We’ve seen a lot of neat DIY guns in our day: The assault trombone, the CD gun, a Nerf gun that breaks the sound barrier, and a host of others. Those are all pretty special, but none of them are as (literally) metal as the one we’re about to show you: The molten metal squirt gun (via LaughingSquid).
The Backyard Scientist noticed this trend of cool guns on the internet as well, so he decided he wanted to get in on the action by creating a gun that shoots molten pewter with compressed air. Pewter turned out to be the best metal to use for this project because of its relatively low melting point (about 400 degrees Fahrenheit) and its availability; he just found old pewter candleholders and things of the like for a few bucks.
After he melts those down into discs that fit nicely into his ammunition chamber, we reach the moment of truth. He turns on the compressed air, aims at a block of styrofoam, and out comes a pretty consistent stream of molten metal until, like a real squirt gun, it peters off at the end as his tank runs empty.
He filmed a bunch of cool angles and slow-motion clips that show this marvel of backyard engineering in full action, so check it out above. Since he later says that this gun can shoot pretty much any liquid, let us know in the comments below what you’d use this gun for.
Featured image: The Backyard Scientist/YouTube