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Straight out of MacGyver comes the project of creating your PVC paintball marker; there will be a few main elements to make a working launcher. First, you will need a propulsion source (compressed air) that connects to the “loading component.”
You can, in effect, launch the ammo from the loading component out of a PVC pipe barrel. This is the simplest form of marker possible; the firing rates will not be impressive, nor should you expect to be able to fire more than a dozen in a half hour.
What do you Need to Make One?
The first item to acquire would be the PVC pipe that fits the caliber paint used as ammo. Next would be to find a pressurized gas dispenser, hair spray, or similar that works fine and attach it to a vacuum-tight body or loading component.
This will create the propulsion needed to launch the paint out of the PVC barrel and out to the target. You will also need to work out a triggering device to activate the spray or ignite the gas in the chamber to create pressure and fire the paint.
Which Tools Do You Need to Have?
There are no set tool requirements when building a makeshift, at-home paintball marker unless you are attempting to create the next greatest marker of all time, in which a set of specialized tools will be required.
Simple tools you might need will be a saw to cut the PVC to size, along with duct tape, box cutters, and firing range equipment. Then again, not all designs out there on the web will require tools at all; some of the ingenuity that goes along with this can be surprising.
How Long Does it Take to Make One?
Since there are many different designs, creative processes, and building techniques, each way’s building processes will vary.
For example, some of the simpler, only-for-fun designs will take an hour to build out, but then the simple marker will only work for an hour as well.
Other designs are more complicated and may take days or even weeks to get the correct settings and or parts to make the production happen.
Then you will have the more serious builds that take weeks or months to perfect the air pressure balance, trigger mechanisms, and PVC pipe barrel length.
How Does it Work?
The basic process will be the same as any paintball marker; you have a vacuum-sealed airtight chamber filled with pressurized gas (Hairspray can, for example).
Next comes the barrel, which will house the paint rounds but also must maintain the pressure in the vacuum chamber.
From there, a trigger or ignition source will need to force the pressurized gas in the vacuum chamber out behind the paint round and out of the PVC pipe barrel.
The ignition source can either release more gas into the vacuum-sealed compartment to which the extreme pressure will push the paint out of the barrel or ignite the already present gas creating an explosive pressure release, firing the paint out of the PVC barrel.
Does it Have Good Quality?
This depends on the seriousness of this build for the creator; if the person building the marker wants a quick, fun project, then the launcher will not be of any quality.
Other inventors are looking for something they can use on their friends, in the backyard to kill some time or work up to a pumpkin launcher to win the community competition.
The quality of the build will depend on the needs of the builder. For example, suppose the inventor is genuinely trying to create a prototype Paintball marker.
In that case, the materials and quality of the build will have to be professional level.
Final Thoughts on How do you Make a PVC Paintball Marker
The surest bet for a quality paintball marker would be to buy one from a proven manufacturer and maintain it. Otherwise, these homemade markers are only for some.
It takes a certain kind of workshop savvy to handle materials like PVC pipe and make it into a working paint launcher. If you are a parent looking to find a project to bond with a child, you could go for creating a fun paintball launcher project.
As the sport of Paintball becomes more mainstream, there is going to be interest from the younger generations. So, hopefully, a new sport will rise.
