Some sort of proper padding in the impact zone is required to prevent failure. My Mouse Musket broke pistons on a very regular basis. They even would fail in areas other than the impact face due to the shock wave. Two common faiure points were the face of the piston and right behind the face as show...

When launching a large Gatoraid with the breech planted on my hip, I forgot I had keys in my pocket. That left a mark.

Be sure when measuring the ID is smaller than the OD or the tube will be inside out.

Alternatives exist. BBQ/stove igniton modules, igniter modules for HID lamps such as Metal Halide or Sodium are some examples. Automotive ignition coils, Electric Fence chargers, etc can all be used.

Be careful. The high velocity stream can cause impact ignition if the valve is very dirty. Do not clean it with any kind of flamable solvent. This ignition source has been the cause of several aluminum regulator fires. The older tank should have a brass valve. Brass does not seem to have the fire ha...

Remember anything producing a back pressure on the pilot will tend to either hold the piston closed, or cause it to close early while reducing the rate it will open. This could reduce the power of the shot. In Paintball this is OK as the object is not the highest possible power, but a controlled spe...

In larger sizes the gap can allow the front o-ring to expand and go over the end resulting in launching the projectile and ring. Been there and done that. If it is above 1 inch and over 60 PSI, you will want a ported design to keep the o-ring in place. Looks like a breech loading QDV to me. Please b...

I do electronics repair so the scope is an older Tektronics bench scope with digital storage, so I can trigger a single event and save it. My pickup is a simple magnet and wire coil arrangement, so it does not work with non-magnetic projectiles. For a shirt launcher, a small magent is rolled into a ...

If the board can indeed capture at that rate, it should be reasonably accurate if you can get the optics to work. Sometimes the interface between an analog sensor and reliable machine detection can be difficult. Are you good with analog? Everything from condensation on air cannons, to flame fronts a...

FYI, Alcohol with dry ice is not very viscus at all. This is commonly used in the electrical power industry for drying large power transformers. They pull a vacuum and place a "cold trap" in the vacuum line to keep the water out of the vacuum pump. A cold trap is like a thermos bottle with a pipe in...

This statement would be true if releasing a compressed gas into an expansion chamber. But this is boiling liquid. Connecting the co2 directly to your ball valve will give you full pressure from your co2 cartridge. The small expansion chamber a is like a regulator allowing the pressure the drop to a ...

A 50/50 mix with oxygen is quite dangerous. a 20/80 mix with air burns slower with less energy. You won't get the same bang with air as you will with pure Oxygen. Not sure if you will get detonation with an air mix as you can with 50/50 Oxygen mix.

You could jam radio controlled devices, but not GPS control without causing major disruptions in an urban area. Inertial control would be impossible to jam, though presumably not as accurate. Using limited power and high gain directional antennas (Sat Dish) GPS for a target can be disrupted while l...

Two points. 1 The cup is not styrofoam. It is a drink cup, but not foam. It is a lot stronger than styrafoam. 2 The gas air mix was quite rich. It was a flammable mix, but short on Oxygen. This is noted by the length of the burn and color of the flame. The heated gas exited the cup and then burned a...

Piston movement minimum would be 1/4 the orifice, or opening out the valve. This would be 1/4 of .36 or 0.09 using the quarter rule. At .25 inch it would be wide open. At double the minimum it would be only 0.18 inches.