35 replies to this topic

[KBarker]

Yay, I got verified to the Haven! Here is my current project:

Yes, you read that right. A NF with a 6-shot clip. The gun has all the usual refinements, no air restricters and a beefy spring. But mounted on the front is a t-slot that allows a clip to be inserted. The clip has little divots that two spring plungers push into to lock each barrel inline with the firing plunger. There is no limit on how large I can make the clips, I may make a 10-shot clip later. Ranges are not as far as my single modded NF, but they are not bad either. Check out all the build pictures on my Putfile page:









The paint is drying right now. I tried to do chrome covered by black, then wipe off a little black on the edges, but it looked like crap so I just made it all black. I'll update with some pics later.

[PvtMcFlurry]

Simply, Amazing. Great job. Also very creative. I can't wait to see the final product and I just might have to do this.

[nube]

Woah.
That is a very clean and useful mod. Pretty much an easier Nite-Mav. Nice. A write up would be awesome.

Edited by nube, 21 January 2007 - 10:32 PM.

[PREDATOR]

That is very nice. A great addition to all the mods of nite finders. But if you could tell how to make the clip and the slots that would be nice.

Edited by PREDATOR, 21 January 2007 - 10:34 PM.

[Cmdrmack]

That's a dead sexy pistol. I might have to buy another NiteFinder and build one of those myself.

[warx]

Good, inspiring work. A few inquiries...

1. How heavy is it?

2. What kind of ranges does it get?

3. Is this a prototype, with problems you plan to fix in the future?

[funkyjake]

Mmm, reminds me of my Electric Eel. Thumbs up.
How's the seal between the clip and your air source?

[KBarker]

funkyjake, on Jan 21 2007, 08:20 PM, said:

Mmm, reminds me of my Electric Eel. Thumbs up.
How's the seal between the clip and your air source?

Not too bad, but not great either. There is a bit of packing tape in between the two, and the divots on the clip are slightly towards the front. This tends to push the clip toward the air. Ranges are OK, I haven't done any real measurement but it probably gets about 50 feet. It should do better when I get some real stefans made, right now I'm using dart tag darts with BBs instead of the regular tip, and they are very loose in the PETG.

-warx
It is definitely heavier than stock with all that aluminum up there, but it's not outrageously heavy. I wouldn't consider this a prototype, I think any future modifications will just be to the clips.

-nube
As far as doing a write-up, it would be little use to 99% of the people here, since to do this how I did it requires a milling machine, lathe, etc. The clip base, slider, and the round part on the front are all milled/turned from solid aluminum stock. I don't see how you could make the parts accurately enough with hand tools.

I finished the paint and belt clip. I'm pretty pleased with how the round aluminum piece blended with the rest of the gun. I decided not to paint the plunger and trigger since the paint on those parts just scraped off on my other NF.







Here it is with all my guns:

[Forsaken angel24]

Looks great, I am looking forward to more of your work.

[AssassinNF]

You could probably make a considerable profit selling kits for those things...

Anyway, great job!

[Falcon]

AssassinNF, on Jan 22 2007, 07:45 AM, said:

You could probably make a considerable profit selling kits for those things...

I was about to say that...lol.

Talk to captain slug through some PM's to get some ideas. I'll tell you right now, you've got a fortune waiting for you if you make those in bulk and sell.

[KBarker]

I improved the seal dramatically last night by adding an O-ring. I realized all I needed to do was trim the stub barrel that hooks to the plunger just enough to allow an O-ring to sit there. It ended up being far easier than I thought it would be. I just filed down the stub and kept test fitting the ring, and eventually it was short enough to allow the clip to slide. The resistance was still high, so I lubed it with lithium grease. The O-ring made a huge difference in the gun's power, it is now nearly as strong as my singled NF.

[Rambo]

Wow, it's really great to see a lot of new members posting up innovative stuff rather than being noobs. Welcome to the boards too.

Is it PETG for the barrels? You should read up on some stefan making tutorials. You use Foam Backer Rod(Also known as Cauck Saver) to make darts that will achieve superior range.

[KBarker]

RAMBO, on Jan 23 2007, 05:36 PM, said:

Wow, it's really great to see a lot of new members posting up innovative stuff rather than being noobs. Welcome to the boards too.

Is it PETG for the barrels? You should read up on some stefan making tutorials. You use Foam Backer Rod(Also known as Cauck Saver) to make darts that will achieve superior range.

Yes, that is PETG for the barrels. I have some of Angel's red FBR on the way so I can make better darts. Right now I am using dart tags with the tips replaced with BBs.

[Forsaken angel24]

KBarker, on Jan 23 2007, 08:14 PM, said:

The resistance was still high, so I lubed it with lithium grease.

Dear sweet jesus no! If I understand your last post right, There is lithium grease on the O-ring. That stuff will corrode any rubber. I tested its "eating away" abilities last year. I took an O-ring and put it on an old cd stacker pole. The O-ring wasnt too tight but just enough to keep it in place. I then gave it a good dose of lithium grease. When I came back to it in a months time the ring had broken.

[CaptainSlug]

If you want a plastic-safe lubricant there's nothing finer than silicone spray lubricant.
And considering how much tailoring is required to fit this on to a nitefinder I don't foresee a kit being all feasible.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 23 January 2007 - 11:17 PM.

[InkJet]

That is very very nice. Great first post!! Did you do this on a basic mill and lathe, or CNC? Because I own a regular mill and lathe, and might try to do that.

And i have to vouche for the spray silicone lube, i got a can of it for my airsoft guns a while back, and whenever i do a mod, i spray a bunch down into the valve/pump tube/plunger tube, and it seems to help the performance/effectiveness. That can hasn't run out yet either.

Do you have a catch on the metal where each barrel is? I see little divots in the metal, but all there seems to be on the metal piece attached to the NF is screws coming in. What is the adhesive looking substance near the bottom of the barrels? Didn't mean to interrogate you there, just curious, it's an extremely ingenious design, great job!!!

[CaptainSlug]

InkJet, on Jan 23 2007, 11:30 PM, said:

Do you have a catch on the metal where each barrel is? I see little divots in the metal, but all there seems to be on the metal piece attached to the NF is screws coming in.

It looks to me like he's using set screws as a friction lock on both sides of the clip.

[KBarker]

[/quote]
Dear sweet jesus no! If I understand your last post right, There is lithium grease on the O-ring. That stuff will corrode any rubber. I tested its "eating away" abilities last year. I took an O-ring and put it on an old cd stacker pole. The O-ring wasnt too tight but just enough to keep it in place. I then gave it a good dose of lithium grease. When I came back to it in a months time the ring had broken.
[/quote]

Oops! I will wipe off the grease and put on some silicone, I think I have some around here. I don't think the grease has been on there long enough to cause damage, but I have extra o-rings anyway. Thanks for letting me know about it!

[quote name='CaptainSlug' post='98716' date='Jan 23 2007, 08:16 PM']
If you want a plastic-safe lubricant there's nothing finer than silicone spray lubricant.
And considering how much tailoring is required to fit this on to a nitefinder I don't foresee a kit being all feasible.
[/quote]

Yeah, I can't see kit being possible. The machining is really time consuming and even then the buyer of the kit would have to do a lot of work to get it put together.

[quote name='InkJet' post='98721' date='Jan 23 2007, 08:30 PM']
That is very very nice. Great first post!! Did you do this on a basic mill and lathe, or CNC? Because I own a regular mill and lathe, and might try to do that.

Do you have a catch on the metal where each barrel is? I see little divots in the metal, but all there seems to be on the metal piece attached to the NF is screws coming in. What is the adhesive looking substance near the bottom of the barrels? Didn't mean to interrogate you there, just curious, it's an extremely ingenious design, great job!!!
[/quote]

I don't have CNC, although I do have a DRO. This could be done with a very small mill just fine, you just need a T-slot bit for the clip carrier. I used a ball-end mill for the divots, but a regular drill bit should work fine. The things that look like screws are in fact spring plungers, Mcmaster part #3408A108. They have a little spring inside that pushes a small ball into the divots. This makes it snap into place, lining up the barrels. The adhesive is just to keep the barrels in. Using a 9/16" bit made the barrels very tight in the holes, but I figured a little glue was necessary to keep them in. The specific glue I used is a epoxy designed for plastics I got at my local Ace Hardware. It's my new favorite glue, since it dries in only 15 minutes and appears incredibly strong.

I am working on the 10-shot clip now, I should have it finished tomorrow. I am not just making it bigger than the 6-shot, I have some improvements in the works as well.

[KBarker]

Finished the 10-shot clip:






I'll try to do a write-up of how I made this. First, drill the holes. For this clip, I chose to not drill the large hole all the way through, but instead use a smaller bit to go all the way through. This way, you can't accidentally shove darts in too far, nor can they be sucked in when you pull the plunger back. I also think it will give a better seal with O-ring. I used 9/16" for the large hole (this is a perfect, tight fit on the PETG) and 3/8" for the small one.




Then I cut the aluminum stock down using the mill.




Next, I slid this piece through my slider, with the spring plungers in. They made a line where they contacted the clip piece.




I then took the spring plungers out and temporarily replaced them with screws. Then I put the clip in the slider, tightening the screws when the holes were lined up. This left marks on the clip base where the screws dug in.




OK, so remember that line we made earlier? This serves as a guide to line up the mill for the divots. Making the bit centered on the line would work fine, but making it just slightly toward the front side of the clip helps the spring plungers push the clip onto the O-ring. Then just divot on the round marks with a drill bit or ball-end mill. The depth is somewhat critical, if they are too shallow the ball won't catch very well, and too deep makes the clip rattle around a bit. 0.020" deep seemed about right.




I rounded the corners of the clip with a round-off bit, but a file would work fine.





Now that the base is done, we need to make the barrels. Cut the PETG in to 3" or so sections, and deburr all the edges.




Press them into the base, making sure they are straight.



Then just put some glue on the base of the barrels, and the clip is done! The range appears to be just as good as my 6-shot clip. It looks pretty friggin huge on the gun, but it's not terribly awkward to use.

[Rambo]

Nice job man. Do you own that big drill press or whatever the hell it might be, or is it at your school or something?

[KBarker]

RAMBO, on Jan 25 2007, 06:24 AM, said:

Nice job man. Do you own that big drill press or whatever the hell it might be, or is it at your school or something?

That's a milling machine, and yes I own it.

[Nerf Warrior]

Nice and clean write-up. Just out of curiosity, where did you get the metal for the clip?

[Yakuza]

This thing is awsome.

While I'm looking at this, I'm thinking;Depending on how the clip rises(by that, I mean if the clip rises when
prime it,or when you pull the trigger)you could make an awsome air powered semi.


also, Nerf warrior, he used alluminum. He said so in the begining of the topic.(or at least i think he did.)



-Yakuza

Edited by Yakuza, 25 January 2007 - 08:20 PM.

[KBarker]

I get most of my metal from Online Metals, www.onlinemetals.com. The clip is advanced manually, so it's not really a semi-auto. It would be very tough to rig a setup to automatically advance the clip when primed, but it would be insanely awesome!