SpudFiles

G'day people new to this site/club, I have one Q.

What would be a Recommended for me a first timer?!?

Looking for something that will fire long distance....

thanx!

burke_a_lot.

Err, what are you into you think, my first cannon was airsoft related.

Are you into.... and see which one sounds more interesting to you.

Combustion
Pneumatic
Airsoft

Just make sure you use pressure rated pipes and research you're cannon you want to build first. And remember if you're going to build stuff from PVC pipe do NOT and I repeat do NOT use DWV, I don't know the effects but some people on this site have experience schrapnel explosion, which is dangerous in high powered cannons.

That's all I got.

First time, eh? Start here. If that's not to your liking, try here.

Once completed, decide on what you want, give us more detail, and see what comes out of it.

Or you can have a try at anything on this page.

Welcome to Spudfiles.

If you wanna make your first gun and your budget is 30 $ make a ball valve gun:

http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/viewtop ... tml#175719

If you have more then 80 $, try a modded sprinkler valve canon:

http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12338&

After that, if you think you have enough experience you could try a coaxial, the most simple piston valve gun:

http://www.instructables.com/id/A-Coaxi ... ll-Cannon/

And after that, make wathever you want...

I'd Sstart with a medium sized aerosol combustion, they're fun, effective, and will get you familiar with pvc

A good measure of knowing where to start depends on:
-Your creativity
-Your economical status (how much can you afford?)
-Your intelligence (spudding is a scientific hobby, and as you pass through it you will study diverse aspects of building guns, and as you gain knowledge, you will be able to build more advanced stuff)
-Your living environment (parents, laws, and other people like neighbours who may not like it when you spud)
-Your technical possibilities (do you have alot of tools, can you acces a lathe, what sorts of pipe n stuff can you buy/get in your region, do you have an air compressor?)

From this list, I'd say the environment determines whether you should pick a combustion or a pneumatic. Many parents do not allow their sons to build combustions, while they do let them build pneumatics (even though a well-made pneu is more powerful when a combustion)

Before and while designing, technical possibilities is the most important factor: if you cant make it, then it is quite disappointing that you just designed something you cannot build. Look around in hardware stores in your city, and note down what they carry (pressure rated pipe, valves, BBQ lighters, etc). By doing that, will also get an idea about the cost of the cannon, and thus you should keep your economical status in mind when designing.

Intelligence is only needed when you want to take spudding to the next level, hybrid cannons or (semi)- automatic pneumatics for example.
Ofcourse a good pack of common sense (that probably comes with intelligence) will make sure you are safe and will not get hurt, so it is important to use your brains.
Creativity is needed for advanced designs too, because you will explore new ideas and encounter new problems.

Good luck spudding

Thanx guys! I think i'll try and make this one first just to get the know how things work.



has any1 got some simple blue prints for this???

If people were wondering, I have good creativity, Unlimited stock of almost anything, a fair intelligent mind, I live on a farm so parents and space is no problem and I have all the tools in the world!

Metal, PVC, Gunpowder, Nitrate (explosives), Detonating cord,
Detonators, Petrol, Sodium nitrate-potassium nitrate explosive mixture, TNT (trinitrotoluene, trotyl, trilite, triton).

I'm looking froward to experimenting with these goodies to see how far I can get a spud (Under safety, I've had a lot of experience with all of the above).

With PVC, anything beyond propane or MAPP gas is probably going to destroy your project in the long run; things like gunpowder and TNT will destroy it in the short run.

burke_a_lot wrote:Thanx guys! I think i'll try and make this one first just to get the know how things work.



has any1 got some simple blue prints for this???

If people were wondering, I have good creativity, Unlimited stock of almost anything, a fair intelligent mind, I live on a farm so parents and space is no problem and I have all the tools in the world!

Metal, PVC, Gunpowder, Nitrate (explosives), Detonating cord,
Detonators, Petrol, Sodium nitrate-potassium nitrate explosive mixture, TNT (trinitrotoluene, trotyl, trilite, triton).

I'm looking froward to experimenting with these goodies to see how far I can get a spud (Under safety, I've had a lot of experience with all of the above).

Just a word of advice, discussion of solid propellents are against the rules on this forum. Do what you will with your tnt, but don't talk about it here.

As for the gun you mentioned in your post, there is really nothing to it. Get some pipe and fittings (all pressure rated of course), assemble them in the shape you see, glue them with the proper solvent and cement, let it dry, and wire a spark gap to the chamber. That's really all a basic combustion is.

Just a word of advice, discussion of solid propellents are against the rules on this forum. Do what you will with your tnt, but don't talk about it here.

As for the gun you mentioned in your post, there is really nothing to it. Get some pipe and fittings (all pressure rated of course), assemble them in the shape you see, glue them with the proper solvent and cement, let it dry, and wire a spark gap to the chamber. That's really all a basic combustion is.

ah.... thanx.... sorry if I caused a fuss....

yea.... things get a bit crazy out here on my farm!

Rule 3:

Discussion of solid propellants, explosive devices or incendiary projectiles fired specifically from a spud cannon is prohibited, and may result in a permanent banning of your account.For the purpose of this forum, these definitions will be used:
A. Solid propellant: Any substance containing all the chemical elements required to enable sustained combustion without the presence of additional oxidizers. This includes but is not limited to gunpowder, thermite, and many commercial and/or homemade pyrotechnic compounds.
i. For this purpose, nitroglycerine, though liquid, would qualify.
i. For this purpose, ordinary flour, though solid, would not qualify.
B. Explosive device: Any device that has the capability to release large amounts of stored energy rapidly.
i.Discussion of fireworks as projectiles is prohibited.
ii.Discussion of "soda bottle bombs" or any other similar devices that may cause shrapnel as a result of uncontrolled rupture is prohibited.
C. Incendiary projectile: Any projectile that is capable of producing flame.
i. Rocket propelled projectiles, pyrotechnic smoke bombs, or any other burning projectiles would qualify as an incendiary projectile.

The rules link is at the top of the page, check them out, they are usefull for posting guide lines......

Welcome to Spudfiles.

burke_a_lot wrote:has any1 got some simple blue prints for this???

We don't tend to keep them on hand for safety reasons. It's sort of an idiot filter - stops people getting their hands on things that are dangerous that they're going to do anything stupid with (Usually property damage or shooting people - don't do either!).

Anyway, if this...

If people were wondering, I have good creativity, Unlimited stock of almost anything, a fair intelligent mind, I live on a farm so parents and space is no problem and I have all the tools in the world!

... is true, you shouldn't need the blueprints, you should be able to figure it out just fine!

Metal, PVC, Gunpowder, Nitrate (explosives), Detonating cord,
Detonators, Petrol, Sodium nitrate-potassium nitrate explosive mixture, TNT (trinitrotoluene, trotyl, trilite, triton).

Seriously, avoid any solid propellants - especially with PVC - and don't even think about the high explosives. You might get away with Gunpowder and a well made metal cannon, but that's not something I'd recommend to be messing with.

Best to stick to gaseous fuels, as those don't have the energy density available to pose any real risk to you.

I think Killjoy or Fnord or SB15 had somebody destroy their plastic spud-cannon by using some 'no-no-dust' in it. That should be fair enough warning to ye.

NEVER USE ANYTHING MORE POWERFUL THAN MAPP! I can't emphasize this enough. PVC shatters on failure, and is invisible to X-Rays. 1/2" PVC in SCH-40 NSF-PW is rated to 600psi., which many of the propellants you listed will far exceed. Just stick with propane or MAPP for combustions. They are still plenty powerful! Welcome to Spudfiles!