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The Thundersplat, By Splitlip


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#1 Split

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 03:32 PM

I'd like to present, without too much adieu, my writeup for the Splatmatic Thundersplat .50 Cal Shotgun.

The gun uses a very powerful spring, which makes for an extremely fast air delivery system. To prime the gun, much like in the Pistol Splat, it needs a mechanical advantage system. For this it uses a reducing gear ratio. The pump arm moves a solid 4 7/8", while the plunger tube and plunger move a meager 1.5" when the safety spring is installed, and a half inch more when it's removed.

The objectives for this mod were:
Keep the pump action system
Add a linked brass breech system to improve rate of fire
Keep the break action
Allow for shotgun loading
Convert the inline clip to hold darts

Starting off, here's a picture of the inside. Nothing really shoots out too fast when you open it, but there is potential for it to happen.
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You can see the gears that rotate on two posts, are turned by the rack attached to the pump shotgun handle, and the teeth on the plunger tube.
Important: The piece above the plunger tube clicks down when the plunger tube is moved forward, and the gun is primed. It stops the plunger tube from moving backwards again, and stops you from priming the gun again. Remove it and its spring completely. This will allow us to open the breech later more than once, so that we can shotgun load.

Here is the front half of the gun kind of broken down. You can see the inline clip. Slug covered how the gun functions normally in his writeup, so I'll skip over those details. It's very interesting though.
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Here are our plunger tube and plunger. That beastly little spring is to decelerate the plunger at the very end of the stroke as a safety mechanism. Go ahead and remove it.
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To take the top half of the front half of the gun off, take out the screws in the back and the one at the front, and push it off. You'll have to rotate the handle 180 degrees, after unscrewing it from the rack, to slide it off.
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Getting to the modding, hammer a fine nail through the end of your plunger tube, about 1/4" from the outside end of the tube. Make it as parallel to the tube and as centered as you can get. Then take out the nail and use pipe cutters to cut the tip back to about 1/2", again, from the outside end of the tube.
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Dremel back all four quarters of the shell to accommodate easy movement of the plunger tube with the nail. Here, only the back two are shown.
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After cleaning out the hole in the plunger tube, use a piece of 9/32" brass, and mark the distance from the nail to the tip on it.
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This part is our major breech piece. Made from 5/8" brass, it has a half pipe cut starting at 1.5" from the left that continues for 1.5". It's 6" total in length.
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What you need to do is mark at what two points the brass would hit the nail when the breech would be point up, then turn the brass slightly, and mark the two intersection points again. Now mark the distance that the nail is from the plunger tube onto the brass, between your marks, and you should be able to cut a shape like the one in the picture into the tube.
This should allow, and you need to double check that it does, you to slide the brass down over the nail, then turn it to lock it in place. This is how we're going to keep the break action with the linked breech.

Cut the piece of 9/32" back to 2" from the end of the mark. If anything, cut this piece too large.
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Spray silicone based lube onto the brass and outside front of the plunger tube. Now quickly wipe it off of the brass. Put the brass piece into the plunger tube, like so, and put enough hot glue so that it doesn't overflow more than the 5/8" brass would be able to handle, but seals nicely to both the tube and brass.
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Before it cools, the long uncut end of the breech piece onto it's nail lock, unlubed. Hold the tiny brass piece as parallel as you can.
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After that cools, take off the 5/8" piece, and gently pull the 9/32" piece out of it.
Find some more 5/8" brass and lube up one end. Put a ring of hot glue onto the piece of 9/32" near the end that's not marked. The brass can't be lubricated. Spin it as it cools, and then when you can, add another ring. Repeat until it's slightly bigger than the piece of 5/8" brass.
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For this next part, you'll need a 1/4" piece of brass, and something that slides over it and can push on your piece of 9/32". I used a scrap of bic pen.
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Edited by Splitlip, 20 March 2009 - 12:08 AM.

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#2 Split

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 03:37 PM

Put your piece of 9/32" onto the 1/4" piece. The end of the 1/4" should stick through quite a bit. The glued end should be towards your stop. Pull out the breech piece.
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Put a small ring of goop onto the marked end of the 9/32", without getting it on the 1/4"
Start feeding the brass through. The 1/4" should go in from the short, cut side and through the hole left in the glue.
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Guide the piece of 9/32" down into its place, and maybe a tad bit further.

Reinstall the 5/8" breech to align the 9/32" to where it should exactly be, then take it off again.
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Coming in from the side, use a toothpick, or whatever you can, to fill in around the 9/32" with goop. Make sure you don't come up the walls more than 1/2" from the end of the half pipe. Let cure.
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While that's going, we can work on the inline clip.
Start by opening the front half of the gun, and removing all of the inner workings.
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Take the spring out of the tube clip.
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You need to make this:
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It's a 1" section of cpvc, capped off with hotglue on one end.

Shave down the appropriate ridges and attach it here:
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On the outside of the gun, you need to fashion something like this:
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This is my second variation. It uses a nail to keep the cap locked, then can twist off to load darts. It works, but could be improved. I'll be working on that as a side project. Don't be afraid to experiment here. Notice my bit of cosmetic work on the end there.

Once it's all cooled and assembled, slide the spring down the tube. Push in a dart, hold it down and push in another. Mine hold 9-10 1.5" darts when full. To use, just grab on the dart in the slot, and pull it out. The spring pushes the line of darts forward and they stop on the cap. Very convenient :).


After all of that, the final assembly should be pretty simple. Cut back a half pipe along the old paintball barrel and glue in a piece of 1/2" sch40 as a guide. You'll need 6" minimum of 19/32" brass to nest your barrel in, but my darts are large, so I just use 7" of that as a barrel. Glue the 19/32" down so that it can't move.

Final, glorious product:
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To show off most of the features, I took a little video:
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I sure picked a crappy dart to make a video with haha.

You can see the trigger lock, then I show the breech that opens when you prime it. I grab a dart from the inline clip, put it in, and close the breech. You can open the breech again, and the dart was pushed forward, into the barrel, so the breech is empty again, allowing for a shotgun load. I close it and fire.

If I needed to break action (still haven't found a reason to, but I like features), I grab the 5/8" brass, twist it a bit, then slide it down the 19/32" brass. Push the button, and it still breaks just fine.

Another feature is that the gun can't fire while the handle is back. This is accomplished by the rack loading the trigger down. The trigger lock also slides forward to accomplish the same thing in the same manner.

Ranges are about 70-80 flat. I thoroughly enjoy this gun, and its nifty little features. The inline clip needs tweaking, because it always spits out the last dart, which would be bad in a war situation.

Enjoy! Thanks for reading. :)

Edited by Splitlip, 22 January 2009 - 10:05 PM.

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Teehee.

#3 UpperHand

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 06:07 PM

Nice, and it looks very functional! This reminds me of Angels BBB mod. Excellent look as well, very clean.
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#4 cheesypiza001

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 06:08 PM

Wow. :) That loading system looks great. I think it might help the accuracy (not of the actual gun, but of the nerfer using the gun) if you add a sight like this to the end of the barrel.

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#5 Mepain

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 06:11 PM

Very cool. Maybe you could make the end of the inline clip close when the pump is forward, and open when it's pumped back, like the breech. It should solve the problem of any darts falling out.
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#6 Draconis

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 06:15 PM

Very cool Split. That breech build looks über-complicated, but impressive nonetheless. I've been pining for one of these for a while, and this mod is not helping... :)
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[15:51] <+Noodle> titties
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[15:52] <+Noodle> why is this so hard?

#7 Ner Commando

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 06:25 PM

Wow, this is an awesome mod, so I congratulate you. What are ranges if multiple shots were shot, like a shotgun.
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#8 Ubermensch

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 06:28 PM

Cool. I'd give it a nice neon PJ before taking it outside, though.
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#9 TantumBull

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 06:39 PM

Niiiice. Great idea with the breech set-up.
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#10 Zorns Lemma

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 08:03 PM

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but your "inline clip" is simply a convenient dart storage tube right?

Otherwise, creative use of the first nail to keep the gun breakable. I personally would've just permanently sealed the gun together.
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#11 Wes7143

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 08:11 PM

Would your ammo tube drop the darts, if jolted, as if landing from a jump or something? It seems like it may drop out with some force.

Otherwise, that's incredible. I'm really temped to buy one now!
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#12 lazer371

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 08:39 PM

Very nice i like how the barrel under it holds the darts like a real shotgun. Very nice.

Edited by lazer371, 22 January 2009 - 08:42 PM.

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#13 mystefansdontflystraight

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 08:49 PM

Awesme as usual, split. What kind of ranges are you getting out of this beast? The only thing that concerns me is the shot which looked like it dropped significantly after 25ft. Still, me want one.
Am I the only one who thinks this guy should be made a contributor?
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QUOTE(Blacksunshine @ Dec 24 2009, 02:15 PM) View Post

QUOTE(white moonlight @ Dec 23 2009, 01:29 PM) View Post

It's just screaming to be rearloading...

I seen a movie about that once.



#14 Echnalaid

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 09:01 PM

Am I the only one who thinks this guy should be made a contributor?

You're not the only one.

Good show, good show.

Perhaps a link to a site where we can purchase one?
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#15 Split

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 10:04 PM

I got mine off of ebay, in a buy it now auction. Only $35 shipped, but it came with no paintballs, which is no problem for us.

Like I said, the weight on the dart was terribly off center, which is why is corkscrews down so fast. Guns with such a fast air delivery system (maximizer, maxshot, pistol splat, this) can be really temperamental with darts.

As for the inline clip, yeah it just holds darts, but even if I shake it as hard as I can, the dart won't fall out. The linked sheath idea is a really good one though. Thanks; I may yet have to try that.

Haven't tested shotgun ranges on my shotgun yet, but I'm sure they're not more than 50 flat or anything. I rarely use it, but it's always nice to have the option.

Thanks for all of the feedback, this whole thing had a lot of planning involved in the breech. Figuring out a way to eliminate all of that dead space while creating a removable, efficient seal taking into consideration assembling was quite an enjoyable feat.
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#16 TantumBull

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 10:18 PM

This thing is just screaming deodorant clip.
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#17 VACC

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 10:31 PM

This thing is just screaming deodorant clip.

Deodorant clips, as I believe FA has attested, are impractical in war situations.

Split, that's awesome. It looks like a lot of fun.

VACC
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#18 TantumBull

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Posted 22 January 2009 - 11:18 PM

This thing is just screaming deodorant clip.

Deodorant clips, as I believe FA has attested, are impractical in war situations.

Split, that's awesome. It looks like a lot of fun.

VACC


Really? How come? I've never been to a war (will be going to W@M and WALL this summer) so I don't see why. Are they too flimsy? Or do they jam too much?
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#19 smeagolsaur

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 12:32 AM

Stop wearing rings. Thank you.
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#20 VACC

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 08:59 AM

Really? How come? I've never been to a war (will be going to W@M and WALL this summer) so I don't see why. Are they too flimsy? Or do they jam too much?


Because they are gravity fed and any running or general jostling may cause them to misfeed. FA created them for his assasin games where that was less of an issue.

Split, with a nice long barrel, wouldn't a slightly looser fitting dart work a little better? Tell me at least you can fire none fat-ass darts out of this thing. Compatability is a beauitiful thing.
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#21 k9turrent

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 10:21 AM

Are these ranges with the stock spring? Cause I just pick this up.
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QUOTE View Post

That's about it. And thanks Angela who helped me with these pictures.. It looks huge in her hands.


HOLY CRAP!

FU ALL

#22 Split

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 02:55 PM

Split, with a nice long barrel, wouldn't a slightly looser fitting dart work a little better? Tell me at least you can fire none fat-ass darts out of this thing. Compatibility is a beautiful thing.

Yeah, like I said in the writeup, you can nest whatever barrel you want in it. Or you can use an identical 19/32" breech as an insert, so that you don't have to worry about darts not being pushed into the barrel as easily. The overall breech has to be 5/8" though.

Work better? I doubt it. Dart and barrel fit are a huge topic, but the way I see it, you can get the same range through a lot of of different combinations, but certain ones have certain perks. Like my darts - if they're made right, I was able to take 2" off of the ideal barrel length on my pistol splat, which really helps on the size when it comes to the speedloader. If I needed to brass an airgun for my darts though, I'd probably need to use 5/8" brass.

Yeah, stock spring.

I was contemplating clipping this, and it wouldn't be all that difficult, but I personally prefer my guns without clips. I find in a war situation, reloading a clip after 6 shots, or however many, is far less practical than just being able to load 12 shots one at a time.
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#23 VACC

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 03:06 PM

Work better? I doubt it. Dart and barrel fit are a huge topic, but the way I see it, you can get the same range through a lot of of different combinations, but certain ones have certain perks. Like my darts - if they're made right, I was able to take 2" off of the ideal barrel length on my pistol splat, which really helps on the size when it comes to the speedloader. If I needed to brass an airgun for my darts though, I'd probably need to use 5/8" brass.


I guess if you never plan on using any darts aside form the ones you make, it's not a problem. I generally plan on being able to use more than one variety of darts in my blasters, but that is very possibly something unique to me.
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#24 Split

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 03:15 PM

What can I say? You're a very unique little guy.
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#25 mystefansdontflystraight

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Posted 23 January 2009 - 03:35 PM

Are these ranges with the stock spring? Cause I just pick this up.


Really, I DEMAND TO KNOW WHERE!!!!!
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QUOTE(Blacksunshine @ Dec 24 2009, 02:15 PM) View Post

QUOTE(white moonlight @ Dec 23 2009, 01:29 PM) View Post

It's just screaming to be rearloading...

I seen a movie about that once.




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