottles and only take minutes to construct.

There is a mini cannon showcase link in the dropdown box below.

[jimmy101]

I would definitely start with a combustion gun. Much easier to get impressive results with a combustion versus a compressed air gun. Also, much safer as you learn solvent welding, part selection etc.

Cost for a basic combustion and a basic compressed air would be just about the same, probably within a few US dollars. (Assuming you already have a compressor which all by itself is probably a couple hundred dollars for a decent one )

One big advantage of a combustion gun is that you can start basic and add stuff to the gun to improve its performance. A "basic" combustion can easily be converted into an "advanced" combustion by adding things. Add a fan, a meter, multiple sparks etc. The gun's performance will go up, you'll learn stuff, the "bling" factor will go up, it's all good. With a compressed air gun there is a lot less you can do to a basic gun to improve its performance, usually you start over from scratch to build a better gun.


I wouldn't start with Nerf ammo. Really not all that impressive regardless of what kind or how well the gun is designed and built. You just can't get much energy into something that light. You'll never punch a Nerf round through a sheet of plywood.

Spuds really are a great ammo, same with apples and a few other things. They are not irregular when loaded into a barrel equipped with a spud cutter. Basically, the end of the barrel is sharpened to a knife edge. When an oversized spud (apple, zucchini ...) is shoved into the barrel the knife slices the ammo to the exact size of the barrel. Another advantages of taters and the like is cost. Even a small gun will launch things far enough to make finding them again pretty hard.

That's just my 2¢ (3¢ Canadian)