7 replies to this topic

[davidbowie]

After building the original KISS rifle, I wasn't very satisfied. It was way too big and hard to cock for the amount of power I was getting out of it. I attributed most of this to shoddy construction combined with the high friction of surgical tubing, especially since it was mounted at an angle, which kept it pulled up against the edge of the groove it was running along.

Once I figured that out, I decided to fix all of those problems. I ended up with something fairly satisfying.

Instead of surgical tubing, I used a mini bungee, which stores a bit more power in a smaller package, with a lot less friction. It's also nice because a 10 pack costs a little over 2 dollars.

The bungee also solved the size problem, because they are quite a bit beefier than surgical tubing. The pull in this gun is about 6", as opposed to 2' in the original KISS, but it has quite a bit more power.

The advantage of having a direct-acting bungee instead of a plunger is that you can shoot whatever fits down the barrel, with no need for a good seal. I can shoot jumbo stefans, which are a perfect fit in 3/4" PVC, as well as very tight paper darts, which would be better in 1/2" PVC.

This gun, in keeping with the simplicity, is cocked with a string tied around the bungee. It's tied to a ring of 3/4" PVC, which I insert back into the tee at the rear of the gun after cocking, so that there's almost no dead weight on the bungee when firing.



I added quite a few ammo holders to this gun, mostly to bulk it up a bit. It looked too scrawny before. There are two ammo holders underneath the barrel which can hold jumbos or paper darts, and the grip and mock scope can hold micros, megas, or paper darts. This makes for 5 darts total in the gun at one time.

This is the gun filled with paper darts:


I decided, again, to use a SNAP-style clothespin trigger, with a tiny little twist. I flipped around the angle iron used for the trigger, so that the pin is right where the trigger is, instead of 2" in front. This also added to the compact size.



It turned out pretty well, and it could be easily mass-produced. Mine took about an hour and a half from start to finish, but that was because I had to design it on the fly. In the future, I think I could make one in about a half an hour, especially without all the frivolous show parts. It ended up costing about as much as a NF.

Ranges turned out pretty good. I haven't done an in-depth study, but I have measured a few shots, and here's what I have:

ALL RANGES ARE FROM LEVEL SHOTS FIRED AT THE SHOULDER

jumbo stefans:
worst: 54'
best: 76'

Paper darts:
worst: 65'
best: 81.5'

ROF is decent. Not great, but decent. I'm not exactly sure of the practicality yet as I don't really do much in the way of wars, but I feel this would make for a pretty good close-quarters sidearm, especially good for indoor wars. As this doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to build, I'm hoping someone else who's more active in wars will build something similar and give it a test run.

Edited by davidbowie, 12 March 2006 - 05:56 PM.

[Zach]

What amazes me is the fact that the paper darts work better than the jumbo darts. What kind of weight is used for the paper dart, and what is the construction process? The paper darts have me curious. Do they work well in other guns or are they made only for the KISS mini?

~Zach

[davidbowie]

Paper darts are extremely simple. No weight is needed, because the shape itself keeps them quite stable. I've heard good things about coating the tips with superglue, though.

I have another topic in the homemade section about paper darts, with a link to a page about them. I simply love them. One magazine, which is available everywhere for under $5, can provide up to 200 darts.

And yes, they can work in any gun, but I've only used them in this and an old air homemade I had.

[Rip32]

Your pictures are not working for me. Sounds good though.

Edit: They work now, and its looking sharp. Literally

Edited by Rip32, 12 March 2006 - 05:59 PM.

[Rip32]

Edit: sorry for the dp, I don't know what happened. It posted the same thing.

But since I posted again, those ranges are pretty good with paper darts. I am suprised. Nice use of a different type of dart.

Edited by Rip32, 12 March 2006 - 05:53 PM.

[Carbon]

Pics aren't working for me, either.....

Awesome, sounds like it'd be a lot more fun to run around with. I thought the original KISS was pretty cool, but big. By the sound of it, this version is compact and powerful. I might need to make myself one of these. That, and try out some mini bungees....

I did the same thing on the SNAP-S trigger system, flipping around the angle iron. It's a nice space savings, and gives a good direct pull to the pin.

EDIT: Pics just showed up. Very nice compact package....looks like mini bungees are the ticket for pistol homebrews, as opposed to springs.

Edited by Carbon, 12 March 2006 - 06:09 PM.

[davidbowie]

Well, I wouldn't quite say mini bungees are better than springs performance-wise, but they're just so much easier.

Another thing I've been tossing around is how easy it would be to make a clip loader for this. I would just need a slightly thicker cocking string (u-haul rope?), and then the string itself would act as the bolt. That's the other beauty of this setup. I'm pretty sure that's what I'll be working on over the next couple weeks.

[Carbon]

I dunno, I'd give bungees awards for power, considering my springer pistol pulls 40' with stock megas, and you're pulling on average, 60' with jumbos. Couple that with the ease of use, and you have a real winner. Granted, I could probably get a stronger spring in my pistol, but that goes into the whole problem of finding the proper size spring.

A clip system would be fun to implement, and a lot easier than most guns; not having to deal with any air pressure would simplify things a lot.

Edited by Carbon, 12 March 2006 - 06:51 PM.