SpudFiles

The most common ammo for 2.5" barrels are usually tennis balls. Tennis ball are fun, easy to get, and cheap, but damage can sometimes be lacking .
I was thinking about making a tennis ball launcher myself over spring break, but i love destruction , so i decided to find something that was mildly cheap, and that i already had a lot of. Lacrosse balls matched both of these. A lot of people here have probably never played lacrosse, so i will give you some characteristics: about the same size as tennis balls (don't have a larger enough caliper to measure) about 1.5 lbs, and made out of solid rubber. You can get them for $.85 dollars a piece, and even cheaper in bulk.
Here is a picture

So do you not know if they fit in 2.5 inch pipe? Does anyone know? If they do fit then I'll have to get some for a launcher I have...

deathbyDWV wrote:So do you not know if they fit in 2.5 inch pipe? Does anyone know? If they do fit then I'll have to get some for a launcher I have...

duh1... <a href="http://www.google.com/">Google</a> home page; Type in : "lacrosse ball diameter"

duh2... Pick the very first website that appears at the top of the page:
<a href="http://www.google.com/search?client=fir ... ">Lacrosse ball - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</a>

duh3... A lacrosse ball is the solid rubber ball that is used to play the sport of lacrosse. It is typically white, but is also produced in a wide range of colors. It is usually 7.75 to 8 inches (19.7–20.3 cm) in circumference (about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) in diameter) and weighs 5 to 5.25 ounces (140–150 g).

Average diameter of 2-1/2" SCH40 PVC pipe is 2.445", found by looking up the <a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/pvc_pipe_info.php">pipe info</a> link, on this site.

A difference of .055", or 0.0275" - all the way around the ball... Tight fit!


Edit: DUH4 <----To ME! (Was so caught-up in my own sarcasm, that I totally forgot my original thought)

Lockedandloaded: Have you ever tried to inject a tennis ball, full of water?
Makes them pretty heavy! About 4 ounces of water, plus the 57 grams, for the tennis ball, itself... about 6 oz.

Heavier than the lacrosse ball?

haha DR seems you will like this:

DUH!!

I thought about getting some of these for my cannon projects. The official diameter allows for variances, so you would have to find a manufacturer that made them a little under 2.5.

jmadden91 wrote:haha DR seems you will like this:

DUH!!

LOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!

I can honestly say, I've never seen lacrosse balls being used in a spudgun. I've played lacrosse before and been hit by the ball. it sucks, so I can only imagine what damage it would do out of a spudgun. Good luck with your build.

DR spoke of injecting a tennis ball with water. Why not inject it with some form of epoxy? That is...if cost isn't a big option. I can see how epoxy filled tennis balls would get expensive.

McCoytheGreater wrote: ...DR spoke of injecting a tennis ball with water. Why not inject it with some form of epoxy? That is...if cost isn't a big option. I can see how epoxy filled tennis balls would get expensive.

Because if the epoxy hardened, the ball would not go down the pipe ¹. You could let the epoxy set up inside of a scrap piece of 2-1/2" pipe, but the oval shape of it (inside the ball) could make the ball more likely to travel
in an erratic path, once it left the barrel.

¹ A standard tennis ball is about 2.7 inches in diameter - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_ball">Tennis ball - Wikipedia</a>
and the 2-1/2" pipe is only 2.445" I.D.

DR wrote: Because if the epoxy hardened, the ball would not go down the pipe ¹. You could let the epoxy set up inside of a scrap piece of 2-1/2" pipe, but the oval shape of it (inside the ball) could make the ball more likely to travel
in an erratic path, once it left the barrel.

¹ A standard tennis ball is about 2.7 inches in diameter - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_ball">Tennis ball - Wikipedia</a>
and the 2-1/2" pipe is only 2.445" I.D.

Yeaaaaah. I didn't take that into consideration.


Small lead shot, maybe?

I can honestly say, I've never seen lacrosse balls being used in a spudgun. I've played lacrosse before and been hit by the ball. it sucks, so I can only imagine what damage it would do out of a spudgun. Good luck with your build

Yea, been there... I have a kid on my team who shoots 95mph, and yesterday i got nailed right in the leg, hurt like a bi@tch!

Average diameter of 2-1/2" SCH40 PVC pipe is 2.445", found by looking up the pipe info link, on this site.

A difference of .055", or 0.0275" - all the way around the ball... Tight fit!

Yea, but don't most people use sdr or some other variation?

So do you not know if they fit in 2.5 inch pipe? Does anyone know? If they do fit then I'll have to get some for a launcher I have...

I know from experience they can do quite some damage, with a mild shot i put one through a wood fence, i can only imagine what it could do at higher speeds

i like lacrosse. if they fit in the barrel they would be a cool alternative ammo.

Lacrosse balls are a hit and miss thing, mostly depending on the make, as to whether they will fit in 2.5" sched 40. Most of them are ever so slightly too large. And unlike tennis balls which can be forced into a 2.5" barrel, a lacrosse ball will NOT give any...precise or slightly small fits are a must.

Cut a small length of 2.5" pipe (couple of inches will do) and take it with you to your local sporting goods dealer and try fitting balls in it before you buy them.

I got my hands on a tennis ball barrel from launchpotatoes.com and I've found that old lacrosse balls work very well. The reason old lacrosse balls work so well is due to the fact that the more you use them, the smoother they get. This is great because old lacrosse balls that have become smooth are pretty much worthless to any lacrosse player

In testing with my large cannon, water filled tennis balls go almost twice as far as normal tennis balls.