Rodent problem anyone?

[KnightofNi]

The best was to put a potato in sideways, verse vertical.

You get a much better fit yielding better trajectory and distance.



god I loved that toy

we used potatoes that were slightly too large so they got sheared off on the sides resulting in a perfect fit in the barrel.

[ducatiz]

we used potatoes that were slightly too large so they got sheared off on the sides resulting in a perfect fit in the barrel.

that is the way.  you can make a tamp with a mallet or small bat, just cut off the end.

good times, good times...

[cyrus buelton]

that is the way.  you can make a tamp with a mallet or small bat, just cut off the end.

good times, good times...

I used an old broom handle as my ram rod.

I had a piece of tape that marked exactly how far to push in the potato, so it was right above chamber


I also experimented with wadding. Used newspaper. It actually worked pretty well.

[Monsterlover]

+1 to all of the above.

I built a few back in the day, and I always chamfered the ID of the barrel

Like .25 x 30* or 45* and that *forced* the potato to make a good seal.

The best gun I ever built had an adapter on the cleanout that would allow me to unscrew the barrel, and swap on a barrel of a different size or length.

The police own that one now  

Half a frozen corn cob, thawed just enough so that the core was still frozen. . .

best ammo ever.



Also, I have 1/2 pvc water line in my garage in place for my air compressor.  Everyone told me it would burst and I would die with pvc chunks sticking out of my neck.  The pipe says 600psi on the side.

I don't think the joints will hold that, but it's been in service for 4 years at 110 psi

[acalles]

I've done quite a bit of experimentation with potato guns (I am from Nevada after all  ). The best accelerant is ether (I think that's what it is anyway)...carburetor spray you get at auto parts stores. Aquanet is effective, but coats everything in nastiness over time.

Nahh..

the best accelerant is about a prescription bottle of black powder. as you can see in this pic we tried carb cleaner.


 

I never found the potatoes after a black powder shot.. but the cops would circle right after firing.  we'd get 300 yards easy with carb cleaner though.

besides. for rodents the works best. 

[ducatiz]

Nahh..

the best accelerant is about a prescription bottle of black powder. as you can see in this pic we tried carb cleaner.


 

you make the beast with two backsers made a potato howitzer???

that's GREAT...!!!!!   

[Scotzman]

We rapped a D battery in paper towels then duct tape, which would knock roof shingles off no problem.

I wonder if you could make a smaller one, trench coat sized. Most of ours had 5ft+ barrels.

[Porsche Monkey]

We rapped a D battery in paper towels then duct tape, which would knock roof shingles off no problem.

I wonder if you could make a smaller one, trench coat sized. Most of ours had 5ft+ barrels.

Do you mean wrapped?

[acalles]

you make the beast with two backsers made a potato howitzer???

that's GREAT...!!!!!   

 

1/4" think fence pipe, rabbit rear axle. end is capped off with a rear wheel hub (abut 3/8" thick) rabbit spare tire jack to adjust elevation, front rests on a empty mini keg (which was full when we started the project) then we ran a old hone down the pipe to smooth it out.

thats actually a older pic. its got a old cast iron fire extinguisher welded to the end now. we found the more chamber volume with less volitile fuel (like aqua net) we got way better results. using the black powder was kinda scary (it would roll back about 8" when fired)

[Porsche Monkey]

using the black powder was kinda scary (it would roll back about 8" when fired)

Yeah, that and you used an old fence post as the barrel.

[acalles]

Yeah, that and you used an old fence post as the barrel.

It's thick enough, and way safer then the PVC potato guns.

the potato came out so easy I doubt it built up too much pressure and most of it was a boom and puff of smoke. It would get some serious distance though..

we briefly considered gun cotton or oxyacetylene, but decided either would be a really bad idea 

we really wanted a sonic crack from a potato but never got one..

maybe some day I'll go back over it and try a different system to fire it with, and a longer barrel that'll probably help get some more velocity.

[Porsche Monkey]

One of my instructors for Porsche builds cannons as a hobby.  He is currently building one using one of the barrels out of an A-10.   

[KnightofNi]

It's thick enough, and way safer then the PVC potato guns.

the potato came out so easy I doubt it built up too much pressure and most of it was a boom and puff of smoke. It would get some serious distance though..

we briefly considered gun cotton or oxyacetylene, but decided either would be a really bad idea 

we really wanted a sonic crack from a potato but never got one..

maybe some day I'll go back over it and try a different system to fire it with, and a longer barrel that'll probably help get some more velocity.

hehehehehehehehehehe 

[acalles]

  He is currently building one using one of the barrels out of an A-10.   

awesome.

and a bit more exotic then anything I had laying behind the shop.

[Scotzman]

Do you mean wrapped?

yes, we wrapped the battery, but we were rapping in the process of it.