Paintball

[CJOttawa]

Courtesy of "Railgun" here on the forum, for all of you who have ever had a Freak insert stuck in a barrel, this is your solution.

Originally Posted by Railgun

You may want to make up a gripper gizmo for future times this is an issue. A gripper gizmo would use a 2 inch section of rubber tubing from an autoparts store that fits into the insert closely but easily. Then get a long allen cap bolt that fits the inner hole of the tubing. A plastic washer made up for the other ... ah hell, a sketch would be easier to show you ......

It would be nice if you can find some nylon washers for the ends of the tubing but if you can't then any old plastic material that is thick and stiff can be drilled and then roughly cut down and sanded so they just fit the smallest insert. The head of the bolt can be wrapped with a layer or two of tape or a bit of vinyl tubing put over it to avoid the steel scratching the insert. Similarly the handle, if it's a metal, could be wrapped with tape or some heat shrink used on it to ensure it's non scratching.

Heed the warning to only JUST use enough expansion pressure to grip the insert. This thing can generate a LOT of pressure and if you tighten it too much it'll just stretch the insert and lock it in place. I suspect most of the time just putting the FIGG into the insert and pressing it slightly sideways will "lock" it well enough to pull out the inserts. You'll likely only need to actuall expand it into place for the tight stubborn inserts.

If any of you make this up please PM me to let me know how it works out for ya just in case I lose track of this thread.

[Dr. PhunkyPants]

Nice. Simple. Works for Dremels. Should work here, too.

Key will be ensuring the front and rear anchors are (1) strong/stable enough to sustain high compression on the central sleeve and (2) small enough and/or soft enough not to mar valuable inserts during removal.

Also, would recommend making it hand-tightenable so it could be used at the field...

[Railgun]

CJ, I gather you made one and found that it works well?

Phunkypants, as I explained you don't want to tighten it too much. Just a light pinch should do the trick or you'll just swell the Freak in the barrel and make the job more difficult. The green handle as shown is more than enough to be able to hand tighten the FIGG into the insert for enough pressure to pull it out. It is not needed or in any manner a good idea to tighten the screw with an allen key at all.

[CJOttawa]

Originally Posted by Railgun

CJ, I gather you made one and found that it works well?

Phunkypants, as I explained you don't want to tighten it too much. Just a light pinch should do the trick or you'll just swell the Freak in the barrel and make the job more difficult. The green handle as shown is more than enough to be able to hand tighten the FIGG into the insert for enough pressure to pull it out. It is not needed or in any manner a good idea to tighten the screw with an allen key at all.

Not yet but I am sure it will work perfectly.

I suspect our mutual friend Canuck will be working on this sometime before paintball season starts.

[DAVID(GEN)]

@Railgun
1. Make some kits of this
2. Post them in the BST
3. ????
4. PROFIT!!!

[Railgun]

Not for a while. I'm knee deep in my new house renos aimed at making up my Dream Retirement Workshop. But after the last year and a half I'm finally looking at the light at the end of the tunnel. And for once it's not an oncoming train..... Perhaps once I get things settled down I'll have a go at making up a couple of dozen FIGG's and sell 'em to those who don't have the shop to make their own or just can't find the time.

I know I haven't been around here much the past year. The house renos and playing with real guns have kept me distracted. But I haven't forgotten paintball and how much fun it is. I'm going to make more effort to get back out this year and take in some pump and other matches.

[CJOttawa]

Originally Posted by Railgun

Not for a while. I'm knee deep in my new house renos aimed at making up my Dream Retirement Workshop. But after the last year and a half I'm finally looking at the light at the end of the tunnel. And for once it's not an oncoming train..... Perhaps once I get things settled down I'll have a go at making up a couple of dozen FIGG's and sell 'em to those who don't have the shop to make their own or just can't find the time.

I know I haven't been around here much the past year. The house renos and playing with real guns have kept me distracted. But I haven't forgotten paintball and how much fun it is. I'm going to make more effort to get back out this year and take in some pump and other matches.

I've seen some of the whiz-bang stuff you've done on Canuck's guns. (remember the wire detent mod for the LineSI slip-fit barrel?) Nice to see this kind of thing posted.

[Jaccen]

Originally Posted by CJOttawa

I've seen some of the whiz-bang stuff you've done on Canuck's guns. (remember the wire detent mod for the LineSI slip-fit barrel?) Nice to see this kind of thing posted.

Link to pics or thread? My google fu is weak. Thanks.

[ApoC_101]

nice, I thought about whipping something like this up a while ago, good simple design (similar to a 5C collet stop with expanding plastic sleeve I used to use). expanding plastic means no scratches

[Railgun]

Wire detent mod pictures start in Post #26 on page three of this thread.

Automag style ball detent in cocker barrels?

That was 5 years back. I've done 3 barrels for other folks and all have reported that they worked as well for them as for myself. For my markers I've used this trick with three autocockers and a good half dozen cocker body or Nelson style pump markers with great results.

The only drawback is that the stub has to have enough "meat" to allow turning the groove. So far I've found that it works with autococker threading and SL68II slip fits as well as the Line SI barrel. Most others are too thin to allow this mod to be done. One which is too thin is the Phantom threaded barrels. But the solution for that style is the detent rings they come with.