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#340773 Apocalypse 2014

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 29 July 2014 - 01:36 PM in Nerf Wars

Diamondback and Parkway on TEAM OMC, ALL DAY!



Parkway isn't related to diamondback.


Nope. But Whitemoonlight and I may be able to swing being on team OMC. At least once or twice (or all day), for ol' time's sake. It will be legendary.



#340746 Apocalypse 2014

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 28 July 2014 - 02:11 PM in Nerf Wars

My brother and I will be there. Doubt he remembers his log-in...frankly, I'm surprised I remember mine. I will bring plenty of cornstarch.



#319934 Apoc Reaction/Feedback Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 04 August 2012 - 09:33 PM in Nerf Wars

Apoc was great! Thanks to Langley, VACC, the LGLF, and TED. Had a great time.


What did Ted do? Is that just because he's looking studly as ever? + for that!



#319876 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 04 August 2012 - 06:48 AM in Homemades

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See you ladies on the field. (That includes you, Lucian. Your blaster is inferior).

APOC 2012



#313918 "My First 3B"

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 03 April 2012 - 12:00 PM in Modifications

Well, a little epoxy never hurt anyone. :P



I feel like there is a better way to do this... is there enough room inside the shell to fashion a PVC brace for the parts in question?
EDIT: For format.


Yeah, you guys are totally missing the point. Sure, you could go making PVC or poly-carbonate brackets and support systems, heck, you could rebuild the entirety of the internals while you're at it! Replace the plunger head, build a poly-carbonate catch to replace the original. But that's not the idea here.

This is the way it is because it works, it's easy to do, and makes this mod accessible to those with little to no experience modifying blasters. Granted, using epoxy is not the most strenuous job in the world, but more people just have hot glue and duct tape off hand than do epoxy and materials to construct some sort of bracket. Note the beginning of the entire writeup: "But they [other more in-depth BBB writeups] are all too complicated for someone who is new to modding. And more importantly, I think it is a waste of time to put so much work into what is, at it's core, a fundamentally mediocre blaster."

Also, Beaver, cool stuff, though I recommend adding some electrical tape in order to seal (or get as close as possible to doing so) the joint between the plunger tube and the coupler assembly. You've noted that you've maxed performance, so this may or may not help you, but I've found it to really make it seal nice, and if you wrap enough around, it can also help with that rotation issue. Important to note though, e-tape is less common to just have around the house, so again, in the interest of this being accessible to more people, duct tape may be the only option, and that's totally cool too.



#312311 The Definitive Guide to Posting From an iDevice

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 03 March 2012 - 10:25 AM in General Nerf

He who is making a definitive guide to posting pictures could not even post them horizontally? I'm disappointed...but I do agree this is important for some users.



#303321 Imperial RCB

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 14 August 2011 - 09:24 AM in Homemades

Cool stuff, man. I like the minimal e-tape usage in combining the parts around the catch. However, you seem to have missed this. It's a Ring Catch Blaster that was posted quite a while ago as you can see, and it utilizes parts readily available in the U.S. Here is mine that I posted a bit over a month ago:
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Now, of course, mine utilizes clear PVC and 2" Polyester tubing for the pump slide, but that can be simply substituted for opaque PVC and 1.5" thin-wall PVC respectively.

Another difference that detracts from the hard-ware store essence of yours is the Nylon Rod plunger rod. This is because I used SCH 80 PVC for the pump guides and catch. This could easily be substituted with 1/2" thin-wall to accommodate the CPVC. Speaking of, I like what you did with the CPVC to re-enforce it. Running the dowel inside of it was a good call. Did you notice at all that you had to grind down the sides of the catch notch as well? I found that I had to round the top edges created when cutting the notch in order to make the SCH 80 PVC slide more freely onto it and seat deeper when catching.

Also, to confirm, these are quite a bit easier to make than RBPs, and much cheaper (no need to purchase Polycarb).



#302780 How to make better Slug darts

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 03 August 2011 - 10:10 PM in Darts and Barrels

They're just dyed different. You should choose which color to use based on average war conditions and what other people near you use. If you play on a grassy field and green tips are common, buying green would be a very poor decision. White seems to be the most common color, but it can be colored with most markers easily to get a full range of colors and patterns.


This is actually not the case. From what I've noticed anyway, different color felt pads vary significantly in firmness. The other three colors (Other than green), are more "floofy," make worse darts, and are much more difficult to make darts with. I don't really know which of them is worse than the others, only that green is the best of the four in that respect. Also, heads don't really distinguish darts well, or make them any easier to find, being that darts sit in the grass head down.

Also, fantastic guide, Ryan, as I've already told you. Everyone should make darts this way until the MHA guys mass produce revolutionized darts. I've already pumped a few of mine through my hoppered blasters hundreds of times each, and they still qualify for my good dart pile.



#302524 NIC Homemades Contest Submission Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 29 July 2011 - 10:29 PM in Homemades

Homemade "Internals" Nitefinder



#302522 Homemade "Internals" Nitefinder

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 29 July 2011 - 10:25 PM in Homemades

Updated with a approx. build cost as well as a firing video for contest purposes. I figured I'd enter this...why not?



#302506 Shortened pumpsnap

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 29 July 2011 - 07:37 PM in Homemades

Hmm...cool. That sliding wedge trigger is interesting. I won't say anything about shorter being better for fear of the jokes that would ensue, but you get the point. However, there are a couple things that worry me. Most importantly, anything that's fastened with glue... No matter how secure you think that the trigger is, that the clothespin is, or that the roofing nail is, it's likely to let you down sometime. I'm not sure how you could work it out with your design, but mechanical fastening is always better. See here:
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That trigger will never fail, ever. Like I said, I'm not sure how you could work something out with your design, and I understand why you've chosen to go with it. However, this is something you may want to consider. This blaster is only 2" longer than yours:
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(With a barrel in the hopper that's the same length as yours)

Another quick note, but this is really just personal preference. You may benefit from developing some sort of sheath for your blaster that will cover up the priming slide as you prime the blaster so that it won't slice up your cheek as you prime.

Again, I like what you've done to improve the length issue with the initial design. I'm curious, what kind of draw are you getting? I may have missed it in the initial read-through...



#302399 One Hand Primable Blaster - Writeup

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 27 July 2011 - 04:44 PM in Homemades

The more I think about it, The better this becomes. If I'm thinking right, then by all means this is probably the most stable platform yet. You can support it with your shoulder and off arm, and then cock and shoot with your main arm, kinda like a bolt action rifle. You can be aiming the whole time!


This is very true. The blaster is totally usable with two hands, and actually excels in that area. You are quite right in that its very, very stable.



#302379 NIC Homemades Contest Submission Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 27 July 2011 - 12:00 PM in Homemades

One Hand Primable Blaster (OHPB)



#302378 One Hand Primable Blaster - Writeup

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 27 July 2011 - 11:55 AM in Homemades

Wow, great job. Long writeup though.

How about slam-fire? [insert troll laughter.]

Anyways, ranges?


Thank you. Yes, it is quite long...I wanted to be thorough. As for ranges, I discuss them in the video. I still need to toy around with dart barrel fit. It has the potential to shoot as far as the top springers in town, soon as I find the proper barrel.

Again, awesome. As stated in chat by people unnamed, the one handed priming isn't necessarily a big thing for most nerfers. But the dual wielding........

WIN


Thank ya :) Yeah, the idea is to dual wield these blasters. Or, if you do not have two, you can wield a pistol with your other hand, and use it to fend people off while reloading.

Long writeups are good. This writeup is good. Ugh. Caveman like.

Agree on both counts. Nicely done, db


Thank you to you both.


Very nice! I am going to look into making one now! It doesnt sound TOO overly complicated either so yay!


It's really not difficult to make at all. Most of my time was spent figuring out the proper dimensions to use for each piece, which I've already done for you. The build itself is rather simple.

Ahh, I remember the ancient prototype plans we looked over one night on the IRC! It is even prettier than I imagined. Great to see it come through its various stages of production, and the write up was excellent.


Haha, yeah, way back. Thanks man, I appreciate it.

Anyway, I updated the third post of the writeup with pictures and a bit of description regarding the current setup to attach the blaster to the strap. As written in said post, this is only temporary until I get access to a drill. Doing it this way is close enough that it gives a very good idea of overall function (it will actually be even better once I get that drill).



#302340 One Hand Primable Blaster - Writeup

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 26 July 2011 - 11:41 PM in Homemades

Now for the plunger tube. The beauty of this design…or, well, one of the beauties of the design, is that the plunger tube is also the sheath for the priming slide. This means that the whole blaster is just one uniform size, which makes it look nice and clean. First off, cut off just a small bit of the 2” PVC, just enough for the handle to slide through. Super easy to do, just slide it along through the bandsaw:
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Now go ahead and drill two holes in your plunger tube. One, which should be 3/8” from the end of the slot, is to be 5/32”. The other, 2” from the slot, should be 7/64” and tapped.
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Now go ahead and drill and tap a 7/64” hole through the small square block of wood, and screw it onto the plunger tube like so:
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(I did it backwards, countersinking a hole in the plunger tube, and then running a screw in through the top. This way is probably way easier.)

Once that’s done, mount the rest of your trigger, and slide the back piece containing the plunger into the front piece. Now, screw in your catch screw w/ spring, put the endcap on the end, with your super duper telescoping bushing set-up, and hoorah! You’re done. Well, almost. Go ahead and put a screw into the back end of the 2” PVC, the 1.25” T, and the 1.25” PVC just to hold everything together.
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Yayay, applause applause. To be honest, it probably took you longer to read this writeup than it will to make the blaster.

Now, for the most important part of the whole design. The strap. Here are some pictures of the way I currently have it rigged:
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The blaster is first primed to put some slack into the string stop.

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The carabiner clips onto the string and then clips onto the camelbak (or whatever sort of strapping system you choose to use):
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Again, this is just my current setup. As soon as I get access to a hand drill, I'm going to drill a hole to fit the carabiner just below the bottom hole for the string stop. The carabiner will then be fed through there, and will thus be fixated in one position, rather than be able to move backwards and forwards a bit like it does currently. That is the way that this should be done, building your own. Like I said, I just don't have access to a drill right now.

This video gives an overview of the strap system utilized, as well as potential alternate strap systems. I used a camelbak, but as I discuss in the video, there are much cheaper alternatives that will achieve the same effect:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0IjfPF_7ZM

Let me know what y’all think, and wish me luck!



#302339 One Hand Primable Blaster - Writeup

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 26 July 2011 - 11:39 PM in Homemades

Alrighty, now that that’s out of the way, let’s take a step back, and finish some other parts. Grab your plunger rod, and cut your catch notch ~2.5” from the front of the rod.
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This is variable based on what spring you’re using, but that’s what I used for mine. Then go ahead and drill a 3/16” hole through the side of your plunger rod, 1.25” from the back. This is for the steel priming bar. Then, go ahead and drill a hole large enough for whatever sort of string stop you choose to use. This should be .5” from the back, down through the top. Also, drill a 7/64” hole in the front end of the rod, which you should then tap with a 6-32 tapping bit.

Now, all those rings of PVC and PVC couplers stack together like so:
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Be sure to orient them all correctly. The ½” CPVC should get hammered into the ½” PVC, and then put into the whole smorgasbord of PVC. Wrap some e-tape around dat whole chunk and then put it into the 2” PVC endcap. This will help you mark and drill a centered 5/8” hole in your endcap.
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Slather the top side (the side with CPVC protruding) with plumbers goop and feed the CPVC through the hole.
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Now, use a vice, clamp, mallet, or whatever means of superpower that you so please, to get the other bit of ½” PVC onto the protruding cpvc. This will lock everything together and allow the goop to set while still continuing work.
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Okay, let’s finish up the handle. Your handle should be about 2” across on top. Try to maintain this even when sanding. DO NOT over-sand the handle. You need to make sure you leave enough room for the screw holes. What you want is to equally space the screw holes while leaving just enough room on either side so as not to split the wood. A good split is ½” between each (edge-½”-hole-½”-hole-½”hole-½”-edge). Here is what I did:
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Now, once you have that, drill the same pattern on your priming slide. You’ll need to also drill some clearance holes on top for your screw driver. I use 3/8” holes for that bit. Also, what you’re going to need to do is countersink the bottom holes. This is a bit tricky. I use the same 3/8” drill bit for this portion. Take said drill bit, and set your drill on the lowest setting so you have the most control over it. You don’t want it ripping through the bottom hole. Just lightly grind out the inside of the 2” PETG/1.5” thin wall so that there is room for the head of the screw to fit in. If there are any stubborn bits of PETG sticking up, never fear, the screw head will squeeze those down when you put them in. This should look like this:
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Now that that’s done, go ahead and secure the handle with some 1 ¼” wood screws:
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Super sturdy.
Now, to the rear portion of the blaster. First is the worst…slots. They’re not too bad if you do them this way, just a tad time consuming. Start out with two straight lines, one on either side your 1 ¼”
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The lines should start about 2 ¾” from the front, and be 4” long. Now, trace the lines, and drill lots of 3/8” holes into the PVC. Here’s how it should start to look:
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Let’s pretend that they turned out like this after taking a scroll saw to them and completing the slots:
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Heehee…

Now let’s work on mounting the catch. The catch will be mounted in the rear portion of blaster, the 1 ¼” PVC. One of the goals of this design was to step up the PVC to 2” PVC, while still maintaining a standard sized Rainbow catch. One of the reasons for this was because I wanted to be able to mount the catch in opaque pvc. If It was made to fit 2” PVC, it would’ve been difficult to mount it properly in place. In the 1 ¼” PVC, the front edge of the catch is right at the front edge of the 1 ¼” PVC, so it’s rather easy to estimate. Anywho, do your standard Rainbow catch mounting. Stick it into the end of the 1.25” PVC, drill 4 holes into it with a 7/64” drill bit, remove the catch, and tap both pieces separately:
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The above picture is from a later step, but that’s the basics of what it looks like once it’s in there.

Now we’re just about getting to that step though…
Go ahead and take the ¾” segment of 1 ¼” PVC coupler from before, and stick it over the front end of the 1 ¼” PVC, where the catch is. You can just glue this, screwing it in place isn’t really necessary. Really, glue isn’t really necessary.
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See that dot? That dot is meant to correspond with the bottom of the catch, right where the screw will go for the sliding portion of the rainbow catch. It should be 3/8” from the front. Go ahead and drill out that hole with a 5/32” drill bit. Make sure to stop drilling before f’ing up your catch. It’s not really that hard, but it’d be a bummer if you f’d it up, so I’m warning you now. Now, wrap most of the 1 ¼” coupler segment with e-tape, avoiding the portion where the catch screw goes. This will simply keep the rear piece centered in the front piece:
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Okay, now go ahead and slip your handle onto the 1 ¼” PVC. Make sure it slides nice and smooth-like.

Also, now would be a good time to make your plunger head. Stick one large and one small circle on, followed by the skirt, and then followed by the third circle, which should be tightened heavily onto the rod with a 1 ¼” machine screw. (Please DISREGARD any rubber biznis you see on the front of the plunger head from this point forward. It was an attempt at a check valve in the plunger head that is still going through development. I abandoned the project temporarily, and actually built a new plunger since these pictures were taken.) So now, feed the spring onto the rod, and then the rod through the catch, and then the 2” steel bar through the slots and the rod. Should look like this:
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I know it looks a little crooked…that’s because it is. That’s because it’s not really contained by anything yet, and is free to bend back and forth.

Now, drill 2 holes in your T. These should be the same size as the one you drilled through the top of the plunger rod. These will be for your string stop. Make sure you’ve allowed enough clearance for the 2” PVC to but up against the T. Here’s a quick look at what it’ll look like eventually:
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Now, feed the string through one hole in the T, through the plunger rod (this bit could take some coercing, just work with it), and out the other hole in the T. Then shove the T onto the end of the 1 ¼” PVC, wrap it with enough tape to fit slightly less than snug in 2” PVC, and you’re done with the rear part of the blaster! That’s most of the work, so you’re actually almost done.
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#302338 One Hand Primable Blaster - Writeup

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 26 July 2011 - 11:36 PM in Homemades

Okay, so first things first, this project has been goin’ on for awhile. The idea was to make a blaster that was able to be primed with one hand. The thought behind this being that you could wield two blasters at once. As I’m sure many of you have tried, maybe just in fun, tying a string to the plunger rod of a blaster and then to your shoulder gives you a “one hand primable blaster.” However, an inherent problem with this design is the fact that it requires you to fire the blaster from an arm-bent position, due to the fact that the string is taught with your arm outstretched, and thus wouldn’t allow the plunger to travel forward. Because the arm-bent position is such an awkward way to fire your blaster, I wanted to reverse it entirely. Here is the first iteration of the design:
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The blaster essentially operates by pulling the handle towards your body in order to prime, and pushing it away to return the handle to the forward most position and ready to fire. A strapping system is to be set up to secure the blaster to your shoulder while you push the handle forward, so that the whole blaster doesn’t move forward when you push. This design had a couple issues. 1. I hadn’t developed a viable strap yet. A simple loop would just slip off of my shoulder, causing lots of problems. Also, the blaster was longer than it had to be. The shorter the better, in this case. Thus, the redesign:
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The re-model features a 2” PVC plunger tube, which allows a much shorter plunger tube length, yet yields the same (in this case even larger) air output. There is a carabiner clip at the back that clips onto the strap setup that we’ll discuss later. One of the goals of this design was to step up the PVC to 2” PVC, while still maintaining a standard sized Rainbow catch. One of the reasons for this was because I wanted to be able to mount the catch in opaque pvc. If It was made to fit 2” PVC, it would’ve been difficult to mount it properly in place. In the 1 ¼” PVC, the front edge of the catch is right at the front edge of the 1 ¼” PVC, so it’s rather easy to estimate. Anyway, let’s get to it.

Materials
-2” PVC end cap
-20.5” of 2” PVC (this can vary based on your arm length if you’d like. All that needs to remain the same is where the cuts/holes are drilled with relation to the front end of the PVC). I chose to use opaque PVC for this portion as well as for the 1.25” PVC, simply because it’s much less expensive, and I wanted to show that it could be done with said parts.
-14” of 1 ¼” PVC (See above)
-¾” thick wood (I used poplar board)
-2” PETG (9245k51 from McMaster), or you could probably use 1.5” Thin-wall PVC
-4 3/8” 6-32 set screws (McMaster part number 92311A146)
- 3/16” polycarbonate sheeting (McMaster part number 8574K27)
-¼” polycarbonate sheeting (McMaster part number 8574k28)
(You’ll only need a bit of each of the above, but if you’re starting fresh, you’ll have to buy one 12”x12” sheet of each).
- ~8 ½” of ½” round nylon rod (McMaster part number 8541k18)
- ~5” of [k26] (or [k25] I guess) spring from McMaster Carr (9637k26(25))
-2” of steel rod (McMaster part number 9120k9)
-Spring for the catch.
-Braided polyester cord from your local hardware store
-Some sort of material for a strap (~$20). I used a Camelback, which cost $50, but this is strictly optional.
-3x ½” 6-32 machine screws (McMaster part number 90272A148)
-2x 1 ¼” 6-32 machine screws (McMaster part number 90272A151)
-1x 6-32 Hex Nut (McMaster part number 90480A007)
-Skirt Seal (McMaster part number 9562k51)
-2 times ¼”x¼” round nylon spacers that fit a #6 screw
-1 1” 6-32 thread machine screw. Don’t get this from McMaster, get it from your local hardware store…I never need 1” ones, just for this application.
-A couple inches (this you’ll need to just figure by yourself, because each is different) of: ½” CPVC, ½” PVC, ½” PVC coupler, 1 ¼” Internal PVC Coupler, 1 ¼” PVC, and (2x) 1 ¼” Coupler. Here’s a pic to help:
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All in all, this should come out to a total cost per blaster of ~$39.27, so about $40. This is rather good, considering that half of the cost consists of the strapping material. This could really be replaced by something as simple as an old backpack that you have around, so long as it has a chest strap. Easy peasy.

Tools that I used:
-Scroll saw
-Phillips head screw driver
-Hex Driver
-Drill/Drill bits
-Rubber mallet
-6-32 tapping bit
-Dremel (Just to cut the spring)
-Tape-measure
-Sharpie Marker (I probably use this more than anything. Red is a good color choice. It shows up clearly on all of the build materials)
-Band Saw
-Belt Sander
-Sand paper

(These tools might not all be necessary, but this is what I used throughout the build)

So anyway, let’s get to work. First things first, cut everything that you need to cut.
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^Each of the rings of PVC that I mentioned earlier.

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^2” of 2” PETG

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^20.5” of 2” PVC, 14” of 1.25” PVC, 8.5” of ½” Nylon Rod

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^3 Polycarbonate circles (Disregard one of the smaller ones). One should fit inside the skirt seal, and two should be just barely larger than the diameter of the bottom of the skirt. I don’t have specific measurements for these, simply trace them out on your polycarbonate sheet, and cut them. One of the larger and the smaller circles should have a ½” hole drilled through them, while the third should have a 5/32” hole drilled through. All should be cut from ¼” polycarbonate. I found that if the inside piece is a bit smaller, you can pinch down on it real nice with the two outside pieces.

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Cut your handle. I used Ryan’s templates found here and modified them as you see.

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Cut 2” from the steel rod.

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Cut 5” of your [k26] spring.

Also cut the piece seen here:
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Also cut the polycarbonate side plates as well as the trigger. You can find templates for both of these in Ryan’s thread as well.

And now to the more difficult bit, machining your catch. We’ll get back to those other parts later, go ahead and through them aside.

By more difficult, I don’t mean to say that it’s actually difficult to do, but it’s just a wee bit more difficult than the other pieces. Get a hold of your templates, found here.
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Cut one set out, and stick it onto your ¼” polycarbonate:
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Before drilling your holes, take an awl (or center punch, as some have mentioned)and tap it with a mallet onto the center of each hole-to-be. This helps to seat your drill bit more centered on the part.
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Then, go ahead and drill each hole with the proper drill bit. The back plate should have a 9/16” hole for the larger hole, and 5/32” holes for the smaller ones. The other should have a ½” hole for the large one, as well as 7/64” hole for the smaller ones and should be tapped.
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Here are some pics of the completed parts:
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A file is your best friend here. Make sure everything is nice and clean, and fit’s the plunger rod nicely.

Here is the catch assembled with ¾” screws:
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#302336 Modification and Paintjob Pictures

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 26 July 2011 - 10:07 PM in Modifications

^lol hopper clip^

Also, I don't think that I ever posted this:
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I was browsing my photobucket and stumbled across it. That pic is of a rear-loading AT2k that I made pre-fire that was intended to be part of a commission swap with Rogue. Obviously that never went down, but the blaster was pretty sweet, and to my knowledge, was actually the first rearloading AT2k ever made. It was made after Ryan's rearloading AT2k turret, but was the first actually made with intent to still work with the 2k.
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#301968 Apoc Round Schedule and Sign Up

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 21 July 2011 - 03:50 PM in Nerf Wars

1 / 10:15 - 10:50 / Deathmatch
2 / 11:05 - 11:40 / U3 Objective
3 / 11:55 - 12:30 / Full Roster Deathmatch
4 / 12:45 - 1:20 / Deathmatch - U3 Objective
5 / 1:35 - 2:10 / 4-Team Deathmatch - U3 Objectives
6 / 2:25 - 3:00 / Deathmatch - U3 Objective
7 / 3:15 - 3:50 / 4-Team Deathmatch
8 / 4:05 - 4:40 / Full Roster Deathmatch
9 / 4:55 - 5:30 / Deathmatch

Depending on how much I enjoy the first Objective game mode, I may or may not (probably will) want to play more throughout the day. Really, I don't care all too much about round schedule, I just want to shoot people. I may have one guest with me, who doesn't currently have computer access to confirm his attendance. 700 darts down...seriously, people, if you're freaking out about darts, see here.They're super duper easy to make, and work fantastically. Looking forward to seeing y'all on the 6th. I'll also have lots of guns to sell, so bring yo monies.



#301730 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 17 July 2011 - 10:37 PM in Homemades

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Super short Rainbow. Obviously the stock makes it a bunch longer, more than doubles its length, but the PT itself is only about 10" compared to the standard like, 15" necessary for a full sized one with an 11" spring. It has a 6" [k25] spring, and is made so that I could maximize the draw, while still having a blaster that could be used comfortably with a stock or without one, fired like a pistol. Uses the same dual endcap method that I used in the nitefinder, which cups the spring and keeps it perfectly centered. Uses a Rainbow catch, obviously, but it was made to use a square plunger rod (more work, but yields nice results. The plunger rod doesn't rotate on ya). The front piece of wood in the handle isn't actually attached to anything, I had this handle lying around that I'd made for a build I thought I was going to do, but never got to, so I just figured I'd use it on here. Looks good with the extra piece so I left it. All in all, I'm very happy. No ranges, cuz it's dark, but it should shoot farther than the NF I made for my bro, being that this has over an inch more draw. That shoots 80-90...you can predict what you'd so please...



#301690 Homemade "Internals" Nitefinder

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 17 July 2011 - 12:34 PM in Homemades

Does it have any vent holes in the rear of the plunger tube?


No, actually. It doesn't seem to have any issues lacking them though. The back of the plunger assembly isn't entirely airtight.



#301687 Homemade "Internals" Nitefinder

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 17 July 2011 - 12:16 PM in Homemades

First off, I put this in homemades because I figure it fit in to the Tornadobow category...most of the blaster's homemade, but it just uses a couple of things from the NF, including its shell.

So, basically this idea spawned out of my brother getting an LpL from Merzlin. The blaster was mad awesome, but doesn't quite fit in line with his Nitefinder lovin'. For those who don't know, my brother uses NF's as primaries at every war he goes to. He actually does pretty well...but I figured he needed an upgrade.
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The idea was to maintain a nitefinder feel, but step up the power, durability, and consistency. Everything was accomplished here. So, let's get started, shall we? This writeup is certainly not exhaustive, but should give you enough info to do what you have to do.

Materials:
-[k25] (or [k26], I guess) spring from McMaster carr. Other springs could probably be substituted here...it's 5.5" long.
-Sch. 40 1 1/4" Clear (or opaque) PVC
-2 3/4" PVC endcaps
1 1"X1/2" PVC bushing
-4 3/8" 6-32 set screws
-4 3/8" 6-32 machine screws
-2 1/2" 6-32 machine screws
-4 3/4" 6-32 machine screws
-Skirt seal from mcmaster
-A wee bit of 1/4" Polycarbonate
-3/8" X 3/8" square nylon rod
-3/16" Aluminum rod (Or some other priming handle
-Epoxy putty
-Plumbers goop
-Packing tape
-Skillz

Edit: Approximate cost, disregarding skillz (priceless), and including the cost of the nitefinder is about $26.33, so less than $30. I factored in $10 for the NF, however, I'm sure most people have them laying around or could find them for around $5 generally or for even less at thrift stores. I'm just playing it safe.

Tools I used:
-Scroll saw
-Handheld drill
-Various drill bits, see writeup for details
-6/32" tapping bit
-Hex driver
-Screw driver, obvs
-Bandsaw
-Dremel w/ cutting disk (for cutting aluminum rod and spring)
-Probably something else that I'm forgetting...

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^First, modify your shell like so. You may need to do some playing around to get it just the way you want it, but the square hole for the plunger rod should be as close to center in your PT as you can get it. This will allow for the smoothest functioning of the blaster.


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Also, cut your trigger. (I actually cut this one a bit too much, you should not cut all the way up to the point where the trigger ramp begins. If you do, you could mess up the trigger's ability to push up the catch far enough. I used a different trigger than the one pictured).


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Fill these portions of your shell with e-putty. Do this right away so that it can start to dry while you continue your build. This is not for re-enforcement purposes, but will serve as a filler for when you need to drill and tap this area later on.


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Now's also a good time to wrap your bushing in 6 layers of packing tape and then goop it into place. This should also be later secured with 4 set screws and then wrapped once or twice with packing tape to ensure a perfect seal around the screws.


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Re-enforce your catch plate (remember, this will mean you have to orient your catch correctly when you re-install it in your blaster. Re-enforced side forwards). This re-enforcement probably isn't necessary, being that I've put plenty of stock NF catches under much more stress than this one is under, and have never, ever had an issue. Also, you can cut your plunger rod now, too. Should be 8.5" If you're using the same length PT that I am. On the plunger rod, drill a 3/16" hole about 1/2" from the back, through the side. This will be for your priming handle. Also, cut your catch notch 2.5" from the front of the rod. The catch notch does not need to be very deep, being that the NF catch plate really does not have very much area to catch on. Drill and tap the front end of the rod with a 7/64" drill bit and a 6-32 tapping bit. This will be for you plunger head. (we won't do that until later. I generally try to keep my plunger head away from all the cutting of PVC and polycarbonate).


Let's get to work on the spring rest. The idea here was to have everything mechanically fastened.
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First, cut out your 1.5" X 1.5" piece of 1/4" Polycarb, and get ahold of your 3/4" endcap.


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Glue the two together with some form of superglue so that the endcap touches one of the edges of the polycarb and is centered between the adjacent two. This is just to hold it in place while we drill, tap, and then screw the two pieces together. Try to get the screws as far to the inside edges of the endcap as possible. Even if they're into the walls of the endcap a bit, that's even better.


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Drill a 3/8" Hole in the two pieces, as central as possible to the endcap.


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Using a scroll saw, complete the hole, making it into a 3/8" x 3/8" square. File it out nice so that the plunger rod has enough clearance to slide smoothly and even wiggle around a bit. You also notice in this picture that I've drilled 4 5/32" holes, one in each of the corners of the polycarb. Go ahead and do that now.

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Once your epoxy putty has dried, go ahead and drill four corresponding holes in your shell as seen above. Go right on through to the back of the shell. These will not interfere with the catch plate, being that the catch plate is nowhere near the far sides of the shell. Now, here's the bit I don't have many pictures of, the plunger head. Basically, the plunger head consists of this 3/4" endcap:
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which is cut down a bit, and has a 5/32" hole drilled through the center. It also consists of a circular piece of 1/4" polycarb, about 1" in diameter, which fits inside the skirt and serves as a spacer, as well as another circular piece of 1/4" polycarb (3/16" or 1/8" would work here too)that sits in front of the skirt. You can kind of see the plunger head here:
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You can also see, there, the reason for the 3/4" endcaps. Being that I used a 5.5" length of [k25] spring, they 3/4" endcaps keep it perfectly centered, right where it needs to be, so that it does not interfere with anything, and leads to a super snooth prime. You can also see, here, that the plunger tube is secured to the rear 3/4" endcap by four 3/8" long 6-32 screws. Also, I slathered everything in the plunger head with goop, to make sure no air would leak through.


At this point, you're just down to assembly. Put it all together, spring and all. The final step is hammering in a 2" length of aluminum rod into the plunger rod for the priming handle. Once you've done that, congrats, your done :).

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Ranges are around 80-90' with slugs, which I'm quite happy with. That was just with a barrel I had laying around. I'm going to play with the barrel fit a little, see if I can bump that up at all, but really, that's totally sufficient. The blaster, expectedly, primes really easy, and has a perfect seal. I give a little more overview in this very groggy video. Anyway, lemme know what y'all think. Feel free to ask if you need clarification about anything, I know I was missin' some pictures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOJc-9i71bk

Another Edit: Also, it does have vent holes now :P. Now that I've established a proper barrel length (12" of CPVC), I'm achieving ranges of 90-100 consistently. I added a zip tie around the main body of the blaster and the PT just to keep things from wiggling around at all. The back does all the structural work, the zip tie just keeps things steady. Also, I've fired tons and tons of shots out of this and am not noticing any signs of even the slightest wear. It's as solid as could be.



#301632 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 15 July 2011 - 10:55 PM in Homemades

BAMF-Finder
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Short writeup tomorrow.

Some quick details:
-Uses original catch/trigger
-[k25] spring
-3/4" PVC couplers on either side cup the spring and keep it perfectly centered
-Plate in the back and rear 3/4" coupler allow everything to be mechanically fastened. Thus, no glue. Hooray!

For more details, wait for the writeup :D
(This was a surprise for my bro, btw, he's happy with it)



#301242 Modular Air Blaster System

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 09 July 2011 - 11:53 AM in Homemades

Cool stuff man. Air guns are not really my cup of tea, but maybe that's because nobody has made strides to really optimize them, which you seem to be getting at now. One thing you may want to check out is something like this:
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It's obviously for a hose, but what's unique about it is that the valve doesn't operate slowly, depending on how fast you squeeze the "trigger." I'm not sure of it's actual inner-workings, but when you pull the trigger, there's a point at which the valve clicks into the open position. To close, you pull again, it clicks again. I anticipate that this would translate into a much faster air release. I already removed the front portion, but for sake of finding this in a store, it had this on the front:
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I purchased it at a local hardware store and haven't really gotten the chance to experiment with it. Maybe you could figure something out.



#301124 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 07 July 2011 - 12:30 AM in Homemades

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Four for Four...
This one's a RainbowPump. Yippee :)



#301074 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 05 July 2011 - 10:41 PM in Homemades

Made yet another homemade today:
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It's pump action, and uses a ring catch.
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It was my first time constructing such a catch, and I must say, it works flawlessly. I like it a lot. Also, the handle is surprisingly comfortable. Functionally, it's pretty much the same as an RBP.

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Three different homemades in three days...the kid's on a roll.



#301047 The Non-Exploding Hopper

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 05 July 2011 - 04:02 PM in Homemades

Effeminate and sub-optimal...that's all I have to say. I personally use tightening rings though, as ryan specified. What people are overlooking is what venom said about clearing jams. Being able to remove the parts of the hopper is key in those situations, however rare.

EDIT: Heehee...



#301020 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 05 July 2011 - 12:28 AM in Homemades

Just for reference, I started building this a couple hours after I posted the last homemade seen two posts before this one...
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I thought that this one needed a background...

It's super duper clear...
-Clear PT
-Clear Stock
-Clear Plunger Rod (1/2" X 5/8" Polyester tubing)
-Clear stock mounting pieces
-Clear handle mounting piece

Also, everything's mechanically fastened just like my last SNAP, the pump action one above. Uses a skirt seal and a new plunger head design that works flawlessly. I'll post a little write-up the next time I make one. It's seriously awesome, and pretty easy to make.

I haven't shot it outside yet, being that it's dark, but this thing's terrifying. I struggle to even keep my hand over it to check the seal, which is perfect, by the way.



#300998 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 04 July 2011 - 05:15 PM in Homemades

Okay, so the following was inspired by NerfOmania's PumpSNAP design featured here. I used essentially the same priming mechanism, so the functionality of the blaster is basically the same. However, I made a few key changes that make the thing far more leet.
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Okey, so first off, every single joint is mechanical. Yes, I gooped around the bushing, but that was not for structural integrity, just simply to make sure the seal was perfect.
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Clothespin to plunger tube.

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Trigger to Clothespin (There are two screws there, one from the top, one from the bottom).

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Handle to plunger tube. This is a carbon style handle, but sized so as to not interfere with the pump grip. There are two screws on the other side as well.

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Pump grip to pump slide. I went with a vertical pump grip to make it more comfy to use. It worked, and is quite a lot more comfy.

I also made a few more changes...the blaster is >3" shorter than the original, and still has a 6.5" draw. I obviously used clear PVC, but I also used a skirt seal:
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Added a string stop for the plunger rod:
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I only used a single string, not one looped through, which goes through a hole in an endcap at the end of the plunger rod, and then is knotted so it can't pull out, so I ran a bolt through the stock, which allowed the string to stay centered in place, and then knotted it on the outside of the tee.

And a cover for the priming slide so that you can lay your cheek on the blaster without eating it up when you prime:
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Being that it has a 6.5" draw, a [k26] spring, and a skirt seal, it shoots super far, as far as my other big guns, though I don't have precise measurements. I'm super happy with it, works quite smoothly.



#300726 One Hand Primable Blaster

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 28 June 2011 - 11:24 PM in Homemades

Finally got my ass to work on the upgraded design. Took about two days of on and off work...so not really that much time. This one uses 2" pvc, with shorter draw, and thus a pretty short final size in comparison to the original.
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I <3 it.
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This will, of course, have a full write up comin' soon.



#300725 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 28 June 2011 - 10:50 PM in Homemades

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#300486 Modification and Paintjob Pictures

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 24 June 2011 - 10:22 PM in Modifications

Some stuff I worked on yesterday:
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^This thing shoots just so surprisingly far. I picked it up mad cheap from imaseoulman last summer at BCNO, expecting to just rip the tank out of it at some point. It's been sitting around in a box since then, and I'd never fired it. I shot it the other day, and it's crazy. So, I cleaned it up with some etape, and made a new pump handle, cuz the little one's just not comfy. Oddly enough, I may find myself using a ramrod instead of a hopper/RSCB/speed-loader. 120' plus, I kid you not.

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Did some real simple mods to it. Basically did this, but taken up a small notch. It shoots pretty well, around 90, respectable for the mods done. Just did this as a time killer while epoxy was drying on the next one...

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I wanted a modded gun that could compete with current, top homemades (Pump action, hoppered, durable, etc.) The thing shoots respectably far (around 110'), and is real comfy, so I'd say I accomplished the goal rather well. The raider stock is detachable, the internal mods are up to par with Zorn's and the re-enforcements in this thing would make Makeitgo proud. So ya.



#300485 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 24 June 2011 - 10:08 PM in Homemades

Sweet-ass clear SNAPbow adapted to use a skirt seal:
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^Shoots so crazy far...(7" Draw, skirt seal, [k26]...)

And another pic of the Rainbow v2, sportin' a plunger stop for all the dry firing your heart could possibly desire:
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#300220 The SNAP/Revolution

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 20 June 2011 - 11:42 AM in Homemades

To clarify, you don't have to use thinwall for the front part of the plunger. I used thinwall because 1. I had it, 2. it's easier to cut slots in thinwall with the bit I have, and 3. for the weight advantage. Schedule 40 would work just fine.

As far as the slots, I was trying to keep them as non-annoying as possible. The front slots don't need to be very accurate, just big so as to keep the spring rest clear. The back slots could be cut with a saw, since they're open to the end of the tube.


Gotcha. Yeah, slots aren't to bad, particularly if you drill a series of holes and then just connect the dots.



#300217 The SNAP/Revolution

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 20 June 2011 - 11:13 AM in Homemades

No I will be fine I'm an experienced nerf modder just a new member to nerfhaven. But I just wanted to make sure the supplies were the same as say the snap one I should be able to make this in around an hour and a half anyway thanks for the help. Once again nice job carbon


I'm very anxious to see pictures once you've completed your build.

Also, Carbon, this is very, very cool. When I saw the initial pictures I was very confused as to the "Revolution" of it all. I'm glad this is what it turned out to be, though. The over-all design is very interesting, and looks to be rather sound in every way. The only two potential points of irritation that I see are acquiring 3/4" thin-walled PVC, and cutting slots. Of course though, they're really not all that much of a nuisance. Great work, I'll certainly building one once the contest is over (I won't have the time until then)...



#300064 PumpSnap writeup.

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 17 June 2011 - 09:02 PM in Homemades

Just finishing mine up, where did you buy thin wall 1.5" pvc?


I'm not quite sure where the OP got his, but you can purchase it online at flexpvc.com. I've also heard that you can find it at some Home Depots, I believe.

Also, this thing looks really cool. I love SNAPs in any form, and I'm really happy with this one. As sturdy as you say the grip and priming handle are, they'll always worry me...I'm a big fan of mechanical fastening...but I could imagine the glue there does just fine. Overally, supa awesome. I approve.



#298243 One Hand Primable Blaster

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 17 May 2011 - 06:41 PM in Homemades

One word: Dual-Wielding.


That has been discussed and was a main focus when theorizing/building OHPBs. Please read above.



#298216 One Hand Primable Blaster

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 16 May 2011 - 07:35 PM in Homemades

Very cool. The ability to not have to have your hand in the bend position when firing is nice. This also requires you to have the pump all the way forward to fire, preventing the steel rod from slamming against the polyester.

The only thing that sucks about using the RBP as a template compared to Kane's design, is that it's inherently huge, even if you have shorter draw. Ideally if you want to use these one-handed, you're going to want to make them 6-8" shorter to make them easier to dual-wield, at least in my opinion. One thing idea that's plausible is taking this idea and combining it with my plan to make a Super-RBP, sizing up the plunger tube so you can have a shorter amount of draw, while still creating more than enough volume.

Otherwise, good work.


Thanks. Yeah, that was one of my key focuses...firing from that position is just awkward to me. Also, using larger plunger tubes could be a potential development from this point. If I get a hold of the materials to do so, I will give that a go. As big as it is though, as I described, having most of the weight to the back makes the potential for wielding two very feasible.

Having seen the video, I have a much better idea of how everything comes together. In particular, I appreciated the explanation of the ergonomic necessity of a long stock.

The enormous size of this thing does seem to preclude the pistol-style maneuverability that I'd like in a OHPB, and to some extent this forces an extended arm while shooting-Vastly preferable to forcing a bent arm, but still not the ideal OHPB. It's worth noting that this blaster is also unambiguously 1-handed fireable. Most homemade pump action blasters, including everything that Ryan or myself has produced, have a "floating" priming handle when the blaster is primed. This sometimes results in some ruinous external movement and noise if the blaster is fired without a hand on the priming handle, depending on where the priming handle happens to be at the time. That's always been on my "to-do" list of things to fix about my homemades, but you beat me to it.


Yeah, that's the thing. The blaster is intentionally about 4" longer than it needs to be to "function." The added length to the back is simply to improve ergonomics. The fact that the handle does not "float" is a nice plus to this design, though not one of my original project goals. It's nice to not have to worry about firing it from a position that could harm the blaster. The handle also has a perfect fit under the 2" PVC, so it never jiggles around, even when I'm not holding it- a product of cutting a portion of the 2" PVC out, so that it tends to constrict a little more than it otherwise would on the sliding handle, which I quite like.


Another strap, running perpendicular to your original shoulder strap, is the easiest way to ensure that it won't move. I'd probably make two shoulder straps, and link them with a strap across my back in order to hold both in place. This also has the benefit of allowing you to use two of these things, which I always assumed was the primary objective of one handed blasters. Don't underestimate how important it is that the shoulder strap not budge while running.


I absolutely agree, and have put some thought into this. Early configurations involved me trying rig one strap to serve the purpose of the two that you're mentioning. One thing I had in mind was a backpack sort of system like ricochet described. You know those back packs that have a cross-strap that runs across your chest? Maybe one of those could be used...a camelbak even...hydration and domination...hmm.

I like it! I don't know if the thought occured to you, but the strap could possibly (I emphasize possibly) eliminate a need for a sling if you carry more than one blaster during your wars. A second thought to eliminate the slipping issue is if you use a second strap on the opposite shoulder, linked to the other across the back of your body. This would form the shape of an "H", working in a similar fashion to a backpack. I bet my explanation may be a bit fuzzy, but it's only an idea. I'm glad to see a new breed of blasters! Props, you deserve a cookie.


Oatmeal raisin, please.



#298153 One Hand Primable Blaster

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 15 May 2011 - 06:15 PM in Homemades

I hate to double post, but I added another video demoing a bit more of the blaster's function:



#298152 One Hand Primable Blaster

Posted by diamondbacknf1626 on 15 May 2011 - 05:42 PM in Homemades

Here's a quick vid of it operating. I noticed after watching it that it looks uncomfortable...it's really quite comfortable to prime without issue. The strap is all that needs work, and once that's all said and done, it'll work flawlessly.

Thanks a lot, Kane, btw.