Whoosh Boom Splat: The Garage Warrior's Guide to Building Projectile Shooters [Paperback]

William Gurstelle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2007

These are the homemade machines that you’ve dreamed of building, from the high-voltage Night Lighter 36 spud gun to the Jam Jar Jet, the Marshmallow Shooter, and the Yagua Blowgun. Including detailed diagrams and supply lists, Gurstelle’s simple, step-by-step instructions help workshop warriors at any skill level achieve impressively powerful results. With Whoosh Boom Splat, you can build:

- The Jam Jar Jet—the simple pulse jet engine that roars
- The Elastic Zip Cannon—a membrane-powered shooter that packs a wallop
- The Mechanical Toe—a bungee-powered kicking machine
- The Vortex Launcher—a projectile shooter that uses air bullets for ammunition
- The Clothespin Snap Shooter—the PG-17 version of a clothespin gun that fires fiery projectiles
- The Architronito—the steam-powered cannon conceived by Leonardo da Vinci
And many more!

In addition to learning how to make these cool gadgets, you’ll find sections packed with information on what makes each machine unique. Gurstelle describes the machine’s historical origins as only he can: with verve, fun, and the sort of quirky details his legions of fans love. Whoosh Boom Splat is a must-have for every extreme tinkerer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

William Gurstelle is the author of Adventures from the Technology Underground, Backyard Ballistics, Building Bots, and The Art of the Catapult. The number of hours he’s spent crafting fighting robots and catapults instead of working at, say, his normal job (as an engineer) is, in Bill’s own words “scary to contemplate, but it serves a purpose.” When not building devices that make stuff go whoosh, boom, and splat, Bill is a contributing editor at Make magazine and writes frequently for Wired, The Rake, and several other national magazines. He lives in Minneapolis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307339483
• ISBN-13: 978-0307339485
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.4 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

In 2011, Popular Mechanics Magazine added five special editors to its masthead: William Gurstelle, Jay Leno, the Mythbusters' Adam Savage and Jaime Hyneman, and Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds. There's a reason Bill is there along side those luminaries: His views on risk taking, combined with his best selling books have put him in the spotlight.

Media Attention
Long features about Bill and his ideas have run in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Popular Science, the London Daily Telegraph, National Public Radio, PBS, Radio Canada, and scores of other media outlets.

Best Selling Author
Now, because of his groundbreaking views and easy writing style, he's one of the most widely read science and technology authors in the world. His best sellers include Absinthe and Flamethrowers, Backyard Ballistics, Adventures from the Technology Underground, and The Practical Pyromaniac. More than a half million copies of his books have been sold, a truly amazing amount for a technology author.

National Magazine Columnist
In addition to his books, he writes frequently on culture and technology for national magazines including Popular Mechanics, Wired, the Atlantic, and Make. Online, he is a frequent contributor to BoingBoing, Makezine, and Wired.

Popular Speaker
Bill has given lectures to groups all over the world including North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Select clients and their comments are available through the navigation panel to the left.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting, but..., October 26, 2007

By 

Kiteman "Kiteman" (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whoosh Boom Splat: The Garage Warrior's Guide to Building Projectile Shooters (Paperback)

I just bought this, based on experience of Gurstelle's other books ("Art of the Catapult" and "Backyard Ballistics").

I wasn't disappointed at the content, though anybody who has spent time on the internet (especially sites like Instructables or Howtoons) will have seen versions of most of the projects before. The only project that was wholly-new to me was the Mechanical Toe.

What did disappoint was the quality of the book - nice shiny covers enclose dull, yellowing pages. The paper used does not promise long life, and I do not think it would survive if I kept it with the rest of my Making library (in my shed).

So, buy it if you like Gurstelle's style, or if you don't want to spend some time filtering the dross from the Web, but don't buy it if you plan to keep it for several years.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Gurstelle Great!, April 24, 2007

By 

Christopher Wilder (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whoosh Boom Splat: The Garage Warrior's Guide to Building Projectile Shooters (Paperback)

I just received this book in the mail and was so excited that I did a quick scan to see what I could "put together" NOW! There were so many fun things to do in this book. Very inventive. I love the way Gurstelle gives praise to the past by creating a steam cannon designed by DaVinci (which was inspired by Archimedes). I can't wait to build even more!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whoosh, Boom, Splat Away!, December 23, 2007

By 

Figlia della Penna "ReaderWriter" (California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Whoosh Boom Splat: The Garage Warrior's Guide to Building Projectile Shooters (Paperback)

Fantastic little book! Full of historical little tidbits and notes, mixed in with common sense instructions about a lot of fun "guy" projects that even girls could have fun doing! Loved it. Bought one for a grandson, then bought one for a friend. Might buy another one, too.