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The Pixieblast 9000

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#1 rork

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:08 PM

As is probably obvious, I primarily work with springers. However, I have been intrigued by air guns lately; it seems that even as homemade springers get better and more widely accepted, homemade airguns remain primitive, overly powerful, impractical, and slow. For heaven’s sake, most airguns are either the same ball-valve crap that’s been (over) done for years, or based on Zero’s Cutlass design, which is flawed at best. There are a few exceptions, but those mainly serve to prove the rule. I decided to try my hand at making something entry-level: an air-powered carbine that used a hose handle as a firing valve—and that could be used in an actual war without fear of scrambling someone’s liver.

I started with the hose handle.
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Make sure it is threaded at BOTH ends. I picked mine up at Lowe’s a while back, and never did much with it. We’ll be using this baby in strange and unusual ways. I glued a bit of 1” thinwall over the front of the handle. We’ll be flipping it around, so as to get rid of the annoying angle often produced by these things. In the former bottom of the hose handle, which will be at the top of the gun, screw a ½”x3/4” adapter that has been cut down and wrapped in Teflon tape like so. It will be attached to the central T by a stub of pvc.
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The airtank is a 1 ½’ pvc coupler; in one end is a plug, and in the other is a 1 ½”x3/4” slip/thread bushing.
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Wrap the former front end of the hose handle in Teflon tape, and screw it in—but not before you drill a hole in the side of the tank and add about 8-10” of vinyl tubing. Drill a hole, jam in the tubing, and cover the whole thing in epoxy putty.

As for the pump, I used a $5 ball pump from Wal-Mart. I drilled a hole in a cpvc endcap, jammed my tubing through it, then covered it in epoxy putty. However, the putty failed to hold the cap to the end of the pump, so I covered the end of the pump in hot glue and seated the epoxy (which had been pressed flat against the end of the pump) into it. Presto--perfect seal.
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Here we can see how this thing is coming together...
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In order to get around the common problem with homemade airguns—too much air volume, leading to long pump times and too much power—I designed this thing around a 9" RSCB assembly, which holds 6 darts. The clip is surrounded by a bit of 1” thinwall, which is held to the central T by a screw, and the stock is glued onto this piece, as is the pump (mounted on the side).
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I didn’t have any suitable barrel material handy, so I tested it using a foot of cpvc. It shoots almost as hard as my SNAPbow. With a little brass/petg, this thing should be like a 6-shot, sexy-lookin’ Big Blast. Due to the single check valve and large- diameter pump, it’s bloody hard to pump—2 good strokes is all I can manage (I’m 6’ tall, 200lb., and work for a living), which serves as a sort of OPV; it has plenty of volume, but you can’t pressurize it enough to make it dangerous.

Gun porn. Here it is with a SNAPbow and a NF. Little fella, eh?
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In response to the plethora of Ancient God naming practices on these boards, I dub this gun...
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The PixieBlast 9000. Enjoy.

Edited by rork, 03 December 2008 - 12:59 AM.

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#2 Radio

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:18 PM

That's legit dude, does the trigger remind anyone else of anything?
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Edited by Radio, 02 December 2008 - 11:23 PM.

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#3 orogomi ninja

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:18 PM

Brilliant! What are the ranges?

Also: How does the hose connect to the air tank?

Edited by orogomi ninja, 02 December 2008 - 11:21 PM.

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QUOTE(Blacksunshine @ Dec 23 2008, 06:18 PM) View Post

Thats the way I do it. Use a rag with some light fast rubbing.

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#4 Daniel Beaver

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:18 PM

Yum, this looks very easy to make. Thank you rork for giving us practical homemades!

How fast does that setup release the air?
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#5 TantumBull

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:21 PM

This might be the first homemade airgun that is worth using in a war... Bravo, rork, bravo!
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#6 nerfer9

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:25 PM

As for the pump, I used a $5 ball pump from Wal-Mart. I



Looks like the cheap penis pump we found in the school geeks locker.

ON TOPIC:
I am not sure I understand how you fill it up though.
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#7 rork

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:25 PM

I haven't measured ranges, but they're less than optimal (although usable), as the barrel I'e been using for testing isn't even close to being right for this setup. Air release is actually pretty good; the upside-down configuration makes it easy to tap the trigger quickly. Here's Zero's old Cutlass design, for comparitive purposes.

http://nerfhaven.com...e/zero_cutlass/

EDIT: TantumBull: it's not the first, by any means. 3DBBQ comes to mind, as does CS's D-CHAP valves. There are probably others.

Nerfer9: What the fuck? How old are you again? And you put in air by...pumping. To load it, you pull off the barrel, drop a half-dozen stefans into the RSCB clip, replace the barrel, and go.

Edited by rork, 02 December 2008 - 11:31 PM.

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#8 BustaNinja

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:39 PM



As for the pump, I used a $5 ball pump from Wal-Mart. I



Looks like the cheap penis pump we found in the school geeks locker.

ON TOPIC:
I am not sure I understand how you fill it up though.

You mean the penis pump you tried to use till you realized that nothing can compare to me?

Really now, just stop attempting to be awesome on the internet. Thats my job

*strikes completely gay anime pose*

On subject.

Great gun Rork. I can honestly I never saw it coming. You making an air gun. Wow, and its a beauty too.
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#9 Carbon

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:43 PM

Now that's an easy air homemade! Nice job with fusing war practicality with ease of construction.

Not sure why, but the fact that you're using the handle backwards amuses me to no end.
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#10 rork

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Posted 02 December 2008 - 11:51 PM

Bustaninja: Thanks. Carbon: Thanks to you, too. The backwards handle is actually quite comfy, and it solves one of the main problems that hose handles pose: guns made with them tend to come together at weird, annoying angles that make the gun awkward and uncomfortable. The threaded hose handle solves the other big problem: making it airtight.
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#11 Talio

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 12:38 AM



As for the pump, I used a $5 ball pump from Wal-Mart. I



Looks like the cheap penis pump we found in the school geeks locker.

ON TOPIC:
I am not sure I understand how you fill it up though.


You play with fucking nerf guns. Lets be careful who we're calling geeks.

Anyway, someone made one of those a few years ago. Awesome to see the come back.

Talio.
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#12 rork

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 12:57 AM

Yeah, this is the result of way too much time spent trying to design a homemade firing valve, only to realize that the really cool thing would be to come up with something useful using a prefab valve. Ball valves almost invariably suck, and I hadn't seen anything using a hose handle that was really practical for the use I intended (ie, shooting people). I look forward to trying this thing with some brass...

EDIT: changed the topic name to match that of the creation...

Edited by rork, 03 December 2008 - 01:00 AM.

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#13 CaptainSlug

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 01:49 AM

The problem with air guns has primarily been one of cost, and a lack of suitable parts to use to make one. There are few to no valves that you can buy that will provide the flow rates needed to fire a dart.
Finding hose handles that have useful threads on them is also difficult since they are primarily made to screw onto garden hose, which is a straight thread (GHT 3/4) instead of a tapered one.

Some of the individual fittings you could use to make an air-powered homemade end up costing more than most whole Nerf guns. GHT to NPT adapters for example cost $10 or more.

And with Big Blasts being cheap and plentiful there's been little need to explore them.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 03 December 2008 - 01:57 AM.

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#14 Draconis

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 02:06 AM

Some of the individual fittings you could use to make an air-powered homemade end up costing more than most whole Nerf guns. GHT to NPT adapters for example cost $10 or more.



I was actually at ACE the other day and saw that they now have nylon versions of those adapters for about half that. The brass unit are still $10-ish.
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#15 Doom

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 08:38 AM

Hose handles usually have dismal flow rates so your ranges will be very limited. They're designed to shoot a small stream of water and often conserve water so you have to work around this. If you haven't already, I'd suggest modifying the valve. I had a hose handle with threads on both ends and I took a dremel to the stream forming part in the center that adjusts the size of the water stream. This increased the flow a good amount.

I'd suggest small QEVs if you'd want even more performance too. A small QEV with a blowgun as a trigger will have significantly higher flows and very quick opening times. QEVs are extremely efficient for Nerf. It'll have to be ordered online of course and will set you back about $20, but it's money well spent if you're looking for an efficient air gun.
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#16 rork

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 09:02 AM

It's working fine so far. I won't really know how well it works until I get a good barrel on it, but maximum efficiency was not a concern with this project; I just want enough range for it to be useful. CS: I fitted the hose handle directly to the fittings, and it's totally air-tight; all it took was lots of teflon tape. However, the front threads are plastic, which may lend the system some flex. And you're absolutely right about the expense issue; I could have picked up a 2-pack of BBBBs for the part costs that went into this thing--but I'm not too crazy over Big Blasts. Doom: I'll probably use a QEV for something at some point, but if I invest in one, I'll be throwing it a project along the lines of your FANG.

EDIT: Carbon: Precisely.

Edited by rork, 03 December 2008 - 09:07 AM.

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#17 Carbon

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 09:05 AM

Range tests are in order. If it can get 100' on two pumps while using an 8 shot RSCB, more flow would be somewhat pointless. After all, rork's goal was to create a homemade airgun that would have a somewhat greater chance of being war-accepted. The limited flow and lower attainable pressure is acting as a built-in AR.
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#18 VACC

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 09:17 AM

After all, rork's goal was to create a homemade airgun that would have a somewhat greater chance of being war-accepted.


I don't want to poo-poo this topic or discourage any such projects, but I think that logic is somewhat flawed. Making homemade air guns legal at wars is a very slippery slope that the nerf community had fallen into once, and quickly corrected. It's too easy to make these weapons way too powerful, and very difficult to regulate them on a nerf field. When they become prevalent what we have is much closer to paintball and much further from nerf. I understand that you can make less powerful models, but how is anyone to be certain that you're not demonstrating the power to the organizer at half capacity? If there was a gaping hole, or need that homemade airguns would fill I could understand. However, as it stands there simply is not. Make them for fun, and use them when you can, but don't expect the majority of wars to start accepting them.

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#19 rork

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 09:21 AM

Well, my goal was to do something that would be weak enough to be usable, and repeatable enough to encourage others to do the same thing. I wouldn't expect it to be legal at large events, where it would be impractical for the host to inspect every single weapon, but at smaller events, I don't really see a problem with case-by-case legality.
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#20 VACC

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 09:29 AM

That's probably a good way to look at it. I guess I just don't see what need it fills. To each his own.
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#21 imaseoulman

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 06:11 PM

1.) The problem with air guns has primarily been one of cost, and a lack of suitable parts to use to make one. 2.) There are few to no valves that you can buy that will provide the flow rates needed to fire a dart.
3.) And with Big Blasts being cheap and plentiful there's been little need to explore them.

1.) Until you get very creative.
2.) I'm planning to make use of and modify a $3 valve I recently came across.
3.) I'm hoping the entire blaster costs the same a Big Blast (about $10).

The only downside is...

I don't want to poo-poo this topic or discourage any such projects, but...don't expect the majority of wars to start accepting them.

VACC


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#22 rork

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Posted 03 December 2008 - 06:52 PM

A laudable goal, of which I heartily approve.

However, I suggest you take the aggressive subtitle off this topic, because in my opinion it runs entirely contrary to that goal.


I'm encouraging people to fear something I named the PixieBlast 9000. The sarcasm should be obvious.

Imaseoulman: I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
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#23 OnyxZenith

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Posted 18 December 2008 - 12:00 AM

Similar to this one blueprint im working on... im on a rush of ideas... plus... it can help it you add a bigger tank so you wont have to pump after each shot... but knowing that having a bigger tank can cause shots to gradually decrease in range... buuuuuuuut you wont have to worry about pumping a lot... maybe... depends... oh well what ever floats your boat how people say! :lol:
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#24 Ner Commando

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Posted 20 December 2008 - 09:12 PM

That is one fugly gun but pretty sick. I love that trigger design. I'm thinking putting that on some of my own homemades. Kudos to you for tha awesome gun.
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#25 OnyxZenith

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Posted 10 January 2009 - 05:44 PM

what could be nice is if you attached the pump right under the airtank. This will allow charging up the tank faster, and allow comfort while pumping! Not to mention conserve vinyl tubing.
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