How to Build a Potato Gun
October 2003
Page 1: Design and Construction
Page 2: Comparissons and Field Tests
Comparisons
Here are a few shots to compare Potato Gun I to Potato Gun II.
Potato Gun I (left) and Potato Gun II (right). PGII has a slightly shorter chambre and slightly longer barrel. | Me 'n the Gunz. I'm 6'1" to give you an idea of their size. |
Field Tests
What's the point in building it if it wasn't going to be used? I have no idea. So I used it.
Unscrewing the combustion chambre cap. |
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Spraying about 6s of WD-40 in to the chambre. |
Kaboom! |
These guns are very noisy in general. People might call the police if you use it in your backyard. I usually go out in to the country a bit. Less people and lots of room.
Upon initial impressions, this gun seems to be more powerful than Spud Launcher I. I'm going to be doing some experiments to determine the exit speed of the potato among other things. I'll be writing up an article on those results in the future.
I hope this article was informative and useful to any potential canon builders. The name of the game is safety. Keep that in mind and have fun!
Project Costs
Item: | Cost: (cdn) |
4" Threaded Adapter | 5.98 |
3" Threaded Adapter | 3.96 |
4" Threaded Plug | 2.96 |
3" Threaded Plug | 1.96 |
4x4x3" T-Pipe | 11.86 |
3 to 2" Bushing | 3.29 |
3 to 4" Increaser | 5.99 |
13" of 4" ABS | 2.68 |
48" of 2" ABS | 3.56 |
ABS Pipe Cement (glue) | 2.99 |
Electric BBQ Igniter | 24.99 |
15% Tax (in Ontario) | 10.52 |
Total | $80.75 |
For this project I keep very close track of what I spent. In the other projects I didn't keep as close of track, so my cost estimates are probably conservative for those. The costs really add up, but the end result is worth it.
Page 1: Design and Construction
Page 2: Comparissons and Field Tests