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thedap

Member Since 03 Aug 2008
Offline Last Active Nov 24 2011 05:26 AM

Topics I've Started

Has The Tommy 12 Been Upgraded?

24 November 2008 - 01:54 AM

I picked up a tommy 12 dirt cheap the other day and noticed some distinct changes from the tommy 20.

there is a little rubber finger hang down from above the two throwing wheels, its not on a 20.
also, there is a little extended shelf below the wheels.

I guess they work together to stabilize those tumblers that usually go 5 feet.

the thing is, I remember looking at a tommy12 early on and I didn't see either item in it, at least I don't recall seeing them.

has anyone seen or own an earlier one without these items?

the gun does seem to mess up less than the 20 does.
its weaker but I boosted it with a 9v battery and its actually adequate now.

just a matter of time until the motors fry, they're screaming like banshees now. ^_^

Basic Idea For A Longbow

30 August 2008 - 06:31 PM

after playing with my bandit crossbow, I has an idea for a longbow of sorts.

Posted Image

the red line is a bungee cord riding in a slot cut in the gray pvc pipe.

you hook it with a finger above and below the pipe and draw it back to where it is in the picture.

the yellow rectangle is a box magazine with nerfs in it.

the yellow ring is a rubberband holding a small bit of pipe and an end cap.

when you pull the red drawstring back, you force the rear pipe to back up, allowing a dart to fall into the barrel.
when fired, the rear pipe follows the bungee and keeps the other darts out of the way until you are ready to draw the bungee again.

depending on how bad it works, you may need to rest your palm o the rear cap and let it all move forward a little, before firing, to make sure the other darts dont get jammed up.


please offer any ideas you may have or any doubts too. I think I will try to build it monday!

Bandit Crossbow, Found One In The Pile.

30 August 2008 - 02:40 PM

I've had this thing sitting around forever, but never tried to mod it at all.

I did a search but found almost nothing.

this link shows what it looks like
http://www.dicksspor...?productId=8917

mine is very old, its black instead of any color.
has anyone done any mods and met with success?

I tried shooting regular nerf darts out of it and a couple of shots flew fine, with about the range of a stock maverick. usually the darts flip up and tumble in the air.

I know I have some spring steel at work, to beef up the spring. should make it throw alot harder.
the only idea I had is to make a barrel of sorts, a piece of pvc pipe with slots cut down the sides lengthwise, for the string to travel in. should help make the darts fly better.
the rear would be open but the front few inches could be left uncut to hold it all together. the rear could either end at the rear sight and I would muzzle load it, or I could end it a few inches short of the sight (or remove it) and breech load it.

well I took it to work and found some aluminum tubing to make a barrel from. its bigger than the dart but not a problem since it doesnt need a seal to fire well.

Posted Image

I slotted it and screwed it down at the back, where the rear sight used to be.
it still shoots fairly accurate, but the power is weak, not quite 30 feet.
I put some rubberbands around the bow and the string, pretty much like adding them to a springer.
one on either side didnt help much but two to a side did.
they pull the string so hard, they tend to slide away from the frame and make the string zigzag.
I think when the string releases, that extra snap in the string as it tries to go straight again adds alot of power. it hits 40 feet when it works.
trouble is it shoots so hard, the string pushes around the butt of the dart and passes it by.
then the dart is behind the string and I have to unbolt the barrel to remove the dart!

I jammed a piece of packing foam (similar to what the dart is made of) in the rear of the dart, it makes the back slightly fatter around and it keeps it from folding when the string slams into it.

as a side note, I tried the darts in my tommy 20 and they still worked fine, plus they dont fall out when you tip the barrel down! I may do it to all those darts.

while I was rooting around the shop I found a full reel of styrofoam door seal! must be 200 feet of the stuff!
trouble is its like 3/4 diameter. feh.
as a test, I cut a 3 inch piece of it and stuck the rubber cap that was on the aluminum tube I used, over the foam to act as the front weight.
I made two and they both shot from the crossbow as well as the original hard darts.
the tips were still too light and they tended to curve like wiffleballs though, I need to try adding a few BBs and see how they do.

Did The Basic Mav Mods And Good Results....finally

21 August 2008 - 03:01 AM

I did the restrictors but left the pins and got about 5 more feet, but still a terrible 25 feet for range

did the foam piston filler but used a chunk of foam from a pool noodle.
the straw is slightly loose and seems to help seal against the cylinder even better. edging closer to 30 feet range.

I noticed the cylinder gap where the piston assembly meets it was still showing daylight.
when I took the gun back apart and forced the piston part forward, it still didn't quite meet the cylinder.

after searching the database, I read where people were using the restrictor springs up front to force the cylinder rearward.

well, I've had the cylinder completely apart 3 times and didn't want to press my luck with destroying the orange tip!

I found a blister package and cut a penny sized disk from a flat spot. I then cut a slot from the edge to the middle of the disk, about half as wide as the metal rod down the middle of the cylinder. in the center of the disk I cut the end of the slot a little bigger than the rod. the disk looks like a keyhole basically.

all I did then was to hold the front pivot arm away from the cylinder and snapped the plastic disk onto the metal shaft.

after assembling the gun, the cylinder still functions fine and the gun shoots quieter and crisper, I have yet to check actual range. no daylight thru the gap either, the front of the cylinder has a raised ring molded in, If you make a disk, you need to make sure its bigger than that ring so it will shim the cylinder and not just sit inside that ring.

the only other thing I did was to modify the gun frame on the side opposite the front groove the cylinder locks into. I heated the plastic with a lighter then pressed it in with a screwdriver shaft, to make a half moon indent so you can slip darts in from the front without snagging. not much plastic to move, since the fake knurled round bit there is fairly low and out of the way already
the mod is not so important to me but handy for lefties