I've always known there was a lot of potential inside an Airtech 3000. The 3k's tank in comparison to a 2k or the identical 1.5k tank, is quite a bit bigger. 3ks also have less dead space than 1500s and 2ks. So I finally decided to modify one to my standards. First order of business was removing the automatic rotation mechanism. Most of the modifications I wanted to do were in the way of this. Plus, manual rotation is just as fast. I didn't take any step by step pictures for you guys because I'm not a fan of spoon feeding. But you should get the idea.
All turreted air guns that aren't rear-loading suck to use. So I had to make it rear-loading.
Drill holes into the back of the turret (1/2"). Next you'll have to either hot glue or epoxy putty the miniature holes in between the holes for the actual barrels. Take an hobby knife or sand down the excess so it's flush with the base of the turret and your barrels. Next I had to beef up the spring for the manual part of rotation mech. I used a random spring I found in my parts bin.
To keep the rotation mech from spinning in circles and not actually doing it's job, I cut a small strip of polycarbonate. I drilled and tapped new holes attaching the piece of polycarbonate to a piece on an existing piece of the gun. This keep the top piece from moving freely and allows the rotation mech to do it's job. Make sure you line up the rotation mech with your barrels.
For the seal on the turret, I used two 1/8" thick rubber washers glued together. They have an ID of about 9/16" or a little bigger than a half inch. To fit the two washers on the front of the tank, dremel down the existing connection between the airtank and the turret. Now you have a much better seal, basically as good as it gets. Make sure you lube it up when done.
Hopefully these pics explain my rambling.
Next order of business was to replace the pump. One of the downfalls to the 3k is the pump. It's too wide in diameter. This makes it harder to get higher pressures in the airtank as opposed to a skinny 2k pump. I used a Hornet pump in this case. It fit in the shell nice, and is nice and long and perfect for this application. Zeke also suggested using a RF20 pump.
I wrapped some electrical tape around the outside of the Hornet pump. 3/4" PVC fits over it nice with a few wraps. To fit the Hornet pump in the 3k shell, you have to take out the dremel.
First cut the front of both halves like so.
Then dremel down these parts. Doesn't have to be clean, no one will see it.
Almost done. The hornet pump now comes out the side of gun and the vinyl tubing is outside the case. I did this because I eventually would like to get this hooked up to a small hardtank that I can get 6-8 shots off without pumping. But this works for now..
Do a bic pen mod, or glue the spring on the end of the firing pin.
Don't forget to cut the slot for the rear loading.
If you did everything correctly, you'll now have a beast.
And since someone will eventually ask, I haven't officially range tested it yet, since it's dark. Although comparative to my 1500 which gets 120+ ranges, it out ranges it. That's with six pumps. Very impressive.
Keep in mind, I'm a freak about dart/barrel fit, so results may not be as dramatic for you. But you'll definitely notice a giant improvement over simple barrel replacements. I can't wait to try this Saturday.
Enjoy.
Edited by Ryan201821, 10 January 2010 - 03:48 AM.
