Another one of these things. It was reasonably tricky to get it firing perfectly without jamming

Nice stuff, Beaver. Glad to see your move isn't affecting your nerf.

Also using a ring catch:

I'd call it a "Ring Catch Pump", Similar to the RBPs and a pvc version on other nerf sites. Looks kinda plain from the outside, sorry for the lack of internal pictures. It's a pain to put together and take apart because I lost my 3/32" allen wrench and the metric one I'm using has trouble gripping the set screws, so no internal pictures for now.

The ring catch is 3/4" PVC T with 3/4" CPVC making the actual catch and guides. The plunger rod is 1/2" CPVC with a snap style plunger head (one of Rork's with 2 washers, can't think of the name). Plunger tube and plunger rod guide (hidden in this picture) are from 1.25" PVC. Priming grip is thinwall 1.5". The back cover is 2" PVC. The T is 1.25" and slips over the priming guide, the 2" fits around the outside nicely. All very similar to a rainbow pump.

All of the parts come from the hardware store except the springs (catch spring and main spring) and set screws; alternatives could certainly be purchased at your local store.

Ring Catches are fantastic things for PVC homemades. I've never messed with a clothespin trigger, but this was pretty easy. It does require a ruinously strong catch spring, though.

Two 2-11s, two more in the works. They're pretty fun blasters. Everyone at the last Columbus war seemed to love 'em.


Three pumpbows in progress, they'll be fully assembled in the next day or two.


Pumpbow and 2-11 wooden handles and shoulder stocks! Very comfortable and awesome, if I do say so myself

Finished pumpbows


Finished 2-11s

Laser cut delrin rainbow catches. Available soon.

I just wanted to throw this out there. I did a little research to see what gasses were actually leeched out of burning foam, and you may be a bit surprised.

-carbon monoxide
-oxides of nitrogen

These fumes are obviously very bad for your health.

Here is some tips for when you burn your foam:

-Wear a respirator - Simple dust masks won't protect you.

-Only make stefans in a ventilated area, such as a garage.

If you're burning the foam, you're making stefan production harder than it has to be, get a low temp glue gun ($3 at a local craft store) and you'll be set.

I'd like to see this "research" though, both chemistry instinct and a quick search in this PDF show that oxides of nitrogen are not found, and carbon monoxide is expected and only slight.

You really don't need a respirator when making stefans, burning polyethylene (what FBR is made from) generally produces CO (a little bit), CO2, H2O, and other various things in much lower quantities.


I just purchased some acrylic paint to paint the backs of my darts with, mainly because I'm not cool enough for minsc's stars. I got two colors so I can identify heavier weighted darts from the lighter ones. Also, the bright orange and blue will show up pretty easily in the grass.

Has anyone tried the FBR from Contractors Tool Supply? (http://www.contracto...eet-p-4208.html)

Its $6 for 100', but before buying some (they have a low order fee or orders under $25) I wanted to know if anyone has tried it, and if so, hows the fit? (PETG, CPVC mainly)

Thanks

Can you get a working link? I can't get to it. Typically, you could try it, and then tell us, as long as its 1/4"

Its 1/2, and the link works just fine. Do a little basic work here.

Agreed, that is a good price. When I get some money I will order to see how it works.

Yeah, the link works fine for me.

I would try it, but there is a low order fee, which I'd rather not pay (seeing as its almost as much as another 100') but before I commit to $35 of foam, I was wondering if it worked. I'm in college right now, so if I'd rather not waste the money to find out that it doesn't fit. I'm not asking you guys too, I'll most likely get it, but I didn't know if anyone has tried it yet.


Thanks, I'll probably order some tomorrow or Saturday.

Has anyone tried the FBR from Contractors Tool Supply? (http://www.contracto...eet-p-4208.html)

Its $6 for 100', but before buying some (they have a low order fee or orders under $25) I wanted to know if anyone has tried it, and if so, hows the fit? (PETG, CPVC mainly)

Thanks

Ok, I know this is a necro and I am sorry but this is a stickied topic. I just finished my first plus bow! I was getting around 150 feet. The next day i shoot it and it goes 60-80 feet. Does anyone know what is wrong with it? Here is a video The camera cut off but I measured around 80 feet. Please help!

Your plunger head doesn't move all the way to the end of the plunger tube in the video. That's the problem.

It's happened to me on a few of my +bows, you put too much lubricant in the plunger tube (which is pretty easy to do), and the reinforced washer soaked it up and expanded. Whether it's the exposed fibers on the edges that draw the lubricant in, or whether the washer material itself, I'm not sure. Anyway, just replace it with a different washer if you have one (you said you just finished it, indicating you'll have 9 spares if you bought them from McMaster), and use less lube. If you let the current one set out, I think it will shrink down to size.

Just buy Polycarbonate. Its cheap, and CS made it out of Polycarb for a reason, and his brain is massive. There is no need to undercut quality for price.

What if you can't afford Polycarbonate? Are there any alternatives?

If you can't afford polycarbonate, you can't afford a +bow. Seriously.

There are no substitutes. It's great stuff to work with (cuts so nicely) and it's strong enough for the job.

Ok, I've tried, from what I can tell, every possible method of solving this problem, and yet, to no avail.

My +bow's ranges have been on the low end since I recieved it (90-100 ft.). The bow was made by RyanMcnumbers, and was one of his personal +bows, and he vouched for it hitting at range. My original dart/barrel fit was mile high black slug style darts in OMC's thick walled PETG, 12" barrels. No good. However, I had used a silicon spray lube before I put it together. I found out that that could enlarge the rubber washer, so I started from scratch with a new rubber washer. I tried another lube, but then decided it was too thick, and that was the cause for the continuing bad ranges. Now, I'm using a bit of silicon o-ring grease, which I've heard is the correct stuff. Still no good. Then, I heard swift nerf foam in CPVC would yeild good results. Well, I tried, and again, no good. It worked for like a shot or two, but it must've been a lucky dart, because since, I haven't been able to hit past 100. I've used multiple dart/barrel combos, lengths, etc. and I have the same results over and over.

The odd part is though, is that with an RSCB and either of the above dart/barrel combos, I'm still hitting above 90 consistently (6 shot RSCB).

I've had no luck with this gun, and if someone could give me a reason why this could be happening, and help me finally solve this, I would very much appreceate it.

How heavy are your darts? What are they weighted with? If they're too light they won't go as far as they should, the +bow has a ton of power, so it needs heavier darts. With the rscb, the darts are receiving a little less "oomph" so the lighter weight is not as big of an issue, so you're getting good ranges.

I should have some pics of my +bows up in the next couple days. Still putting them together.

How important is the lock washer on the 3/8" screws? I didn't realize each +bow needed more than 20, so I only got one pack of 100 screws to use on 5 blasters. I've been cutting down 3/4" screws to use in place of some of the 3/8", they just don't have the lock washer. It should be alright on some of the less crucial pieces such as the back stock and others, right?

Does anyone know the best way to get a good, square hole drilled in the nylon rods? I'm having trouble with it and need some advice.

For a square as in centered hole, I took a block of wood, drilled a 1/2" hole with a forstner bit, which gave a smaller centered hole. Pop the nylon rod into the 1/2" hole and use the one from the tip of the forstner bit hole to center yours.

Edit: A spade bit would work too, just go slow so as not to tear out the back.

Finally finished up 5 +bows...







Used mine at a war (the one with the rscb holder) this weekend, it worked pretty well, thanks for the design, Slug.

Three of them will be for sale, I'll post a thread probably tomorrow, or you can PM me now if you're interested.

What would be a good dremel piece to cut plastic or metal?
Would this work well?

It looks like it would work, sounds like what I use. (Disks that attach to a rod by a screw).


Has anyone tried FBR from Contractors Tool Supply? (http://www.contracto...eet-p-4208.html)

Its $6 for 100', definitely a great price, but there is a $5 low order fee if you don't order 25$ of materials. Before I get 500' of FBR, has anyone tried this stuff? If so, how does it fit cpvc/petg/brass?

Thanks a lot.

(Was hoping to have a mod be my first post, but it's harder to mod nerf guns at college dorms... mainly due to lack of tools)

Can't make it, my brother and I leave for vacation that Saturday. Super Bummer

So I recently went out and picked up some 1/2" CPVC from Home Depot. This stuff is surprisingly flexible though. And due to its inherent flexibility, the 10 foot rods seem to have some degree of permanent curvature to them. I'm worried about using this stuff for barrel material. Barrels need to be straight.

Does the CPVC that everyone's using flex under its own weight like this, or did I just get some weird crap? It's sort of a darkish beige color, and it was the only 1/2" CPVC they had there.

Yes, that's likely CPVC, it's usually a darker beige like you described, not white like PVC. It does have some degree of bend to it. Whenever I go to the store to get CPVC, I take a piece and try to roll it on the ground. If it's too bent, it won't roll easily, so put it back and try again. I can usually find a pretty decent piece. When you take it home, just let it sit on the ground for a little to try to straighten it, and store it somewhere where it can't bend, supported on a few spots throughout its length.

When you cut it down, it doesn't bend so much. It's just a little floppy as a 10' piece.

What are the general rules for springers versus air powered guns? I've lurked for a while and I've always wondered how people come up with their barrel lengths. I have a NF and Pistol Splat with CPVC couplers, and the Big Lots knockoff Big Blast that has some CPVC glued in the barrel. If you had to guess for the length of a proper barrel for those what would it be?

I'm not trying to be a newb and have people do my modding for me, I just can't afford to screw it up. Measure twice cut once as they say.

Around me, CPVC is 3.44+tax for 10'... hardly expensive, even for a college student, less than $.40/foot.

I got a 10' section and cut a 4", 5", 6", 7", 8", 9", 10", 11", 12", and 13" barrel, then I test my blasters to find the best length. It cost less than $4 to get all the barrels, worth the investment.

However, if you really can't test, I would guess 4-5" for the NF, 5-6" for the pistol splat. Not sure on the big blast thing.

Did I ever say my goal was to make Hasbro bankrupt? No.

The goal of every company is to make money. If these guns don't sell well, they will make new guns. You don't keep manufacturing a product that doesn't sell well. If we boycott this gun, WORST CASE SCENARIO is that they will introduce price cuts early. Best case scenario, they get their shit together and start focussing on a new line of blasters. N-Strike has been around for a long time, because it sells like crazy. As I've said many times before, this generation is hooked on multiplayer FPS video games. As long as these people keep buying N-Strike, the company will continue in this direction. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Why change their product line if the Recon clones are still selling?

We're not enough of Nerf's product share to impact them with a "boycott". If all of the NIC didn't buy the longstike/deploy (impossible), Nerf would hardly notice. We're sucking NFs off the shelf and neglecting Mavs, but the Mav is still their best selling blaster, they won't cater to us.

If profits start to dip, the most logical thing to do as a company is to change the product. They'll see that people don't buy blasters for appearance alone, we want quality blasters that do cool stuff. In the past, every Nerf gun had a gimmick, and save for a few failures (cyberstrike, max force) there was some seriously cool stuff. The Blastfire could shoot five darts semi-automatically. The Lightning Blitz gave us a dual wieldable Nerf scattergun. The Powerclip is arguably the coolest gun ever made as a clip fed automatic. These guns didn't need to piggyback off the popularity of pop culture to sell well. They were so damn cool, you wanted one anyway.

And right now they have the first clip and drum fed blasters than can shoot quicker and reload faster than anything before. The Raider was in Time Magazine's top 10 gadgets. They have a products and it's selling like hotcakes. They are on a roll, and it works out that reverse plungers are cheaper to make, easier, and work for everything their product needs to do.

We just need to roll with the punches. Maybe we'll continue to see off brands and homemades most commonly on the field. But that's fine, we don't need nerf brand guns to nerf.

I don't really get the longstrike. It's really just a reshelled recon. Even if it was a reshelled LS, it still brings nothing new to us. It's nerf's "longest", but it's just a fake barrel. Nothing too exciting it seems, atleast the deploy has the transformation gimmick.

I found a listing on a Chinese[?] auction site for the Deploy. More pics and angles, check that out.

In looking through that link, I found this picture, toward the bottom, if the link doesn't work, scroll most of the way through what appears to be the item description, before payment options.

http://img03.taobaoc...33;52061440.jpg

The slit along the side seems to show some internals, mainly, the plunger system. Looks like a reversed. Another bummer.

Edit: Tantum beat me to it

Yes. I don't see what is wrong with that post. I'll check harde though.

Not everyone has "ride to war" credits. So its easy to not understand, i had to read it a few times and look at your location...

He can't come because he can only get driven to one war (or something) and he's going to save that for a warmer one.

I was hoping I could come, but I have a few midterms next week so I won't be able to make it. I still need to work on getting a primary too... (College is killing my ability to mod, no tools here).

I'll be at some Ohio wars this summer for sure.

This is definitely some awesome stuff, thanks for the work so far. If you could get templates, that would be awesome, otherwise I may need to find my hole saws.

The only issue is one you addressed, it might be difficult to put into non-clear plunger tubes. Could you possibly mount the catch inside a coupler? There's a ridge in the middle that it can be lined up against, and if you place the coupler at the end of the plunger tube, it doesn't matter that one half of the coupler is 'full'. If you screwed on the coupler, instead of solvent weld, it would even be able to be removed for other blasters. (Though these seem easy to make).

Awesome work, this is going to change homemades for sure

Just as a heads up, and to get trades moving faster, I'm bringing a few things (much less than Coop):
NIB NF
Stock TTG
Plunger Tube Replaced TTG
Crossfire (AR removed)
Pulsator (I don't want to bring this home)
Modded Pistol Splat
Semi Auto 2K in a MS shell
Modded Lanard Quadshot/triple shot

See you guys there tomorrow

I'll really try to be at this one, hopefully +1-3. With the girlfriend on vacation, there won't be much to prevent me from attending.

I agree with Kane, you really do have a good sense of fun.

(...If you want to go out for lunch, you should have plenty of time to get there, eat and get back.)

You haven't seen how slow I eat. It's depressing.

My brother and I will be there with Coop, looks to be a great war. Just want to make sure, is 4501 Vance Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN the correct address? (I want to be sure googlemaps pulled the right address).

Also, Ryan, are you still coming with community darts? What barrel material do they fit? (I think I've read cpvc, but I want to be prepared).

Should be awesome, can't wait.

I'm a "maybe". I'll be riding with Hipponator if he can make it.

Barring something unforeseen, I'll be there.

Me + Coop + my bro for sure, maybe one more

***Hippo you left your DTC bucket and i picked it up.***

Oops, thanks. I'll get it at the next one if you don't mind bringing it, I'll bring the PVC to set it up again.

Great war, awesome turnout. Only downsides were time between rounds and the breaking of my shotgun while running like hell with the flag. And the heat/humidity.

Also, for the next war, I'll be unable to come any Saturday on an OSU home game... Except 9/19, I think.

i was the fat guy with the painted big bad bow. that playground is only good for the team going towards the school. the team that starts closer to the school has such a disadvantage with terrain.

Honestly, I thought the exact opposite. The tree to the left of where you start close to the school pretty much let me shut down anyone coming in that direction. I noticed the guys with PAS's and the + bow doing the same thing.

I liked the tree area a little better though as well, as it made it a little spread out and easier for me to run and dodge.

I'm still a maybe for either date, but if more people are going the 8th, I say we go for it.

I guess I'm indifferent about the playground, I kinda like it, but the rain just made it harder to use (can't run as much).
However, I'm with minsc, that tree is OP, I was on of those guys with the +bow/PAS holding the tree, it was good for either side to take and it really shut down the other side.

I wouldn't mind going back to the same park, and either date works for me (and likely my group) right now, but we don't really plan that far in advance, I'll let you guys know if I can come closer to the date. But I have no preference.

I'll be there, with a definite +2, maybe more but unlikely.

I'll bring the defend the core set up as well.

This will be a blast, I'm getting all my stuff ready and making darts. I probably won't have any to spare/sell though, my foam source apparently changed their source and sent different stuff jammed into a box.

Edit: I'll bring some blasters for sale (A +bow and a pistol splat) and I'm looking for a few things, mainly a BBB spring and LS spring. If anyone has a spare one, I'd really be interested in buying 'em.

Nov. 28 or later would be best for me and my group for dates in November, due to OSU games. (Unless Penn State is a night game on the 7th, then I can maybe come).

The war was fun, I got some ideas for new guns, the location was pretty good too, we had space despite soccer games and such.

For the next one, I'm not a big fan of really any zombie variant, so I'd prefer if we went for more 3:15 as well as ghost, which we didn't play this past weekend. Maybe a game or two of CTF/DTC, but def. more 3:15.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next one, or even one after, maybe in mid December/early January so I can get some modding done over winter break.

I'll be there with +2 for sure, maybe 1 or two more.

I'm looking for a few things to trade for or buy if anyone has them:

PAS pump grip (The two brown pieces that prime it)
Nightfinders of most sorts (Cruddy paint jobs, maybe minimized)
Springs (LS, Recon, BBB prefered, but I'll buy most longer primary springs)

I have a few things for sale/trade:
NIB Lanard Shot Gun (the one with 4 rotating barrels)
NIB Pistol Splat (Black/Silver)
Arctic Blast Super Soaker, it has a bladder, I think. Looking for $5. It was clearance at target, but I don't like pumping

I can do Colerain or Whetstone Park of Roses.

I'm pretty sure I'll be there, however stuff may pop up. I doubt it though. I'll be a definite +1 for sure, maybe more. I'll see if I can convince my roommates to go.

Thanks for doing this, Coop and Lynx.

Why not try 3/0 fishing weights if you want something lighter than 1/4" slingshot BB's but heavier than standard copper-coated BB's?

I was thinking the same. I currently use BBs (one) but I was thinking of switching over and trying the 3/0 fishing weights.

Also, I think the 3/0 weights are more economical than the 1/4" slingshot, which are pretty expensive compared to other weights, if I recall.

I use a variety of barrel materials to make hopper clips. You can use anything you fancy, or anything that you can nest inside of 1/2" Sch. 40 PVC. Generally you want a pretty tight fit for springer, and a looser fit for "airguns". (Some people don't know this, *cough* Brit *cough*) Let's start with some CPVC, a great barrel material for springers.

I don't quite understand this. Hopper clips rely on gravity to do all the work, right? So if you have CPVC or something that is tight, how is the dart supposed to fall into the barrel? Sorry if I misunderstood something here, but I don't get it.

The barrel material is tight, however, the 'clip' part where the darts are stored is looser, generally 1/2" PVC, so that the darts can fall down and feed into the main barrel. You need two different sizes, a tighter barrel and a looser dart containing tube.

So how does the addition of a hopper influence optimal barrel length compared to singling? Kabigon, you seem to see no loss of range.

I’ll bet there is a complex formula, several jackass answers, and I’m sure a telescoping barrel would work GREAT… but really a general “no to little change” or “way hella much: cut the length in half” is what I am hoping for.

I haven't done too much testing, but slightly shorter. It really depends on your dart/barrel fit too much for there to be any guidelines, you just have to test it out for your blasters with your stuff. About 2 inches off of a 10-12" blaster would prob be fine, but it will depend on how your darts fit.

Edit: Nice write up, getting a hopper to work can be tricky, but once you do, it's awesome. My brother has been putting a nail or small piece of coat hanger through the back side to block darts from going toward the air output of the blaster (we use 1" darts, so they can sometimes fall backward). It's hard to describe with words, I'll see if he can get a pic of one.

$72.03

I'll be there, with my brother, maybe a third. Two of my friends may come by too.

I'll have a (new) +bow for sale, if anyone is interested.

Definitely a fun war, although I would prefer a different location next time. It was little too tight, and made spawning pretty rough due to the closeness. Also, all this place has to offer is the playground, where Colerain has the smaller playground and the field with trees, and Whetstone has the fields and such, but is busier.

It was warmer than I was expecting, but I lost a fair bit of darts, mostly due to them shattering on contact with the fort due to the cold.

I'm looking forward to the next one though, hopefully we can go somewhere else.

Thanks to everyone who traveled to Columbus to make this a great war.

I should be there, I'll confirm closer to the date, but I can't for see any problems as the quarter will have ended. Unless the family Christmas party lands on the date (like last year) but that's unlikely.

Me +2 for possibles, maybe more, maybe less. I'll confirm probably early Dec.

So, another update:

Host can't go to the war. National Chess Tourny overrides nerf war. Even if its a big one. That I'm planning.

My guys will be there with plenty of equipment. I hope you will have fun. BTW, my bad on that. If enough people can move to the 5th, We'll do that. Otherwise, I'm not going to the war.

The 12th is best for me, the 5th is the Saturday before exams, and the 12th is the weekend right after. I have two exams Monday and one on Tues, so I'm not sure if I could spare the time on Sat. We could always keep it on the 12th, then have another one when you can make it, sometime in Jan, or something, Lynx? More nerf is never a bad thing.

Count me as a definite for the 12th, though, if we decide to keep it. +2-4.

Also, I'll have some +bows for sale at the war, PM me if you're interested and I can make one to your liking.

Oh my god this is going to be awesome! I can't wait at all!

Maybe when it comes out, someone could find a way to make the drum hold more than 35 inside.

35 isn't enough?


Sounds pretty awesome... 2009 definitely seems promising. Hopefully it comes out early summer, rather than fall, but either way, I have some high hopes.

I'll be there