Now, the first issue is that it's a Monday. Not ideal, but at least it's in July, so all of you kids in school will still have the time off. Also, whatever location we choose is likely to be nearly abandoned. Even schools should be usable. I would suggest that we start early, by 9:00AM or so. Again, July is pretty warm, even on the Sound.
Second issue, location: Marymoor Park, Redmond.
Rounds:
Capture the flag
Center Flag Pull
Center Flag Push
Gunslinger's Heaven
Team Deathmatch
Multi-Team Deathmatch
Deathmatch
Only Primaries
Ballistic Balls
Missiles/Arrows?
Pistol Duels
Guardian?
Banned blasters.
Micro dart singled - Titans, Roto-Rockets, Nat-Geos, Pump-plugged BBBBs, SGLs.
RFDG wielders, be aware that we may be abandoning the use of these fine weapons if we clean up too many kills. Just make sure to bring a backup primary.
Attendees:
SOF Team
Draconis (Possible)
TantumBull +1-3
hierarchy
Blacksunshine
Renegademilitia15 +1-2
Retiate
Dayko +1-2
Disturbed
Ril
Fragtacular
Grenada
Ninja Mods
Hopefuls:
silentsnipe +1
Red Star
Boom
ChiliPepperFender
Blackfox +1
nisaburo
Gazoo
Bomberman
Forgottenboomer
Everfire101
G1BRAD (validating)
taerKitty
TreaHouseMods
Note: If I placed you in the wrong section, please let me know.
A note about balls: From my extensive research in to the area of ballistic balls, I have gleaned some information which may be helpful to those building ballguns:
In your experience what goes farther, target foam golf balls or nerf ballistic balls? Also, what kind of fit is best with balls? Tight enough that it won't roll around?
It depends a bit on how you are powering the blaster, and what it is meant for. In stock blasters, NERF balls are definitely the better performing. In particular I have noticed that while the Target balls seem to fit well in the older blasters like my Ballzooka, the dimpled exterior doesn't seem to seal well against the barrel. I'm working on ways around this, but haven't come to a conclusion yet. The issue with stock balls is that they are very light, and so the force applied to them bleeds off very quickly once they leave the barrel. So if you have more power to apply, then the more dense target balls travel farther. I've also had good luck with adding weights to the K-Mart balls. While range improves, it is rather difficult to position the weight exactly at the center, and can have an adverse effect on accuracy. Sometimes they corkscrew. It's kinda neat.
In general, a sliding fit is best for barrel of air powered blasters:
Nerf balls = 1-1/2" Thinwall PVC.
Target/Walmart dimpled balls = 1-1/2" SCH40 PVC or ABS
Fred Meyer/K-Mart smooth balls = 1-1/4" Thinwall PVC, though I suspect that 1-1/2" SCH80 PVC would work, I just can't find any.
Now, regarding fit, I've run in to some interesting phenomena. Carbon's research with BigSNAP powered blasters showed that he achieved the best ranges with a small obstruction at the back of the barrel. He used a 1-1/2" coupler with the ridge in the middle sanded down. This allowed the plunger to build the pressure higher before the ball was forced from the barrel. I have yet to build a spring driven ballgun, however, so I can't comment upon this effect. I imagine that the tightness will need to depend upon how good the seal on the plunger is. A weak plunger seal may allow the air to push by it, instead of the ball out the barrel. We'll see. I'll get to it eventually.
Air guns, on the other hand, I've built two and modified two. They definitely work the best when the ball starts out tight. Really tight, like I squish the (usually Target) balls in to a 1-1/4" Sch 80 bushing (I'll measure the ID when I get home). And then it exits in to the main barrel that has a sliding fit. The longer the barrel, the better the accuracy. It works just like finding the best barrel length for darts. Unfortunately, this negates the easy breeching ability of the balls, unless I can figure out a way to nest larger pipe sizes. I'll probably have to use my dad's lathe. Again, we'll see, I'll get there eventually.
Edited by Draconis, 14 July 2009 - 04:35 PM.
