[ame]http://www.metacafe.com/watch/385480/build_a_mini_spud_gun_out_of_stuff_you_can_find_around_the_house/[/ame]
I made one using this guide and it works good! Lawl... Really easy to make, took me about 10 minutes to get it right. Have fun shooting people.
Basically if you want to make a full sized one, you just use PVC pipe that are similar to the parts of this. You still use the grill igniter, except instead of using thumbtacks you use 2 screws.
Oh yeah, my mini potato cannon shot over 250 FPS with a steel BB.
EDIT: I Apologize, please move this to the video and screenshot forum... I was originally going to have this only as a written step by step guide but it wasn't too detailed.
I decided to make another guide, How to make a medium sized potato cannon.
Materials:
1. A cardboard paper towel tube (This will be the barrel.)
2. A 24 ounce Pepsi Bottle (This will be the combustion chamber)
3. 2 thumb tacks.
4. A Grill Igniter. (You can take apart a long-nosed lighter and take the sparker out of it for this)
5. A SHARP Knife.
6. Duct Tape.
Step 1:
Cut a hole in the bottom of the Pepsi bottle using the knife (The hole should be the same size or smaller than the diameter of the paper towel tube)
Step 2:
Insert the paper towel tube in the hole you just made. (If the hole in the bottle is bigger than the paper towel tube, wrap duct tape around the end of the paper towel tube until it is big enough to fit snugly in the hole you made in the bottle.)
Step 3:
You should have two wires coming out of the sparker you took from the lighter, you need to take those wires and wrap the end of 1 wire on the metal part of 1 thumb tack and wrap the end of the other wire onto the other thumb tack. Then, you will insert the thumb tacks into the side of the bottle about 1.5 centimeters apart from each other. You should be able to push the sparker and see a spark jump between the bottom of the two thumb tacks INSIDE the bottle.
Step 4.
Now, duct tape it all together so it fits and stays together tightly. It should now resemble a gun.
Now that the weapon is built, you can find something to fit down the barrel. (Ammo) It should fit down the barrel nice and snug, but not too tight. Plunge your ammo down the barrel, making sure it DOES NOT FALL INTO THE BOTTLE. If it does, your pretty much f*cked, because this is going to force you to take the whole thing apart and rebuild it. Now, take some hair spray, and spray it in there about 2 times. Then blow in the end twice. Now, close the cap on the end of the bottle, activate your sparker and BOOM! Whatever you put in there should fire about 20+ feet. Have fun.
Edit: Just shot a ball of play-doh over 120 feet. Wooooosh! And guess how much the materials cost... 5 bucks.
Here is a FULL SIZED potato cannon I just built (1/21/0.