Potato Cannons: My Experiences and More

[Stevedye56]

Does anyone else make potato cannons here?

Ive made a few with hairspray and 2 pneumatic ones. The best one is over 7 feet tall. I just tested it with a reeses peanut butter cup and it shot it through a 1/4" piece of plywood. I was just wondering if anyone else has made potato cannons or anything like it.

 

[scorpa]

I've never made one myself but one of my friends made one that you used hairspray with, made lunch time at school a little more fun...haha. That thing really made those potatoes fly.

 

[Mk]

Try MAKE magazine's podcast on iTunes. They've had a ton of videos and PDFs on how to make all kinds of them ranging from apples to pumpkins (including potatoes!).

 

[Stevedye56]

Im definitely going to check out that podcast that sounds awesome. I was going to attempt to make a huge pneumatic potato cannon. The only problem was that my dad flipped when he saw i was shooting wood through plywood. It was so loud he thought it blew up. I have yet to hold this one i leave it clamped down in a clamp because i am unsure of the recoil. I also built a bipod when i try a potato. I have a remote firing system so i don't have to be near either.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

There was a guy here in Oregon who either killed or seriously injured his kid with a potato gun. IIRC it blew-up in his face. I couldn't find the story but I did spot this:

The makers of PVC pipe do not recommend that it be used for potato cannon construction, even though it is proven to work safely you must proceed with caution. Safety should be your first concern. These are not toys. An animal, adult or child could be severly injured and most likely killed if they were shot with a potato cannon. Speeds of up to 430 mph can be obtained with high powered potato cannons. Treat any potato cannon like you would an actual gun, don't be stupid with a potato cannon because you can be charged with using a real weapon.

http://www.spudshot.com/page9.html

 

[hypatia]

I've made several. The best one was a can of LaChoy veggies, wrapped loosely in tin foil. You can blast a entire block with LaChoy mist!

 

[Stevedye56]

Hmm. I am suprised they said they arent safe. I read a federal law about them that says that they are safe and legal as long as they shoot potatos. Maybe ill take a little more caution now.

 

[brewnog]

A federal law stating that using a piece of plastic drainpipe and an unmetered quantity of volatile propellant to fire a hard object weighing anywhere up to a couple of kilograms a few hundred metres in a relatively uncontrolled direction is safe?!

You 'merkins are crazier than I thought!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

You 'merkins are crazier than I thought!

merkins...?

 

[brewnog]

merkins...?

Well that's what your great leader seems to call you anyway...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Well that's what your great leader seems to call you anyway...

We don't have a great leader.

So where do you come up with that? I don't see Bush using this one.

merkin
"female pudenda," 1535, apparently a variant of malkin (q.v.) in its sense of "mop." Meaning "artificial vagina or 'counterfeit hair for a woman's privy parts' " is attested from 1617. According to "The Oxford Companion to the Body," the custom of wearing merkins dates from c.1450, was associated with prostitutes, and was to disguise either pubic hair shaved off to exterminate body lice or evidence of venereal disease.
"This put a strange Whim in his Head; which was, to get the hairy circle of [a prostitute's] Merkin ... This he dry'd well, and comb'd out, and then return'd to the Cardinall, telling him, he had brought St. Peter's Beard." [Alexander Smith, "A Complete History of the Lives and Robberies of the most notorious Highwaymen," 1714]

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=merkin

 

[brewnog]

We don't have a great leader.

So where do you come up with that? I don't see Bush using this one.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the pubic wig thing. But to me, whenever Bush is talking about his populace it sounds like he says "'merkins" rather than "Americans"...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the pubic wig thing. But to me, whenever Bush is talking about his populace it sounds like he says "'merkins" rather than "Americans"...

OH, I GET IT!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

It's too bad that Letterman never picked up on that.

 

[Danger]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the pubic wig thing.

How could you?!
Are you feeling okay?

Anyhow, I seriously doubt that anyone outside of PF has ever heard of a 'merkin', let alone knows the definition.
As for the cannons, 'How Stuff Works' has a really good article about them. According to it, though, some jurisdictions have complete bans on them.

 

[Chi Meson]

A federal law stating that using a piece of plastic drainpipe and an unmetered quantity of volatile propellant to fire a hard object weighing anywhere up to a couple of kilograms a few hundred metres in a relatively uncontrolled direction is safe?!

You 'merkins are crazier than I thought!

Legal does not mean safe.

Here in Merca, things remain legal until the appropriate lawsuit is filed. When the time comes that a serious injury results from a hairspray-fired PVC potato cannon, and a successful lawsuit against the hairspray manufacturer nearly bankrupts said company, and the hairspray lobby succesfully pushes through a ban on PVC potato cannons, it remains a lawful passtime.

Perhaps the NRA could block it. Merca is great!

 

[hypatia]

You 'merkins are crazier than I thought!

Ahahahahahhahahaha Ahehehehehehheahahahhaha


whew

 

[brewnog]

Legal does not mean safe.

Here in Merca, things remain legal until the appropriate lawsuit is filed. When the time comes that a serious injury results from a hairspray-fired PVC potato cannon, and a successful lawsuit against the hairspray manufacturer nearly bankrupts said company, and the hairspray lobby succesfully pushes through a ban on PVC potato cannons, it remains a lawful passtime.

Yep, that's why I thought it so strange that the OP asserted that he'd seen a law stating that they were safe!

Perhaps the NRA could block it. Merca is great!

 

[russ_watters]

I don't think there is any such federal law. The best I could find was this: http://science.howstuffworks.com/spud-gun5.htm

The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms does not classify spud guns as firearms when they are used appropriately -- that is recreationally, and without intent to harm people or damage property. However, firing a spud gun is illegal in most cities, and some states have outlawed them. Other countries have their own regulations regarding spud gun ownership and use.

 

[Stevedye56]

I have it let me try to scan it in for everyone.

http://http://members.aol.com/sph911/spud/spudgun_faq.html#legal"

Thats the one I found. It seemed legit to me although someone could have just made it up.

 

[Argentum Vulpes]

This is the closest I've ever gotten to making a potato cannon, however I guess I could of used a potato instead of a cardboard sabot and water balloon full of paint.

http://www.tippmannordnance.com/mortars.html"

But this one was home made on the cheep all SCH 40 PVC for the barrel and SCH 80 PVC for the pressure chamber, valve assembly and lower connection to the barrel. The only metal was on the elevation assembly and bi-pod.

 

[Stevedye56]

Question, does SCH 80 hold twice as much pressure as SCH 40 pipe? if so i think i might use that for the whole guns now.

 

[russ_watters]

I have it let me try to scan it in for everyone.

http://http://members.aol.com/sph911/spud/spudgun_faq.html#legal"

Thats the one I found. It seemed legit to me although someone could have just made it up.

Ok, that fits with what I said. It isn't a law and it doesn't say they are safe. They just aren't specifically illegal (federally, anyway).

 

[Argentum Vulpes]

Generally SCH 80 will hold up to 50 to 70 percent more pressure then the equivalent size SCH 40. I used the SCH 80 in the high pressure parts because it would hold more pressure and would be less likely to be cracked by a fall or having something dropped on it.

 

[Stevedye56]

Ok, that fits with what I said. It isn't a law and it doesn't say they are safe. They just aren't specifically illegal (federally, anyway).

Right, okay. I actually got stopped by the fire marshall and he said it was okay as long as we didnt shoot them at houses. I was so suprised that he said that i almost laughed but i figured hey, he let us shoot them so best not show any emotion and just say thanks.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the pubic wig thing. But to me, whenever Bush is talking about his populace it sounds like he says "'merkins" rather than "Americans"...

It has to be said: He is referring to members of the whig party!

 

[Gokul43201]

It has to be said: He is referring to members of the whig party!

That fetches you a handsome 12 groan points and provides yet another fillip to your lately rocketing groan point average. One can't help but notice how much your GPA has groan lately!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Sorry, perhaps I have my whig too tight...

 

[Math Is Hard]

 

[apples]

I've never heard of potato cannons, forget making them.
What are they?
How can I make them?