603 replies to this topic

[venom213]

I just ordered some 6mm craft foam I'm going to play around with. Will post with details.

Beat you to it. I had some laying around. I'm making batches of both thicknesses of tips. You guys bring up some good points about thickness of the foam. In future batches, I plan on using two sheets of the adhesive backed foam instead of one. I'll just peel the entire back off of one sheet, carefully place it on top of the other sheet (making sure to line it up) and press them together really well. Using different combinations of colors could be a nice way to identify batches, maker, etc. Here is a comparison to the 6mm tip and the 2mm one.



Also, I received this set of punches today. I purchased them off eBay.



taerKitty: Nice find with that weatherstripping. I'll give that a shot soon.

Edited by venom213, 10 March 2011 - 04:55 PM.

[Daniel Beaver]

6mm craft foam?

You guys are huge pussies.

[utahnerf]

Ok guys, I recently ran out of my old foam, and I want a new supplier. I had been using Bestmaterials.com's "MileHigh" black foam, but I do not like the density (squishy as hell, glue would eat it.). I have also used McMaster foam, but as everyone knows, that foam is expensive. I have never tried Loghomestore foam, does anyone like it? I haven't shopped around for foam in like 2 years. Also, I'm sure they still sell colored foam somewhere in the US, even though it is against the law to keep making it. So please, feel free to divulge your foam shopping secrets, any info is helpful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ps: If anyone knows where Ryan found that pink/reddish foam that he is selling at Ohio Revolution, I would LOVE to know, so much easier to find in grass compared to my black/grey foam.

Edited by utahnerf, 19 March 2011 - 12:12 AM.

[taerKitty]

1. Loghome sells white foam that's pretty good. Give it a try.

2. Ryan's pink foam is his custom mass order direct from a manufacturer in China, if I understand properly. He and his cohorts sunk a lot into it, so you may want to just go with them for supplying foam.

3. If you don't like LogHome White or Ryan Pink, then try BestMaterial's HotRodXL Beige. DarthFreyr and I got in a 2500' roll for $200 shipped, and we're selling it for 250' for $20, or $10 for 100'.

[utahnerf]

Thanks for the info! Does any one know the general dart/barrel fit of log home white? Also, how does Log Home compare to Swiftnerf foam?

Edited by utahnerf, 19 March 2011 - 09:19 AM.

[Nerf Gra]

If thats what Ben has been selling then its great foam with fantastic density and its pretty much spring fit in PETG and its too tight for CPVC (at least it is in my CPVC) Would probably be great in brass too.

[Inferno Falcon]

Mcmaster #48855K21 is also a great springer fit for loghome/bigben foam. It fits in 1/2 pvc couplers.

[Ryan201821]

Ps: If anyone knows where Ryan found that pink/reddish foam that he is selling at Ohio Revolution, I would LOVE to know, so much easier to find in grass compared to my black/grey foam.

Unless you have thousands of dollars to blow and a storage unit, we're going to be the only source.

Blanks will be up for sale sometime this week.

Edited by Ryan201821, 20 March 2011 - 08:37 PM.

[b1g13en]

Hey guys, I've always heard if the foam is too tight for your barrel stretching would help. But if you do stretch it wouldn't it gradually pop itself back to its original dimensions? Or when expose to summer heat wouldn't it get fatter again? What does stretching the foam actually do to the foam?

[PVC Arsenal 17]

Here's a question for all you guys before I anger the mods for creating a new thread:

How would the Nerf Community receive a dart alternative that does not use foam as its main constituent? I'm experimenting with pre-made plastic "hulls" that have been weighted and padded to offer similar performance to stefans but require a fraction of the cost and assembly time. They would be fit to the bore of 1/2" sch40 PVC.

Input is appreciated.

[taerKitty]

Safety: If you're willing to take a shot of it out of your most powerful war-legal blaster at 10', I'm game.

Durability: Can it be fired again and again (and a few dozen more 'again's)?

Searchability: Can it be found again and again, etc. in grass, in rough, in wherever you Nerf?

Cost: Will it cost less than $0.05 each? I Nerf because AS and PB are expensive.

Size: If you size it for 1/2" PVC, it's a non-starter for most people. It won't work in hoppers, and your nucking futs if you think everyone is going to rebarrel.

Accessibility: How easy is it for everyone to find the parts to make them? Single source sucks. I should be able to, with guidance, get the parts either at a hardware store, a home improvement depot, or a collection of online merchants and make them.

[PVC Arsenal 17]

@taerKitty:

Your constructive comment is appreciated. In the past you've commented in regard to my [overly elaborate] creations. I'm making an effort to simplify things a bit and for a few months now I've been nurturing a new idea which should demonstrate that. But, I couldn't move forward with it until I found a good form of recreational ammo that wouldn't be as troublesome for autoloaders as typical foam-based darts. Out with it then.

I just saw on one of the airgun/blowgun forums that 20 gauge shotshell wads happen to have a great fit in 1/2" sch40 PVC. Modified wads of all gauges are commonly used as cones in homemade blowgun wire darts. The wads themselves look like promising projectiles once properly weighted and padded.

Here's a picture to give you an idea:

When fired out of a shotgun, the section with the "petals" is actually the front because it contains the shot. I hope to fire them reversed. The petals should offer sufficient drag stabilization and the opposite end should allow easy insertion of a small washer weight and adhesive felt or foam tip for safety. These wads can be had for $0.02 each (500 @ $10) without the aforementioned additions.

Safe? Yes, once you pad the tip.
Durable? At least as durable as stefans.
Searchability? Most wads are translucent white or green as shown.
Cost? $0.02 each plus weight and tips. Under $0.05? I think so.
Accessibility? Numerous stores online, gun shops, outdoor retailers. No major cutting required. Hot glue in a washer, stick on a felt tip, done. Consistent and fast.

Size? Well, I'm not expecting this to be a game changer at all. Only a type of ammo that would meet the demands of autoloading homemades. Feeding soft foam through a mechanism without damage is a hellish task. If I prove that these can work and if the community would accept them, I think they could open up some doors for us if used in tube style magazines.

I'm going to pick up another rifle at Cabela's next weekend so I'll get a variety of wads to try while I'm at it (Yes, I got ahead of myself when I said I was already experimenting, but I promise that's going to happen soon). I'm not getting my hopes up, but their use in blowgun darts is quite reassuring.

Edited by PVC Arsenal 17, 29 October 2011 - 06:35 PM.

[PVC Arsenal 17]

Sorry, delete this.

Edited by PVC Arsenal 17, 29 October 2011 - 06:35 PM.

[TagMaster247]

I've noticed that when you make single bb Stefans, once you have your hot glue on, stick the hot glue side of the FBR into some cold water for about 6 seconds, and they will be *almost* ready to use.

[Nsnerfing]

Yeah that works very well for me too. And also, I found that craft foam may seem softer than felt but it has the same amount of pain.

Edited by Nsnerfing, 21 January 2012 - 01:31 AM.

[KaneTheMediocre]

I thought these were worth a cross-post. Darts made with foam, felt, and silicone, no metal or other hard/rigid materials. These seem to have comparable performance to slugs, and they feed through hoppers. Testing has not been as rigorous as I'd like due to winter, but I'm confident that these are at least good enough to to remove any moral justification for making metal-weighted darts to shoot at people.


http://nerfhaven.com...showtopic=22245

[Guitarzan]

I'm wondering if anybody knows the approximate weight of mcmaster steel balls of various sizes. I'm looking for a weight for glue domed darts thats between the weight of a bb and 1/4" slingshot weight.

[Langley]

Edit: This thread is older than dirt, and all of my own personal contributions are horribly outdated. Most of what you need to know can be found in The U3 Guide to Dart Making by Ryan. If you really want to know how to make home made nerf darts that are accepted at 99% of the wars on this site, read Ryan's How to Make Better Slug Darts. You may also find Slug's original guide to Slug Darts (Part 1 and Part 2) useful although even they have become somewhat outdated.

If you want to see how we did it in the old days when dinosaurs roamed the earth and foam was 5/8" in diameter, you can take a look at these:
http://web.archive.o...evolution.shtml Stefan Mohr's "Evolution of the Nerf Dart", probably the oldest dart guide anyone around here would remember, excepting The Horsemen.
http://nerfhaven.com...?showtopic=1630 the old old LGLF guide.

You're welcome to read the other posts in this thread, but be warned that most of the information is out of date, inaccurate, and/or of little use at current nerf wars.

I updated the information in the first post. There will hopefully be a new dart guide coming soon, but until then, I think I've linked to 99% of what you need to know to make decent darts. If anyone else can come up with additional 'required reading' for new nerfers, feel free to post it.

[jackrabbit]

Found a nice outsourcing website, http://www.alibaba.com

*I also found something close to Kane's pink foam, if not the foam itself in Jiangsu, China:
http://www.alibaba.c...pe_rod_bar.html

*I found another foam dealer who will produce "red,green,blue,yellow etc" foam in Guangdong, China:
http://www.alibaba.c...op_quality.html

*Also found some nice yellow foam in Guangdong, China:
http://www.alibaba.c...thene_tube.html

ALL COMPANIES LISTED HAVE BEEN VERIFIED!

[TagMaster247]

Found a nice outsourcing website, http://www.alibaba.com

*I also found something close to Kane's pink foam, if not the foam itself in Jiangsu, China:
http://www.alibaba.c...pe_rod_bar.html

*I found another foam dealer who will produce "red,green,blue,yellow etc" foam in Guangdong, China:
http://www.alibaba.c...op_quality.html

*Also found some nice yellow foam in Guangdong, China:
http://www.alibaba.c...thene_tube.html

ALL COMPANIES LISTED HAVE BEEN VERIFIED!

If I'm correct, the foam used for Slugs, domes, etc. is closed-cell, whereas this foam is made of silicone raw material. Not sure if you can use this for darts.

Edited by TagMaster247, 25 June 2012 - 07:15 PM.

[Zorns Lemma]

Found a nice outsourcing website, http://www.alibaba.com

You have to buy miles of foam at a time and pay for it shipped across an ocean.

[Bchamp22795]

If I'm correct, the foam used for Slugs, domes, etc. is closed-cell, whereas this foam is made of silicone raw material. Not sure if you can use this for darts.

Only the middle one. All the others are Expanded Polyethylene I think. I'm not sure how the "expanded" affects things though. When I looked it up, some of the stuff looked open cell, some closed cell.

[TagMaster247]

I knew that it didn't look like "regular" foam. And like Zorn said, you have to buy a bunch at a time from that Alibaba site.

[ShaNayNay]

I'm following Kane's method, listed above, on making VANS, and can't figure out a good method to tear the adhesive stickers off of the felt pads with out tearing them nearly in half. Any have any good methods on removing them, or a thread to direct me to?

[Langley]

I'm following Kane's method, listed above, on making VANS, and can't figure out a good method to tear the adhesive stickers off of the felt pads with out tearing them nearly in half. Any have any good methods on removing them, or a thread to direct me to?

I would either PM Kane or post in the VANS thread, since they're not really widely used and only a couple of other people can really offer advice besides Kane. Shmee might be able to tell you something as well.