183 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
183 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
++<===========================>++
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|| Psychotic Presents: ||
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|| The T S D S ||
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|| a t e y ||
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|| c a l s ||
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|| t r i t ||
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|| i c v e ||
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|| c h e m ||
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|| a r ||
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|| l y ||
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|| By KwAnTAM_PoZeEtroN ||
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++<===========================>++
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The Tactical Starch Delivery System, or TSDS, is sometimes referred
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to as a potato gun, spud cannon, spudzooka, or potato shooter. The
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particular one described here shoots potatoes, apples, or pears with
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incredible accuracy, velocity, and distance. In fact, in one test, a
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horse shot with this gun was killed on impact using a standard-issue
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Idaho potato.
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Parts List
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==========
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To make the TSDS, the following is needed:
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1) 5' of 2" PVC pipe
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2) 8" of 4" PVC pipe
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3) One 4" to 2" PVC adaptor bell
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4) One 4" Cleanout Plug Adaptor which fits over the end
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of the piece of 4" PVC
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5) One 4" Cleanout Plug (this plug is the kind with the
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square lug for a wrench and threads around the outside
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of the plug--ask your local hardware store worker if you
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can't identify it)
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6) One Replacement Gas Grill Ignitor
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7) One Large Paper Clip
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8) Needle-nose Pliers
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9) PVC Cement (MUST be PVC-specific cement)
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10) Roll of Electrical (black) tape
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11) Roll of Duct (gray) tape
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12) At least as many brain cells as a plastic cup
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13) Sandpaper
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14) Knife
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15) A broom handle to use as a ramrod to push the potato down into
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the barrel
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16) One can of extra-hold aerosol hair spray OR one can of aerosol
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ether-based engine starting fluid (starting fluid is preferable)
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17) An electric drill
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Assembly
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========
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Cement the bell adaptor to the piece of 2" PVC, then to the piece of
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4" PVC. Next, cement the cleanout plug adaptor to the other end of
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the 4" PVC.
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Take the paper clip and attach it to the terminal on the side of the
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ignitor (not the end) and bend it so it's about 1/2" from the
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terminal on the end of the ignitor. Push the ignitor and you should
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get a spark that jumps between the two. If you get shocked (don't
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worry, it doesn't hurt) you're touching one of the terminals. Move
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your finger and try again. If you don't get shocked and you don't
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see a spark, bend the paper clip closer to the terminal on the end and
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try again until you see a spark jump between the terminals every time.
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Now take some electrical tape and tape the paper clip to the side
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terminal so that it doesn't move, but make sure you don't cover the
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area that the spark jumps to.
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There should be two 'arms', one on either side of the ignitor. Cut
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these off with the knife so that there's no pieces sticking out. Now
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drill a hole in the middle of the piece of 4" PVC that the ignitor
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will fit into completely, but snugly. If the hole's too big, you
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need to wrap electrical tape around the uppermost part of the ignitor
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below the plunger collar(the terminal on the end is the bottom, wrap tape
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around the other end below the collar so that it makes it fit more snugly
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into the hole) so that there's a fair seal. It doesn't have to be air-tight,
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but if it releases too much gas you could experience a loss in power, the
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ignitor could be thrown from the gun, or hot gases may shoot out of
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the hole where the ignitor is or was. Again, check that the spark is arcing
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inside the piece of 4" PVC.
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Finally, take sand paper and sharpen the muzzle end of the 2" PVC,
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which is to be your barrel. It doesn't have to be razor sharp, but
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the sharper it is, the easier it will be to push the potato down and
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have the parts that don't fit cut off to ensure a perfect seal. Sand
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from the inside of the pipe so that it cuts a piece a tiny bit bigger
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than the inside diameter so the seal is better between the potato and
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the barrel.
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Firing
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======
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To fire, perform the following steps:
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1) Get a potato that is bigger than the barrel and push it down onto
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the end of the barrel so that it cuts the excess away (you sharpened
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it, remember?).
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2) Making sure that the end cap is off, use the ramrod to push the
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potato all the way down to the end of the barrel, but not down into
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the combustion chamber (the 4" PVC section).
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3) Spray some propellant into the combustion chamber and put the cap
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on. If you're using extra-hold hair spray, give it a generous,
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3-second squirt. If you're using ether, a 1/4 second squirt is
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enough. If you put more, the mixture is too rich, and there's not
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enough oxygen to ignite the ether, so nothing happens. Ether is
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definitely harder to get the right amount of, but if you can find the
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right amount it's much better because it burns very clean and doesn't
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fowl up the inside of the combustion chamber. The hair spray leaves
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a black, sticky coating on the inside of the chamber, which really
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sucks, but it's much easier to get the right amount in there, because
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there's much more tolerance in the range of the amount of hair spray
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that will ignite. Ether needs a specific amount, no more, no less,
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but hairspray can have as little as 2 seconds or as much as 5 and
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still work reasonably well.
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4) Once you've sprayed in the propellant, quickly put on the cap to
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prevent the propellant from escaping from the combustion chamber. It
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doesn't have to be tight, just give it a spin and it's probably tight
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enough. If it doesn't fall off, it's plenty tight.
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5) Hit the plunger on the ignitor to fire the cannon.
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Safety Info
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===========
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Remember, this will break 1/2" ply wood at 15' in the right
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combination of propellant and air. It will also kill a horse.
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Needless to say, it will leave a nasty dent in a car, probably crack
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the window (especially with apples), and would kill a person within
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50' if hit in the neck or upper torso. BE CAREFUL with this thing.
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Don't put your hand in front of the muzzle; I've known people who've
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lost fingers and/or hands doing that. Don't look down the barrel
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when you're pushing the plunger unless it's sat open with no
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propellant sprayed in for at least 5 minutes. I learned this the
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hard way, as I lost a small bit of hair and most of one eyebrow the
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first time I made one of these; I looked in the combustion chamber
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with ether in there and hit the ignitor. FOOM! and little pieces of
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hair floated this way and that... kinda annoying.
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Disclaimer
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==========
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Neither I nor Psychotic are responsible if you fuck up, kill someone,
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break a window, damage a car, or hurt yourself. Whatever you do from
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here on in is your own business. We assume no liability whatsoever
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for the use of this information.
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Legal Note
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==========
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Many people have asked me "Is it legal to make a potato gun?" The
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answer: YES! It is not considered to be a firearm as long as you're
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just shooting potatoes, apples, or pears with it. However, if you
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make one that shoots marbles, golf balls, or baseballs I'm not sure
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whether it's legal or not. A tennis ball one probably wouldn't be a
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good idea either. Of course, combine the tennis shooter with an
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exploding tennis ball bomb (see the Anarchist's Cookbook file #23 for
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how to make these simple and fun bombs) and you've got a mobile
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mortar... definitely NOT legal.
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Diagram
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=======
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/==-----------| _
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---------------\ \------=/ || | |_
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| \ \ || | _|
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-----------------\ \----=\ || |_|
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\==-----|_|---|
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^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
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| | | | | | +- Cleanout Plug (screws into adaptor)
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| | | | | +----- 4" PVC Cleanout Plug Adaptor
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| | | | +---------- Ignitor (paper clip & terminals are inside)
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| | | +-------------- 8" of 4" PVC
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| | +-------------------- 2" to 4" PVC Bell
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| +----------------------------- 5' of 2" PVC
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+--------------------------------------------- Sharpened muzzle end of barrel
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KwAnTAM_PoZeEtroN
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kwantam@mailhost.net
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http://kwantam.home.ml.org |