Introduction: How to Make a Coilgun.

This tutorial will show you how to make a coil gun. I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE IF YOU HURT OR KILL YOURSELF! This coil gun does work but is VERY weak. It does shoot, but not very far ( 2-3 ft). I mainly made it to see if the charging circuit works.

PARTS: 
1 disposable camera- you can get them from places that develop pictures. I used a FUJIFILMS camera.
enamel-coated magnet wire. I used 22-gauge wire.
1 momentary push-button from Radioshack
1 DPDT  Toggle switch from Radioshack
some tape - I used scotch tape.
wires.
AA battery holder ( the one that holds 2 batteries )
BIC pen

TOOLS:
soldering iron
solder
flat head screwdriver with a plastic handle
wire strippers




Step 1: Taking Apart the Camera.

1st- Take the wrapper off of the camera.
2nd- Remove the battery.
3rd-Open up the camera. This is where the screwdriver can come in handy. * ONCE OPEN DO NOT TOUCH THE CAPACITOR ( the thing that looks like a battery)*
4th- Touch  the metal end of the screwdriver to the 2 leads of the capacitor. If you don't know where to touch it look in the pics. This will create a large spark.
5th-Remove the circuit from the camera housing

Step 2: Working on the Circuit.

1st- Find where your battery was located and either desolder the leads or shorten the leads.
2nd-Solder 1 wire to each of the leads where your battery was located.
3rd-Solder the switch to one of the wires. Solder one wire to pin 3 and solder a new wire to pin 2.
4th- Solder the wire from pin 2  to the battery pack and make sure it goes to the right side of the battery-pack (+ to +and - to -)
5th- Solder the negative end of the battery-pack to the negative wire you soldered on the circuit.
6th-There will be a spot where you push a button or flip a switch. You will need to remove all metal on that part and solder a wire to the points so it will always be on.
7th-Solder 1 wire to each of the wires on the capacitor.
( see pictures for more detail)

Step 3: The Coil

Now is the hardest part to me...winding the coil.
Get the magnet wire and tape some of the wire down 30mm from the end of the pen and start wrapping the the wire as tight as you can for 30mm.  Stop at 30mm and start winding back on your coil but do not change direction, either clock-wise or counter-clockwise. I made 4-5 layers of coils just for testing. Solder 1 wire  to each wire on the coil.

Step 4: Connecting the Coil to the Circuit.

On one of the wires you soldered to the coil solder the momentary push-button.
Solder the wire from the capacitor to the push-button.
Solder the other wire on the capacitor to the coil and you're done!

HOW TO SHOOT IT

Flip the toggle switch to the on position and you will hear a whining noise. This is normal. Once the light on the board is fully lit up, turn off the switch, push the push-button and it will shoot.

Step 5: My New Coilgun


I want to make a new coilgun with a capacitor bank and 26-gauge wire. I want to use photo-flash capacitors you find in disposable cameras