603 replies to this topic

[Shrub]

Around 2", but couldn't you use pliers and pull the post out on a NF or SSPB and measure it yourself?

[The Nerf Devil]

I believe that this is a new discovery, if not tell me. If your cs style darts fail a lot and you don't want to use no more nails, use amazing goop, I have used it for many darts and have fired them out of many guns many times and have not had one that I let sit till the goop was fully dried break on me.

Edited by The_Nerf_Devil, 05 May 2009 - 06:55 PM.

[Shrub]

Do Daisy Zinc Plated BB's weigh more than Copperhead BB's?

[nerfnut23]

No, they are slightly lighter, in fact. It is insignificant, use either, whichichever is cheaper. I, personally, tailor my darts to my guns. For teh most part, I use a 3/0 fishing weight for a mid-range gun, a single BB for weak guns, such as the Recon and NF. But for teh beasts of guns (Hellfire, the surprise gun that I am working on, BBBBs, and other alarmingly powerful guns) I like 1/4" slingshot hunting shot.

And, also, DO NOT derail the thread about the gun I was referring to. PM me if you wish, and I will tell you if you promise not to tell anyone. If you tell anyone, I will personally shoot you with it.

[nerkum]

These are the darts I have been creating lately. They are a bit more expensive than normal stefans, but I hate straightening fbr and Nerf Orange is super easy to spot with a UV flashlight.

Materials needed:
½” Felt Disc (Mcmasters 8771k61 for black)
3/0 Lead Fishing Weights
Plumbers Goop
Any old Nerf Darts you have (I am using Taggers)


Step one: Rip the Rubber tip off your dart (you can cut it as well if you desire shorter darts)


Step two: Put a large glob of Plumbers Goop into the center of the hollow dart.


Step three: Place 3/0 fishing weight into center and press it into the Plumbers Goop.


Step four: Put a layer of Plumbers Goop over the Fishing Weight.


Step five: Place a Felt Disc over the tip of the dart.


Step six: Place the dart on its tip and let it dry for at least 12 hours.

[Shrub]

Very neat idea.

Wow I was sorta thinking about that but with actual fbr. I might try that some time.

[blakierocks]

I use the fishing weight method. If you wanna see my vid on how to make click the link.

[flashflint]

I recently made an instructable to show the method of making foam tipped darts that are deemed suitable for my hvz group's games. Take a look.
http://www.instructa...s-from-scratch/

[Split]

These are "Bowler" darts:


The tips are molded domes from Mcmaster part number 95495K121, and with the little lip they have, they're almost perfectly 1/2" outside diameter.

The construction of these is pretty simple:
Make blanks


Add weights and hotglue over the weights


Add a dome, and hold until the hot glue dries.

Pros of these darts:
Quickly makes lots of darts with consistent tips
Very very durable
Easier to use heavier weights with than felt disks, since the tips are out of plastic

Cons:
Slightly more expensive per dart ($7 per 121 domes vs $6 for 500 felt disks)
The outside rows and columns of the sheet of domes have the lip a bit off center, and darts made with those domes do not fly well at all. Not using them though removes 24 tips, about 20% per sheet.

I have no intention of making more of these in micro sizes right now. The clear version of these may be without the lip, and may make better darts, so I encourage people to try those (part number 95495K123). There is also white, which would look bad ass on black darts.

I will be trying these tips in my experiments with nanos soon.

If anyone tries these, please let me know. I'm interested in hearing others' results.

Edited by Split, 22 June 2009 - 11:52 AM.

[chat2]

[quote name='cxwq' post='58451' date='Jun 29 2005, 09:45 AM']
Hit the dart tip with an ice cube after putting the glue on rather than dipping it in ice water. That way you keep the dart vertical and you can flatten and shape the dome more precisely. I've been doing this - and talking about it on the forums - for 4+ years.

Edited by ch@2, 07 July 2009 - 12:03 PM.

[bigred1rifleman]

Well I just went to Ace and I found these while I was there.

Could You Post The Packaging?

Also..How much Were They? How many Did It Come With?

$4.79 for 16 of them. You can buy them here.

Sham a lam a ding dong. Search next time, that took me two minutes. They're obviously waaaaay too expensive to actually use. Oh, and Merz', your darts are used by ninjas. I've only lost one so far and they shoot more accurately than any other darts I've shot.

Finn

Edited by bigred1rifleman, 05 September 2009 - 09:19 PM.

[minsc]

I present to you: THUPERSTAR STEFANS!!!

Seriously though, I came up with these because I wanted them to be easier to find and tell apart from other people's, but not involve messy painting.

Here is what you need.

That is stefans, super glue, and Hambly Studios star stickers. The stickers are $1.49 for a pack of 64 at Michaels, which is an arts and craft store. They were in the scrapbook section.

All you do is peel off the sticker, put a tiny tiny dab of super glue in the center of the sticker, and stick it on the bottom of your stefan. Then press it down on a flat surface for a couple seconds.


There's multiple colors as well.



As far as durability goes, as long as the sticker is centered its fine. I fired the red ones from tight fitting CPVC barrels about ten times into a blanket, and the stickers were untouched. On one of them the tip actually broke off. The super glue sticker combo is strong and light enough to not affect the dart flight. Because most darts land tip down and facing away from you, these are pretty easy to see in grass.

[Ambience 327]

Very interesting idea minsc. The foil-type star stickers you used would certainly be very easy to spot. Some guys might worry about looking like a sissy or a nerd for using darts with starts on them, but I'd just laugh and pick up my darts. Maybe I'll try these with some hearts, rainbows or unicorns?

Of course, my 2-year-old daughter will be even more inclined to play with my Nerf guns and darts if I start using pretty stickers on them...

[atomatron]

That's interesting, I usually just put a dash on the back of my darts with a sharpie. It doesn't make them that much more visible but helps to identify them in the collection pile.

[cannotaim]

I present to you: THUPERSTAR STEFANS!!!

As far as durability goes, as long as the sticker is centered its fine. I fired the red ones from tight fitting CPVC barrels about ten times into a blanket, and the stickers were untouched. On one of them the tip actually broke off. The super glue sticker combo is strong and light enough to not affect the dart flight. Because most darts land tip down and facing away from you, these are pretty easy to see in grass.

Shoot them at something other than blankets. Then you can really see how durable they are.

Edited by cannotaim, 14 July 2009 - 03:13 PM.

[minsc]

Shot them at something other than blankets. Then you can really see how durable they are.

I don't think "shotting" them at anything harder would prove a point honestly. My point with the blanket test is that the stickers stay on longer than the actual usuable life of the dart, even under the best conditions.

Edit: Yep, Ambience nailed it on the head. The tips are just regular ol' hot glue and a copper plated bb.

Edited by minsc, 15 July 2009 - 06:44 PM.

[Ambience 327]

I think cannotaim may not have understood where these stars are on the dart. They are not on the front, on top of the hot glue dome, where they would receive punishment from impact. They are on the back of the dart, glued directly to the foam, where they can be easily spotted when lying in the grass tip-down. It doesn't matter what they are fired at - only that they stay attached when fired.

[cannotaim]

So they were already stefans? I thought the stars held the weights. My bad.

[Ambience 327]

Yep - these are basically just normal stefans. His star stickers are there for only two reasons:

1) Ease of identification of his darts among others.
2) Slightly easier to find his darts in the grass - because the star will sparkle in the sunlight.

[Mehku]

I just wanted to throw this out there. I did a little research to see what gasses were actually leeched out of burning foam, and you may be a bit surprised.

-carbon monoxide
-oxides of nitrogen

These fumes are obviously very bad for your health.

Here is some tips for when you burn your foam:

-Wear a respirator - Simple dust masks won't protect you.

-Only make stefans in a ventilated area, such as a garage.

[Hipponater]

I just wanted to throw this out there. I did a little research to see what gasses were actually leeched out of burning foam, and you may be a bit surprised.

-carbon monoxide
-oxides of nitrogen

These fumes are obviously very bad for your health.

Here is some tips for when you burn your foam:

-Wear a respirator - Simple dust masks won't protect you.

-Only make stefans in a ventilated area, such as a garage.

If you're burning the foam, you're making stefan production harder than it has to be, get a low temp glue gun ($3 at a local craft store) and you'll be set.

I'd like to see this "research" though, both chemistry instinct and a quick search in this PDF show that oxides of nitrogen are not found, and carbon monoxide is expected and only slight.

You really don't need a respirator when making stefans, burning polyethylene (what FBR is made from) generally produces CO (a little bit), CO2, H2O, and other various things in much lower quantities.


I just purchased some acrylic paint to paint the backs of my darts with, mainly because I'm not cool enough for minsc's stars. I got two colors so I can identify heavier weighted darts from the lighter ones. Also, the bright orange and blue will show up pretty easily in the grass.

[Wes7143]

Or, if you're using white foam, it doesn't melt. It just pops and compresses. The only time I got it to melt was with a nichrom wire. A glowing nichrom wire. Hooked up to a car battery.

The only foam that I know of that melts really badly is Mile High foam, and if you're using that, then you're already stupid, and shouldn't worry about damaging yourself.

[spartan062]

Or, if you're using white foam, it doesn't melt. It just pops and compresses. The only time I got it to melt was with a nichrom wire. A glowing nichrom wire. Hooked up to a car battery.

What is "nichrom wire"? I have never heard of it.

Besides, I've melted plenty of foam and look at me. . .

[minsc]

I just purchased some acrylic paint to paint the backs of my darts with, mainly because I'm not cool enough for minsc's stars. I got two colors so I can identify heavier weighted darts from the lighter ones. Also, the bright orange and blue will show up pretty easily in the grass.

It's ok, not everyone is. Just kidding, I figured they would be a relatively cheap and easy alternative to paint, although I'm sure paint is cheaper on a per dart basis. I heard that paint can gum up barrels and I can pretty much make star stephans anywhere.

On a side note, I started making some stefans like this guy's instructable, and put the stars on the front. Except for the painting part, that is. I found the darts to be very durable and the stickers still stay on because of the dab of superglue, but start getting mangled after about the 6th shot into a wall.

Edit: Uh Oh, 99th post. I suppose I should do a write up or something for the next one.

Edited by minsc, 26 July 2009 - 12:38 AM.

[yahman1254]

Does the Polyethylene FBR offered by McMaster fit 17/32 brass well? Sorry if this has been asked before...