Common Spud Cannon Mistakes

Lots of spud gunnery builds go off wrong because people have a tendency to start building first and worry about the details later. Half the battle building a spud gun is simply getting a good set of proven, tested, and reliable plans, like the ones we offer, that take the guess work out of your build. Feel confident in knowing that you can go from the build stage to the shooting stage without reinventing the wheel simply by following our plans. Having said that though, here is a list of problems frequently seen in potato gun builds, in no particular order:

Potato Cannon Barrel Too Short

Most people are unaware that barrel length is directly proportional to muzzle velocity. Within reason, the longer the barrel, the higher the muzzle velocity, and therefore the longer the range and the greater the accuracy. It’s that simple. Make your barrel long enough to sufficiently expel the cartridge and obtain the fastest velocity you can get. If transporting the gun is a problem, make the barrel removable per our plans.

Potato Cannon Barrel Too Long

Overcompensating with a ten foot long barrel isn’t the way to go either. Barrel length has diminishing returns, and is only so good as the size of the combustion chamber and the amount of propellant within. Too long a barrel coupled with too small a combustion chamber equals a super weak launch.

Failure To Calculate

At times it might seem like you need a degree to build a potato gun, especially if you don’t buy a set of quality plans like ours. There are calculations involved, and we do them for you if you buy our plans, but if you don’t…cough cough….you’ll have to accurately calculate the size of the chamber so that you get the proper fuel air mixture. Gone are the days of simply gluing pipe together, lighting it off, and hoping for the best. If you want the best performance for your potato gun, you’ll have to calculate many parameters. Ignore this and you get stuck with sucky performance, unreliability, and no fun.

Cheap Spark System

Splurge. If you go big on something, go big on your spark system so that your spud gun will go boom every time you pull the trigger or press the button. Sure, you can make it work with a cheap barbecue igniter, but really invest in a multiple spark system for maximum performance, all of which are described in our manual.

Cheap Fuel System

Go ahead, unscrew that back plate and squirt some hairspray in. It will work. But not as well as a quality propane system will. Our manual includes plans for a kick ass mondo propane injection system, that when coupled with a multiple spark system, will ignite like the space shuttle.

In other words, put some thought into your builds. Look at the details, plan it out, take your time and make a quality build and you’ll be rewarded with years of trouble free enjoyment. All of this work and more has been done for you in our spud gun ebook and plans – buy them and build the best ball launcher or spud cannon the first time!

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