Bottle rocket launcher

Mace Canute · Oct 25, 2015

A friend's son who's almost 7 asked me to build him a bottle rocket launcher so I made up one for him and gave it to him Saturday. It was the first one I've made and I learned a couple of things that I would do different if I build another one but for now it's keeping him highly entertained. Maybe next year I'll surprise him with a "Mark II" model.

Gary Fowler · Oct 25, 2015

I always had good luck with a plastic soda bottle.

Gunny · Oct 25, 2015

Did you make him a stationary launcher or a shoulder held? I fitted a 1" pipe onto an old shotgun stock, but it takes two people to really get good at lobbing them where you want them to go.

EddieWalker · Oct 25, 2015

When I was a kid, we built them out of threaded half inch pipe that we found in my dads garage. Best part was how we could adjust the angle of the pipe to get it on target!!!

Ed of all trades · Oct 25, 2015

We always just held the end of the stick, we thought it worked well. The great thing about just holding the stick is if trouble starts you had less to hide. A bunch of us were having a battle one day and the owner of the trailer park walked around the corner and had one go off about 6" from his chest. Everyone vanished in no time flat. Ed

Mace Canute · Oct 25, 2015

Gunny said:
Did you make him a stationary launcher or a shoulder held? I fitted a 1" pipe onto an old shotgun stock, but it takes two people to really get good at lobbing them where you want them to go.

Stationary so I could get him back about 25 - 30 feet from the thing when he launches the 2 liter pop bottles just in case there's a malfunction of some sort...he's using full air compressor tank pressure.

woodlandfarms · Oct 25, 2015

Go big or go home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z53mFymC2U

Ed of all trades · Oct 26, 2015

Mace Canute said:
Stationary so I could get him back about 25 - 30 feet from the thing when he launches the 2 liter pop bottles just in case there's a malfunction of some sort...he's using full air compressor tank pressure.

Ok I need a pic to see what you are talking about. Ed

murphy1244 · Oct 26, 2015

We used a old car jack. Its like holding a Bazooka.

Gunny · Oct 26, 2015

Looks like you were talking about a mortar that shoots real bottles, I was talking about the little firecracker type bottle rockets.

I just got this months Popular Science magazine and they've got an article where a guy built an air launcher that can shoot a ping pong ball at 300 MPH! Just for sh*ts and giggles, I think I'm going to stock up on some ping pong balls and build one of those since I've already got all the pieces and parts to do it.

I'd bet that would put the neighbors dog back into his yard in less than a heartbeat!