Working steampunk firearms

Jamie sez, "Denver artist Jonathan Alberico has created two fully functional steam punk guns. Black Betty, a dual barrel pistol uses flash paper to shoot fire balls. Doris is a beastly air cannon that fires bouncey ball at high enough speeds to rip through boxes and even bounce back and catch the videographer in the hip! Both pieces have corresponding youtube clips of them in action."

functional Steampunk rifle

functional Steampunk gun 1

(Thanks, Jamie!)

Previously:

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: Gadgets

More at Boing Boing

The technology that links taxonomy and Star Trek

Hackers prepare for first "national holiday" in their honor

aelfscine

#10: But… but… I create whizzed-upon hobbies. What will I do now? *sulk*
Halloween Jack

You could put an eye out with that thing!
Anonymous

I’d recoment the guy who built the pistol to check the build and preferably break it down. A glowplug or similar is not a “anitque” vay of iginitng the flashpaper and thus the gun is not a antique. Which lkeads to the fact that he now has a quite illegal Short Barreled Shotgun (the barrel is unrifled) if the barrel was rifled he should have no problems as that would make it a pistol.

Rifling == Pistol
No rifling and not a antique a == Short Barreled Shotgun
Anonymous

The law regulating flashpaper can be found in the New Jersey Code 2C:37-3. You can find the code at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
Anonymous

Its up for sale here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160401841342&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT
HDN

Hello BATF!
- Anonymous
  
  it’s an air cannon. it’s nothing batf would worry about. legal in every state I have looked up
  - siliconsunset
    
    most items that project a missile in any form fall into the same category as firearms in many states and municipalities when it comes to purchase, transport, concealment, etc.
    
    In Virginia concealing a pellet gun could nab you a concealed weapons charge. Might as well get a conceal permit and the real thing at that point.
CLAVDIVS

I am disappointed by the lack of a video link to the fireball-shooting pistol.
Anonymous

Here in the state of New Jersey compressed air guns are considered firearms. Also flashpaper is an illegal substance.
- wormbaby
  
  @#23 I am curious if nitrocellulose is a banned substance as you say in NJ, do they actually bust people for old film. Also every magic shop I tried said they have no restrictions on shipping it to NJ. Just curious where you got your info from.
Anonymous

Love the sound of Doris there.
Ugly Canuck

Theme song for steamfunk gunslingers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TuG9YSyRhU

O stoopid tipo!
greengestalt

Has anyone made “Leyden Balls” yet…?
LostMachine

Steam Punk Scythe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLMe4MyyYIA
Anonymous

link to fire ball shooting one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpH9S1OA8Ok
JamesPadraicR

You might want to check out the anime series “Last Exile”. The first episode features a broadsides airship battle, with infantrymen and steam-powered muskets. It isn’t actually a steampunk story, but has many of the elements.
Anonymous

Link to the pistol: http://macabre151.deviantart.com/art/SteamPunk-Gun-3-Black-Betty-151997706
Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AARYdBRXfnA
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpH9S1OA8Ok

The pistol is a firearm, it uses flash paper. The rifle can’t be called a firearm, it uses compressed air. The rifle is legal everywhere I’ve ever lived, but the pistol might be treading on thin legal ice even though it’s not really powerful enough for anyone to care.. It shoots ping pong balls after all.
- Anonymous
  
  Tell your local law enforcement officer that air powered guns aren’t fire arms. These weapons don’t look safe, however they do look like a lot of fun.
jackie31337

Is Doris made from plumbing parts, brass instruments, or both?
MadRat

Air powered rifles actually existed and were used by the military since the 1700s. Meriwether Lewis had one on the Lewis and Clark expedition (http://www.beeman.com/history.htm) and the Austrian army had them as well (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girandoni_Air_Rifle). These could fire off 20 shots in a row back in the day when firing more than 3 shots a minute with a musket was considered impressive. This is an excellent example of a steampunk plot device. Imagine if someone had invented a more practical air rifle (they look a LOT of pumping) and the whole word had adopted them during the great age of pirates, 150 years before gunpowder repeating rifles were invented. What would the world be like today and what would the world have been like back then?
t3hmadhatter

This is much like what me and my friend are building, only ours is PVC and shoots modded nerf darts. Maybe I can convince him to paint it brass…
PaulR

Um, shouldn’t it be powered by steam, not compressed air?

Like, y’know, STEAMpunk?
Capissen

Functional steampunk is truly the best kind of steampunk. This kicks ass.
Ugly Canuck

What kind of funky gun shot this thing?

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2010/02/hubble-sights-strange-spaceshipshaped-object-traveling-at-11000mph.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheDailyGalaxyNewsFromPlanetEarthBeyond+(The+Daily+Galaxy%3A+News+from+Planet+Earth+%26+Beyond)

PS Hubble’s taking the fotos.
Wardish

This begs for a conversation about steampunk and airport/other security theater.
ROSSINDETROIT

I’m 50% sure you’re joking but if you’re not, and to all the Steampunk haters, please take the time you spend whizzing on someone else’s hobby and go create something interesting yourself.