Breach Loaded Pneumatic Rifle

Show us your pneumatic spud gun! Discuss pneumatic (compressed gas) powered potato guns and related accessories. Valve types, actuation, pipe, materials, fittings, compressors, safety, gas choices, and more.
Potato Demon
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Mon Feb 11, 2019 6:46 pm

I was at the hardware store a few days ago and I thought “Why not make my 9th spud gun?”. Do I did. It managed to stick a blowgun dart in my garage door from around 10 feet at 100 psi and it shot through 3 or 4 layers of cardboard prior to doing that. The thing that makes it special (for me, at least) is, the barrel slides forward and I can load stuff in like that instead. I haven’t done a range test but I bet it would go 50 to 100 metres. The spacer is a piece of wood (the writing says spacer so I wouldn’t accidentally throw it out) and a bent 35 cent bracket.
Attachments
The pneumatic.
The pneumatic.
Closeup.
Closeup.
Barrel in loading position.
Barrel in loading position.
The dart is in the barrel.
The dart is in the barrel.
Barrel is in the valve again, time to shut the valve, fill with air, and fire!
Barrel is in the valve again, time to shut the valve, fill with air, and fire!
Last edited by Potato Demon on Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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farcticox1
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 5:22 am

PVC makes me nervous now, it's not rated for gas pressure, I have used it but wouldn't again.
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Labtecpower
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:04 pm

Good start! reminds me of my own first cannon :D

You can very easily enhance the power of a ball valve cannon by opening the valve with a spring loaded mechanism instead of by hand, it will open the valve much faster than you can do yourself. Now the projectile leaves the barrel before the valve is even half way open.

I have successfully used the following mechanism on a few of my guns; the ball valve actuator is mounted on the shaft of the ball valve and is kept under tension by rubber bands or equivalent, and held in place by the trigger. Should speak for itself, it's a very simple mechanism to build :D Keep on tweaking and making improvements, it's the best part of this hobby.
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Excuse my paint skills, people tell me I have other talents
Excuse my paint skills, people tell me I have other talents
ball valve actuator.png (14.29 KiB) Viewed 3789 times
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farcticox1
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:00 pm

Or springs :idea:
008 (3).jpg
And if you drill a hole in the ball valve you can load straight into it, can cause it to leak a bit though.
001 (3).jpg
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jackssmirkingrevenge
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:15 pm

farcticox1 wrote:PVC makes me nervous now, it's not rated for gas pressure, I have used it but wouldn't again.
In practice it's fine if you don't abuse it.

+1 for spring-loading your ball valve for meaningful power and a modicum of accuracy ;)
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Potato Demon
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Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:15 pm

I’ll try both mechanisms, I’ll probably make a second one like this out of steel pipe so I can use one mech on each.
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farcticox1
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Wed Feb 13, 2019 6:08 am

This one is pretty simple, and it uses a bike pump :shock:

[youtube][/youtube]
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