Vereiah

Also, springs aren't the only white meat. I've recently started bungeeing my blasters, and am pleasantly surprised at the yield. Sure, it looks super-primitive, but, let's face it - if we're going to wave around what are effectively foam zip guns, we're already in the primitive zone - it's just a matter of degrees.

Idea here. Get some 1+1/2" or 2" PVC (can't remember which) and cut two slits on an even plane, and a third, larger slit at a right angle to those two. Put a ram in there and get the Bungees attached (to the ram) in any way possible, while placing a grip in the third (last time I did a bungee blaster, I had that grip working as a sight too). Put in a simple trigger system, preferably NOT a pistol grip, which makes it less effective in close range (between reloading, cocking, and firing, you're probably going to be holding it at the hip). Throw some arms out front - PVC is shockingly effective for a foam bow application, stick the other end of the bungees to those, and BAM. Instant (not quite) crossbow.

Already did that
...Unless you were talking about getting some bands on the back of the bolt? O.o
Ball crossbows are pretty effective in my experience, at least when compared to a Ballzooka MP150's ranges.




Still haven't gotten to Lowes/Home Depot. Transportation is somewhat difficult, though I might be able to get there tonight... -.-
Will start working on the stock/grip today, since that's the part with the most readily available components. Not going to carve out slots for the pieces until I actually get those pieces built, put together, and tested.



As for the check valve... I was talking about having a check valve at both intake and discharge. The pump is effectively a 6-inch 2"PVC tube, capped at one end, with some 3/4" end caps drilled into and attached to that cap.
A small rod goes through each of the endcaps to approx. halfway between the endcap and the 3/4"PVC I'm using to connect the endcap to the pump. On the ends of these small rods, I have a rubber disk, similar to the SNAP plunger heads. Intake, the edge of the disc is inside the tank end, and discharge, the edge of the disc is inside the endcap. A length of vinyl tubing is attached to each one of the 3/4" endcaps.

Plans I've made call to place the pump inside the stock and the tank directly in line with the barrel.

Your pump design seems to be lacking a check valve.

Exactly what do you mean?
If I'm not mistaken, a check valve is a one-way valve. If that's what you're talking about, then there are two of them. If you're talking about something to limit the pressure in the pump and tank, then that's already more or less taken care of as well - Between a pressure gauge, an on-off switch, and the semi-faulty PVC pump mechanism (only machining can make a perfect seal), there's a VERY low chance of the tank/pump exploding.

The 1/4" stefan sounds interesting, but where do you get your foam? I've never seen foam that size.

As you've probably found, a Maverick isn't a very good blaster. It's fun to look at and all, but performance is pretty poor. That said, I'd like to see how the 1/4" and 1/2" stefans perform in other context, too. If you have any decent length of 1/2" barrel material, you can get a passable comparison of their performance against standard stefans if you use the barrel as a blowgun.

I was referring to length.
If you hollow out the back end of a substantially shortened stefan, it reduces the weight of that end (duh) for the surface area in direct contact with the air it's flying through. If anything, it might reduce accuracy (slightly) with (slightly) increased ranges.


As for the Maverick... It's mostly for fun. I was going to go to Lowes later to get some larger pieces of PVC to replace the slide with a pump setup and possibly give it a larger plunger.




I also have a spring gun that I was going to work on, but I'm lacking the spring. Right now I just have some bits of material I'm using for the air compressor.

Piston pumps air in, opening the intake valve and closing the discharge valve; Piston pumps air out, doing the opposite. Piston is pretty much a PVC endcap with a couple of O-rings (well greased, of course) and a hinge in the middle, with a smaller section of plastic running to a flywheel. Still working on this component, since it's easily the most important (and I'd love to see how well it works out).
Only making my own because I would prefer to not spend any more money than I have to.
As for compressed air in PVC, I had a 150PSI 25mm Potato Gun a while back made out of PVC. Wonderful little thing, but I never wanted to go beyond 150PSI because despite 200 being the pressure rating, it seemed like it would be more likely to explode. 50PSI is nothing

Still working on painting the house. May go to Lowes later and grab a few more necessary components - I know what I'm doing here, but I'm at an embarrassingly early stage in development