{"id":102486,"date":"2019-03-21T11:58:25","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T16:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=102486"},"modified":"2021-06-02T11:33:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T16:33:12","slug":"how-to-make-a-potato-cannon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/featured\/how-to-make-a-potato-cannon\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make a Potato Cannon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Potato<\/a><\/p>\n

Made out of a few simple PVC fittings and lengths of pipe, potato cannons can launch spuds up to 300 yards. They\u2019re cheap and fun to make, and they\u2019re also a great way to get introduced to the basics of cutting, priming, and gluing PVC together. If you\u2019ve been hesitant about DIY plumbing, making a potato cannon is a pretty low-risk intro course.   <\/p>\n

A potato cannon\/launcher\/gun consists of a combustion chamber and a barrel. The barrel is made out of 2\u201d PVC pipe and the combustion chamber is made out of 4\u201d PVC pipe. The pieces are joined together with an adapter. When you fill the combustion chamber with fuel, like hairspray, and trigger it with a spark, it will combust and send whatever\u2019s in your barrel flying into the stratosphere.<\/p>\n

You only need a few simple tools to get started. Here\u2019s how to do it.<\/p>\n

Note: While “spud guns” aren’t federally regulated, and are legal in nearly every state, a few states\/municipalities do have restrictions on them; so before making\/using, check to see if yours does<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Supplies\/Tools Needed<\/h3>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 4\u201d PVC pipe \u2013 1.5 feet<\/li>\n
  2. 2\u201d PVC pipe \u2013 4 feet<\/li>\n
  3. 4\u201d PVC threaded coupler<\/li>\n
  4. 4\u201d PVC cleanout cap<\/li>\n
  5. 4\u201d to 2\u201d PVC adapter<\/li>\n
  6. PVC primer<\/li>\n
  7. PVC cement<\/li>\n
  8. Saw<\/li>\n
  9. Drill with 1\/2\u201d drill bit<\/li>\n
  10. Potatoes<\/li>\n
  11. Tape measure <\/li>\n
  12. Stick lighter<\/li>\n
  13. Hairspray (not pictured) <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    How to Make a Potato Cannon<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Step 1: Cut PVC to length.<\/h3>\n

    \"Measuring<\/p>\n

    Cut your 4\u201d PVC pipe to 18\u201d inches (foot and a half) in length, and your 2\u201d PVC pipe to four feet. Take care to ensure your cuts are clean and square so that the fittings will seat flush to the end of the pipe. If you have lots of extra frayed bits of PVC after your cut, use some sandpaper to smooth them out. You can also often get your pipes pre-cut at hardware stores.<\/p>\n

    Step 2: Glue adapter onto one end of your 4\u201d PVC pipe.<\/h3>\n

    \"Applying<\/p>\n

    To glue PVC together, start by priming both pieces with PVC primer (purple in the photos), let it dry for 10 seconds, and then apply PVC cement. Once both parts are primed and glued, push them together, give them a quarter turn, and hold for 30 seconds until set.<\/p>\n

    \"Parts<\/p>\n

    Step 3: Repeat the gluing process with your other connections.<\/h3>\n

    \"Applying<\/p>\n

    Attach the 4\u201d threaded coupler onto the other end of your 4\u201d pipe, and attach your 2\u201d PVC pipe to the adapter to complete your barrel.<\/p>\n

    \"PVC<\/p>\n

    \"Glue-applied<\/p>\n

    Step 4: Screw on the 4\u201d cleanout cap to the end of your combustion chamber.<\/h3>\n

    \"Cap<\/p>\n

    Step 5: Use a \u00bd\u201d drill bit to create a hole in your combustion chamber.<\/h3>\n
    \"Drilling

    The placement of the hole doesn’t really matter. Somewhere in the middle third or so of the chamber works just fine.<\/p><\/div>\n

    How to Launch It<\/span><\/h3>\n

    Step 1: Jam a potato into the barrel of the cannon.<\/h3>\n

    \"Jamming<\/p>\n

    Use a broomstick or smaller diameter piece of PVC to jam it down into the barrel, like a muzzleloader. You do want the potato to fit fairly tightly; if loose, it will probably still launch, just with far less gusto. <\/p>\n

    Step 2: Unscrew cap and fill combustion chamber with hairspray.<\/h3>\n

    \"Unscrewing<\/p>\n

    A spray of about 5-7 seconds is plenty. <\/p>\n

    Step 3: Quickly replace the combustion chamber cap to hold in the hairspray.<\/h3>\n

    Step 4: Aim, stick lighter into ignition hole, and light.<\/h3>\n
    \"Sticked

    Be prepared, as it’s a pretty instantaneous shot.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Step 5: Watch where your potato goes, reload, and repeat!<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Made out of a few simple PVC fittings and lengths of pipe, potato cannons can launch spuds up to 300 yards. They\u2019re cheap and fun to make, and they\u2019re also a great way to get introduced to the basics of cutting, priming, and gluing PVC together. If you\u2019ve been hesitant about DIY plumbing, making a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":102589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,42259],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-102486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-skills"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pot-538x280.jpg","aom":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pot-372x230.jpg","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pot-320x213.jpg","reactor-640":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2019\/03\/pot-640x426.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102486"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102515,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102486\/revisions\/102515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102486"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=102486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}