New Homemade

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
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wetmonkey442
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Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2003 12:00 pm

New Homemade

Post by wetmonkey442 » Thu May 13, 2010 4:46 pm

Hey everybody! Recently I decided to brush the dust off of that part of my brain that is dedicated to all things homemade (probably due to a subconscious response to the fantastic summer weather here). My goal was to design and build an APH that was smaller, and more practical than earlier designs, without sacrificing too much power. The project is still a WIP, but I've managed to finish general construction, and even test it out. My main issues currently involve perfecting the pump design and playing around with the nozzles. I'm documenting the process in my new blog The Workbench. I'm planning on updating there once a day for the next two or three days with my process (and LOTS of pictures).

And because I love all you Soakerdom people so much, I'll give you a jump on everybody else with a sneak peek of the (semi) finished product:
Image

Soak On!
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cantab
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Re: New Homemade

Post by cantab » Thu May 13, 2010 5:55 pm

"smaller, and more practical"? This seems remarkably bulky to me.
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

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C-A_99
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Re: New Homemade

Post by C-A_99 » Thu May 13, 2010 6:28 pm

Interesting concept on the pump. Either this thing will handle quite well nor not very, but I don't think it's bulky; it just has a lot of pipe; more than really necessary but that pipe is integral to the layout and design.

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wetmonkey442
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Re: New Homemade

Post by wetmonkey442 » Thu May 13, 2010 6:33 pm

Thanks for the comments. At first glance, this thing definitely looks bulky! However, when you see it up close and/or hold it, two things become readily apparent:

1) The bulk of the gun lies below your arm when you hold it. Thus, the distribution of weight is a little more even and moving around with it is easy (at least for me).

2) The gun is small. Even with 3/4" piping (I think I'll be using 1/2" in the final design), the gun is the length of my shoulder to my wrist, and I don't have long gorilla-arms either. I'll try and post some reference photos soon as well as some photos of it being held.

Thanks!
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Silence
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Re: New Homemade

Post by Silence » Sat May 29, 2010 5:19 am

Interesting design.

Consider rotating that ball valve 180 degrees...trivial, I know, but it might be more comfortable to use. I prefer "closed" at 12 o'clock and "open" at 9 o'clock, but that may not be possible with the lever on the left.

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cantab
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Re: New Homemade

Post by cantab » Sat May 29, 2010 1:48 pm

Turning the ball valve isn't going to change how the closed vs open positions are. If the handle can turn a full 360 degrees then inline will be one position and right-angled the other.
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

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