This project makes me happy inside.

This thing looks so epic lol. How bad-ass does it make you feel when you shoot it?

When I was really into balisongs I saved up some money and picked up a Benchmade Model 51. Here are some photos I just took of it:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4917215/Model%2051/Closed.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4917215/Model%2051/Open.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4917215/Model%2051/Benchmade%201 ...

Ouch, sorry to hear about this. Bad things seem to happen at the worst of times, don't they? I remember when my dad got in his motorcycle accident on Easter Sunday two years ago...He simply texted us saying "Got in an accident". Ended up losing his left foot.

I hope your mom is ok!

As to a portable air source, consider getting a SCUBA cylinder if you can get it refilled easily nearby. That's an interesting idea but I'm not sure if I'd be able to get one filled locally. I'll look around and see what I can find.

As for using extension cords to fire this thing with, they're ...

why go electronic? if you mod it with just a blow gun it will open faster! Would I still be able to open the valve without being near it if I do that? Since I'm usually the cameraman I need to be able to trigger this at the right time which is why I opted for the electronic method - I can daisy ...

I remember seeing that episode on TV. I don't plan on using this near any real fire so I shouldn't have anything to worry about. :)

In other news, I have a few photos of the build so far:
This is the box I've wired up to detonate this thing with. It contains a 9 volt battery (Velcroed inside) and ...

I'll start using flour. Depending on how that turns out I may or may not try fullers earth. I also got a sponge I ripped into some jagged pieces that I'm going to paint gray/black to act as fake rocks. They should help push all the flour and other small debris out of the end (Dirt, sticks, leaves ...

Cool, thanks for the suggestions and info everyone. I just kind of accidentally stumbled on that tank out of nowhere lol.

I'll post pictures and a video once I get everything put together and make sure it works. Should be done by next week hopefully. :wink:

or maybe I'll come back crying for ...

I saw a pretty good deal on a 10 Liter tank on ebay and decided to buy it. It seems like a good fit for me to upgrade in the future if I need to (and it was only $50, shipping included).

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l2736&_nkw=FESTO+COMPRESSED+AIR+RESERVOIR

I also went ...

I'm looking to keep the cost less than $75 for this. I don't plan on using this for any fire, just smoke. I've spent a lot of time learning how to create fairly realistic 3D fire simulations. Since smoke takes forever to simulate and render, this air cannon seems like a logical choice. It would also ...

I'm interested in building a simple pneumatic cannon to use for special effects. I would use it primarily to throw dirt, flour, and other small debris to give the effect of an explosion on camera (Which I would enhance with digital effects in post).

The only problem I'm running into is what ...