Shopsmith Forums

Here is a gunstock that I built for my air cannon. I made this air cannon out of brass tubes. It will fire a 1/4 inch ball bearing about 800 feet per second when I use 400 psi.

A few pictures of the process...


I laminated 2 pieces of oak. It was cheeper than a thick piece and I had a very small budget.


A rough drawing of the shape.


I cut out what I could with a skill saw then cut the rest with a sawzall. These were the only tools available to me at the time. I also drilled a hole to start the thumbhole.

Using a chisel I shaped the thumbhole.


Using a belt sander, sandpaper, and dremel, I smoothed everything out.



I then added a few coats of dark walnut stain.


I am no pro at all as this is my first attempt at a gunstock, but it was fun. I also plan to coat it with a nice varnish.

Hey thats way cool, but how did you talk your misses into letting you do woodworking in her sewing room?:D

Mark

haha, we have a very limited amount of space. To tell the truth I did all the woodworking in the driveway seeing as how I dont have room in the tiny garage. As soon as the economy picks up to where I am getting a regular 40 hours again, I can buy a house with a real garage.

Yeah the economy here sucks to, but I think you guys in Arizona have it worse than most. I started woodworking on a gravel driveway about 30 years ago so I was certainly not trying to offend you. I just noticed the sewing machine in the back ground. My mother has always been big into sewing an still makes things at 84 years old. She is a little overprotective of her sewing things, I remember getting into trouble as a kid of about 10 when I borrowed and of course lost her little screwdriver for her machine. It is funny that even now I can still picture it. It was about 3 inches long with a brown handle.

I hope things pick up for you soon.

Mark

mbcabinetmaker wrote:Yeah the economy here sucks to, but I think you guys in Arizona have it worse than most. I started woodworking on a gravel driveway about 30 years ago so I was certainly not trying to offend you. I just noticed the sewing machine in the back ground. My mother has always been big into sewing an still makes things at 84 years old. She is a little overprotective of her sewing things, I remember getting into trouble as a kid of about 10 when I borrowed and of course lost her little screwdriver for her machine. It is funny that even now I can still picture it. It was about 3 inches long with a brown handle.

I hope things pick up for you soon.

Mark

I think you should go out and buy her a new screwdriver...
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I have a nephew who owns a land survey business in FL. His company consisted of him and his wife and 4 survey teams. It got so bad that they finally had to lay off all 4 teams and it was just him and his wife out in the field. I understand that he has now hired at least one survey team again and is ready to hire another soon. His work is picking back up well. I consider that a good general sign.
My oldest daughter was just called back to her job at a company that is a vendor to auto manufacturers after being laid off for a while.
Now, if just 1% of those getting back to work will dash out and buy a new Shopsmith...

Hey Jook13, what air source are you using to build up 400psi, a scuba tank? I've seen some serious air rifles (45cal & up) charged by scuba tanks.

Well, the economy is starting to pick up again here. At least a little bit. We have jobs lined up for the next 6 months or so, so I am happy. Its just these inbetween times that are killing me.

Hey Jook13, what air source are you using to build up 400psi, a scuba tank? I've seen some serious air rifles (45cal & up) charged by scuba tanks.

Haha. I use an old refriderater pump fitted with fittings. I have gotten that pump up to 800 psi with no signs of slowing down. Of course it takes some serious pipes and fittings to handle those kind of pressures, so I dont go there yet. Air cannons and shooters are another one of my favorite hobbies. Check out this video of my 3 inch bore cannon shooting a TV. This was at 60 psi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psnFmQmTQ84

I hope you put a trigger guard on the thing. I metal strip fastened with a couple of screws would suffice. Any accidental discharge could be devastating. Just my opinion…