Paintball

[808Jackal]

Someone should just pre-cut the brass tubing and sell it here on the forums, for all of us that know it will be a disaster DIYing it. hint hint...

[splattttttt]

found some collars at a hardware store today. Wasn't looking for them, but they kinda found me, so I got two for 50 cents a piece.

[casper]

Polised internals,compressed air,extremly light valve spring,really light front spring,rain man kit and you have it.
I have an old style hammer I have no scale but I know its heavier than the current hammer.I am thinking add that hammer and go lighter front spring.Onlt thing is it won't work with a tpc.I could spring it and add a reg to adjust the velocity.Thoughts ???Maybe get a old (or new tpc)from mr haveablue

[DunXWright]

Man, polishing a Phantom's internals really does improve the pump stroke quite immensely!

All I used was some of Mother's Mag Polish and a micro-fiber pad or two to get a near-mirror finish on the hammer and bolt. I was worried about taking off too much of the zinc with sand-paper, but it seems like one doesn't actually need it, as it only took me 45 minutes or so to fully polish everything.

The thing that always bugged me about phantoms was the gritty-ness of their action, but seeing as that's a really easy fix, I am now completely in love with mine!
VSC Phantom + Polished internals + Undercocking pump kit= 1 sleezy set-up! I've been contemplating upgrading to a Buzzard/Garg at come point in the future, but honestly, a well set up Phantom is equal in my mind (please don't crucify me! XD).

Thanks CJ! and Stilgar too for recommending Mother's Mag Polish, thats stuff works so friggin well (kinda reminds me of those Frank's Red Hot commercials with the old lady saying "I put that S!@# on everything!").

[BlueDragonX]

If you think that's smooth then you really should use a Garg! My Phantom internals are polished and it still doesn't compare.

[CJOttawa]

Originally Posted by BlueDragonX

If you think that's smooth then you really should use a Garg! My Phantom internals are polished and it still doesn't compare.

I suspect the pump rod/arm/handle setup is the difference.

Shimming, polishing and burnishing the Phantom pump rod makes a huge difference, as does an undercocking kit.

[DunXWright]

I also used a very fine file on the slotted part of the body where there may be some friction with the pump rod and put a bit of a radius on the inside of it, as I had noticed some anno wear in that area. Still some minor friction from where the inside of the TPC contacts the powertube, but I'm working on a rig to polish the inside of the TPC just like everything else. Polishing up the outside of the powertube, focusing on the very tip seems to have helped as well. I've found some steel rod stock and I'll be looking in to adding another pump guide rod in the near future (Making it alike to an under-cocking Garg).

And as CJ said, I do think that the undercocking kit that I've got on my phantom does contribute to the smoothness of the stroke as it allows me to pump straight backwards, I couldn't even cause binding of the cocking rod even if I tried. :P

I am of the belief that over-cocking kits do lead to binding issues as their axis of rotation is the same bolts, whereas with an undercocking kit the axis of rotation is below the axis of the bolt. Rotating and undercocking pump will cause a gear-like, opposite direction reaction in the bolt, limiting the amount of play in the pump rod itself.

[Happy Chewy]

Would this work for the shimming mod if not could someone help me to get some?

Amazon.com: Brass C260 Seamless Round Tubing, 5/16" OD,0.285"ID, 0.014" Wall, 36" Length: Industrial & Scientific

[93civiccpe]

I was reading through your phantom thread on smoothing out the stroke for about the millionth time and have a couple quick questions. I've owned several phantoms since I first started playing paintball, and always find my way back to them. I was previously notorious for over-lubricating. So on that topic, is there any reason to use oil versus grease? I have the macdev grease as well as several other types, and I also have several different paintball oils. I have the shocktech oil which is a little thicker, and then I have the AKA oil which is air-tool oil and is very thin so that you can even run it through solenoids. I really like the performance of the macdev grease, but if oil is better for some reason, I can go with the shocktech oil. I'm just curious if one is specifically better than another and why (grease vs oil, and if oil is better, then thicker or thinner oil).

[CJOttawa]

Howdy 93civiccpe.

You really want a lightweight oil in the Phantom and I'll tell you why.

Grease is for high-torque, high pressure applications like a trigger pivot hinge or a pump guide rod. If it were used on a Phantom hammer, it would likely just gum it up and lead to inconsistency.

Synthetic air tool oil is ideal. Frankly, you could probably run a Phantom completely DRY and and it would be fine. The surfaces are quite smooth and slippery (low friction) and you're not firing a dozen balls a second so there's little heat build up or chance of seizing.