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#330334 Modification and Paintjob Pictures

Posted by Birch on 29 May 2013 - 06:01 AM in Modifications

[img]http://[IMG]http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s602/birchnerfer/Photoon2013-05-29at0642_zpsc736246f.jpg[/IMG][/img]
[img]http://[IMG]http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s602/birchnerfer/Photoon2013-05-29at06422_zpsdc9b9152.jpg[/IMG][/img]
[img]http://[IMG]http://i1308.photobucket.com/albums/s602/birchnerfer/Photoon2013-05-29at06432_zpsa9f18e72.jpg[/IMG][/img]

I based this splat on Blitz's here http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5250&st=3765
MIne has a few changes. Mine is using 1 1/4 in thinwall pvc for the plunger, everything is also mechanically fastened, and it houses a k45+K31 combo up in the front. This ridiculous spring power, coupled with the already diddle spring in the blaster, allows it to hit upwards of 95 feet.



#348670 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by Birch on 06 September 2015 - 12:06 PM in Homemades

New Rainbow

Posted Image

[k25], 8 inches of draw, great seal. Shoot ~270 fps with the barrel shown below, 240 with a 8 dart hopper.

Posted Image

Supa Leet 3-stage optimal barrel.

Posted Image

~7 inches of tight CPVC, ~8 inches of looser CPVC, ~4 inches of PETG. Total length of ~19 inches.



#348650 Homemades Picture Thread

Posted by Birch on 03 September 2015 - 10:12 PM in Homemades

New rainbow.

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Great seal, just some excess friction from the catch. Only around 200 fps, should be able to increase that with some filing and sanding of the catch and support plates, but nothing is certain.

Handle for my next rainbow, it is rather unique so I thought it deserved posting.

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Polycarbonate is flush with the wood for optimal smoothness on the handle, i.e. no plates sticking out into my hand. The plates also make for the installation of a 1/4 inch wide trigger easier, eliminating the need for spacers.

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#332235 Where To Buy Modding Materials

Posted by Birch on 23 July 2013 - 06:12 AM in Modifications

A absurdly strong spring for the retaliator: http://www.mcmaster....springs/=nqtjy1
Not so absurd springs for the elite guns: http://www.mcmaster....springs/=nqtkiq , http://www.mcmaster....springs/=nqtl1d (the ends of these when cut to the appropriate length will need to be closed)



#343861 Where To Buy Modding Materials

Posted by Birch on 03 January 2015 - 11:51 AM in Modifications

Ok, thanks. I bought the foam and have already cut the roll into 155 blanks. But there is one problem, I can't find any 5/8" felt pads, only 3/4 and 1/2". Do you have any recommendations for a dart head for this foam? I don't really want to make glue/silicone domes because I've heard they hurt more and aren't as safe. That and no one that I know of makes dome molds that big.


I have made 5/8 mega stefans before, and I just used 1/2 felt tips. They worked pretty well, but using something 5/8 in diameter would have been better. I would recommend getting some fairly thick craft foam and a section of 21/32 or 5/8 brass, and using it as a die to punch out pieces of craft foam. Adhere the tips to washer, and adhere that to your foam, and you've got a mega slug dart. If you could find adhesive backed craft foam that would be even better.



#330927 Where To Buy Modding Materials

Posted by Birch on 16 June 2013 - 02:32 PM in Modifications

Useful shotgun absolver pieces: http://flexpvc.com/c...VC-Distributors



#351337 Official Steam/pc Gaming Thread

Posted by Birch on 04 February 2016 - 07:18 AM in Off Topic

Gameranger mac Age of empires 3 Tad and Nilla name: Anonymous




#350287 PCSR: A new homemade design

Posted by Birch on 29 December 2015 - 02:25 PM in Homemades

 

3. The rainbowpup had the spring up front, under the barrel, and used a backwards-facing plunger like an ESLT. This does none of those things.

 

 

Sorry, I couldn't come up with a better way to describe it. I was just talking about having a seal on the plunger rod, and the air out put in the middle of the blaster. 




#350281 PCSR: A new homemade design

Posted by Birch on 29 December 2015 - 12:07 PM in Homemades

To be honest, while this blaster is cool and more powerful than an ESLT, it is still way more complicated and larger than it needs to be. This rainbowpup style of bull pup is a really inefficient design. There is so much more room for error, as well as a final product being quite a bit longer and more bulky than necessary. 

 

In my opinion, the best and only practical style of bullpup is the reverse-inverse aka. multiple orgasm style of priming. It takes up less space, is significantly easier to make, and is more powerful than a PCSR or ESLT. I just don't get why more people don't make reverse-inverse style bullpups. There are http://nerfhaven.com...up/#entry339179detailed write-ups on these styles of blasters, but they have gone quite unnoticed.




#327522 NDA Exclusive! New 2013 Nerf Mega Centurion

Posted by Birch on 03 March 2013 - 09:19 AM in General Nerf

First of all I dont know why everyone keeps on complaining about the length, it will probably be able to be minimized because the front part is probably a faux barrel. I get Hero's comment on how with homemades we can get that kind of range with nearly half the body+barrel length, but do we add stupid faux barrels?

Secondly, good job hasbro! This really seems like the only competitive springer since the longshot. Hopefully we (modders) will be able to convert it to fire micros. We will probably be able to wrap some half in. pvc pipe in e-tape into the breech, and then stick the desired barrel into the pvc. Considering at how reinforced the new elite internals were (I think different plastic for some), reinforcements won't be entirely needed. I think that Titan ranges will be easily within our reach with this blaster, which will be a problem for most wars that ban Titans. I think that there will be some type of restriction on internal mods done, for example: I have heard that in Minnesota Tech targets(to be used as pistols) either have to have stock draw or the stock spring. I think a ban like that will most likely have to take place at well restricted wars.

Thirdly in response to Hero's other statement about plunger draw, Hasbro probably wants all that volume because they're not going to put in a powerful spring.



#350712 China Darts Review

Posted by Birch on 12 January 2016 - 04:46 PM in Darts and Barrels

Was about to order some best materials foam and felt from mcmaster, then I saw this. 400 pre-made darts on the way for less money than slugs. Thanks cheerios. :D




#351266 China Darts Review

Posted by Birch on 31 January 2016 - 09:53 AM in Darts and Barrels

I received 400 china darts about a week ago, but I waited to post this so I could get to know them well.

 

1. These darts are cheap, very cheap. But, as your parents always tell you, you get what you pay for. That being said, these darts are far better than most other china darts I've seen. About 2-3 tips from every ten dart pack were poorly attached and required re-glueing by me. The tips are attached pretty well. The glue is strong, and unlike most other china darts, the foam is is strong too.

 

2. These darts are safe. The tip is extremely pointy and quite heavy (imagine a 3/0 fishing weight or steel slingshot), but also extremely squishy and rubbery. 

 

3. The darts, at least the good ones, perform quite well. I use slug darts made from a thinner batch of beige or rod XL foam with 3/0 tin weights and felt pads. My slugs perform better than most other slugs, and these china darts somehow perform even better. They have a higher muzzle velocity, travel further, and drop off much later. Their trajectory is a sideways j shape rather than a normal arch.




#350771 China Darts Review

Posted by Birch on 14 January 2016 - 07:22 PM in Darts and Barrels

 It's too bad these are black, and not something easier to find.

 

I'm just going to paint the back of my darts with pink spray-paint, just like Ice9 and other nerfers did back in the golden age. Hopefully that will make them easier to find!




#350742 China Darts Review

Posted by Birch on 13 January 2016 - 03:37 PM in Darts and Barrels

I propose "Bullseyes" as the name for these cut down darts, since it sounds equal parts jargon and the original ACCurate name, while also being a play on words with the accuracy thing. It will make it easy to distinguish the full length ones from these since these are more than just cut-down streamlines, they are pretty much sili tips/silicone domes. Also, this is more activity in one topic than the darts and barrels forum has had as a whole in years.

 Nah its nipple darts, no other name can even compete.  :lol:




#327564 Dart and Barrels pictures thread

Posted by Birch on 03 March 2013 - 07:06 PM in Darts and Barrels

Hello! I have just started to make a new type of dart with solid foam that is tubular, but I came upon a problem. I know some people have it when they are using non reinforced steamlines in a tight barrel: the darts get all mangled and uniform from all the bending. I came up with a type of breech that solve this problem by being able to push the dart by its head.



Edit don't know why this is not working. Link: https://docs.google....AzKYH6y7Eo/edit


using this, the dart is being pushed backwards and then the barrel comes over it.

Hopefully this makes sense. If it doesn't, send me a pm.

Sorry that I don't have the pictures of the completed product, I lost my upload cable.



#346719 Best nerf gun to loan out

Posted by Birch on 13 May 2015 - 08:43 PM in General Nerf

I'd definitely go with the retaliator, but I can't find them in stores anymore. Are they discontinued or something?


No, they just have a different paint scheme. They are white now. Your store may also just not carry them.



#346694 Best nerf gun to loan out

Posted by Birch on 12 May 2015 - 05:45 AM in General Nerf

Yeah, TED is pretty much right. For specifics, I would get a couple of retaliators and put orange mod works springs in them, but leaving the AR intact.



#346697 Quick Exhaust Valve Homemade Airgun v1.0

Posted by Birch on 12 May 2015 - 07:28 AM in Homemades

bullshit
post the insides and video proof of 650fps or its an empty shell and youve never made a blaster to shoot more than stock


Look up Southern Brisbane Nerf Group on youtube and watch some of their videos. Aussies know how nerf.

That is entirely possible to, I have seen first hand singled titans or hydro cannons shoot about 450 fps, and at almost half that pressure. The tank in that blaster must be massive to produce those kinds of velocities.

But for the sake of the topic, I have been wondering what the pump is being used in the blaster that you made. My local bicycle shop only carries some weirdly sized pumps or something. Great work so far, can't wait to see it in semi-auto.



#345245 Flywheel Coating

Posted by Birch on 27 February 2015 - 11:20 AM in Modifications

If you really want better grip on darts, make a 3d printing file of flywheels that are textured and/or bigger. These would last way longer than adding material to the flywheels, and would be a lot cheaper and replaceable. In addition, they can probabably get a significantly larger grip and consistancy. If you don't have access to 3d printing, it is probably possible to fabricate the flywheels from a different material.



#337826 Why do slug darts need to be made with washers?

Posted by Birch on 29 March 2014 - 10:01 AM in Darts and Barrels

So, I have been making slugs for a couple of years now, I started off using washers and now use ball bearings, but these types of darts are not normally allowed at wars. The first washers I got were #8 washers and it was very hard to get a dart without exposed metal, so I switched over to #6 washers. These, albeit not giving much exposed metal, were too light and didn't shoot the distances the #8's. So I in light of this I switched over to these: http://www.mcmaster....6455k74/=razl3l , and no these darts are not glue domes, they have a felt pad over them, just like a slug dart. These give me no exposed metal, good weight, and are safer than washer slugs, due to their lack of exposed metal. So my question is why do people not allow them at wars if they are, in my opinion, safer that traditional slugs?

Addendum, I have no problems with the weight punching through the head of the dart due to the manner in which I constructed my darts. The order of operations goes: burn hole, hotglue, weight, a little hotglue, while glue is still hot, a felt pad. This procedure encases the metal in hotglue, bonding it to the foam, not just letting it sit in the hole in the foam.



#337847 Why do slug darts need to be made with washers?

Posted by Birch on 29 March 2014 - 05:58 PM in Darts and Barrels

I do this:

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But that's just me. It adds a bit of weight, but probably less than that of a bearing.

Adding the bearing is probably more efficient than pasting a washer then adding the copper anyway.


Woh, that is exactly what I used to due to my darts so they weighed enough. It is an easy solution to the weight problem, but doesn't solve the exposed metal conundrum.



#337841 Why do slug darts need to be made with washers?

Posted by Birch on 29 March 2014 - 03:07 PM in Darts and Barrels

I would think it's easier to center a washer than a ball bearing.

What kind of foam and washer are you using where you have exposed metal? 3/8" OD #6 washers should not be exposed with 1/2" foam.

Your answer...

Balls are easier to center because even if your hole is slightly off it's still not going to show out the side. They are a lot less wide than a washer, which has to be more or less perfectly centered.


I think I may try this....well at least if it becomes commonly accepted at wars.

I think using these weights may cause more pain since the weight isn't as distributed, but I have a feeling it should be pretty negligible.

In the end, I do agree that this is a competitive alternative to washer made slugs. Until proved otherwise, I wouldn't have a problem with people using them at my wars.

First of all the weight from the ball is distributed evenly through out the felt disk, so the pain is about the same as a traditional slug.

I am also pleased that you, as a war organizer have no problem with these.

Given similar weights, there is no scientific reason to not allow ball bearings but to allow washers. Many dart safety practices are voodoo, unfortunately, so they don't make sense. These practices are based on unverified ideas about what is safest, not realities about what is safest. I suggest bringing this up with local war organizers if you find it is an issue.

Yeah, I always thought that Kane and the like were just being ridicules with all of their "safe dart" concepts. He was making a non-proven dart to solve a non-existent problem.

Addendum: I think I was a little gratuitous with my comments of Kane the mediocre's "safe" and metal free dart campaign. I think that slugs were already the solution to glue dome(most dangerous type of commonly used dart)safety. I just thought that he was going farther than was necessary, and in the process making nerf blasters less powerful.



#337931 Why do slug darts need to be made with washers?

Posted by Birch on 31 March 2014 - 05:22 PM in Darts and Barrels

I am now starting to get a much clearer picture of the background of the usage of the washer but I seem to have much different opinions and experiences.

A. I don't use washers because of the aforementioned way to get perfect darts, some are perfect but a few are total crap. I prefer to have fewer darts be crappy, and take more time too make them. The ball bearings I use also help making perfect darts because centering a hole in foam is an easier task than centering a washer.

B. I have never had the problem of a weight punching through the felt. Did you guys put hotglue over the weight but before the felt pad?

C. I don't see how washers are easier to regulate. Yes there are fewer options, but it as just as easy to put rules on weight limits in your war outline threads.



#347228 flywheel idea

Posted by Birch on 16 June 2015 - 11:52 AM in Modifications

To get your desired fps, size up the flywheels by a centimeter or two, this will greatly increase the speed at which the edge of the flywheels is spinning, thus giving greater dart fps. You'll need to find some relatively high-torque, high-rpm motors. Look into 180 sized motors instead of 130.



#330995 New Releases Mod Contest Poll

Posted by Birch on 18 June 2013 - 06:11 AM in Modifications

None of the above is the obvious winner.


I have to agree with TED. None of the mods are really creative, nice to look at, or all that practical in a war. And I might sound like a butt here, but I think Coop's got some serious bias.



#353727 Zeus Hopper

Posted by Birch on 24 May 2016 - 07:55 AM in Modifications

Thanks for the good "inside" view as well as for this ammo idea :)

 

Do you think any flywheel-blaster could be turned into this kind of ball throwing machine by adjusting the flywheels?

Yes, but a whole new flywheel cage, as well as maybe even the flywheels themselves would have to be machined, and for that kind of money, you might as well just buy a zeus. 




#350649 Why Aren't There Homemade Kits?

Posted by Birch on 10 January 2016 - 09:29 AM in Homemades

I started making homemades back around when I was 13. I was able to make a pistol SNAP and an AAbow solely from parts that I found at Lowe's. Did they look a fancy ESLT or PCSR? They didn't, but I still successfully built a homemade. Since then, there have countless writeups made specifically for newcomers that instruct you how to build a homemade. 

Exact same for me, except I built a SNAP carbine.

 

Trust me, to any noobs reading this, building a homemade is nowhere near as daunting as it may seen, as long as you follow a write-up.




#353324 Artifact darts

Posted by Birch on 08 May 2016 - 09:18 AM in Darts and Barrels

These do look pretty "sub-optimal" lol love the word censorship ^ ^. I have been loving my ACC darts, how does the foam on these compare to those? The foam on ACC darts was fairly rigid and not very forgiving to squishing. Are these the same way? 




#346319 Flywheels at NIC

Posted by Birch on 20 April 2015 - 10:40 AM in General Nerf

"Flywheels are theoretically (per the physics) a horribly inefficient and expensive means to get 300FPS to the point such a thing is an absurdity.
They are a stopgap, dirty, inelegant, "cheater" device that just happens to work out well for superstock, and nothing more.
The 120-150fps cap for superstock has a number of contributing factors. Accuracy of darts is one, but many of the darts become inaccurate well above or below that. Safety is another. Flywheel velocity ceiling is another." -Walker Finn,


What must be understood is that fps does not directly correlate with range. I have modified stryfe (rm2 motor replacement, rewiring, electrical taped flywheels) that fires at around 100 fps. This being said, it outranges one of my overhauled nite finders (they shoot around 150 fps) by an appreciable margin. This guy has a very shallow understanding of the physics of Nerf, something that I am not all that knowledgable in too, but I would still say that he is wrong to an extent. Also, people always complain about the accuracy of flywheelers, just please go buy some of these darts. I have plugged them a few times before, and I can say that they are some of the cheapest, best performing darts for flywheelers you will ever encounter.

I wonder how a double-action HAMP with twin detachable-reverse-extended-choppers would fare against a flywheeler...


Flywheelers and HAMP's are pretty similar. Short range, extremely high capacity, fantastic rate of fire.



#346300 Flywheels at NIC

Posted by Birch on 19 April 2015 - 08:20 PM in General Nerf

This is a question I have been contemplating for a while now. I think about it way more than one person should, and I still have yet to come to good conclusion. My thoughts on the subject are mixed and inconclusive.

First off, for me to use a flywheel blaster against someone using a snapbow or a ESLT, I would need copious amounts of darts and clips, and a comfortable way of carrying those things. The necessity for ammo is greater for a flywheel blaster than a hoppered blaster because of its use on the field. A stryfe or rayven would be used as a rushing primary. The accurate range on a flywheel blaster is really going to top out at 70-80 feet, while a snapbow's is about 100-110. The rate of fire on a stryfe is about 2 darts a second, about 3-4 times that of a snapbow or plusbow.

What also must be considered is the ammo a stryfe and other flywheelers use. Most of the ammo that you will find at an NIC event is slug darts. These darts, regardless of their much shorter length, do not fire well out of flywheels due to the felt used to pad the front. Strands of fibre can get caught up in the flywheels and seriously fuck them up. If you are going to use a flywheeler, you will have to provide almost all of the ammo it will chew through. That being said, buying a couple hundred china knock-off darts is going to be about the same price as an equal amount of slugs.

I think putting all of my knowledge into writing has helped me come to a conclusion. In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a stryfe or rayven in an NIC game. Rushing strategies are very useful against people with low rate of fire blasters, and a rapidstrike or a stryfe is about as optimal as you can get in rushing blasters. Ammo for a stryfe is cheap, and most likely you already have a stash of elite darts and clips that you have subconsciously collected over the years. If you are one to take pot shots, don't use a flywheel, but for most everyone else, as long as you don't mind running, pick up a stryfe and some koosh darts and have fun.



#327748 Making Mongos- Where can I get 1" FBR?

Posted by Birch on 07 March 2013 - 06:35 AM in Darts and Barrels

I love mongos and can use them pretty effectively, but I prefer jumbos instead. Here is a link to the foam that I use on my mongos: http://www.bestmater...cker-rod-100-cc
Darts made with that foam have a perfect fit (good for springers and air guns) in 1 in pvc pipe.



#345351 Non-spraypaints. What works well on plastics?

Posted by Birch on 04 March 2015 - 08:42 AM in Modifications

I have found that you are best off having a vinyl dye undercoat with enamel details.



#346323 Flywheels at NIC

Posted by Birch on 20 April 2015 - 04:23 PM in General Nerf

Yes, it does. If you are using the same darts (same mass and cross sectional area / air resistance), firing from the same angle at the same height, the average range should directly correlate to muzzle velocity.


Yes, but only if you are using the same darts. If you are using different darts, as one would with a stryfe compared to a plusbow, they could be totally different. That is why I said it. If you are using a plusbow and a stryfe with elite darts, the plusbow should shoot farther.



#346960 Aluminum Flywheels

Posted by Birch on 28 May 2015 - 08:44 AM in Modifications

Those look great!

Here are a few things I would do to the flywheels to make them even better. A) I would look into putting knurling or some type of texture on the flywheels to get better grip on the darts. Knurling may be overkill, so something finer may be a little better. B) I would take out as much weight as possible. Maybe drilling holes on the top of top of the wheel or thinning them out. Aluminum is light, but it won't compare to plastic, and even the plastic wheels are a little heavy.



#348507 Zeus Hopper

Posted by Birch on 24 August 2015 - 04:31 PM in Modifications

What is the diameter of the rival balls?



#344445 NERF MEGA RotoFury Blaster

Posted by Birch on 20 January 2015 - 03:39 PM in News

New Doomsayeresque platform?



#346240 Stryfe Barrel Extension

Posted by Birch on 17 April 2015 - 05:58 AM in Modifications



I did these videos the week Containment Crew uploaded his.

All my brass was internally polished, as well as beveled inside the magwell for feeding.

He never came back with his promised formal testing, so I did it for him.

Although the goal was to measure accuracy and precision, like I tried to do with the shitty fence and cardboard, I also took chronograph readings. Long brass stryfe was ~80fps, short barrel ~95fps, No barrel 123.7fps. Any effect you see on accuracy and precision is due to decreased muzzle velocities taking the Elite dart back into an operable speed.

The simple fix is to use koosh darts, watching the video you can clearly see a much tighter grouping of the green koosh darts, even though most of them went high and right over the fence. I also had to get closer to the target by 20ft with the brass stryfe to even collect any kind of data at all, which skews the results.

Kewsh is love, Kewsh is life.


Thanks for the data.

As for the koosh I have bought some and I love them, but I found these darts to work just good if not even better. The foam is pretty fat, about as fat as the fatter beige hot rod xl foam. This is actually a great thing because it means the flywheels grip the dart much better. In addition, the foam is consistent, and so is the head to foam connection. These darts are also mad cheap. 20 bucks plus 5 for shipping?!?! From China?!?!



#349091 Help making stefans

Posted by Birch on 14 October 2015 - 05:39 AM in Darts and Barrels

Rubber, yeah, but solder?


Albeit lead does have more mass, but in your first post, you said you put the solder 7.5 millimeters away from the tip. This centralization of the weight leads me to believe that even your variation won't work as well as slugs or china ammo. I am not one to judge however, so to each his own, I guess.



#346222 Stryfe Barrel Extension

Posted by Birch on 16 April 2015 - 08:20 PM in Modifications

Brass Stryfe is a terrible idea, it adds so much friction on the darts.


While I do agree with you that a brass barrel will add extra friction, I think that your setup imparted way to much unnecessary friction. I have yet to try this but I would imagine that a shorter barrel would add extra accuracy without as much range decrease.



#345656 Homemade build price

Posted by Birch on 18 March 2015 - 08:50 PM in Homemades

My first snap carbine with a home depot handyman spring only ran me about 30 bucks and it still works, 3 years down the road.