Quantcast

WWIII thread

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
21,815
12,354
I have no idea where I am
I have mentioned this before but the traditional hairspray method only generates about 20psi where if you use compressed air you can safely go up to 100 psi.

If you are looking for more thump.


Also a lower IR signature
Could you rig a system that injects a specific amount of liquid accelerant, then compress it ?
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,723
21,747
Sleazattle
Could you rig a system that injects a specific amount of liquid accelerant, then compress it ?
You could, the compression would result in a much faster burn rate. But for a potato gun the compression would push the potato out so you would need some kind of valve that would have to open just as ignition takes place. All to complicated for something whose strength is being able to be made from a few bits from a hardware store. The one in the video just uses a sink plunger, few extra PVC fittings and a ball valve you can see in the back. It is counterintuitive that the ball valve lets air out of the back but that is just acting as a trigger that creates a pressure differential that rapidly opens an internal valve made from the sink plunger.
 

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
21,815
12,354
I have no idea where I am
You could, the compression would result in a much faster burn rate. But for a potato gun the compression would push the potato out so you would need some kind of valve that would have to open just as ignition takes place. All to complicated for something whose strength is being able to be made from a few bits from a hardware store. The one in the video just uses a sink plunger, few extra PVC fittings and a ball valve you can see in the back. It is counterintuitive that the ball valve lets air out of the back but that is just acting as a trigger that creates a pressure differential that rapidly opens an internal valve made from the sink plunger.
So how much psi can you get with a bicycle pump ?

No spark also means potatoes soaked in the flammable liquid of your choice will not ignite. So there is that to consider.

However if flaming projectiles are not "safe" then a glow stick shoved into a potato makes a pretty cool tracer spud.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
87,961
26,328
media blackout
I have mentioned this before but the traditional hairspray method only generates about 20psi where if you use compressed air you can safely go up to 100 psi.

If you are looking for more thump.


Also a lower IR signature
We made one like that in college. The trick is cutting the potato to fit the id of the PVC so it's just about airtight but will still slide.
 

AngryMetalsmith

Business is good, thanks for asking
Jun 4, 2006
21,815
12,354
I have no idea where I am
We made one like that in college. The trick is cutting the potato to fit the id of the PVC so it's just about airtight but will still slide.
That's why you chamfer the end of the barrel and whack the potato with a mallet then push it the rest of the way down with a broom handle. Cuts a perfect air tight plug every time.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,723
21,747
Sleazattle
So how much psi can you get with a bicycle pump ?

No spark also means potatoes soaked in the flammable liquid of your choice will not ignite. So there is that to consider.

However if flaming projectiles are not "safe" then a glow stick shoved into a potato makes a pretty cool tracer spud.
Can go all the way up to the rated pressure of the pipe, 100 psi. You are just going to get a hard work out in the process.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,723
21,747
Sleazattle
We made one like that in college. The trick is cutting the potato to fit the id of the PVC so it's just about airtight but will still slide.

The design for that came from a senior design project. Had to make a machine that played golf. Made a little air cannon that could lob a golf ball 10 feet or send it 700 yards. The only difference from what I showed in the video was that we had an aluminum barrel inserted into the PVC to get the bore the same size as a golf ball. At 100 psi the ball would break the sound barrier. No idea how far it went as we could never find where it landed but it only took about 25psi to go 700 yards.

Dammit, I need a machine shop.
 

rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
24,280
12,201
In the cleavage of the Tetons
If you only had GPS then to paint the targets for hole-in -ones…
When I worked at RIM Cyclery in Moab (‘92?), they loved getting drunk and seeing how far they could shoot potatoes down the street on Sunday. It was really a plumbing/metal shop that sold bikes…
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
8,219
6,623
Yakistan
I keep this guy in case I ever build another tater cannon. Except I don't really use potatoes. Mostly apples but pears have a good shape and density for sending mass down range. Went this route after logging the spark in hairspray a few too many times with stationary ignitors. Never had any issues with distance.

I always wanted to work out a break barrel cannon so I didn't need to pack a tamping rod or thread the lid on the back with every shot.

Resized_20220403_214048.jpeg
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,723
21,747
Sleazattle
I keep this guy in case I ever build another tater cannon. Except I don't really use potatoes. Mostly apples but pears have a good shape and density for sending mass down range. Went this route after logging the spark in hairspray a few too many times with stationary ignitors. Never had any issues with distance.

I always wanted to work out a break barrel cannon so I didn't need to pack a tamping rod or thread the lid on the back with every shot.

View attachment 174463
I could be inspired to build if boostindoublesland is agricultural artillery friendly. Could reload on the way to the parking.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,508
In hell. Welcome!
Meanwhile in russia, the official party line is that Ukraine is more dangerous to humankind than nazi Germany and Hitler.
 
Meanwhile in russia, the official party line is that Ukraine is more dangerous to humankind than nazi Germany and Hitler.
Fuck Russia.
 

Sandro

Terrified of Cucumbers
Nov 12, 2006
3,228
2,541
The old world
Just an fyi before you requisition this year’s entire potato harvest as ammunition and have nothing left for freedom fries: you’re dealing with 400 vehicles and not 5000 like Westy‘s tweet mentioned.
 

Sandro

Terrified of Cucumbers
Nov 12, 2006
3,228
2,541
The old world

Sandro

Terrified of Cucumbers
Nov 12, 2006
3,228
2,541
The old world
While at a level this shit's amusing, there have been thousands murdered, raped, and tortured by the Russians. I don't think that jokes are appropriate.
There is an entire page of the thread making jokes about the retribution for this demonstration and I have pointed that the tweet this is based on is off by more than a factor of 10. Yes , I adopted the tone used previously but I haven’t seen you complain about any of the prior posts.
 
There is an entire page of the thread making jokes about the retribution for this demonstration and I have pointed that the tweet this is based on is off by more than a factor of 10. Yes , I adopted the tone used previously but I haven’t seen you complain about any of the prior posts.
I'm not aiming at you personally, and the comment applies to the prior posts. I don't think that flippancy is appropriate in this topic, but that's just my opinion. I was having trouble getting to sleep last night due to the horror of what the Russians are doing.