8 replies to this topic

[Anthrax13]

So, I have a few questions about making stefans, because my last batch was shit and I really need to make some better ones

1. What brand of foam fits perfectly in cpvc, and where can I get it? I used it in my first ever batch of stefans, and it worked amazing, but I forgot the brand. My local Home Depot replaced all theirs with frost king crap that is way too tight (unfortunatly, I realized that after I made about 100 of them, so i just use them in my magstrike.)

2. What barrel materials does red foam fit perfectly in, and where can I get red foam? (other than from a NIC member)

3. Should I use #8 washers, or copper BB's for weights? I have been using airsoft pellets, and they aren't heavy enough.

I am not interested in buying stefans from anybody, so please don't post and try to sell me stuff.

Thanks, any feedback is appreciated.

[neonpistols]

I use copper BB's much easier and you can control how heavy or light you want them.

[Renegademilitia15]

I agree with neon pistols, I use two copper BB's in my darts for everything from my magstrike to my RFS and they fly laser straight. Also, Hereticorp's foam is pretty groovy, as it fits my PETG perfectly. And its pretty dang cheap.

Edit: I just went to Hereticorps stefan/foam selling thread and it said this in the description of his foam and barrel materials.

CPVC - Tight fit, might need stretching for a good fit

Edited by Renegademilitia15, 24 February 2009 - 01:12 PM.

[hereticorp]

1. No brand of foam fits perfectly in anything consistently. People who make FBR are not concerned with exact ODs, they're just concerned with general size. Frost King is the only thing I've heard of that fits in CPVC reliably, although some people say that the Red foam available in the Trading forum fits well.

Mile High Black, which I normally use to make my stefans is way too tight in CPVC and I'm not interested in stretching it being as I use PETG and Brass for barrel material, but you're welcome to purchase a length to try out when I get the new roll in. Which should be today or tomorrow.

I have a roll of Log Home foam on order now that MAY fit CPVC, but I won't know until I test it, which should be in the next week or so, the thing should be here today or tomorrow. If it fits well, I will have that foam for sale along with the Mile High that was mentioned previously.

2. Check the post in the trading forum for how the red foam fits, and as far as anyone but McMouse or whoever is selling it knows, you can't get Red foam anywhere. And of course he's not going to tell anyone where he gets it, that would be counter productive. I'm the oddball in that I tell people where I get my foam. If you can find the red foam somewhere, please share.

3. Copperhead Copper Coated BBs are perfect Stefan weights. If you want something for a seriously powered blaster like a BBBB or a +Bow then you'll want to go with Daisy 1/4" Steel Slingshot Shot which is about four times heavier than a Copperhead BB.

There are brands which are more, or less, consistent across batches and more likely to have the same fit as previous batches. But your best bet is always to buy foam from a single batch which has already been measured and tested by a nerfer.

Erm... Measured and tested? Honestly, I seriously doubt anyone will test each length of foam that comes off a roll, I sure as hell don't. I make blanks for myself and use those for testing, but I don't test when I sell the foam, people need to understand that fit is a guideline, not a hard science. Foam is malleable, you can stretch it to make it smaller and heat it to make it larger, you will NEVER find a material that is perfect every time.

Edited by hereticorp, 24 February 2009 - 02:06 PM.

[Draconis]

I use CPVC pretty consistently in my springers, so I just take a ten foot section and drag a length of FBR through. I let the FBR sit inside for a couple weeks, and then make my stefans. I find that it not only makes the diameter pretty consistent, but also straightens the foam pretty well. Wide foam becomes stretched a little, and conforms nicely to the inside of the pipe, thus making it more dense as well.

[Carbon]

3. Copperhead Copper Coated BBs are perfect Stefan weights. If you want something for a seriously powered blaster like a BBBB or a +Bow then you'll want to go with Daisy 1/4" Steel Slingshot Shot which is about four times heavier than a Copperhead BB.

Gonna put in a word for 3/0 fishing weights. Slingshot ammo is too weighty for what I genenrally use, and BBs are too light.

As to foam: match the barrel to the foam, not the other way around.

Find a place that sells FBR locally. Buy some. Then, find out what size tubing it fits in. Then, barrel your guns based on that foam. A single brand can have some variations, but if you stick with the same source, you should be fine. I've been using the same foam source for three years, and it's still performing well. /knock on wood.

[basser]

I have been buying FBR in this plastic purple bag from True Value, for two years now and it consistently fit my CPVC barrels perfectly. If you find that foam too tight then, shoot that bullet three or four times and it should then fit the CPVC a little more loose.

[BRF726]

I have found that you need a heavier dart for high power guns while a lighter one for lower power.

A BBBB can take a 3/0 fishing weight stefan and fling it 100 feet accurately, but it can fling a 2 BB'd stefan 130 feet sloppy and curvy.

So more weight makes accuracy, while less weight makes distance.

Through extensive work with BB's I like to use 2 BB's for all springers, and 3 BB's for all air guns. it seems to work well for me.

[hereticorp]

You don't measure and test each roll? I refer to production batches, where a batch is generally rather a lot more than one roll. It's all the foam produced on a single machine from when it is setup until something has to stop it. There are almost certain to be production batch markings on every roll, and if you were to buy more than one roll at a time you might be fortunate to get them all from the same batch. Or not.

But I don't think we are really disagreeing here at all.

Nope, I do test each new roll I get, just not every piece off that roll.