How to Build Air Powered Potato Guns
You can make your own air-powered potato gun with a few items commonly found around the house. You will also need a tire valve from a hardware or tire store and a bicycle pump. Adult supervision is necessary if a child is making the potato gun, since a cutting edge will be used.
Things You'll Need
- Thumbtacks
- Empty travel-sized medicine tube
- Tire valve
- Bicycle pump
- Phillips screwdriver
- Potato
- Utility knife
- Bonding glue
Instructions
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1
Cut the bottom out of the medicine tube with the blade of the utility knife.
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2
Insert a thumbtack halfway through one side of the medicine tube, at about the midpoint between the front and back end. Insert another thumbtack next to the first one.
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3
Cut a small hole in the other end of the medicine tube with the utility knife.
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4
Insert the tip of the tire valve into the hole. Apply boding glue around the hole to cement the tip of the tire valve to the medicine tube. Let the bonding glue dry for three hours.
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5
Gouge out a piece of potato with the tip of the Phillips screwdriver.
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6
Place the gouged-out piece of potato in the open end of the medicine tube. Lift the end of the medicine tube so that the potato falls toward the other end and gets stopped by the two thumbtacks.
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7
Take your air-powered potato gun outside to an open space.
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8
Insert the bicycle pump in the nozzle on the tire valve.
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9
Pump the bicycle pump 10 times. Remove the bicycle pump from the nozzle on the tire valve.
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10
Aim the open end of the medicine tube at a tree or rock. Release the tire valve to fire the potato from your air-powered potato gun.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Pump the bicycle pump slowly so that you don't break the tire valve off of the medicine tube.
Do not aim a potato gun or any weapon at a person or animal.
