16 replies to this topic

[AirApache]

Before I modded my NF, everything was normal, so I didn't pay attention to anything, like sound and such. But now that I've modified it, I'm wondering about a few things:
1. Spring sound: After shooting, I can hear the spring sound for a few seconds. It makes a vibrating hum, not TOO loud, but nevertheless it pricked my concern.

2. Occasional misfire: Once every so often, my dart will simply flop out. (does this have anything to do with the order of loading/cocking the gun?)

3. Trigger: Before cocking, I have to pull the trigger almost its full extent before I feel it "firing." When cocked, the trigger is only BARELY pulled to fire. So little is it, that I have to be careful when using the light that I don't accidentally fire the gun. My friend has a NF too, but he needs to pull it almost the full length to fire it.

-AirApache

[1313]

First, 1.My nightfinder does the same thing, im not sure why, but its probably because the spring is hitting the barrel much harder now, causing it to vibrate much more than before. If thats the case, thats probably gonna do anything major to your NF. No idea on the other two.

Edited by 1313, 13 May 2004 - 07:20 PM.

[CustomSnake202]

You having to pull back the trigger to cock it doesn't sound very good. I've brass modded two NFs and the work perfectly fine. I get the same hum also. What kind of material did you use for the barrel?

[AirApache]

No, I believe you misunderstood me. I cock it normally. I'm just saying that if I pretend to shoot the gun when it isn't cocked, I have to pull the trigger almost the full extent before I feel the click of it "shooting." But when it's cocked, I only have to pull a tiny bit. I used 4" brass. It works nice, besides those problems. I get 50-65 feet with stock darts, no bands.
-AirApache

Edited by AirApache, 13 May 2004 - 07:36 PM.

[texmustache]

1. I assume you've taken the huge air restrictor out of the nite finder, yes? I've gone through 4 so far, and i think the rattling sound comes from taking out the restrictor...this makes the plunger tube longer than normal, so the plunger goes extra far and bounces around. Personally, i just leave it in and drill holes in it.

2. I've run into this as well. I think that the O-Ring sometimes doesn't make a good seal, so this is what causes that, i believe.

[AirApache]

Thanks for the input guys. However, I must suck at writing. The sound from the spring is the same as if you hit something metal...It's like a sound vibration (think music). I didn't remove any parts, but I drilled a hole through the plunger restrictor. But - I'm glad to know that my NF isn't too disfunctional or something . If anyone can help me on No. 3 that would be great! As for number two, tex...that would be a good conclusion. I don't know, maybe I'll fuddle around with it later. Thanks!
-AirApache

Edited by AirApache, 13 May 2004 - 08:56 PM.

[Oroku Saki]

I modded one of my Nite Finders, and had the same spring problem. Next time I get around to taking it apart, I will see what may be causing it. Maybe it's from something that is not placed in the gun properly.

For number 3, have you tried checking the positioning of the trigger mechanism? It seems to me that the mechanism may have been put back in incorrectly after the Nite Finder was put back together. You may need to take it apart again, and make sure the trigger is placed just like when you first took it apart.

[GeneralPrimevil]

Even when my NF was stock, it still had the "vibrating" sound of the spring. I've given it a Crayola barrel and a three-inch section of 1/2 inch PVC fitted a half inch on the Crayola (removable barrel=quicker reloads), put a 3/8 inch hole in the cap-thing, added 2 3 band chains and 1 2 band chain, and it too has the very small trigger pull. It only has to be pulled 1/8 of an inch before it fires. So I think that this may just be because of added pressure on the catch. Oh yeah, and the ringing is still there. It's so loud now, though, that my friend can hear it 15 feet away when it's fired. I'll have a look-see at the internals after school (sucks being 13), I need to fix a few things while its open anyway. I might see if i can do some sound wrapping also. That should make it quieter.

Edited by GeneralPrimevil, 14 May 2004 - 06:23 AM.

[Techno-Dann]

From what I've seen, that noise is due to the fact that the spring, when it's relaxed, is shorter than the plunger tube assembly it fits in. After firing, the spring is still moving, and it vibrates and makes that sproing sound. It's nothing to worry about, but if you want it stopped, you could put foam strip beween the spring and the plunger head, and that might fix it.

My NFs both have had their flow restrictors removed, and one of them has a copper barrel, and the other has the stock barrel.

And yes, my triggers are really touchy when they're cocked as well. I'd guess that it's because of the way the plunger catch is shaped. I'll look into that tonight, and get back to you on it.

[THIRST]

I dont have much time so if any of you already answered thse, boo hoo...

1. I read Tex's post, and, no, thast not the reason. I have several NF's with the airrestrctors drilled, but left in. It still vibrates.

It's perfectly normal, its just the previous restrictors actuallt restricted the air, and made it very hard for anything to come out. Because of this, the plunger was moving slower, hit with less force, preventing the vibrations.

The vibrations are just the plunger hitting the end of the plunger tube with force, that simple.

2. A spring guns firing mechanism is pretty standard, and when you fire/cock it, nothing really changes about it. Nothing should be preventing the dart to be firing. If you think that 1 ouy of every few produces less air, than thats not the case.

It was either a bad dart, or it didnt have a good seal in the barrel, allowiong most of the air to rush past it.

3. NF's naturally have long trigger pulls, nothing to worry about. Unless you want to put sheet metal along the sides of the triggr which hits the chatch mech. (allowing it to reach the mech. in less time) than theres nothing you can do about it.

Hope I was of help Apache.

THIRST

[Vintage]

After modding my nitefinder (yes I found one and yes I was courageous) mine makes the same noise. But I seem to remember it doing that before I modded it.

All that really changed was that it also makes the noise without a dart loaded. It makes sense, because I think the air restrictor muffled the sound when a dart was not loaded.

Thirst - He meant that the trigger pull is short. My trigger pull is short as well, but sufficient to still use the light beam (just get used to it, or don't use it).

Concerning the occasional dart flop, what kind of barrel are you using? And how long is it? Are you using stefans or stock micros? Otherwise my best bet is the same as Thirst.

Or you might want to lube the plunger tube. It could be the seal of the plunger, because the plunger works as most pumps. It lets air in when you pull it back, and forces air out the front when you release it with a trigger pull. If the o-ring isn't sealing well, that could be the cause of the occasional flopping dart.

~Vintage

[THIRST]

yes I found one

Ive heard you say that several times regarding nitefiners, and im curious: Ehere do you live, and are there manyt there? They just came out, and theyre everywhere here.

He meant that the trigger pull is short

Not really, the ones with the lightbeams always seem to have a shorter triogger pull, simply because the trigger is already pressed down the maximum without firing it. When you pull a little more, it fires. It may seem really short, because your not used to firing with the lightbeam down, because you usually arent pressing down the trigger before firing on other guns.

THIRST

[Vintage]

Ive heard you say that several times regarding nitefiners, and im curious: Ehere do you live, and are there manyt there? They just came out, and theyre everywhere here.

I live in Minnesota. I went on a big store search one Saturday, and all three of the stores I went to had none: Target, Toys R Us, Walmart. I guess they must have been out at the time, because last week I went to the same Target, and lo and behold they had 6.

Not really, the ones with the lightbeams always seem to have a shorter triogger pull, simply because the trigger is already pressed down the maximum without firing it. When you pull a little more, it fires. It may seem really short, because your not used to firing with the lightbeam down, because you usually arent pressing down the trigger before firing on other guns.

3. Trigger: Before cocking, I have to pull the trigger almost its full extent before I feel it "firing." When cocked, the trigger is only BARELY pulled to fire. So little is it, that I have to be careful when using the light that I don't accidentally fire the gun.

It seems he was saying that he barely has to pull the trigger to fire the gun. Yes, he is talking about the distance between the light activation and the firing, but I think he was concerned that the overall pull is too short to effectually use the light.

~Vintage

Edited by Vintage, 14 May 2004 - 03:33 PM.

[GeneralPrimevil]

I pulled apart my NF and found something that worries me; extensive wear on the plunger tube bracket eyes. They have mishapen in the four days that I've had an increase in force on the plunger. The shape of the original circle has turned into what resembles an egg shape. My guess is that since I had the end of the plunger tube cemented in, that the force of the plunger against the cap must be moved to the bracket eyes. Normally the stock barrel would keep the plunger tube from moving, but since the tube can move a bit freely on mine, it just warped the screw holes (eyes). It's not too much of a worry right now, but it makes my NF fire 3 inches upward at 7 feet, even when the gun is held flat on a table. Eventually I expect those to break on mine. Does anyone else have this problem? I wouldn't be surprised if you did. Since I'm going to be working with some metal this weekend, or next, I might reinforce the catch, plunger shaft, and rear of the gun where the spring has force applied to. I might also make a new plunger tube. Sounds like alot of work, but oh well.

[AirApache]

Heh, I'm glad you guys are helping. You guys have cleared a bunch of my suspicions.
1) It seems that the spring sound is normal for most people's guns.
I am not too worried about that anymore, and I may just add some foam on the spring in occasional places to muffle the sound.

2)This problem has been fixed. I epoxied up the area around the restrictor. When I drilled the hole, I didn't realize that air could escape out of the other three side holes. This was actually fixed before I posted, but I didn't realize that I consistantly had regular shots, I thought I was just lucky. Thanks, though.

3) I never thought about the whole light/spacing thing. I closed my eyes while shooting this time, and it felt normal, though it took less of a pull then when the gun was unloaded. If I'm going to use my light from now on, here's what I'll do. I'll hold my hand a couple inches in front of it, and pull lightly till it turns on. Then I don't need to worry about shooting the gun when I just want to use the light.

Techno-Dan, I opened my NF up again, and looked at the spring. Perhaps, If I reshape the length of the catch part I can make it so that the pull is longer. However, I don't want to start shaving the plastic down yet, so if you find a better way, let me know.
Thanks guys!
-AirApache

[Tinkerer]

okey, about #3, I believe I have a (possibly) different conclusion. when you cock the Night finder, a spring loaded rectangular bracket is pushed down into the slot on top of the cocking handle. when you pull the trigger, it pushes the bracket up with a wedge and that releases the plunger, the light is activated when one electrical terminal is pushed down by the trigger to meet the other. and that is the reason that while cocked, the trigger pull is much shorter. While when the gun is not cocked, the trigger doesn't really have anything to do, and goes further back. (Bad analogy, but it's the best I could think of) I hope that helps.

[Techno-Dann]

From what I've seen, the rectangular part that catches the plunger shaft is angled where it grabs the wedge on the plunger shaft. Because of that angle, there is next to nothing actually holding back the plunger, so it bareley needs to move before the plunger can move. If you were to fill in that wedge, you'd give the NF a longer trigger pull.