Homebrew pneumatic cannon swivel

[The Haymaker]

No big thing, but just wanted to brood a little about my new swivel I made from a front wheel breaing off a fs Chevy 4wd. Might be strong enough for TaterHaterV2 with three inch barrel?

http://www.xr650r.us/cannon/closeups/

I still need to paint it and lop off the overly long 3/4" shaft on the bottom so it'll sit flat on the top of the post. The post will be eliminated soon and replaced with a two wheeled howitzer style wagon. This cannon is getting to heavy to move for maintainence. V2 will have 6" stainless and a 3" galv barrel, so it'll have to have the wheels, either that or I'll be cleaning certain objects from my sneaks every time I try to lift it.

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[carlbelcher]

That is one huge cannon! The ball valve isn't the best but that's still cool!

[The Haymaker]

I know, I know. Thde ball valve is the weak point right now. The piping is 2", but the valve is 1.5". BUT, the valve was free from a customer. Soon I will set out on a mission of making a metal piston valve. My goal is to eliminate the pvc completely.

Even with the whimpy restricting valve, the thing is potent. The long barrel was the key. It'll launch caulking tubes ballasted with concrete out of sight. If you look carefuly at the bottom of the rezzie, right where it meets the wood post, you'll see a small white square. That is a 21" pc monitor 900' out on a bank. Need I say more?

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[rna_duelers]

A steel piston,sounds heavy the lighter it is the faster opening and the better but dam thats a huge cannon!

[benstern]

how long is the barrel?

[The Haymaker]

Somewhere around 17'. It increased range dramatically (sp?) over a single 10' piece, especially when firing heavier items. The whole thing is counterbalanced by a garage door spring. You literally aim with a few fingers of your left hand and fire with the right.

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[carlbelcher]

Having your barrel that long really helps to make up for the ball valve.

[SpudStuff]

umm not to break your bubble but i would be careful because thoes are DVW parts

[The Haymaker]

It definitely made up for the valve. I was getting a lot of "whoosh" when the projectile would leave the barrel, so I figured I still had plenty of back pressure left at te 10' mark. I scaenged the other 7' and voila!

I know it's dwv. That will soon all disappear as soon as I figure out how to make some flanges for 4" steel pipe. Hopefully I won't eat (no pun intended) my words, but it's been my experience with the stuff, with air, that it'll crack without any shrapnel.

Of course, I always wear the proper safety equipment. Here's me with my warm weather gear. Kinda skimpy, I know, but I hate the heat.

http://www.xr650r.us/cannon/EOD.jpg

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