Reactive Targets

[wyshadow]

I have been thinking of making something like this for a very long time. I have been working on this project for the past three days and except for the few boards that need to be painted and adding a handle to carry it, (this thing is really heavy) my target box in finally done. I will wait until tomorrow to give the cement to cure.

 

[wyshadow]

I can air up all three bottles at one time and I can close off the air pressure to each bottle. The main reason I made this is to protect the air valve. If I put the valve right on the bottle cap, the explosion of the bottle would damage the cap and/or the valve would fly off and I wouldn't find the valve

 

[ztirffritz]

similar to this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Big-Blast-Target-Inflator-Exploding-reactive-targets-reusable-kit-/151360496958?hash=item233dc9e53e:g:qtMAAOSw~bFWN5ps

but 3 at a time and the bottles are fixed in place. Neat idea.

 

[wyshadow]

I've seen those but the problem is the cap will get damage in the explosion. This is just a way to avoid that and to give me something portable to set up. The back half of the box is filled with 2x4's and old shirts and pants. Made this box with stuff lying around the garage

 

[wyshadow]

You learn something just about everyday. For your information, the plastic valves I bought for this project only holds air if the valve is in the fully close position or in the fully open position. When I aired up the three bottles, two of the bottles held the air but the third one needed to be tighten a little bit more. Once I was satisfied I had no air leaks, I started to turn the valve close and the air leaked out. The valves work like a rubber wall coming down from the top until the rubber wall compresses the bottom which makes a seal. I will have to take apart the parts that just unscrew and start from scratch again. Next time I will have to use the valve that acts like revolving door. Not sure how to explain it but the valve looks like a ball with a hole in the middle. Just looked it up. Its called a ball valve haha

 

[gordonsbuck]

Nice work! I hope you'll make a video showing it in action.

I made a "dueling tree" reactive target primarily for airsoft but it also works well for BB guns. Pellet guns are too powerful and the targets bounce from side to side.

Here's a link to my video showing how to make an airsoft/BB dueling tree: https://youtu.be/cX8ha-r4LjM

 

[TDK]

Idea: use a check-valve instead of a ball-valve. Faster and easier filling. Cheapest option on McMaster looks like the polypropylene for $11.90 each. You might be able to find something cheaper if you look around.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#5492k13/=zwck4t

 

[TDK]

Sorry, can't stop the engineering impulse. The above check valve was based on sticking with your PVC piping design. If you switch over to some sort of tubing you might be to dot it a lot cheaper with the following check valves, which are $3.62 and available in 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4" tubing sizes:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#7757k41/=zwcpog

How much pressure are you putting in those bottles? That's going to be something to pay attention to when picking out tubing and fittings.

 

[wyshadow]

This set up I have is working out really well. A quick turn of the knob closes the valve with very little air lost. I aired up the three bottles to 40 psi and after 4 hours, two of the bottles didn't lose any air while third lost very little air. I think I will air up the bottles to 90 psi in order to get a good explosion. I will record my result and post it tomorrow

 

[wyshadow]

Ok. editing video clips is a real pain but after its all done its all worth it. Here is a short video of the reactive targets I made with hunting clips near the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W22NWeluCRQ

 

[jnc4558]

wyshadow, youtube says that the video is private. Can't watch.

Cheers, 

J.C

 

[wyshadow]

Ok. It's working now. I always forget to make the videos public when I upload on YouTube

 

[linsfreak]

I fill up all kinds of bottles. Caps always stay on or land few feet away

 

[Ropechucker]

Good video - targets are certainly 'reactive'! So were the Jacks.

 

[smooth.pull]

Now that was cool

 

[charleston]

There are used doors that are in good conditions and up for sale for very low cost. Those are great stuff to use, you can find it at http://caldwells.com/.