9 replies to this topic

[bloodtiger]

I used to be into this Nerf stuff. I remember customizing my big bad bow, but I found out how much more fun and real airsoft is. Anyways I found this site and the Homemade Ball Valve Air Gun by Zero interested me alot. You can customise this alot. I wanted to shoot stuff like fire crackers with a smaler barrel or something.

I need a better discription. You have to hook up a bike pump to the bike thing at the bottom every shot?? How far does it shoot? can you make a stronger psi any how?

[Formerly Sane]

I'm really sorry you don't like nerf. Thats too bad.

Did you see on the page of the ball valve gun how it had a picture of a modified homemade? The gun has two ball valves on it. When the first one with the vertical handle is opened, air flows between the two valves. The first valve closes, then the second one near the barrel opens. The air in between the two valves is fired, but not all of it in the main tank. I haven't built one of these yet so I don't know how many shots you can get, but I imagine a good 5 or 6 before the range starts to decrease.

As for the ranges of this kind of gun, they vary between probably 60 and 110 feet, depending how you make it. If you want to build one that fires all its air at once, you could probably get 150-200 ft.

For psi, I think you can safely get it to around 100 for pvc. Any more and it might crack or even just explode from the pressure. Also, I wouldn't suggest shooting firecrackers. You could and people here have done it, but if it got caught in the barrel, you no longer have a gun. Might lose a few fingers too. Otherwise, you should build one of these. It's only about $10.

[CheeseNerfer]

Actually most PVC is pretty strong and can hold more than 100 psi, (even though you wouldn't need to go any higher) what you would need to worry about any higher than 100 is your connections on the air tank.

[Vintage]

My two homemades so far are the ball-valve and a hose handle type. My 1" ball valve can handle up to 150 psi, though I never prime it past 30 psi for one shot. My hose handle can stand 100 psi.

Bloodtiger, I would make the ball-valve gun as shown in the homemades section. Then buy a strong basketball pump (they usually come with a hose connection), and attach the hose to the tire valve. Mount the pump under the barrel, and you don't need to worry about attaching/detaching the pump for each shot.

I just pump it 5-7 times and get excellent range. Mine fires zero darts (weighted FBR with felt wrapped around the end) 100 feet flat on 5 pumps. 160 feet angled.

I also mounted the valve, and customized it with a piece of pvc to make a trigger system. I don't lose any accuracy with the ball-valve, because I fire it like a trigger.

~Vintage

Edit: I don't know how far it would launch firecrackers. You might try launching an unlighted one first. Also, it might be difficult to time it exactly so it bursts at the peak of its launch.

Edited by Vintage, 05 May 2004 - 03:24 PM.

[freeskier]

I just have a quick qusetion about the breech on the homemades as i soon will be building a ball valve homemade. How does Unknowns breech work? Every way I imagine it i can see the dart snagging or lots of air leaking. I read something about removing the barrel. Sorry im not to perceptive, any help?

[Vintage]

It's simple, and if you took the time to think about it, you probably would understand. It's 1/2" pvc that slides in 1" pvc. The foam (or felt as I used) loosely seals the two.

To load a dart, you pull the 1/2" pvc slightly out, and shove a dart into it through the rectangular hole you cut into the 1" pvc. Then push the 1/2" pipe back into the 1" pipe to reseal the hole.

Hope that helped.

~Vintage

[freeskier]

Ya thanks, i just needed to think about for a second, i thought that the 1/2 inch PVC would crush the dart when pushed back, but now i see how it works. Thanks Vintage.

[Jay Dub]

ok, heres another tip, on the 1/2" pvc, try to dremel it out a little so that it is like a wedge. This way the pvc will not bend/crush the bullet, just slides right in. it helped me a little when i made my cutlass homemade, but i also have a pump, metal piping, and motherload of duct-tape.
heres a side view
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sry for the lack of a real pic

Edited by J_Dub, 21 June 2004 - 07:42 PM.

[nerfspecialforces]

Classic Firecracker Cannon... That brings back memories... Get a pipe were the firecracker losely fits, cap it, and drill a hole in the cap for a whick to stick out, jam 2 down, both whick 1st, light, and enjoy!

[Zero Talent]

If you want to ensure a good seal, just epoxy that 1" breech onto a 1/2" PVC coupler. Easiest way to do this is, of course, pushing the 1/2" barrel into the coupler, sliding the breech over this, and applying the epoxy around the side. Just thought I'd mention the method for convenience. You can do this kind of breech with really any size barrel, just be sure to get a size of pipe with an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the barrel pipe. Really simple design, and there have been much better breeches built, but it's so simple a small child could build it... Which is exactly why I wrote it up.

The ball-valve homemade is just a simple Spud Gun, adapted to Nerf proportions. I would suggest researching other spudgun designs as well, such as this one. You seem to want high-output fire, and these guys certainly know how to do that. Good luck with your homemade!

[If only I had known about this site sooner than two weeks ago. I could have skipped about a year of useless work with my inferior homemade valves.]

Edited by Zero Talent, 22 June 2004 - 01:33 AM.