Slinging.org Forum - Blowgun for dummies...

David Morningstar God Member Slinging Rocks! Posts: 1963	Re: Blowgun for dummies... Reply #75 - May 17^th, 2009, 5:32am Quote from Liberty dog on May 16^th, 2009, 10:08pm: I am using a 5' copper pipe as a blow gun, has anyone else tried this material out?. it doesnt bend like plastic and is lighter then other metals Mine is a six foot copper plumbing pipe.
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kuggur slingdog

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Re: Blowgun for dummies...
Reply #76 - May 17^th, 2009, 6:15am

Wen I stumbled on this topic I knew I had to try this, so I whipped up a test model yesterday, a pill bottle for mouthpiece, about a meter of pvc tubing and barbecue skewers fitted with paper cones for darts.
The power of my prototype just blew me away (pun intended...)
When my wife came home and found me target practicing on a styrofoam box her reaction was "I leave you alone for just an hour and you produce a murder weapon!" Grin

. We´ll take that as a compliment...She knows blowgun potential from her job (they are also used to deliver stun darts by vets) tried one during her study.
Next step of course is to make an aluminium one or copper (the sagging of the pvc isn´t helping accuracy), and improve the darts.

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Camo-sling Senior Member 60% of the time, my slings work everytime Posts: 961 Gender:	Re: Blowgun for dummies... Reply #77 - May 17^th, 2009, 7:17am I tried papercones, they eventually get soggy
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David Morningstar

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Re: Blowgun for dummies...
Reply #78 - May 17^th, 2009, 7:54am

Quote from kuggur slingdog on May 17^th, 2009, 6:15am:

The power of my prototype just blew me away (pun intended...)

Cool isnt it? Everybody is surprised the first time. Try a pipe a metre and a half to two metres long, 15mm diameter. Bigger than that and you will have trouble filling it with air fast enough.

Now imagine your darts with a tougher back end and a scalpel blade on the tip....

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Kjev

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Re: Blowgun for dummies...
Reply #79 - May 17^th, 2009, 7:59am

Quote from Liberty dog on May 16^th, 2009, 10:08pm:

I am using a 5' copper pipe as a blow gun, has anyone else tried this material out?. it doesnt bend like plastic and is lighter then other metals

We originally used several pen barrels taped together, then soft copper pipe, since it was cheaper. We went with steel since it didn't bend. No mouthpieces either, we just smoothed out the ends of the pipe.

K'Jev
Cool

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K'Jev

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xxkid123

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Re: Blowgun for dummies...
Reply #80 - May 17^th, 2009, 11:09am

Quote from Camo-sling on May 17^th, 2009, 7:17am:

I tried papercones, they eventually get soggy

easy, use super glue over it. it makes it water proof when the super glue dries over the paper. if you don't want to have a million empty bottles of glue around then color the cone with crayon except for where you tape it (tape doesn't work on wax- crayons). this should prevent it from going soggy. DO NOT attempt to hunt fish with this method

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Camo-sling Senior Member 60% of the time, my slings work everytime Posts: 961 Gender:	Re: Blowgun for dummies... Reply #81 - May 18^th, 2009, 2:01am Quote from xxkid123 on May 17^th, 2009, 11:09am: Quote from Camo-sling on May 17^th, 2009, 7:17am: I tried papercones, they eventually get soggy DO NOT attempt to hunt fish with this method lol I found wool to be the best. although im keen to use cottonbuds
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kuggur slingdog

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Re: Blowgun for dummies...
Reply #82 - May 18^th, 2009, 7:52am

Quote from David Morningstar on May 17^th, 2009, 7:54am:

Quote from kuggur slingdog on May 17^th, 2009, 6:15am:

The power of my prototype just blew me away (pun intended...)

Cool isnt it? Everybody is surprised the first time. Try a pipe a metre and a half to two metres long, 15mm diameter. Bigger than that and you will have trouble filling it with air fast enough.

Now imagine your darts with a tougher back end and a scalpel blade on the tip....

Well, this was just the prototype, now we´re going to get serious...So next step is finding about 1.5 meter of alu tubing, have a choice here, either 16x1.5 mm (would mean 13mm bore
= .51 cal), or 20x1.5mm (17 mm bore= .67 cal). I must say I lean towards the first, because a 17 mm bore might be a bit wide for a starter.
I found a great web site for dart making instructions, from a german guy, leave it to the germans to go over the top on tech detail...
Could be an interesting option for hunting mink....
I read somewhere that drilling a row of holes about an inch or so from the muzzle decreases the influence of tubulence on the dart, anybody info on that ?

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kuggur slingdog Senior Member Slinging Rocks! Posts: 619	Re: Blowgun for dummies... Reply #83 - May 18^th, 2009, 9:34am Addition; for those of you that speak german, a great site: http://www.blasrohr-sport.de/index.php
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David Morningstar God Member Slinging Rocks! Posts: 1963	Re: Blowgun for dummies... Reply #84 - May 18^th, 2009, 9:44am Nah, the big tube will be fine for a non-smoking adult. You can always cut it a bit shorter if you want. Calibre is king. You are talking about this site, no doubt http://www.polar-electric.com/Blowgun/Darts/index.html
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kuggur slingdog Senior Member Slinging Rocks! Posts: 619	Re: Blowgun for dummies... Reply #85 - May 18^th, 2009, 11:23am Yep that´s the one Well I did give up smoking more than twelve years ago and am an adult (at least in years ) so maybe the bigger caliber might be in order, if the prices of the alu tubing are not too high I might try both.
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muddundee

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Re: Blowgun for dummies...
Reply #86 - May 18^th, 2009, 5:49pm

Back in 79 i worked at a boat factory Thames Marine on Canvey island, the guys there were a bunch of nutcases and there were often crazes. One such craze was Blowpipes, the favoured blowpipe that rapidly evolved was 3/4" bore electrical conduit sleeved with PVC water pipe giving roughly 3/8" bore length about 4 ft. Balls of plasticine liberated drom the moulding shop were used as ammo and pitched battles ensued. My finest shot was when i shot the yard cleaner "Gonzo" I fired through a gap in the doors and hit him on the end of his nose as he walked across the yard range about 30 yards. Most satisfying until i turned round to find the works manager standing there hands on hips watching proceedings. Fully expecting to be sacked i put my hands up & shrugged. He just remarked with a smile "Good shot" and walked away! One tip dont use silica gel as ammo, one bloke tried this and it was most amusing watching him trying to remove the stuff from his mouth where it had stuck.

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jax

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Re: Blowgun for dummies...
Reply #87 - May 20^th, 2009, 8:29pm

I have been reading this thread for a while,and I had to re post.You guys are all clever,and could build these easily.At least try it and give me some feedback.

Re: Blowgun for dummies...
Reply #49 - Jul 27th, 2008, 10:17am Quote Modify
Those darts look really tech.My darts are much simpler to construct and they aren't very accurate.

I got this from a "Popular Mechanics" about 25 years ago.

1) I use a piece of 1/2" galvanized tubing about 5 or 6' long.

2) Cut another piece of the tubing about 6" long and file the inside diameter so it is sharp.

3) Find a 1 gallon clear plastic milk jug or similar,and remove any paper labels.

4) With a propane torch,heat the milk jug from a safe enough distance that you do not melt a hole through it.The plastic will become completely transparent.

5) Quickly insert a standard plumb bob into the clear plastic.Do this gently and repeatedly until the plastic is cooled and you have enough dimples in your milk jug.

6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have a dozen or so dimples on different sides of the jug.

7) Get some scissors or a utility knife and cut the flat sides of the jug apart,with a few dimples on each side

8) Using the 6" tapered piece of galvanized and a hammer,punch out the dimples(cones)on a block of wood.

9) Take each cone and insert a small nail in the backside.Your darts are complete

10) Go to the auto store and purchase a ball joint dust boot for a Volkswagen Bug,or similar.The small end should be about 1/2".

11) Insert the dust boot onto the 5' or 6' long conduit and have fun.

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David Morningstar God Member Slinging Rocks! Posts: 1963	Re: Blowgun for dummies... Reply #88 - May 21^st, 2009, 3:39am I've seen the pop mech article, its just as you described it. Another similar thing I have found is this, from Geezers old site on the webarchive:
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David Morningstar God Member Slinging Rocks! Posts: 1963	Re: Blowgun for dummies... Reply #89 - May 21^st, 2009, 3:41am More Geezer goodness:
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