64 replies to this topic

[Vimes]

Ok, I was going to wait till it was complete, but it might be a little while.
So, I give you my Schofield, Mk1.






Thanks Captain Slug for being awesome and writing that beginners guide to plastics.



Now, to set this straight, I don't expect ranges over 15 feet. granted some might say
it's a lot of work for not much, but I like building things. Journey, end, old saying...yeah.

I began wanting to replicate Mal Reynolds' pistol from Firefly.

(image found through google)

After a first, rather pathetic attempt which died, I let the idea lie for a while until
I watched 3:10 to Yuma and saw Charlie Prince and his Schofields. After that I went searching and found some pictures of the gun.

(image found through google)
This and a really nifty drawing of the internals, which I now can't find, were the ones I used.


Plunger travel is about 7/8". Yes. Tiny. I know.
The barrel you see is only temporary. The real one will be approximately 1.5 to 2 inches of 9/16 brass, nested in 1/2" PVC.

I'll update as I near completion, but for now, any questions?

Edited by Vimes, 07 October 2008 - 10:08 PM.

[nerfer9]

How do you plan the trigger system will work?

Edited by nerfer9, 07 October 2008 - 10:10 PM.

[Vimes]

Much the same way as the real gun only without the boom. The hammer pulls the plunger head back until the the trigger clears the hammer. Trigger will be pulled forward by a spring thus holding the plunger head at the ready. I'll get a picture in a minute.

Here we go:

This with the plunger head pulled back.

Edited by Vimes, 07 October 2008 - 10:18 PM.

[nerfer9]

Ok.you need to increase the plunger length, put a shorter barrel on it, then lengthen it, or else you won't get more than 2 feet.

Edited by nerfer9, 07 October 2008 - 10:20 PM.

[nerf mafia]

What type of spring is that, it looks like a valve spring?

[L0pper]

I love the Schofield. (Its use in 3:10 to Yuma was awesome) Hope this turns out well.

L0pper

[Vimes]

N9- Yes, I stated in the first post the barrel will be no longer than 2", nested
in 1/2" PVC. I'm trying this setup because I want to stick close
to the original dimensions of the Schofield.


NM- its a cut off of a spring from Mcmaster. A slightly larger diameter one than the one CS recommends.


Thanks L0pper, so do I.

Edited by Vimes, 07 October 2008 - 10:29 PM.

[Lion]

Good luck with this, when you get it done, please do a write up.

[Jedijoe9]

First off, any creation of Firefly themed items automatically gets an "A" for "awesome" in my book.

Secondly, though, I really like what you have done so far. This reminds me alot of the "nerf musket" that was being discussed a week or two ago: not necessarily the most efficient system ever, but it's such an aesthetically pleasing experience that the performance doesn't matter too much.

I agree with some of the thoughts expressed though: Any lengthening of the plunger is going to improve this gun a ton. Do you only have PVC as a barrel right now? I'd be interested to hear the results of the nested brass barrel you mentioned.

[rork]

That. Is. Pretty. Seriously, I spontaneously emitted a little whimper when I saw it.

[Vimes]

Jedi- The overriding factor in the length of the plunger
is the type of catch. Since it rotates it limits the length of
linear travel. Now, a longer rotation radius would lengthen
the plunger travel, but then it starts to look a little ridiculous.

The barrel in the pics is merely there to be seen. Once I get
the trigger system working I'll set up the real barrel.


rork- Thanks, I really worked to get it to look just right.

Edited by Vimes, 07 October 2008 - 11:33 PM.

[Carbon]

A thing of beauty. Anything that approaches a problem in a novel way has my attention....and looking good while it does it is a nice bonus.

I'll be interested to see how the leverage works out with your plunger, trigger and hammer. My only thought is that the hammer would seem to have very little leverage, and not enough throw to properly cock the plunger.

Good luck with it, and keep us posted.

[rork]

If this is what you come up with for an experiment, I'd love to see your take on a war-practical blaster. Just saying...

[rork]

Hmmm...everyone's talking about Crazy O'Mancrush on 3:10 to Yuma (great movie)--what about the "Schofield Kid" from "Unforgiven"?

[Blasphemy]

This is crazy. It would be the Rev. 2 Plus Bows perfect sidearm.

Yeah... because it has everything in common with the Rev. 2 +bow: Great Performance, practically built for maximum effectiveness, built to be beautifully simple and not made for aesthetic value only, polycarbonate components.

Oh wait... woops, no, no it really wouldn't be a great candidate as a sidearm for ANY blaster right now, much less the +bow. I mean no offense, mad props to Vimes for building this, it is absolutely awesome. But I don't think he quite had the all-practical war-centered mindset when building this like CS probably had while building the +bow. He uses a ridiculously small plunger to make a catch and trigger system work which has no inherent advantages over a regular catch other than it looks cooler, in fact it seems like a far pickier and more complex component which limits the amount of stroke you can have on the plunger rod.

Let's look at the truth, he expects this blaster to get only around 15 feet, that is by no means a good sidearm range. He obviously created this just so that he could have a functioning blaster that looks like a Schofield just so that he could be happy with, and he did, so props to him, but I can't see this being war-practical without several major components being completely overhauled.

Edited by Blasphemy, 08 October 2008 - 02:22 PM.

[Daecu]

Find yourself a woodshop somewhere and make a nice little grip to screw on there and your all set Looks great dude, distance/accuracy is for the modification section

[Llama Boy]

Can we see a picture of you holding it please?

[Blasphemy]

...distance/accuracy is for the modification section

Err... no its not. Last I checked MODIFICATIONS were for the modification section.

[Vimes]

Good evening everyone. I apologize for leaving it so long, but now I'm back and designing like mad.
I have finished the Schofield to the point of working. It still needs some cosmetic work though, but it is fully functional.





The barrel is 1 inch of 17/32 brass nested inside 1.25 inch of 9/16 brass. I think I may try a few more barrel setups. One would be making the 9/16 brass a little longer. The other would be to add a few tightening rings to the 17/32 brass.

Ranges were unexpectedly good, for the plunger size.
18' 10"
22' 4"
27'
23' 10"
23' 6"

Ave: about 23 feet


I am thrilled with how it turned out. I am working on improving construction, hopefully I can squeeze a few more feet out of it! I'll try to get a video up on Sat.

Happy new year!

[Carbon]

You got twenty feet with a one inch plunger stroke? That's nothing short of miraculous! And I seem to really like italics today. Anyway, great job in getting this beauty working.

Any chance you could give a sideways view of the different stages (rest, primed, trigger pull)?

[Rogue Warrior]

Wow, at loss for words. Wow yet again.

[L0pper]

Like Carbon, Id definately like to see it in the different stages of action. I also can't wait to see templates for one of these puppies.

[Vimes]

Thanks for the compliments everyone.

Heh...about that 1 inch plunger travel...it got smaller. Yeah, its at about half an inch right now.



I think it has to do with the seal and the spring, especially the spring. It is of similar size to the +bow spring, just a little bit larger in diameter and wire size. The seal is really just about as perfect as it can be, considering the angle it starts from.





I'm going to shorten the bushing that the barrel sets in by a half inch and increase the spring length a little. That way I can get the whole inch of travel.

Oh, my darts are 1.25 inch, just in case anyone was wondering.

[Lion]

I would love to make one of these.