7 replies to this topic

[Penna]

Does anybody know of a spring that hurts less for a homemade. I usually play indoor matches and I don't want to hurt other people while playing. I'm not the most experienced with homemade making and I don't know if I should instead change a different part so please correct me if I am wrong.

[ToadBrews]

One option is to just use whatever spring you're currently using but reduce the length, which will make it less powerful if you compress it the same amount. You could also build your own air restrictor.

[CaptainSlug]

You can just use a much shorter barrel for indoor play. That way you still have the power needed to fire from a hopper, but the dart doesn't have enough time in the barrel it needs to reach a higher speed before leaving it.

 

Otherwise K25 springs are interchangeable with K26 springs and are rated 5ish pounds lower in total compression load.

 

The other option is to put multiple notches on the plunger rod so you can dial the priming stroke down a bit. I did that with the earliest revision of the plusbow when it was still based on the AR-15 buffer springs, which was even stiffer than a K26 and more difficult to prime quickly.

 

 

 

One option is to just use whatever spring you're currently using but reduce the length, which will make it less powerful if you compress it the same amount. You could also build your own air restrictor.

 

I don't recommend doing that because if the plunger tube is setup for a longer spring a much shorter one will rattle around in the dead space that results from cutting it short. If you don't file your cut ends down, the spring could put dents and gouges inside your plunger tube when it rattles around.

[ToadBrews]

 

I don't recommend doing that because if the plunger tube is setup for a longer spring a much shorter one will rattle around in the dead space that results from cutting it short. If you don't file your cut ends down, the spring could put dents and gouges inside your plunger tube when it rattles around.

 

Yeah, I probably should have explicitly said not to just trim the spring and leave everything else the same, mea culpa.

[Penna]

What would be a good shorter barrel length? Also I am planning to use a rainbow catch, so how would I make it notch selectable?

[CaptainSlug]

2 or 3 inch barrel. That's less than a third of what is typical.

 

You add catches to the plunger rod in 3/4" spacings behind the normal location. If it's omni-directional that just means making multiple segments of spacers with a chamfer on their rearward sides.

 

This is what the Rev. 1 plusbow plunger rod looked like.

 

[daveyourself]

I usually play indoor matches and I don't want to hurt other people while playing.

 

Somewhat off topic but... where are you playing indoor in the Bay Area?

[Penna]

Just in my house with some friends