DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME : Rotteneggs.com text files and message bases are for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. DO NOT undertake any project based upon any information obtained from this or any other web site.We are not responsible for, nor do we assume any liability for, damages resulting from the use of any information on this site.
(143 votes) Published: Sep 08, 2006 8:04 a.m. In 11 Favorites Lists Viewed 1313 times
I searched the site for a compressed air cannon, something like the "Infamous Chicken Gun" that was shown on the Discovery channel’s "Mythbusters". I see there are quite a few air guns, potato guns, air cannons, etc. already posted, but this is a unique one to make! Some welding skill is required.
List of items:
5 gallon air tank
Butterfly valve
Pipe fitting for valve
PVC tubing
PVC fitting adapter
Plumber’s GOOP
Welder
Let’s show the finished item first
OK, this has been painted black for no reason.
First thing we need is an air tank like this:
The valve looks like this:
Discard the hose from the tank or save it for another use.
On the far end away from the gauge and filling valve, you’ll need to drill, cut or cut (torch) a 1.5 inch hole in the center.
This is where the plumbing fixture for the butterfly valve will be seated. When you buy the butterfly valve make sure you buy a fitting that will allow you to screw the valve onto one end. The fitting’s other end is welded over the hole in the tank so whether it’s threaded or not doesn’t matter.
This is the fitting welded on:
After welding, check to make sure there are no leaks in your weld by soaping the fit and seeing if any compressed air "bubbles" out. Seal as needed.
Screw on the butterfly valve using pipe dope or pipe tape on the threads. Adding some plumber’s GOOP will seal it well.
Next you’ll size up the I.D. of the butterfly valve and attach corresponding PVC pipe via a fitting to match the I.D. and O.D.
ALL fittings should be doped and glued with GOOP to ensure a solid, no-leak fit.
The tank has a pressure gauge and filling valve (now situated in the cannon’s rear) and they usually redline at 130 psi. I have found that 50-70 psi works well...80-90 psi is excellent and 100-120 psi will, well you better sit on it or place the rear on the ground because it will act like a bottle rocket! Remember, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and 120 psi of air coming out a 1.5 inch pipe has plenty of power!
For filling I use an air compressor like this, but you could use a bicycle pump or car tire pump as well.
Now for making the "ammo"
Save a 3-5 inch section of your pvc pipe and sharpen on end on the inside and out to make a potato gutter.
Another round can be made using a piece of wood dowel, slightly smaller the the pipe’s I.D. (use tape to make a snug fit) and drill out a hole, thread in a bolt and nut to make a "bullet". Here is the "bullet" and the hole it made in a 6 foot privacy fence from 20 yards away.
You can use a CO2 casing that is taped with duct tape for a snug fit to make a round that, well, if I have to tell you maybe you should steer clear of this one!
ALWAYS prep the BBL with some wadded up paper towels (about golfball size) rammed in with a broomstick or long dowel. This helps ensure a good fit and minimizes pressure loss around the projectile. Also it keeps the potato version from being exploded inside the BBL! Dowel or broomstick should be used to "seat" or lightly ram your projectile in all the way to the valve.
I filled it one time with a dozen or so paintballs, fired from 20 yards at the same fence and it makes an impressive cannon for any paintball game!
The white dots are where the balls hit-good defensive pattern!!!
It takes a bit of time and effort to make this, but the resulting fun afterwards is well worth it! Use your imagination for other projectiles, just make sure they fit snugly. I made a "missle" once out of a 3 foot piece of wood dowel with one end pointed and collapsible fins folded on the other end. At 115 psi, I never did find where it went!! It was fired over a very large lake and there was a small splash WAAAYYY OUT!
Be careful, be safe have fun and remember to watch your pressure gauge, fix ANY leaks and for God’s sake, point it at a safe target!!!
Sep 08, 2006 10:05 am - i think im going to make this because i can weld and i have an air tank but i now this is a stupid question but where do you fill it up with air?
Sep 08, 2006 1:41 pm - I have an air compressor/tank that I use to fill the cannon with. These can be expensive and if you don’t need one for working with air tools, etc. try one of those little ones you keep in the car that run off of 12 volts. Otherwise, you’ll have to use a hand type pump or take it to a water/air station at a fuel stop.
Sep 08, 2006 2:54 pm - Is that your fence that you beat the shit out of? also i like how you said use a bicycle pump. Lmao do you know how long that would take? regardless this is a good 5* egg
Sep 08, 2006 3:07 pm - LMAO...Naw, it’s my next door neighbor’s fence. He didn’t think it had the power to do any damage, so.....But now he’s got a cannon, too! I live in a crazy little area!
Sep 08, 2006 5:48 pm - well thought out, good writing, pix, included ammo. 5*
take that pvc potato gutter, cap it off, fill it with water and freeze it. pour in some bbs to for good measure. ice cannon! also on a mythbusters episode they used foam packing for small projectiles, i don’t remember the name but you can put smoke bombs in ’em, for americans red white and blue and use a short fuse so they leave a trail through the air. you can make the foam packing into a big missile, just for fun. you could shoot friends, neighbours or their pets. if you do this make sure there is NOTHING else in the pipe, a stray bb wouldn’t go far unpacked, but it might cane like hell anyway. don’t forget sparkler bombs ( you’ll need a clay seal on top and just a small ejection hole shaped like a nozzle to stop the contents from falling out (or not if you want to set fire to anything 50 metres in front of you in a 10 degree radius), makes it shoot higher anyway, dont forget to have the sparkler bomb facing forwards, not backwards, or you’ll have bits of magnesium welded to the inside of the pipe, reducing its efficiency. you can take lithium from lithium batteries and use it to colour the sparkler bomb red. you could try removing stars from a roman candle, put them in a little pouch and put a long sparkler fuse on it. could also use blackpowder, woudln’t need a fuse though. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. fines of up to 30 000 au$ apply for dismantling fireworks.
Sep 09, 2006 6:23 pm - Cost If you buy all of the items new, between going to a Home Depot and Wal-Mart type stores, you’ll pay appx. $15-$20 for the tank, $10-$15 for the butterfly (or ball) valve. PVC and fittings, maybe under $10. Try to see what you can find that is laying around or a friend has but doesn’t need.
Sep 17, 2006 9:33 pm - duh Dude your release is very shitty, I have been making cannons for some time now (phenumantic) and let me tell you the set up you have now sucks. I would say try finding an inline solenoid and wiring up a release through the bleeding valve, with some black high pressure hose and connect it to a push button compressor trigger that way you make better use of your pressure. 2.5* for trying.
Sep 18, 2006 1:54 am - Wow Einstein, don’t you think I tried a solenoid valve? The release was too slow for the air pressure since their made for water. Compression was lost and kinetic energy dropped. Pneumatic is the proper spelling, too. This cannon doesn’t suck, it blows and at a very high rate of travel. Stick to trebuchets, ok?
Nov 03, 2006 11:02 pm - I like potatoes. I like compressed air. I use it in my car tires. That is, compressed air, not potatoes. But sometimes potatoes cause me to have compressed air in my stomach. And one time the compressed air in my stomach made the potato that I swallowed whole (that’s how I eat potatoes) shoot out of my mouth into the neighbors fence. And because of that, I will give you a nice big number 5.
Dec 02, 2006 4:28 pm - Try using a sprinkler or piston valve instead of your butterfly one. They release the compressd air quicker and would make your cannon a lot stronger. 5*
Dec 02, 2006 5:57 pm - I’ve built some using the "pop up" sprinkler valves but I like the idea of keeping them simple, portable and not reliant on an electric force for ignition. Nothing wrong with solenoids and actuators, as long as you’re setup near an outlet or battery source.
Got me thinking now about setting up a "sprinkler solenoid" valve with some small solar panels. Florida has enough sunshine! Thanks for keeping the brain going!
Edit Page
Message BadCat
Add Comment
Add to Favorites
Email to Friend
