Avid Arsenals of Agile Vegetation

First there’s the Triple Barrel PIC Controlled Spud Gun

You would be right to call this 3 barrel, PIC controlled potato cannon absolutely insane. The wielder of this rather astounding weapon uses a joystick to aim and fire the cannon. The potatoes are propelled using a precise amount of propane and ignited by a peizo-electric generated spark. The controller of this cannon could probably quite effectively then silence the nuclear war-mongering governments if he only had a way of controlling his airborne vegetation missiles and injecting them with atom-splitting paraphernalia

And then, of course, there’s the Pneumatic Pumpkin and Potato Cannon

The video is self-explanatory enough! All you need to do after acquiring one of those beasts is to set it up just inside your doorway on the night of October 31 to give some real spice to an unsuspecting trick-or-treater’s evening. Seeing as it is capable of firing pumpkins and all — quite appropriate I thought. Heh heh, I kid, I kid.

Here are some general instructions on how you can make your own potato cannon. You know, so you can help out at your local potato-casserole pot-luck dinners every Saturday.

This cannon will fire potato slugs at around 150 miles per hour up to hundreds of feet. That alone will probably give Sym even more incentive to satiate his desires to start a potato plantation.

Materials:

• Flint igniter (lantern lighter)
• 4″ PVC cleanout plug
• 4″ PVC fitting cleanout adapter
• 4″ PVC coupling
• 4″ x 24″ PVC pipe
• 2″ x 4″ PVC increaser reducer
• 2″ x 48″ PVC pipe
• PVC cleaner, primer, & cement
• Sack of potatoes
• Hair spray or other similarly flammable aerosol can

Tools:

• Drill
• Hand saw
• File

How-to:

1. Cut the PVC components to length and clean and prime the joints. Cement components C thru G together.
2. Drill a hole for the lantern lighter in the middle of pipe E and then install the lighter with its included hardware. These lighters are very compact and use flint to produce a strong spark. You can find them in the camping section of large department stores.
3. With the file, sharpen the circumference of pipe G. This makes shoving the potato in easier because the pipe will cut off the excess potato.
4. You’re ready to put the boot to the rump!
   i. Find a very large, open area to launch the gun.
   ii. Load a potato. Use a stick or rod to plunge it most of the way down the barrel.
   iii. Spray the hair spray (make sure it’s flamable) into the fat end of the gun. If you use too little the potato won’t go far; too much and it won’t launch at all because there isn’t enough oxygen in the chamber.
   iv. Quickly screw on the plug (part B).
   v. Hold the gun at your side, aiming in a safe direction. Give the lighter a quick flick, as if you’re snapping your fingers.
   

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