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#350901 Who's still around from 2008/2009

Posted by atomatron on 19 January 2016 - 10:23 AM in Off Topic

Yeah, if still around counts as checking in every month or so.




#338483 SPANO 2014 (Minnesota)

Posted by atomatron on 24 April 2014 - 10:31 PM in Nerf Wars

At this point either day works.



#332089 Urban Nerf Assault

Posted by atomatron on 18 July 2013 - 05:00 PM in Nerf Wars

I'm not going to be able to attend.

Indoor wars can be a ton of fun, somebody take a bunch of pics.



#331066 SPANO 2013

Posted by atomatron on 19 June 2013 - 11:18 PM in Nerf Wars

Good war, wish I had not forgotten my camera. I'm looking forwards to the pictures Stark's friend took.



#330900 SPANO 2013

Posted by atomatron on 15 June 2013 - 09:00 AM in Nerf Wars

SSSPAAANNNOOOO!!!!!!!



#330018 Cataclysm 4 - Chicagoland War

Posted by atomatron on 20 May 2013 - 04:38 AM in Nerf Wars

I'll be a maybe, pending MN road trip.



#329729 Latex Tubing Blaster

Posted by atomatron on 12 May 2013 - 06:13 PM in Homemades

planning on selling any of these printed parts?



#329054 SPANO 2013

Posted by atomatron on 26 April 2013 - 03:09 PM in Nerf Wars

I shall do all I can to attend this war.



#328387 Marchtacular 2!

Posted by atomatron on 29 March 2013 - 11:04 PM in Nerf Wars

If it's really nice I'll regret being at work and not having the day off greatly.

If it's shitty I'll be ok with it being at work. I guess we'll see how it goes, have fun.



#328174 Marchtacular 2!

Posted by atomatron on 18 March 2013 - 10:36 PM in Nerf Wars

Unfortunately due to this being on easter weekend I cannot get the day off to attend.



#327606 NDA Exclusive! New 2013 Nerf Mega Centurion

Posted by atomatron on 04 March 2013 - 02:04 PM in General Nerf

Guys. Hasbro absolutely always, in every case, 100% of the time, no exceptions, advertises angled ranges. This thing maybe has modding potential to 100ft flat and beyond, but expecting it to get that stock is wishful thinking.
Notice that the fine print, just like every other nerf blaster, says "fires up to" in front of the range.

I doubt this given MyLastDart's experience with them first hand, also given the plunger tube size it sounds like it could do that.

As it looks I'll be getting one (at least), the potential for this is leaps and bounds ahead of any blaster currently in production, you weren't kidding when you said there was something that would blow the LS and longstrike out of the water. I am a bit dissapointed with the incoming old-megas/mongos/megas confusion but whatever, terminology doesn't really matter if the distinction is clear.



#327236 How has everyone been? who's still around?

Posted by atomatron on 23 February 2013 - 05:42 PM in Off Topic

Bit of a miserable git you aren't you?

...I should probably not post at nearly 2am. I'm a bit of a nostalgic, oh well.



#327222 Marchtacular 2!

Posted by atomatron on 23 February 2013 - 03:00 AM in Nerf Wars

Hell yes. 200% ready for this, never even really finished unpacking from the last war.

Zach, bring those SSSM5K's for photo op absurdity with the Last Final Best Ultimate Integration Blaster Mk4.36 QuadrillionX Super Deluxe Prototype Ultra-2; it will be limited only by how many blasters available, duct tape and patience. Everyone else bring something silly awesome.



#327221 How has everyone been? who's still around?

Posted by atomatron on 23 February 2013 - 02:42 AM in Off Topic

Man, I think about how much time has passed and how many people have come and gone in this hobby and it makes me feel feels.

Feels aside I've attributed our current downturn in nerfer activity to the greater situation we currently face; a recession. Kids have to grow up faster, teens have to study harder and adults have to work longer to make due, let alone take time aside from that for hobbies like this one. I haven't really looked at any other sources but that's my hypothesis concerning what we're going through currently. It 'sounds right' to me but I'm curious what other people think. What is the cause for our current standing?



#326248 Question to all you modders

Posted by atomatron on 01 February 2013 - 10:03 PM in General Nerf

Oh wow, I had been following this intently but did not really expect that sort of response, so soon especially. I have to say that what they produce quite directly influences the continued existence of these forums; no new people would come if nothing was happening on here. Waiting until June is kind of a pain but it looks like we may have actually influenced them in some truly relevant matter, I almost find that somewhat incredible considering the shit-a-dickfest that these forums usually embody.


TL;DR

WE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING, MAYBE, I GUESS. (....?)



#326172 Painting nerf guns with hvlp spray guns, and airbrushes

Posted by atomatron on 30 January 2013 - 11:37 PM in General Nerf

Just use thinner layers so when this happens again you can get it out without it leaving any sort of mark.


There are a ton of things that can go wrong with airbrushes.



#325241 Modification and Paintjob Pictures

Posted by atomatron on 12 January 2013 - 02:47 AM in Modifications

Got a Rough Cut.

Tediously removed the pegs but maintained these nubs so the mechanism would still work
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Decent blaster IMO, those Elite darts are just as inaccurate as steamlines judging from the 8 that it came with.



#324911 Latex Tubing Blaster

Posted by atomatron on 30 December 2012 - 09:50 AM in Homemades

Might I suggest you take a peek at this: http://nerfhaven.com...howtopic=23365' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>Crossbow The catch I used in the crossbow is only one piece, and is capable of holding a 30lb draw longbow.

EDIT: all credit for the catch goes to Meaker IV.

HEC, that catch (whatever Meaker wants it called) and all these one piece trigger/catch are pretty much the same and it doesn't really matter (Except it does and homemade ERTL catch; HEC is the best name for anything ever in the history of space.)

Kane's iteration with the separation of the catch and trigger provides more leverage but with that it's only really necessitated by the extremely acute angle that the surfaces of the catch and plunger rod meet which in the act of un-catching would cause the plunger rod assembly to be moved against the force of the main spring. This only really means an easier trigger pull if my brain is doing things accurately.



#324910 The RSCB/ Hopper Hybrid

Posted by atomatron on 30 December 2012 - 09:47 AM in Darts and Barrels

Is this really the first time this has been done? I'm slightly disappointed in everyone except for snake.

If this works as well as you say it does it may provide Kane/Ryan with the solution to their feed problems with rubber headed darts, assuming the angle is low enough for the heads not to touch the side.



#324710 Simple camera tripod mount for a PumpSnap

Posted by atomatron on 24 December 2012 - 04:27 AM in Homemades

Ah yes, Filming Nerfwars in style. The lack of possible mounting points on these full cover pump slide blasters isn't really great for filming but this looks like it could work. You did what you could with the constraints you made for yourself in the design. I'm somewhat biased because I hate pumpsnaps. I would not use a blaster I can't hold/aim the way I like to, with my cheek resting on it. If I were to mount a camera like this on any blaster of mine all the footage would be of the side of my face.


The somewhat more versatile thing I did on the same premise, works for pull back blasters



#324451 Latex Tubing Blaster

Posted by atomatron on 13 December 2012 - 07:16 PM in Homemades

That looks like a good blaster, I just want more detail on the catch-trigger system. I can't tell if it's better than my HEC's.



#323115 HellaWeen

Posted by atomatron on 28 October 2012 - 02:32 AM in Nerf Wars

Good war, I should have packed better stockish things.



#322808 High-speed footage of fishtailing

Posted by atomatron on 20 October 2012 - 12:47 AM in Darts and Barrels

atomatron, if you have the time and resources, could you do some better tests? Figuring out what's going on would be easier with a solid white background, no shadows on the background (top lighting?), and darts that have different colors on the back or front.

I plan on it. Additionally a friend and I have worked out a way to use a fog machine and laser with a line lens to view air disturbances. This should give us a substantially better understanding of how a dart behaves as it exits the barrel and in flight. If you have any suggestions I'd be willing to test them if I am able.

I will be doing the following with a good dart, an intentionally poor dart and a disfigured shit dart;

- Horizontal view, white background
- From the muzzle view, white background
- Cross sectioned air disturbances with fogmachine
- From springer (fogmachine)
- From airgun (fogmachine)
- Really weak blaster

Different darts/ammo;

- Too loose dart/foam (fogmachine)
- Too tight dart/foam (fogmachine)
- Combos of tight/loose from air/springer. (fogmachine)
- Drac's Missle and NERF arrow (fogmachine)



#322767 High-speed footage of fishtailing

Posted by atomatron on 18 October 2012 - 09:11 PM in Darts and Barrels

I have the test footage which shows what you're asking for.

HERE

AND HERE

They're from like a year and a half ago so excuse the somewhat poor quality.



#322536 Vote for NH's Next Avatar Pack

Posted by atomatron on 13 October 2012 - 09:22 AM in Off Topic

dicks
big ones




#322201 End all be all Hand Painting Guide?

Posted by atomatron on 03 October 2012 - 07:31 PM in Modifications

I did this thing a while ago. THIS


It would probably be a good thing to compile a list of painting tutorials but we really don't need another thread stickied in the Mods forum.



#322198 HellaWeen

Posted by atomatron on 03 October 2012 - 05:40 PM in Nerf Wars

I will be there.



#321793 HEC 2c

Posted by atomatron on 19 September 2012 - 06:23 PM in Homemades

Took me reading through it again to see exactly what's going on, but that's a pretty slick method of priming the blaster. It'd be help if you had pictures of completed components, rather than just close-ups of what you're working on, or one with everything laid out; as in many of BoltSniper's builds. I really like how clean it looks with everything internal; I had tried something like that and it failed because I was trying to push the plunger head with 1" PVC.

Do you think it'd be possible to nest the barrel and the priming rod to shrink the profile even more?

I'll just be building a clear one some day.

If you felt like using a weird breech setup and found another way of attaching the pump handle to the PVC then it would work.



#321764 HEC 2c

Posted by atomatron on 18 September 2012 - 10:16 PM in Homemades

Good work! This looks really solid, and pretty simple to build too. I will definitely try this when I get more materials. Nice job!

Thanks and go for it, post results in the homemades thread.

How long is the priming stroke? Is it all the way back to the handle? Could you possibly do a firing video to show how it all works.
Let me rephrase that. I understand it's a pump action blaster, but I would just like to see how you wield it.

The stroke is 6 1/2". Take a look at the last picture, The pump handle moves back to about where the screw in the side is.

I do like how you've kept a conventional plunger rod, seal, and catch layout while putting the priming action along the length of the barrel. It's a good compromise between barrels that stick out of the blaster making it longer and unwieldy, and requiring an inappropriately long barrel just to reach the front. And by linking the priming handle at a bottom slot, making the barrel go out the far end of the blaster isn't even required.

Version 1 of the bullPAC had a similar trigger design, and it also seemed more flakey than either linear plate catches (plusboids) or a lever catch whose direction of rotation provided stability rather than the contact slope. It's certainly possible to do well, and there are spacing advantages to doing so, but it's a remarkably inconvenient pair of shapes to machine and requires greater material strength and rigidity than other catch designs.

I spent a great deal of time designing what became this blaster, you covered nearly everything I considered a 'pro' about this design.

Admittedly the HEC catch isn't that great; it lacks the stability of the other contemporary designs as well as versatility, it cannot be put in backwards due to how it works or in many of the applications the plate catches can as it requires a catch face. I circumvented the strength issue by using thicker polycarb but stability can't really have much done for it. I think it's still worth using if not just experimenting with, luckily I have about 15 pounds of polycarb with which to do so.

I tried this out while I was in Minnesota, and I can confirm that it is nifty. The priming is very smooth, as smooth as a PAC.

This happens every time I build something. I don't know how he affords it or knows every time.



#321751 HEC 2c

Posted by atomatron on 18 September 2012 - 07:32 PM in Homemades

This blaster was designed with the intent of internalizing the priming tube/bar/cover of a pump action homemade while being relatively simple in construction and very resilient. From what I have tested of this blaster (and the previous build) it accomplishes these goals and is an all-around awesome blaster. I will say that the HEC catch can be substituted with a normal clothespin trigger without any alterations save for the plunger rod and the catch itself.

You will need the following.

Tools

Dremel
Drill (drill press would help)
Scroll saw/Band saw
Etape
Lube
6/32 Tap
Solvent Weld
Goop

Materials:

2' Piece of 1 1/4" PVC
1x 4" Piece of 1 1/4" PVC
1x 1 1/4" PVC Tee
1x 1 1/4" PVC Coupler
2x 3/4" PVC Endcaps
1x 1" to 1/2" PVC Bushing
1x 3/4" to 1/2" Reducing Bushing
1' Piece of 1/2" PVC
1x 1/2" PVC Stub (~2")
1x 1/2" PVC Endcap
1x 1/2" PVC Elbow
1x 3/4" ID Rubber O-ring
16x 6/32 Machine Screws of varying size
2x Wood Screws
1x Plunger Head setup (I use 3/4" steel, 1 1/2" rubber, 1 1/4" rubber, 1 1/4" steel, in that order)
1x 1/2" CPVC Endcap
1x 1/2" CPVC coupler
5" Piece of 1/2" CPVC
1x Vertical Handle
1x Pump Handle (could be a vertical handle too)
1x [k25] spring (or [k26], though you may have to change the measurements)
1x PVC Wye and hopper setup
5x Polycarb parts of varying size/shape
1x A chunk of 2" PVC (sort of optional)

Preparing the Main Body

From the start pick an end that will be the front. Then mark a slot starting 1/2" from the front and continuing for 9", the width of the slot was determined by the Polycarb I used (3/8"). I like putting it on the area with print so I never have to see it if I don't paint it.
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Then on the exact opposite side of the tube I drilled a 5/8" hole directly in the middle (12" from the front)
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That's all that needs to be done for now.


The Handle

This will use the vertical handle, the 1 1/4" coupler and the wood screws. First I drilled holes through the coupler about an inch apart then widened two of them such that a screwdriver could fit through, then I carefully lined up, marked and drilled pilot holes into the handle.
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(The material you use may not require this)

Before final assembly I put goop where the coupler and handle would n=meet to make it a but stronger. Here it is finished.
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The Stock

This will use the 1 1/4" Tee, one of the 3/4" Endcaps a bit of etape and the 5" section of 1 1/4" PVC.
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Drill some holes in the endcap, tape it up and combine like so:
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It doesn't show it but you will want to put screws through this part as it will be the spring rest.

I then solvent welded this part into the back of the coupler to which the handle is attached, you can use screws for a less totally permanent option.


The Pump Handle Assembly

This will use the Pump grip/handle, the 1' of 1/2" PVC, the 3/4" ID O-ring, a polycarb rectangle 3/4" by 2 1/2" and the 1/2" PVC endcap.
First chose an end of the PVC and do this with the endcap and O-ring
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Next on the other end mark the PVC, rectangle and handle/grip.
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I attempted to stagger the holes to reduce stress of the parts as much as possible (also gives more room for error).

(I would simplify this if I had longer screws)
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Dissemble for a future step, or trust that it'll work in final assembly, whatever.


Back to the Main Body

Take the 1" to 1/2" bushing and ream out the inside so it slides over 1/2" PVC easily (I ended up lubing it a little to prevent galling between the parts) also dremel the outside so it just barely fits in the 1 1/4" PVC of the main body. This part will fit in the ~1 1/2" gap between the hole drilled earlier and the end of the slot. I drilled a hole so I could solvent weld it in place, as an added measure I also put screws into but not through these parts.
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Final position, sort of hard to tell (I should make one of these out of clear PVC)
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If you have any issues with the parts not fitting quite as well after assembly tape some sandpaper to a long piece of CPVC and fix it by sanding 'til it works.

I inserted the 1/2" PVC part of the pump bar marked where holes should be drilled so the pump could be reassembled inside the main body, then did so.
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I inserted the 3/4" to 1/2" reducing bushing into the remaining 3/4" endcap, cut it in half and put the cap end on the end of the pump bar. Save the other half.
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I cut and sanded the 1/2" PVC elbow to fit over the 5/8" drill hole on the main body and the other half of the endcap-reducing bushing thing to slide over 1/2" PVC
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Solvent welded in place, make sure it's strait. It's important.
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Plunger Rod

This will use the CPVC parts and the plunger head setup.
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The rearmost thing is half of the coupler, it will hold the catchface in place, it needs to be a few inches back because the spring is a little shorter than optimal. All parts are solvent welded together. If you use a clothespin trigger you will need to figure that out on your own, in fact the nuances of catching are sort of ad-lib anyway, just do whatever you want; HEC's are magic anyway.


Back to the Handle

I cut polycarb parts as needed
Posted Image
as well as cut a bit out of the main body for the HEC catch.
and assembled, added a spring
Posted Image
Here you can see one of the screws I used to attach the two sections together after inserting the necessary parts (spring, plungerrod). I used the chunk of 2" PVC here as a cheek rest, it is a lot more comfortable than the edge of a coupler.


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And that should be all you need to make a complete blaster.

Note; I'm not telling how to make a HEC catch because they have a tendency to not really work all that well and newer nerfers would probably not have the tools necessary. The one shown works absolutely perfectly, I'm just not sure how they fail/not work when it really looks like they should. I might just make a guide including all necessary information for their replication.

Any questions/comments are welcome.



#321693 Hoppers Magical Workings Explained

Posted by atomatron on 16 September 2012 - 06:31 PM in Darts and Barrels





Relevant; as you can see in the first shot the dart is already within the chamfered end of the barrel, I do not think that the Venturi effect is at work here. Though it is possible that it's acting upon the dart behind, as it appears to jump up a little (probably due to the pressure differences across the length of the clip) and then go back down as the first dart is leaving or has immediately left the barrel.



#321682 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by atomatron on 16 September 2012 - 12:39 AM in Homemades

HEC 2c, Writeup in the works. This is a moderate redesign of an earlier model which was a re-purposed failure (trigger linkages are dumb). This one works perfectly, shoots as far as everything else, has 6.5" of draw with a [k25], total length is 33" and it probably weighs close to 10 pounds. At first the handle being so far back was kinda weird but now I'm comfortable with it, this is still an improvement over the other one.

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The original HEC 2(a) is in the middle, I initially wanted a standard handle positioning.

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#320174 Augsational!

Posted by atomatron on 08 August 2012 - 09:11 PM in Nerf Wars

Nuts, I get back from vacation the next day. Have fun dudes.



#318027 SPANO

Posted by atomatron on 05 July 2012 - 05:20 PM in Nerf Wars

I have neglected to post a recap and my pictures.

+ Good enough weather
+ Cheese balls and chocolate chip cookies
+ Decent dart recovery
+/- 5 people in Dereks maverick
+ Hec 2 repurposement actually worked very well
+/- Zachs Sceptor with paintball practice balls
- Time spent derping and not nerfing

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#317362 SPANO

Posted by atomatron on 22 June 2012 - 02:20 PM in Nerf Wars

Go anyways.

(do as he says or you will be banned)



#317300 SPANO

Posted by atomatron on 21 June 2012 - 02:49 PM in Nerf Wars

Aw crud this is at highland, I'd need a ride.



#316944 RainbowPup

Posted by atomatron on 13 June 2012 - 01:13 AM in Homemades

New update amended my concerns, Looks good.



#316889 SPANO

Posted by atomatron on 11 June 2012 - 06:19 PM in Nerf Wars

I intend to attend.



#316128 Cataclysm 3 - Chicagoland War

Posted by atomatron on 25 May 2012 - 10:36 AM in Nerf Wars

I know there was a portable tent type thing set up last year. If nothing else we can tip over the mobstacles.



#314464 Cataclysm 3 - Chicagoland War

Posted by atomatron on 17 April 2012 - 12:30 AM in Nerf Wars

ROAD TRIP


I plan on going. Ride or bus doesn't matter.