recumpence
1 GW
Hey Guys,
I am posting some pics of a project I completed for my boys. I know this is not a bike project, but, I figured you guys would get a kick out of this anyway.
My youngest son just turned 8 years old and has had alot of fun with Nerf dart guns. I went through the usual mods of the guns (removing the safetys, boring the air jets, stiftengng the spring, etc). However, it still wasn't enough. So, I made a few PVC pump-guns. These use PVC air pumps (made out of off-the-shelf PVC parts) that pushes air into the barrel. These guns have 3 times the muzzle velocity of the modified Nerf guns (radar varified ). Anyway, that was still not enough. So, I went the air-cannon route.
I did some on-line research and found a number of guys making CRUDE garbage guns using pop bottles and other trash for parts. However, I could not find anything decent. So, I went to spud-gun sights. These guys are using sprinkler valves as air valves and "Schedule 40" PVC tube due to its high pressure rating. I used a few of their ideas. But, everyone needed to carry around a pump or large compressor to pressurize the darn thing. That seemed a bit lame. So, I decided to use an on-board compressor to recharge the chamber for the next shot. Lastly, the Nerf darts expand under the pressure and get somewhat stuck in the barrel. This slows down the dart. I did some testing and found that dry lube works best. The best dry lube I found for this purpose is Corn-Starch. Corn-Starch is the basis of Baby Powder. A simple dab of the dart in the cornstarch, a quick press of the compressor button and it is ready to fire.
The compressor is a $12.99 item I got at Auto-Zone (if I remember correctly). The sprinkler valve was $11.99 at Menards. The compressor is mounted in the lower aluminum box along with the small 3 cell lipo pack and misc wiring.
How does it perform? Phenominal! I tested one of the pump guns with my radar gun and clocked it at 280 feet per second. That gun gives 5 seconds of dart hang-time. This thing can loft a dart for 20 seconds! So, I figure it has a muzzle velocity potential of 1,000 fps! That is with 100 psi. This gun can provide 200 psi. But, that would just destroy the darts.
These light weight nerf darts slow down quickly from the air drag. The farthest I have shot a dart so far (75 psi) is 210 feet. I am sure 100 psi would give more distance. But, what's the point? As it is the dart is pretty much invisible for half the distance anyway.
As I said, I know this is totally off topic and the mods are welcome to move it if they feel like it. But, I figured everyone needs a diversion now and then and a 8 year old birthday is just what it took for me to get the itch to try something new.
So, enjoy the picks!
Matt
I am posting some pics of a project I completed for my boys. I know this is not a bike project, but, I figured you guys would get a kick out of this anyway.
My youngest son just turned 8 years old and has had alot of fun with Nerf dart guns. I went through the usual mods of the guns (removing the safetys, boring the air jets, stiftengng the spring, etc). However, it still wasn't enough. So, I made a few PVC pump-guns. These use PVC air pumps (made out of off-the-shelf PVC parts) that pushes air into the barrel. These guns have 3 times the muzzle velocity of the modified Nerf guns (radar varified ). Anyway, that was still not enough. So, I went the air-cannon route.
I did some on-line research and found a number of guys making CRUDE garbage guns using pop bottles and other trash for parts. However, I could not find anything decent. So, I went to spud-gun sights. These guys are using sprinkler valves as air valves and "Schedule 40" PVC tube due to its high pressure rating. I used a few of their ideas. But, everyone needed to carry around a pump or large compressor to pressurize the darn thing. That seemed a bit lame. So, I decided to use an on-board compressor to recharge the chamber for the next shot. Lastly, the Nerf darts expand under the pressure and get somewhat stuck in the barrel. This slows down the dart. I did some testing and found that dry lube works best. The best dry lube I found for this purpose is Corn-Starch. Corn-Starch is the basis of Baby Powder. A simple dab of the dart in the cornstarch, a quick press of the compressor button and it is ready to fire.
The compressor is a $12.99 item I got at Auto-Zone (if I remember correctly). The sprinkler valve was $11.99 at Menards. The compressor is mounted in the lower aluminum box along with the small 3 cell lipo pack and misc wiring.
How does it perform? Phenominal! I tested one of the pump guns with my radar gun and clocked it at 280 feet per second. That gun gives 5 seconds of dart hang-time. This thing can loft a dart for 20 seconds! So, I figure it has a muzzle velocity potential of 1,000 fps! That is with 100 psi. This gun can provide 200 psi. But, that would just destroy the darts.
These light weight nerf darts slow down quickly from the air drag. The farthest I have shot a dart so far (75 psi) is 210 feet. I am sure 100 psi would give more distance. But, what's the point? As it is the dart is pretty much invisible for half the distance anyway.
As I said, I know this is totally off topic and the mods are welcome to move it if they feel like it. But, I figured everyone needs a diversion now and then and a 8 year old birthday is just what it took for me to get the itch to try something new.
So, enjoy the picks!
Matt