Scrap rayguns from Clayton Bailey

On Wired, Matt Simon profiles Clayton Bailey, who makes spectacular rayguns out of junk and scrap, and who is possessed of a truly magnificent mustache.

Next you’ll notice the many steampunkish ray guns — from dueling pistols to rifles to turrets — that Bailey has constructed from materials he found at flea markets and scrap yards around the San Francisco Bay Area. Instead of shooting lasers, they utilize either lungpower or pump-action air pressure to launch peas, corks or bits of potato a third of the way down a football field.
They’re gorgeous and entirely nonlethal, unless you’re targeting someone with an especially bad allergy to peas, corks or potatoes.

Scrap Yards Yield Raw Material for Artist’s Amazing Ray Guns

(Image: Ariel Zambelich/Wired.com)

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: art • assemblage • guns • happy mutants • maker • rayguns • science fiction • sculpture • sfo • Steampunk

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Brainspore

IMHO Clayton Bailey’s robot series is an even better indication of his talent—the guns are cool but a pneumatic torque wrench pretty much looks like a retr0 ray gun already! (The pea shooting thing is pretty rad though.)

My uncle painted a pretty awesome portrait of Mr. Bailey a few years ago. The man’s mustache alone is legendary.
Quibbler

Looks more like a grease gun than a ray gun. Always enjoyed greasing nipples.
Gekko_Gecko

“They’re gorgeous and entirely nonlethal”

non-lethal, unless you happen to point one at a cop and end up being quickly shot to death.
- Ipo
  
  Not if you shoot first.
  
  Oh…
  Ok, no pointing at people.
Finnagain

So, a lot like a Terrifying Wallet?

When I was a wee teen, we ran all over town playing Killer. Today, we would all be shot dead within a day.
Ipo

=]