Here is some general advice for keeping your potato gun in top notch condition.

After shooting the gun, remove the cap and let the chamber breathe for a few seconds.

Stand the gun upright on the chamber to let the hair spray and moisture dry out.

Do not leave the cap screwed into the combustion chamber if you are not using the spud gun. The cap can get stuck in the chamber and you may end up looking for a big wrench to open the end cap.

After using the spud gun, use hot water and let it run through the combustion chamber. Remove the ignitor, tilt the gun such that the ignitor is up and doesn’t get wet. In case the ignitor gets wet, just let it dry for some time before you put it back or use it again.

Clean the threads of the cap and chamber. Make use of a small brush. It is advisable to clean your gun quite often. Hair spray is sticky and leaves a residue which when left to build up can get very difficult to remove.

Camouflage comes from the French word camoufler meaning to bind or veil. Camouflage is thus used for concealing a person or object.

The first possible use of camouflage dates back to the 14th century in Japan. Ninjas used dark colored camouflage to carry their operations which started at dusk and continued till dawn.

In the 18th century, scouts adopted shades of brown and green as their uniform colors to camouflage themselves.

In mid 19th century, the British Army in India changed the color of their uniforms to khaki and used it as standard color of the uniforms of the army during the second Boer war that took place in 1902.

Around that time when British Army in India adopted Khaki, the US Army too started wearing khaki color to camouflage themselves against enemies and their firing guns.

In the early 20th century, the Italian army used grey-green colors/grigio-verde to camouflage them in the battlefield and the German army made use of grey color/feldgrau for the same purpose.

Camouflage Department was founded in France in the year 1915 to design and create camouflage for the army. The department comprised of painters, artists, and theatre artists who hand painted uniforms.

Camouflage uniforms became popular during World War I. They became more popular by World War II.

Digital camouflage came in late 70s. The Armoured Cavalry Regiment of the USA were the first to use it on their vehicles. The Australian Army made use of digital camouflage on their helicopters.

Camouflage clothing and supplies are used by hunters and also by civilians for fashion. They are also used for fun in birthday parties and themed based parties by guests.

You must never look down the barrel of the spud gun that is loaded. If the trigger is pressed accidently, it may blow up your head.

Do not load the gun when not in use. It is not at all safe to store or transport a loaded gun. The firing mechanism can get pressed accidentally and can cause fatal accidents.

You must never point your potato gun at people, animals, or buildings. Stray projectiles can result in serious injuries and death. Point your spud gun at the target and then put your finger on the firing mechanism.

Go out to a large, open area far away from people and buildings for enjoying spud gun firing. In case you miss the target, there won’t be any serious damage or injury to people or animals.

Make sure you use the correct fuel for your potato gun. Avoid using gasoline, oxygen and gunpowder as they are quite hazardous. Use hair spray instead as it is safe to use.

Spud guns can be used for recreational purpose, but they are not toys. Never ever hand it to kids. They can be extremely dangerous.

To ensure your safety and that of your friends and family participating with you in this exciting activity, read the comprehensive safety guidelines for using spud guns on the Internet or read a good book on using spud guns.

The United States Bureau of Firearms, Alcohol, and Tobacco does not classify spud guns as firearms. But it should be used appropriately and recreationally, and without any intent to cause harm or damage to people and property.

You must check with the local authorities to determine the spud gun legality. In Arizona and Phoenix, spud guns are not considered firearms. But in the state of Texas they are considered to be firearms and their use is prohibited.

In Portugal, all combustion and pneumatic spud guns are considered as firearms and in order to use them one has to acquire proper license. In New Zealand too once needs to be over 18 years of age and possess category A license to use pneumatic spud guns.

If you are living in the UK, you would require a license to use a pneumatic spud gun with a projectile energy greater than 3 ft lbf as it is classified as section 1 firearm.

Different countries have laid down different rules and regulations regarding the spud gun ownership and use. Before you buy or make your own spud gun, check the spud gun legality in your area to prevent yourself from landing in a trouble.

Adhere to the local laws and rule and enjoy firing potatoes from your spud gun!

If you have ever used a potato gun in your backyard or in the countryside, you know how exciting it is to fire potatoes at target. A basic spud gun can launch potatoes 200-400 yards or even farther than that, depending on the barrel size. But do you know that you can use the spud gun for other purposes too?

Pneumatic spud guns can be used for powering t shirts and confetti launchers and can be used at sporting events and parties.

There are specially designed potato guns that can be used for shooting fireballs, for making debris explosions, and water effects. Such potato guns are usually bought to use for giving special effects in films. For instance, to stimulate the effect of a tornado, film makers make use of these specially designed spud guns for flying debris in the air.

Spud guns can be used for firing larger and heavier projectiles like pumpkins. There is a World Championship competition called Punkin Chunkin. Check it out to see how participants fire pumpkins at targets with their spud guns.

Tennis balls, snow balls, golf balls, frozen oranges, apples, paintballs, smoke bomb, sausages, burritos, toilet paper, wet diapers, cow or horse dung, and muffins are few of the endless things that you can shoot out of your spud gun for a fun-filled evening with friends.

If you have been thinking that a potato gun is a small device that can be used for recreationally firing potatoes, then you are probably mistaken. This amazing device can be used for many other purposes. Use your imagination to get the maximum fun out of it.

Have you ever used a spud gun? Do you wonder how this simple device is able to launch potatoes at a fairly long distance? Well, for those of you who are inquisitive and want to understand its working, here it goes.

There are basically two types of spud guns-combustive and pneumatic. While both the guns use the same principle of force-a rapidly moving volume of gas to push a potato-a pneumatic spud gun uses compressed air and a combustive gun makes use of explosives.

Both the types of spud guns are made using PVC pipe. The spud guns feature a barrel for the projectile, a chamber in which gas reaches a very high pressure, and some type of firing mechanism.

A combustion based spud gun makes use of flammable vapour for creating high pressure gas for moving a potato. There is a fuel-air mix in a chamber. The ignition source ignites the flammable mix and when the vapour ignites, the explosion created a large volume of gas. This large volume of gas forces the potato out of the barrel. Depending on the length of the barrel, the potato can go anywhere from 200 to 400 yards away.

In case of pneumatic spud gun, there is a large volume chamber that is pressurized with an air compressor or a tank containing CO2. When the valve is fired, a volume of compressed air is created that sends the projectile down and out of the barrel at amazing velocity in a blink of an eye.

Next time when you see someone launching potatoes out of spud gun or you use it yourself, you would know how it works. Enjoy launching potatoes in the air!!

Spudguns use some of the same principles as internal combustion engines. Just as burning gas forces a piston out of a cylinder it can also force out a potato.A spudgun is a device that uses some form of propellant to project a potato across the sky. Usually these devices are made of ABS plastic sewer pipe. There are several major parts of the spud gun that these pages will refer to. These parts are the firing chamber, the igniter, and the barrel.Read more about Spud Gun physics at below link.

Source: http://www.123helpme.com/physics-of-a-spudgun-view.asp?id=153565

Legend has it the idea was struck that if all these cans were securely taped together to make a long tube, the tennis ball could be stuck down it muzzle loader style and fired by putting a small amount of gasoline in the bottom can (with the hole lid as the breech) and one brave soul (the one that had consumed the most beers) holding a lit match or lighter near the peel-top hole. Miraculously the tennis ball was expelled with great velocity. Much whooping and hollering ensued, and the device was promptly reloaded to verify the first one was not a ‘fluke.’ Hence the backyard cannon was born.

The modern-day version of these devices are typically called spud guns, although a great many names have been assigned to these devices as they come in many shapes, sizes and flavors. A lot has changed over 40 years, but the goal (should) remains the same: having fun with stuff you would not normally associate with a launcher of some kind firing all sorts of funny things for no particular reason–just for some kicks.

I have actually made it my profession, to take this activity to new and farther reaching heights, incorporating more and more technology all in the name of good fun!

A little spudgun history from visitors of Spudtech.

This all goes back, maybe another twenty years. In early WW2 there were some rather crazy weapons devised, including a steam-powered gadget intended to lob ordinary hand grenades into the air to frighten the pilots of German bombers attacking ships. We were desperate enough to use the idea! Anyway, these contraptions were also used to shoot spuds at rival ships. One should never claim that one of His Majesty’s Ships was unprepared to engage the enemy by any means possible.

– Antonia T. Tiger

Source: http://www.spudtech.com/content.asp?id=3

View the full video to build a full sized potato gun. Materials required to build potato gun like spark generator can be found on hardware store.

Source: http://www.thepadrino.com/2011/01/how-to-make-potato-gun.html

Having a good potato gun in hand can be a funny way to spend time for person of any age. For kids a potato launcher can be best example to demonstrate various example of physics.

Here at doityourself.com, you will come to know about step by step process of making a potato gun. Just follow the instructions carefully & enjoy potato gun shooting.

Source:http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-build-a-potato-cannon