Talk:Spud gun (cannon)

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Contents

[edit] Suggested Change

This is a nice web page! One thing I would change though is that there is a link to an instructions website in the "Combustion" section. This I think should be moved to the "Links" section.

[edit] My edit

I added a "cleanup" box. I feel this article could use some grammatical cleanup as well as elimination of lay terms and abbreviations. I hope the article will flourish.

I've overhauled the page for clarity and correctness. --BoilingLeadBath 01:42, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] dimensions?

could someone get some dimensions that people can use?

I don't think this is quite the place - and the dimensions are a bit too variable anyways.
Regardless, I stated this size range in my new edit. --BoilingLeadBath 01:42, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Article tone and style

This article is not in line with what should be in an encyclopedia. The should not contain advice to the reader, and should not make judgements on anything. I have removed a few of the most blatant violations of this from the Safety section, but much of the article needs to be changed in this way as well. The article currently sounds more like a guide to building Spud guns than an encyclopedia article. Perhaps the guide information should be moved to Wikibooks, and removed from here? --Philosophus T 07:27, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

True, but many inexperienced spud gunners might come to this site, and decide to build a device without proper knowledge. I think essential safety precautions should be mentioned, but in-depth how-to sections should be removed. Kyrin Blair 13:38, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

This has been discussed in a variety of articles, especially medical articles. It has been decided that we shouldn't have disclaimers, warnings, or advice on such matters, but I am too tired to find the reference for that right now besides everyone on IRC telling me it is so. Some of the disclaimer can probably be added back in as descriptive text, but other things can't - for example, we cannot assume that the reader doesn't intend to injure someone. --Philosophus T 15:14, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
That's a good point, I never knew about that unofficial policy. I guess it's still better than stuff out there like the anarchist's cookbook. BTW I've only had a Wiki account for a couple weeks now, so if I make novice mistakes like that just correct it, I won't be offended. I generally learn faster by mistakes anyways.Kyrin Blair 14:24, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Notice

I decided to be bold and to remove a comment on the talk page. Why? Because simply Wikipedia is not a manual and Spud guns can be EXTREMELY dangerous. They should be considered as loaded fire arms at all time. Wikipedia is not the place to ask question about spud guns, or anything else like that. If you need information, please follow the links in the article or search on google. A lot of sites have interesting forums that can help you. --Deenoe 21:30, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

"Wikipedia is not the place to ask question about spud guns, or anything else like that." Ref desk anyone?
Yes, Ref Desk sure, but not an article's talk page.

[edit] Hmm...

Down where I live (Australia), what we call spud guns are toy handguns that shoot bits of potato via air pressure. Does anyone else know anything about this? oTHErONE (Contribs) 10:11, 2 October 2006 (UTC)

Seen them, used them. You may know these spud guns as "citrus canons". ViridaeTalk 13:13, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

I always knew then as lemon shooters. Also whats with the bit about them being legal here? That's not right I'm shure, unfortunatly I do not have a source.

Thanks. :D oTHErONE (Contribs) 16:42, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A bit of questionable truth

1) Is embrittlement really an issue? It was my understanding that this was an issue with storing hydrogen gas at a few thousand psi - and it would really surprise me if casual contact with mixed gasses was enough to noticably weaken the steel. --BoilingLeadBath 01:42, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Critereon for inclusion?

I've written something of a muzzle-velocity "estimater" for combustion spudguns. It's accuracy (probably, I've not got that many test cases) isn't on GGDT-like levels - and that's for it's most aplicatable case... but it's out there.
Would it be acceptable to link to my EVBEC? --BoilingLeadBath 01:42, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

We of the spudding community have a rather comprehensive "spudwiki" going... but I see you've removed the link. Would you reconsider it? (I realize that you only link to "well developed" wikis... but (IMO) this counts. There's not much more we can add.) --BoilingLeadBath 01:42, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sound barrier?

I didn't want to delete this section, in case I'm way off base, but these claims of supersonic spuds seem slightly suspect. How is this possible? Wouldn't air resistance cause the potato to decelerate as soon as it left the barrel? I liked the article, but this part struck me as hard to believe. --Bongwarrior 09:22, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

It's possible, but I don't think anyone actually shoots potatos out of those.Superbum4 04:00, 22 January 2007 (UTC)

It is entirely possible. The potatos do decelerate very fast at those speeds, but none the less, they have still exceeded the speed of sound for at least part of their tragectory, which still qualifies as breaking the sound barrier. I'll go back and add links to some proved examples. --RagnarokEOTW 11:51, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pictures/diagrams?

I think more pictures would greatly benefit the article, as it currently is we have one very basic pneumatic demo and a stamped metal spud gun which is not actually a significant part of the article. One good picture for each cannon type and possibly pictures of the less well known valves: QEV valves and custom valves. Mortus est 18:32, 26 January 2007 (UTC)

Excellent idea. I'll add some images, if I can find suitable ones. --RagnarokEOTW 11:53, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sprinkler valves

Just for future reference, sprinkler valves are not "solenoid valves." Solenoids are used to actuate the valves, but the solenoid is not the valve itself. They are commonly called solenoid valves, albeit incorrectly. Silence(water) 02:15, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, they are generally called solenoids because the solenoid is one of they key parts of the valve, because it actuates it. If someone was to go to a web site for them, such as McMaster, they would be called solenoid valves. Most spud gunners who use the valves, however, prefer to remove the solenoid, fill the hole with epoxy, then tap a blowgun vavle into it, which will open it faster. Salty aka Flying Salt 01:07, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Pneumatic Cannon Picture

Okay, I know everyone doesn't want this to be an instructional page, but the picture for the pneumatic cannon has non-pressure rated fittings. Don't you guys think that there should be a properly built cannon to represent this class od potato guns? I am just suggesting that we change the picture so people do not look at it as a cannon they should build. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by An Apple Pie (talk • contribs) 20:15, 12 March 2007 (UTC).

What makes you think the fittings are non-pressure rated? Phantombantam 04:16, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

Phantom, if you're experienced enough, you can tell if they're DWV (drain, waste, vent) fittings by the socket depth. I'd have to say, that is a pretty funky looking pneumatic. I'll see if I can find a picture of mine. Salty aka Flying Salt 01:03, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

Seems like there are too many external links. In addition, see links normally to be avoided. Wikipedia articles really are not supposed to be advertising methods, and they aren't going to help SEO much anyway. Thus, it's also pointless to have tons of targeted keywords in some of the links. But at any rate, the number of links really should be cut down. Silence(water) 04:10, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Forgotten

A typical die-cast spud gun.
A typical die-cast spud gun.

It is mentioned once and then lost to the article as it goes on about the various forms of potato cannon. A section on this form would be appropriate, especially after making it the first thing the viewer sees. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.214.178.154 (talk) 19:41, 14 March 2008 (UTC)