Next projects

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
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C-A_99
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Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:09 pm

Next projects

Post by C-A_99 » Fri Jul 24, 2009 9:38 pm

I have some more tasks to complete on my current WBL, as well as modifications I'd like to make to old homemades.

For the WBL, I need to find any pipe that'll fit directly over the 2" pipe as done here. If you have ideas, I'll gladly take them in that thread. Once this is done, I just need to assemble everything, mount the bike pump, get the schrader valve in, and bingo, I have a 1-man WBL designed for short-medium range sniping and I can begin practicing marksmanship with it, design sights, etc.

For other projects, I'm planning on converting my Douchenator to an over-under design, as well as trimming down the PC a little bit for faster pressurization. The extra fittings will be used to create an air pressure chamber attachable to my CPH. (seems like a silly idea, but I feel like it, and it creates a solid backup PC when the LRT breaks and I don't have time to stack balloons or cut out more tubes) I also need a good PC case for LRT on the CPH as well; leaving the tubes out in the open is unacceptable as it constantly wiggles and has no support.

Now that I'm almost done, I've thought of some of my next projects which I'll put up here.


- Ergonomical CPH, inspired by the DR-3, DR-4, and JLspacemarine's CPH. I probably won't be able to make anything worthy of being put under notable homemades, but as long as it's good for water wars, reasonably balanced, and has a trigger, I'll be good with it.


- The Action Sack. Dumb name I took from the Halo 3 playlist for a pre-pressurized backpack gun. The idea is similar to the SC power pak, but doesn't have to be hose charged. (that is, if I have it hook up to a lousy piston gun I made earlier for pre-charging) The reason I thought of building a pumpless is simply because of all the trouble I've had with building pumps. There are several possiblities with the Action Sack's backpack.

> A series of tubes, quite literally. It will be several LRT tubes together like the power pak. (and I get to nickname this gun "teh interwebz") However, I don't like this idea due to tube maintenance.

> LPD air pressure: I considered this idea because of how much 3" PVC I have, but fittings will be costly. Also, a ton of space and weight is needed and a 1:1 air ratio is required at the very least. Not a good option and I don't have the strength to carry so much on my back.

> Stack of balloons. Balloons are designed to expand to huge sizes, making them excellent, durable choices in homemades. They have not been looked into until recently possibly due to skeptism and/or the time needed to stack balloons. However, since they expand so large, they can be used for backpacks. What I may do is put the balloons into a large container to serve as a solid PC case. There will be a check valve for filling, and attachments to connect to my VHS, as well as to a lousy piston gun I made. (but could really attach to any homemade w/ a 3/4" male end for the nozzle)


- Another WBL. This one will be compact while still featuring an onboard pump. It will most likely be 50mm rear loaded but I might make accommodations for 76mm. The rear loading will work by opening a ball valve and pushing the load through. I originally considered using a threaded endcap but a ball valve is much faster. (though more expensive) To connect to the air source, a large hole will have to be drilled into the pipe between where the valve and sabot are to go. A fitting will be threaded into this hole, which will connect to either a modified sprinkler valve or a custom pull valve. (I haven't decided yet, I'd rather go with the sprinkler valve since it's easier, but it may open too fast; I've never launched any balloons with them yet)

Edit (about 2 years later, yeah): Major problem to this idea: The diameter of ball valves and even threaded fittings is lower than the actual barrel, which may be too constructed to allow sabots to go through. There's another solution though; if a slip-on endcap can be secured (i.e. twist and turn design), it could work. However, figuring out how to do this would take a lot of time, worse than simply building another breech loaded launcher as I already know all the parts and procedures to building that launcher. I should do a write-up on it though.


Bottom line is, I'm lazy and want an easy, no bull homemade to build that will be practical on the field. I'd prefer to keep it simple enough that even beginners can build and won't require searching around the world for parts. I've had enough with my other WBL, having to constantly improvise and come up with new ways to get the thing together.

The ergonomic CPH will be pretty difficult to simplify and I don't have many ideas for it right now. The action sack is already a simple concept and I just need to get it together, and the rear-loaded WBL will only be a bit more difficult to find parts for and build than the Douchenator. In fact, I want it to pretty much replace the Douchenator as the standard high powered, easy to build WBL.

So my next projects have 3 goals:

- Easy to find parts for and reasonable to build. (which has actually been the case for most of my work so far, except for my current sniper WBL which demanded that a large hole be cut)

- Practical on the field despite their simplicity to build and design.

- Good for writing guides for beginners to build their first homemade while still being useful.

The CPH itself will be no easy feat. After all, you don't see a lot of "first homemades" being CPH's with handles, cases, and triggers. There's a taboo surrounding nearly all practical homemades: that they're difficult to build. The new amazing designs that have come up recently have only added to it. I want to be able to change that if I can, and recent changes to how homemades are done can make that possible. (one example being use of balloons instead of LRT) Also, I don't know if the Action Sack will meet the criteria for practical homemades. It's use is somewhat strictly limited, much like the SCII.
Last edited by C-A_99 on Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Drenchenator
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Re: Next projects

Post by Drenchenator » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:15 am

as long as it's good for water wars, reasonably balanced, and has a trigger, I'll be good with it.
That's exactly what I went for when building mine: nothing over the top, just something that can battle and battle well. You can't go wrong with that design.
The CPH itself will be no easy feat. After all, you don't see a lot of "first homemades" being CPH's with handles, cases, and triggers. There's a taboo surrounding nearly all practical homemades: that they're difficult to build.
I wouldn't say an ergonomic gun is hard to build, but you do have much to do. There are many little things that have to be perfect--the trigger system, the pump, the valve--and getting these to work well takes planning. When you design your gun, make sure that you know that each part will work and calculate or think about how each part will work. For DR-3, I got stuck on closing the firing valve because I assumed it would just come together. It won't. The biggest tip: Plan out all you can.


In all, I can't wait for your finished projects. Good luck.
The Drenchenator, also known as Lt. Col. Drench.

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C-A_99
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Re: Next projects

Post by C-A_99 » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:48 am

Well, by build, I meant to include all the planning as well. I haven't tried anything more advanced than strapping pipes with cable ties to a wood board with holes drilled in. If I go with an advanced CPH design, I may just rely on non-pressure pipes/fittings to structure the thing together like on JLspacemarine's. I'd also have a free pump, and I might even have to use the pump shaft to guide the trigger. Who knows, I'm not sure what I'll do yet if I go with a CPH.

My first CPH also suffered from poor planning. At the time, there were no CPH articles (and I was a beginner), so I thought I could just throw a PC case around the thing with duct tape when I was done. Now, getting a PC case on there will be difficult at best, and it may not work well unless I find extra materials for spacing it out. Without a solid PC case, it's very annoying to use in battle.

On a side note, I did some Douchenator testing again. I might end up leaving it the way it is instead of revising it, since there's not much that can be done with it anyway unless I make so many changes that it basically just becomes another launcher. (that would be like tearing it down and salvaging it's parts, not worth it) Aside from the low rate of fire that comes from muzzle loading, I'm having another problem: if I open the ball valve too quickly, the balloons burst inside. Thus, I have to open it at a bit slower than the torque arm is capable of, and they only sail about 130ft on 40 PSI at 45°, with 1 balloon at a time and a very well-sealing sabot. (which I know because the sabot is difficult to ram-rod down the barrel)

I'm filling the balloons only 1.5-2.5 in, so they're somewhat small. Perhaps I need better balloons, because at this rate, a sprinkler valve will open way too fast for them. Perhaps improving the sabot, going after designs like the V7 Snake Eye, will help.

For my new projects, I might have to hold off until I resolve all the small issues at hand right now. At the moment, I can't decide if the Action Sack is worth building (it will be dependent on hoses or other homemade equipment), and the current WBL needs to be built and tested before I even consider a rear-loaded WBL. Plus the only advantage the new WBL would have is being lightweight and compact. I might have to go back to 76mm for higher powered WBL's.

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