26 replies to this topic

[frost vectron]

Retiate, I'm glad you brought this topic back because I was just about to post an Addendum to my mod.

Firstly, for your questions:

1) I don't remember, really. I do know that I did not have access to an electric drill at the time (I believe I was 9-11 years old), so I used a hobby knife to cut a circle-esque shape in the front. If you used a drill I think you should be okay going up to some large sizes. Just leave enough meat around the front to withstand some hits. If you're going to replace the spring, I'd suggest you reinforce the front tube somehow because that is effectively the plunger-stop. I used two metal wires (I removed one because it was unnecessary and air-restricting) through a 1/2" PVC coupler epoxied onto the front of the gun as a plunger-stop now.

2) The clamp I am not sure of either. Something fairly small--probably the smallest clamp you can get ahold of. The clamp isn't really necessary--just something for support.

Some other things you might want to know:

The dowel should be longer than the one you see on mine. I took the Rattler nerfing and I always pulled fairly hard on the cluster of barrels and it ended up falling off the dowel a lot of times. Instead, have a longer dowel so you can pull it farther from the gun without it coming off. More travel room is good.

The piping/tubing you use to bridge the CPVC from the air source (gun) to the cluster of barrels is really up to you. I have no standard solution to doing this... so just find something that fits well. I've taken my own advice and used the thick widebody pen as the pipe diameter. I used the rubber grip to seal onto the CPVC barrels as well.

The addendum is just a spring replacement and an improvement of seal between the gun and the barrel clusters (above).





The industrial spring is:

3 1/8" Length
11/16" Outer Diameter
.080 Wire Gauge

and found at ACE Hardware.

The new ranges from before:

Rattler unit: 59 feet (average)
Triple Torch unit: 45 feet (average--the same as before)

EDIT: Why can I never spell Triple Torch correctly on the first try?!

Edited by frost vectron, 28 May 2007 - 10:53 PM.

[Retiate]

Ok, I think I'm going to drill a hole and find a washer with the same ID/OD and glue it on there for reinforcement. Maybe a 3/8" or 1/2" hole?
I just got a random clamp, a little bigger than I think I'll need, so I'll just cut off any extra metal that's hanging off. If it doesn't fit I'll just put extra Epoxy on.
I was thinking about using longer barrels, probably around 4", I'll test it and compare the ranges to yours to see if it works.
For the bridge, I used pretty much exactly what you said, just some random piece of tubing I found. Needed a bit of sanding down, but now it fits in the CPVC real well. I think it was the cap of some air freshener.
For the dowel, I think I'm going to cut it so it's flush with the tip of the barrels, that way I have plenty of room and the barrels won't be able to sag down at all.

I also got a replacement spring, and it's dimensions are real close to yours. I decided to try one of those Handyman Home Depot springs I use for Nitefinders. It seems like it would work well, I just hope it fits.

Also, did you reinforce the piece on the leg (the thing you pull back to fire the gun) that connects with the white piece that pulls the plunger rod back? It looks like it could break off rather easily, especially with a much stronger industrial spring. And if you did reinforce it, what did you do to it? I'm not too sure what I can do to prevent it from breaking.