51 replies to this topic

[nerfboi]

Ok, I was boared out of my mind one day and I was messing with my disected NF. I took a look at the plunger head and boy did it take a HUGE beating. It looked like this before:


Now it looks like this:

What I did was epoxy on a 5/16" Flat washer on to the plunger head. I did this cause I put in a stronger, harder to cock spring inside. If I remember right, It came in packases of 5 or 6 for I think $1.50? And to date, It has held on. So if your guys plunger heads look like mine, You should do this. If you need any other pictures, I could post more. Just ask.

Edited by nerfboi, 05 June 2007 - 12:04 AM.

[six-five-two]

Wouldn't it be a bit louder when you shoot it because now it's a metal head and not a plastic one?

[nerfboi]

No, I don't think so. I'd just be more of thunk I guess. But It helps

[nerfturtle]

It will keep the head from being beat up, but if your spring is strong enough, which it looks it is from the damage to your plunger head, the screw holding the head to the rod could get stripped clean off in a matter of shots. Try taking a section of pipe that fits right inside your spring, epoxy it to the washer, then epoxy it to the plunger rod. This works great for me, but then again, my nf shoots 100', so I the extra reinforcment is needed. How far does yours shoot?

[nerfboi]

I do not know. I kinda lost me barrel for it. So I have to cut a new one. I'll get back to you tommorow.

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

SP-9713 Handyman Springs will wreck your NF if you do not reinforce it. I recommend that, in addition to this, you use plastic cement or Fishin' Glue and glue down the plunger head, glue the entire plunger tube/barrel assembly together, and then glue the plunger tube and the screw wings into the shell of the gun. Otherwise the spring will blow the assembly out the front of your gun (like mine).

[six-five-two]

Wow.. is it really THAT powerful? What's the range with those springs you are talking about? Would hot glue work good enough?

[nerfturtle]

Yep, my nf "magnum" is now un-openable because I had to glue the plunger tube in there. You get ranges of about 100 feet, and it is simply amazing to hold one of these things when firing. Pretty annoying to cock though...
As for the hot glue, I don't really know, If you used enough it might work, hot glue in large amounts can be semi-strong. But, save yourself the time and go get some other stronger glue.

Edited by nerfturtle, 03 June 2007 - 12:01 AM.

[six-five-two]

Stronger glue such as...? I tried using epoxy once but it came in that double syringe bottle and one side is hard...

[Retiate]

I use the Handyman springs, and I have had no problem at all with my guns breaking. All I really did was glue craft foam to the end of the plunger head and I haven't had any breaking at all.
I highly doubt these springs require all that reinforcing, and unless you do some pretty extensive modding, your gun isn't going to hit 100'. Mine probably gets around 60'-70' flat, more than enough for a side arm. Any more range and I'll probably lose accuracy.

Epoxy works great, I picked up some epoxy that takes 90 seconds to harden and I use it all the time now.
Six-five-two, squeeze out epoxy from both sides of the syringe onto a piece of plastic or cardboard, and make sure you mix it well. You can't apply the epoxy directly to the thing your trying to glue because it must be mixed for it to harden.
Plumbers goop is another strong adhesive, it's worked real well for me. Angel said Fishin' Glue was even stronger than plumbers goop, so I'd give that a try.

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

Wow.. is it really THAT powerful? What's the range with those springs you are talking about? Would hot glue work good enough?

Yes. I didn't get the ranges tested in time... The picture would have been less blurry, but it looked fine when I uploaded it.

Edited by SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA, 03 June 2007 - 12:20 AM.

[six-five-two]

..Wow. If I am wrong, I am going to sound like an idiot, but did the plunger actually shoot out the insides? I think I am going to pick up some plumbers goop... So... I am going to put a washer at the end, remove the air restrictors, craft foam at the end of the plunger head, new spring from home depot, and ppk'd and PETG'd...

So with a spring replacement I should be getting about 60-70'? My PETG Nitefinder with no air restrictors goes about 45-50' now...

[bobafan]

Well there's your problem.

Just plumber's goop every part of the plunger tube which touches the frame to the frame and coat the rest with hot glue.

And yes, springs which have a 30lb compression streagnth can damage guns.

My favorite NF has 2 springs, one in the other, 4 inch petg barrel which is epoxied to the plunger tube and hot glued to the frame where it protrudes, extra o-ring, and 4 rubber bands. It gets an average of 87' (measured with my size 13 shoes). I have never had a plunger head problem or explosion such as this.

Reinforcement=good

Edited by bobafan, 03 June 2007 - 12:31 AM.

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

Oh yeah. Don't ever cock this thing and point it at fragile stuff, or anything you don't want to kill.

[Retiate]

SHA, did you cut away some of the plastic on the shell of the gun in front of the plunger tube to fit that PVC coupler? If so, that's probably why your plunger broke like that.
Also, what did you do to your plunger head? Or is it always black like that?

Edit: Hmmm... We might be using different springs, I've never had a misfire ever, and I've never had such severe damage...

Edited by Retiate, 03 June 2007 - 12:27 AM.

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

SHA, did you cut away some of the plastic on the shell of the gun in front of the plunger tube to fit that PVC coupler? If so, that's probably why your plunger broke like that.
Also, what did you do to your plunger head? Or is it always black like that?

Edit: Hmmm... We might be using different springs, I've never had a misfire ever, and I've never had such severe damage...

Hell, I Gooped it in place, and I still had the thing blow off. The plunger head was black to begin with, but I also E-taped it to improve the seal.

[six-five-two]

Umm.. it seems that SHA's springs are way more powerful (unless his gun is weak as hell) than Retiate's spring... So Retiate can you tell me what number your spring is? I want one powerful but not to break my Nitefinder.

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

I'm going to scrap this NF for spare parts and cut the plastic into shards to use on trigger extentions, etc., and then try this again with another NF. If I get the same results, then I'll tell you. More likely, it was a one-time problem caused by an unseen hitch in reassembly. I don't know the gauge, but these springs are 1/16" thick, almost the exact same size as a regular NF spring, and are available at Home Depot in two-packs for cheap (about $2.75). Part number SP-9713.

There weren't any misfires, but the catch is liable to snap or shatter if you leave it cocked for a while and drop/hit the gun hard enough (not that you should do that).

Edited by SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA, 03 June 2007 - 12:51 AM.

[six-five-two]

Okay I will try that... oh and digged up which springs Retiate uses:

I have 2 NF's that are brass barreled and have a spring replacement.
The spring dimensions are 7/8" x 4" x .080".
They require no cutting and with my NF's I am getting very good ranges. I don't know exact ranges, but I'm thinking angled gets at least 80'.
I found those springs at Home Depot and they come in packs of two.

[Retiate]

I don't know the gauge, but these springs are 1/16" thick, almost the exact same size as a regular NF spring, and are available at Home Depot in two-packs for cheap (about $2.75). Part number SP-9713.

Yup, same spring.
Part Numer SP-9713.
Dimensions: 7/8" x 4" x .080
Come in a pack of two at Homedepot.

Umm.. it seems that SHA's springs are way more powerful (unless his gun is weak as hell) than Retiate's spring... So Retiate can you tell me what number your spring is? I want one powerful but not to break my Nitefinder.

There's all the information on the spring above. Just don't cut away any plastic in front of the plunger tube and you should be fine. I minimized my Nitefinder, and it works great, no problems at all.

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

They are the same ones. I guess something went really wrong with mine, or I didn't do enough to the gun... It did start blowing the nested brass barrel out before it shot the entire assembly out, but I did use a rather sparse amount of E-tape on it...

The next time I do this, I'm cutting as little as possible and using CPVC instead of the bulky-ass PVC coupler and nested brass w/ PVC barrel.

Edited by SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA, 03 June 2007 - 01:01 AM.

[six-five-two]

Okay so they are both the same. That will make it easier. Thanks...

SHA, the problem could have been that since you just plumbers gooped the plunger tube to the coupler there maybe wasn't enough surface area for the glue to really work that well so it eventually fell off.

[Shralla]

Huh. I think I bought the very same springs you guys are using with intent to put in my Expand-a-Blast, but it didn't fit (won't lock while cocking). I gauged by eye, and thought it wouldn't fit my NF either, but I guess I was wrong. I'll have to crack it open later today, and try it.

Nice suggestion for reinforcement too.

[nerfer34]

These springs absolutely destroyed my NF. It shot the plunger/barrel assembly a good 7 feet! But they do add a lot of range onto your NF, while it lasts. I don't recomend using these springs.

We need to find slightly less strong springs for the nF!

[DarthNerfer]

I've been using a mini bungee cord on my modded NF and it works out great. I did this because I had a hard time getting the plunger assembly back together with a stretched stock spring. I'm getting an average of 60 feet with my setup, which is great for nerfing at the office.