So, Who influenced you to start spudding?

[cornflake_81]

A couple years ago, a friend and co-worker of mine was helping to organize a haunted house/fund raiser type thing for a local charity. He had mentioned that one of the directors had built an air cannon to blast patrons with air as they moved through the haunted house. Subsequently, he had also been using it to fling various things across the fairgrounds as well (potatoes, rubber bugs, bouncy balls). Immediately I was interested. Danger? Destruction? Potatoes?? I gotsta have one.

That night, I got on the internet and googled "air cannon", and lo and behold, I found Spudfiles. My first cannon had its flaws (dwv, flow problems, leaks), but to a noob like me, it was impressive and kept me entertained. I've evolved a bit, tackling more and more complex tasks and projects. I'm pretty quiet around here (that search button actually is useful after all), but I spend ridiculous amounts of time in my garage "experimenting". My day job is kind of repetitive and mindless, so it gives me something to exercise my mind with.

And similar to Blitz, I love the reaction I get when people see my garage (I call it "the lab") for the first time. Its like they've accidentally stumbled onto a hidden weapons cache...

[Lentamentalisk]

I was on a camping trip with my elementary school class (ya, we are all still friends all these years later) and one of the parents mentions, in passing a potato cannon. The rest is history and Youtube...

[willarddaniels]

I was researching trebuchets for a new project and came across the book Backyard Balistics, as mentioned earlier. I was too cheap to buy it so I started thinking about my own. I had my trebs, sawdust/fireball launcher and a new toy: a pneumatic bottle launcher, but I still wanted more. I searched online for related items to launchers and came across Spudfiles. Since then I have made several in my head and have amassed heaps of info so that when I create my first "real" one, it will be perfect.
This has brought me to my next project: pulse jet engines.

[clide]

I was wandering around my garage one day wondering what to do with a Home Depot gift certificate when I stumbled across a potato gun that one of my dad's friends had given to him awhile ago. I went strait to the internet to do some research and found Spudtech where folks like boogieman, Bartman, pacogoatboy, chewy, etc were very helpful in finding out how to make a good potato gun. My first one was pretty crappy, but I read through every post in the Pneumatic section of Spudfiles and quickly advanced on to a large coaxial. Then I just continued advancing from there.

[bigbob12345]

I was influenced to start spudding by a 10 year old
He was one of my little brothers friends and he built a spray and pray about a year ago.
I made a similar spray and pray once I convinced my dad it wouldnt blow up. And I simply loved to mess around with it. The 10 year old that influencent me has still not made another as he seems pleased with his but i wanted more so look were i am now

[THUNDERLORD]

THUNDERLORD, you did see the first page right?

What the hell is wrong with you? We're all sharing stories of how we found this great hobby.

I'm pretty certain you missed the first page, even if you did, that's no reason to go off at a member. If cornflake did start the topic, and with that same post, I wouldn't mind, nothing at all wrong with it. It gives everyone a chance to know each other more.

Actually I did miss the first page, @cornflake_81 sorry man I had a bunch of beers after work at a really cool bar I found and when I logged on I thought your statement was the actual post

Geez I'm stupid sometimes. Please accept my most sincere apology

I hope you will find this funny and an example of why drinking and spudding don't mix.

@ everyone else I apologize also. I have really learned my lesson about that and I hope you all take it in good humor.




Edit by MrC: Thread cleaned up, this post will remain so everyone knows that it's just a mix up.

[SpudUke5]

(Since JSR inst here to make the usual lecture i will )

This is what we call PUI (Positng Under the Influece) but your not the first so dont worry we all make mistakes.

Lol, i just keep finding it funny as this occurs more than once.

[jook13]

I built a simple spray and prey a few years back (like 7) after going to a friends house and his dad made one. I have had it around all this time. then recently I was going through my closet and saw my old cannon. After finding it, I decided to look through youtube to see other people launching things from pvc. that led to this site and it became an obsession.

also thunderlord, I drink a lot with my friends. we all do dumb things after drinking, hell I got a stranger pregnant about 3 years ago. thank god she is my wife now and things are awesome.

[Eddbot]

popular science...nuff said

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Yay for PUI! Thankfully when I do return home these days I'll be too fishmuzzled to stagger to the keyboard

As to getting started in spudding, I grew up in a completely gun-free environment (thanks mom look how much good that did...) and the only way I was going to launch projectiles before I could legally own guns was by "rolling my own" so to speak. I first started with spring loaded devices and a bit of black powder experimentation, before I came across this, made my first ball-valve pneumatic and the rest, as they say, is history

[starman]

This thread inspired me to build a replica of my first cannon this evening, a tin-can lighter fluid cannon. Some kid I don't even remember, gave it to me in the 8th grade. I wrote it up this evening and posted it in the cannon showcase...feel free to go take a look...

http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/viewtop ... tml#177267

Let's just say, I've been hooked ever since.

[XxtriviumxX]

I think I was watching Pyro Ninja light a sparkler bomb a few years back. I thought that was pretty cool. From then my interest evolved, and Pryo Ninja introduced me to Spudfiles.

I guess all the credit goes to him. **sigh**

[BigGrib]

i was sitting at home one day about 7 years ago and my buddy showed up with this length on abs (it was a 1' 4"dia to a 3' 3" dia barrel) and told me what it was. i looked at him like he was crazy. we went out and tried to shoot it but couldn't get the piezo to work right. ended up going to another buddies place who showed us what we were doing wrong and we started blowing apples away for about the next week. after that it was off and on maybe about a week a year that we'd go out shooting. i finally started looking for new ways to build a cannon and came across spud files. thanks to my buddy thomas for bringing his ghetto spray and pray and introducing me to spudding.

[MaxuS the 2nd]

Jeremy Clarkson on the History of Guns. He fired a Spray 'n Pray.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Jeremy Clarkson on the History of Guns. He fired a Spray 'n Pray.

"And yet, if you carry one you win every argument, you always get your own way, and that gives you an immense sense of power - and power is an aphrodisiac.

This may well be an instrument of satan, but it is unbelievably sexy"

Excellent program