This week, I've been working on a project that sort of takes a spin off an old-style potato gun. Using PVC pipe and the rapid combustion of hairspray, we can launch a rocket hundreds of feet into the sky. As usual for my projects, I tried to use only materials and parts that a ...more
The video featured in this article demonstrates the function and design of a powerful form of air cannon that operates using a purpose made valve that opens very rapidly. This allows for a massive amount of pressurized air to be released at once to throw a projectile many hund ...more
As I said in this earlier post, there's no easy way to explain or define the Steampunk aesthetic. There are a large number of Steampunk tropes or "cues", as I call them, that bring to mind the feeling of Steampunk. These cues combine to push past the "not-Steampunk" threshold ...more
This is a step-by-step instructional on how to make a potato gun, otherwise known as the spud gun, potato launcher, potato cannon, etc. Although this can be a fun activity, it is still dangerous, just like a real weapon. The tools needed for this spud cannon are a drill, saw, ...more
Remember The Simpsons episode where Maude Flanders died? Do you remember how she died? Well, here's a hint… it has to do with this Kipkay tutorial. Yes, that's right— Maude died at the hands of a T-shirt cannon, and that's exactly what you're going to learn how to build in th ...more
This video is quite good, but to be fair, one needs more than 10 minutes to really be able to replicate the task. Mounting a taser is somewhat tricky. Watch this tutorial video and make this spud gun or otherwise known as the taser totter! You can use either a taser or a BBQ i ...more
Here is my entry for this weeks giveaway Tuesdays. It is my home made potato cannon rev2. The next step is to spray paint it so the purple isn't showing and to fix the valve. It was originally all 1inch PVC pipe but i cut the chamber and barrel off and made it 2inch PVC for bi ...more
Well here it is, this is an older pic but it still works, the only change from this pic and the current cannon is that I have put some duct tape around the PVC bonds and am planing on spray painting it. The compression chamber is over a foot and a half long at 2" diameter PVC ...more
Write about what you LOVE. EARN money for it. In this week's edition of Friday Fresh, we're doing a little something different. You may have noticed our banner touting our Love. Earn program, and a new section called New Articles By You. New articles on topics as varied as sn ...more
25-year-old Anthony Le, of Colorado is THE ultimate Iron Man fan. A cosplay fan, Anthony decided to try his hand at building a super realistic Iron Man suit, just in time for the release of Iron Man 2. The incredibly talented fitness consultant did above and beyond what you mi ...more
All of these four videos are excellent. You will notice that while all the videos and articles have slightly different design dimensions, they are fundamentally very similar. I urge you to view and read everything I am serving up. Then, my final words of advice are simply....c ...more
WonderHowTo is made up of niche communities called Worlds. If you've yet to join one (or create your own), get a taste below of what's going on in the community. Check in every Wednesday for a roundup of new activities and projects. Thanks to all of our active moderators and ...more
Check out this video guide on how to make a cheap special effects blood cannon. This inexpensive SFX machine not only cheap, but an effective Special FX blood cannon for any zombie movie or gunshot wound or blood splatter effect! The blood cannon shooter parts: 22mm PVC pipe ...more
The following video demonstrates and explains a classic physics experiment called a vacuum cannon. Typically these cannons are made on a much smaller scale to fire ping pong balls, but I wanted to keep things interesting with this 4" diameter monster. Video: . Since this canno ...more
In this project, you'll learn how to re-purpose low-cost sprinkler parts into a high-powered CANDY CANNON. Be the coolest person on the block by building a pneumatic device that will launch candy 100 feet in the air—you can make it rain down all kinds of sugary treats!!! It's ...more
This summer's going to be a hot one, so skip the water pistol this year and break out the big guns! In this project, I'll be showing you how to build a water balloon shotgun—a high-powered water balloon launcher that's capable of firing 17 water balloons at the same time! Vide ...more
One of the hardest, most intimidating parts of making your own Steampunk guns from scratch is the wooden stock of the gun. To be fair, it's probably the hardest part. It requires the most artistry, and is the easiest to mess up. So, I'm going to give you a guide to making you ...more