Newbie needs help :(

[Riboflavin]

Ok, I am trying to create a completely pnuematic gun that will be able to launch a tennis ball a reasonable distance. It seems a 'piston valve' will be the best choice to keep a compact design. I need help understanding how to use the piston valve, after searching google I still can't seem to find any good info on how to incorperate a piston into the design.

I want to optimize it for size, making it as small as possible while still being effective, any ideas?

[CS]

<A HREF="http://forums.spudtech.com/topic.asp?TO ... 17">Piston valves explained visually</a>
If I were you I would build a "coaxial" piston pneumatic with a 4" chamber and a 2.5" barrel (duh!). Have you ever made anytype of potato cannon before? If not I would highly suggest you try another type of gun before this because there is lots of skill involed when constructing a piston style launcher. You will also need to have access to machinery. Good Luck!

[Riboflavin]

Nope, Im a potato virgin. Thanks for the fast reply Ill check out that link.