29 replies to this topic

[TriggerHappyAzn]

And what is with those darts?

I make foam tipped heavyweight darts. Due to their unique construction, they can be made without the use of hotglue or any other adhesives, the have over 50% less barrel friction than traditional stefans (letting them accelerate faster and enabling the use of longer barrels allowing for greater accuracy without compromising range), and have at over 1/4" of FBR sticking out the front for safety/less welts and bruises.

Pretty much all you need is:

-FBR
-Weights of your choice
-Tapioca straws
-Pliers

I start by cutting the FBR to length. For 2" darts i use a 1 1/4" long section and a 3/4" long section. The miter box lets me get perfect cuts through just about anything.


Next I cut the tapioca straws into 1" sections (1 per dart). It's ok to leave the edges jagged b/c it lets the straw grab onto the FBR when you cram it in.


When all of that is ready, you can begin constructing the darts.


With your pliers, dig a shallow hole into one end of the 3/4" long FBR and insert a weight so that it's just beneath the surface.


Then grab the FBR with the pliers and cram it 1/2" into the tapioca straw weighted end on the inside. After that, grab the 1 1/4" long FBR "tail" and cram it in the other end too.
*Note: In the picture I put the "tail" in first, but it should be head first instead (accident)


The result is a nerf dart with range and velocity, but without the nasty sting. Enjoy!


*edit* THA darts (title) comes from my name "TriggerHappyAzn"

Edited by TriggerHappyAzn, 12 June 2007 - 01:35 PM.

[Flapper12]

You should of put this in the stickied thread "Dart smithing tips" but oh well. Pretty unique way of making darts I might try this some other time. I make my darts CS's way.

Edited by Flapper12, 12 June 2007 - 02:09 PM.

[keef]

Wow, thats pretty unique! I've got to try them!
I use that other "Lawn" Clan for Nj's way.
I make mine 1.5 inches, perfect for BBB, NF, Mav (even though it sucks)

Thanks for the idea,
-keef

[Skitzo]

How accurate are these things? For some reason it seems that they would fishtail allot.
Could you post ranges of stock darts and stefans compared to these things shot from the same gun?
Do the bbs move inside the straw in between the fbr after a couple shots?
Did you actually measure that there is less friction or did you just assume because the middle of the dart does not contact the barrel that there is less friction?
Do these fit in 1/2" CPVC?
(semi serious) Where do you get Tapioca straws? Are they used with tapioca pudding?

Skitzo-

[Prometheus]

Cool looking darts.

How accurate are these things? For some reason it seems that they would fishtail allot.
Could you post ranges of stock darts and stefans compared to these things shot from the same gun?
Do the bbs move inside the straw in between the fbr after a couple shots?
Did you actually measure that there is less friction or did you just assume because the middle of the dart does not contact the barrel that there is less friction?
Do these fit in 1/2" CPVC?
(semi serious) Where do you get Tapioca straws? Are they used with tapioca pudding?

Skitzo-

If you have a smaller surface area, and the force applied to the barrel walls is the same, you should have less friction. However, you have to have a good barrel as it reduces the area that can help maintain a good seal. If you add a drop of plumbers goop or some other slow-setting glue, the bb will not be able to move at all.

[six-five-two]

It looks good but maybe the straw part should be shorter. And your talking about Bubble Tea straws right?

[Brass]

Looks like a good idea. I'll try this, I just ran out of hot glue sticks anyway. My hot glue gun is tiny, so sticks for it are hard to find.

[TriggerHappyAzn]

How accurate are these things? For some reason it seems that they would fishtail allot.
Could you post ranges of stock darts and stefans compared to these things shot from the same gun?
Do the bbs move inside the straw in between the fbr after a couple shots?
Did you actually measure that there is less friction or did you just assume because the middle of the dart does not contact the barrel that there is less friction?
Do these fit in 1/2" CPVC?
(semi serious) Where do you get Tapioca straws? Are they used with tapioca pudding?

Skitzo-

1. Accuracy is good with my BBB, and no they don't fishtail at all.
2. These are the only darts I make with 1/4" slingshot ammo. My normal stefans are lighter, but I can push these into a tight barrel material (17/32" brass, or cpvc) as opposed to a regular stefan getting stuck after i twist it in halfway
3. No, the bb's do not come loose after repeated usage because the straw clamps down on it through the FBR so tightly.
4. They do have less friction (look at #3)
5.(look st #3)
6. You can get these straws from your local Chinese grocery, or asian drink place (although it would be wierd if you went inside of one and walked out with a bunch of their straws). They're used to drink slushies, smoothies, and drinks with boba and jelly in them.

[TriggerHappyAzn]

Question:

Can you still feel the dart hit you? Is the sensation closer to that of a stock dart, or a Stefan?

And by the way, I find it slightly amusing that two people in this topic have quoted related parts of the "Future Nerf War Crime" topic in their signature.

You can still feel the impact very well, it just feels a bit softer/blunt, and FBR is less likely than hardened hot glue to welt someone.

[six-five-two]

6. You can get these straws from your local Chinese grocery, or Asian drink place (although it would be weird if you went inside of one and walked out with a bunch of their straws). They're used to drink slushies, smoothies, and drinks with boba and jelly in them.

Dude! Are you talking about bubble tea? That stuff is awesome. A local restaurant sells them, and they come with these huge (thick) green straws.

That's just what I said.

It looks good but maybe the straw part should be shorter. And your talking about Bubble Tea straws right?

[six-five-two]

Ehh Bubble Tea is okay. I really like it without the "bubbles" though, even though that kind of defeats the purpose of it.

[vanpaun]

Boba tea is the shit. Especially with Lychee jelly.

[b00m13]

gah, I can never stand that stuff, but luckily for me, the rest of the family likes it, and when they're done with it I use it as a great sealing tube (when i modded my friend's LS, and had to cut the tube in 2, these straws fitted it perfectly when i had to seal the tube back up!!, I didn't need to add glue it fitted it so perfectly and tight, of course i added it anyways cuz im thorough ^^)

Tapioca,Boba,Bubble, whatever you call em, you can buy em by the hundreds for a few bucks online.
Just google up Jumbo Straw and there's stores that sell em 500 for $7 +S&H

[six-five-two]

Just buy them from a dollar store, it's faster and probably cheaper than buying it online.

[six-five-two]

You could try putting clear tape (since it is thinner than e-tape I am pretty sure) onto the part where the FBR breaks and that may fix it, but clear tape isn't all that sticky enough.

[Thom]

I really hate to necro, but wouldn't this thread be a good one to sticky or something? Or at least link somewhere? If it were a gun mod, I'd ask that it be put in the Directory.

[Quilan Fett]

How bout in the Misc. section of the directory?

[Thom]

Does anyone know of a good, cheap source for the straws online? I checked my local Chinese groceries, but they didn't carry them. That, or I couldn't find the right aisle because the signs weren't in English. ^_^

[MithMorchaint]

Does anyone know of a good, cheap source for the straws online? I checked my local Chinese groceries, but they didn't carry them. That, or I couldn't find the right aisle because the signs weren't in English.

Just google up Jumbo Straw and there's stores that sell em 500 for $7 +S&H

Google is a good online source for anything, Thom.

Edited by MithMorchaint, 23 July 2007 - 02:49 PM.