32 replies to this topic

[therealnerfjunkies]

Lost felt pads is generally the failure

To make these more durable, maybe you could apply a little bit of goop to the dart BEFORE you apply the felt pad? I know that no one likes the stench of goop, nor do they like waiting over-night to use their darts, but it could work.
One more question: Do you sell your delicious foam to those who make AMIORS? I saw how awesome this pink foam was, and I would really like to have some. If not, then that's okay, I have a back-up plan for foam.

Edited by therealnerfjunkies, 04 January 2013 - 06:27 PM.

[snickers]

To make these more durable, maybe you could apply a little bit of goop to the dart BEFORE you apply the felt pad? I know that no one likes the stench of goop, nor do they like waiting over-night to use their darts, but it could work.
One more question: Do you sell your delicious foam to those who make AMIORS? I saw how awesome this pink foam was, and I would really like to have some. If not, then that's okay, I have a back-up plan for foam.

What are you talking about? I love the smell of goop. Goop would work but it is very hard when cured. If too much goop was applied to a felt pad, the excess goop oozing over would act just like an offset washers.

Edited by snickers, 04 January 2013 - 07:36 PM.

[therealnerfjunkies]

What are you talking about? I love the smell of goop. Goop would work but it is very hard when cured. If too much goop was applied to a felt pad, the excess goop oozing over would act just like an offset washers.

Umm, I thought that goop smelled pretty bad, but whatever. Opinions to opinions, I guess.
First off, you misunderstood. I do not apply the goop to the felt pad. You apply it to the tip of the dart before you put the felt on. You put the goop in the middle without the felt pad on. You do so with a toothpick. You dip a tiny bit of the toothpick inside the goop. Then you apply it.
I always thought that goop was softer than most adhesives when cured. I know it is softer then hot glue when cured. Hot glue is pretty hard (hehe) when dried. If you don't use goop, then you could use superglue, but I thought goop was softer. Superglue is very thin(if that is the correct way of putting it[?]), though. Can you think of any adhesives that are softer? I'm kind of tired right now and I really can't think of anything else.
I don't want to get into a big argument about which adhesive is better.

Edited by therealnerfjunkies, 05 January 2013 - 02:59 AM.

[snickers]

Umm, I thought that goop smelled pretty bad, but whatever. Opinions to opinions, I guess.
First off, you misunderstood. I do not apply the goop to the felt pad. You apply it to the tip of the dart before you put the felt on. You put the goop in the middle without the felt pad on. You do so with a toothpick. You dip a tiny bit of the toothpick inside the goop. Then you apply it.
I always thought that goop was softer than most adhesives when cured. I know it is softer then hot glue when cured. Hot glue is pretty hard (hehe) when dried. If you don't use goop, then you could use superglue, but I thought goop was softer. Superglue is very thin(if that is the correct way of putting it[?]), though. Can you think of any adhesives that are softer? I'm kind of tired right now and I really can't think of anything else.
I don't want to get into a big argument about which adhesive is better.

No, I never misunderstood you. What I said was applied to goop being placed on the putty, then the felt being put on. Super glue doesn't adhere to the putty, and makes the felts bad loose it's flexibility.

[therealnerfjunkies]

No, I never misunderstood you. What I said was applied to goop being placed on the putty, then the felt being put on. Super glue doesn't adhere to the putty, and makes the felts bad loose it's flexibility.

Ah, I misunderstood you. I guess I don't know of any adhesives that would make this safe. I have never used superglue in this situation and I was spouting out random crap.
I have a question for everyone: Do you know of any adhesive that could be applied under the felt to make it more durable?

[Elmo1234]

I like this design! I will try it when I get one of the dartsmithing kits.

[Crater]

Ah, I misunderstood you. I guess I don't know of any adhesives that would make this safe. I have never used superglue in this situation and I was spouting out random crap.
I have a question for everyone: Do you know of any adhesive that could be applied under the felt to make it more durable?

Silicone glue? It's usually pretty flexible.

[Draconis]

Okay, here is a little update on my earlier post:

So building on the excellent development showing that the caulking putty becomes flowable at higher (low temp glue guns) temperatures, I decided to build a plunger adapter for the glue gun I was using. The trough tube is K&N Metals 15/32" OD brass tubing, chosen because normal size glue sticks are 7/16" diameter, and I wanted the tube to be nice and snug inside the rubber boot. The plunger rod is a piece of 3/8" aluminum rod, though I would strongly suggest against using it for this, is at makes the other steps more difficult. The plunger head is simply a section of 7/16" OD brass tube soldered over a section of 13/32" tube, then secured through haphazard means to the aluminum. I will probably redesign this shortly.


So the trough tube is cut and flayed open, then placed inside the rubber boot that the glue sticks normally sit in. The rod is placed in the back of the gun.


Once assembled, simply load some putty in to the trough and press the plunger down.



To make the darts, use the hot head of the gun in to the blanks, just as if you were going to insert a metal weight. But don't do that, because that would completely ruin this whole project.



Now simply press the plunger down and dispense the molten putty until the cavity is filled.



Finally, add the felt tip making sure to have good contact between the putty and the felt.







Last step: Complain to self about using random "samples" of foam that had not been properly straightened nor cut well.


Post Script: Man, the red foam is WAY less tolerant of higher temperatures than the beige was. Time to pull out some of the white foam while we wait for the pink to arrive.