Paintball

[knightnight4u]

ok I have access to a mill and large supply of industrial nylon. Is it possible to make bolts from nylon? would i work well, decrease friction or what not? I was thinkin of making several parts on my trracer out of Nylon, such as the bolt and pump handle. Was thinkin of making the pump handle with a pistol grip.(would sort of look like a tippman tho, dont know if I would like that)

[Railgun]

Well, the pump handle is already a plastic of some sort if it's not nyon so I doubt there's much to be gained there unless it's a different shape you want to do. The small MP% like pistol grip on the pump would be a whole other matter. I'd say try it since even if it does make it slightly resemble a Tippy it'll only look that way to those that don't know what they are looking at.

A nylon bolt may slide a touch more freely but I'd worry about the slamming the pump arm bolts need to withstand over time. I would suspect that with the very few threads in engagement that they would elongate badly in use. But since it's only a little bit of time to find out I'd say go for it and report back after a few hundred rounds through it.

[knightnight4u]

Originally Posted by Railgun

Well, the pump handle is already a plastic of some sort if it's not nyon so I doubt there's much to be gained there unless it's a different shape you want to do. The small MP% like pistol grip on the pump would be a whole other matter. I'd say try it since even if it does make it slightly resemble a Tippy it'll only look that way to those that don't know what they are looking at.

A nylon bolt may slide a touch more freely but I'd worry about the slamming the pump arm bolts need to withstand over time. I would suspect that with the very few threads in engagement that they would elongate badly in use. But since it's only a little bit of time to find out I'd say go for it and report back after a few hundred rounds through it.

good point about the pump screw threads, I hadnt considered that, but you can sink a threaded metal colar to help with that.

[ironnerd88]

You could make the bolt-face outta nylon. Reblines and ICD Desert Foxes used metal where strength was needed and nylon (or delrin) for the rest.

[russc]

Yeah, you'd need some sort of harder material to make up the lip that catches the sear, otherwise it would just wear down rather quickly.

[ApoC_101]

nylon will absorb up to 7% its weight in water or oil over time, resulting in swelling, and dimensional expansion. on the flipside, nylon has greater characteristics of strength than delrin, and far greater wear resistance. if you plan to use nylon for internal moving parts, be sure to allow greater tolerance for dimensional changes. a good idea would be to turn a sample part to bolt diameter, machined dry, let it sit at room temp, measure the diameter. then soak it for 48 hours, and check the size again at room temp, this way you will be able to predict its maximum expansion, and compensate with your sizes. I would also recommend soaking the finished parts in suitable oil, causing them to swell to correct size, and also improving frictional characteristics.

for a nelson type bolt, youre gonna need some metal in there, as previously stated for the lip for the sear catch. helicoils can be used in the pump handle for any threads. I also noticed you mentioned you had access to a mill.... youre going to need a lathe to make bolts.

[ironnerd88]

I remember a while back some guys were selling nylon Spyder bolts impregnated with oil. I think it was some vegetable oil.

Ya know... Cocker and Spyder bolts don't really need metal bits...

[ApoC_101]

they were probably a form of nylatron, or OFN. nylatrons are usually blended with solid (dry) lubricants although a few of the special ones have liquid (oils) as well... not vegetable oil though, definitely synthetic.

I remember Spudnuk'l was selling nylatron bolts which he said had veggie oil, but he was mistaken, it was NSM nylatron (liquid-solid mixed). I made a few spyder parts using various nylatrons, like NSM and GSM blue (the ill-fated blue bolts which never went into production). even nylatrons suffer dimensional issues, I found that Ertalyte was the only cost-effective plastic which was clearly superior to delrin and nylon. Ertalyte has better dimensional stability and strength, and less friction. Ertalyte TX is an internally lubricated grade for high performance moving parts without oil/grease. I've got three 12 foot bars of 1" diameter ERT-TX on the shelf still for whatever I feel like making :P