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Introduction
Making a vacuum bazooka can be a fun project. People will need to be safe when playing with the finished product. Even toy guns can be unsafe when handled improperly. However, a vacuum bazooka can be a lot of fun to use when it is assembled, and making it can be just as entertaining.
Required Tools and Components
Working Vacuum Cleaner
Obviously, the first thing that people should find in order to make the vacuum bazooka is the vacuum cleaner itself. There are debates about which models will be ideal for vacuum bazookas. People will usually use canister vacuums for this part of the process. While they can technically use almost any model, it’s important to choose a vacuum that will be easy to wield and hold. The ideal model will be different for different people in most cases.
It’s also worthwhile to take into account the vacuum cord and its reach. Vacuum bazookas are truly vacuum-powered, which ultimately means that they are powered by electricity. People just need to make sure that they can use the vacuum effectively for this purpose, and that will require the vacuum to have a long enough cord. Otherwise, people will need a battery-powered vacuum cleaner. Some people will use handheld vacuum cleaners, since these will automatically be easy to wield and a good portion of them are battery-powered.
Duct Tape or PVC Glue
Many people will be happy to hear that one of the most important products that they’ll ever need when building a vacuum bazooka is duct tape. They will probably already have a lot of this around the house anyway. Some people will want to use PVC glue instead. The PVC glue might last longer in some cases. However, the duct tape will be easy to replace in the majority of cases, and people probably already have more than enough of it around their homes.
PVC Tubing
It’s important to get some PVC tubing for the vacuum bazooka has well. People will need at least three feet of PVC tubing, although it’s better to make it a little longer than that. The inner diameter of this PVC tubing should be around an inch and a half. This should be a straight piece of PVC tubing.
People will also need an additional length of PVC tubing. However, this one needs to be bent at the end so it resembles a hook. The bent part needs to be fairly short, or the model won’t work as well. The bend should occur at around a 45-degree angle.
This part is going to be connected to the straight PVC tube, so they should be able to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. The short and bent part will fit into the vacuum hose as well, so people need to make sure that all of these pieces will fit together. Otherwise, they might need a different vacuum model.
Cardboard
From there, people will just need to get some small and thin cardboard. Some people will just use old business cards for this step, since they probably have a lot of them lying around the house anyway.
Projectiles
After that, people will just need projectiles that they can shoot with their finished vacuum bazookas once those vacuum bazookas are finished. Obviously, the projectiles have to be small enough to fit inside the PVC tubes. Other than that, it doesn’t really matter what people use for the projectiles. These projectiles should be safe, of course. Some people will use old film containers. Other people will use rolled up balls of duct tape, which is cheap and easy to reload.
Using marshmallows is very popular with vacuum bazookas, to the point where a lot of people will call vacuum bazookas ‘marshmallow bazookas.’ Many people already have marshmallows at home, so this should work well enough.
Marshmallows don’t have any sharp corners or edges of any kind. When the projectiles get more kinetic energy as they are launched, all of the slightly sharp parts will become very sharp on impact. Throwing a marshmallow at someone rarely hurts, and yet a marshmallow will work well enough as ammunition.
Making the Vacuum Bazooka
Actually constructing a vacuum bazooka should be relatively easy. The vacuum itself does most of the work when it comes to the vacuum bazooka, and this should be a relief for the people who are trying to construct a lot of these for a party.
1. People should start by fitting the straight PVC tube and the bent PVC tube together.
2. Once the two parts are secured, people can keep it all together using duct tape.
3. From there, people will just need to attach the vacuum hose to the bent PVC tube. This step will probably be easier for the people who are using PVC glue. They should layer the glue around the top part of the vacuum hose. Otherwise, they should put a layer of duct tape around the top part of the hose so the sticky side is on the outside.
4. Once the top part of the vacuum hose is ready, it’s time to fit it into the short bent part of the PVC tube. It’s important to make sure that the vacuum fits as tightly and securely as possible. People should test out everything to make sure that the vacuum is steadily attached to the PVC piping. Once people have gotten to this step, they should be able to start loading their vacuum bazookas.
5. The small piece of cardboard more or less allows people to take a break between releasing the projectiles. They will need this small piece of cardboard in order to stop all of the projectiles that will be on the verge of flying out of the vacuum tube. Just placing the cardboard in front of the vacuum tube when it is turned on should be enough, since the vacuum will suck the paper and get the paper stuck to the tube.
Sources:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-Vacuum-cleaner-Bazooka/.
