Paintball

[CJOttawa]

Howdy all!

I bought a Phantom bolt to have as a spare for the Redux and noticed TWO differences:

1. extra blind hole drilled slightly rearward to accommodate the Redux cocking arm location
2. the taper at the front of the bolt, behind the o-ring, is longer than the Phantom bolt taper

Phantom bolt on left showing the standard hole for the Phantom's cocking arm.
Redux bolt on the right showing new hole drilled farther back (toward rear of marker, when installed) and the longer taper behind the o-ring.


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The extra hole is an easy one: just find the location of the hole on a Redux bolt and drill the extra hole.

Use a tapered, needle-point diamond bit on a rotary tool to get through the nickle. A spherical diamond bit will take the nickel off around the pilot hole, in preparation for a drill bit. More details in my follow-up reply below.

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The taper was new to me. It seems the breech is milled with a more shallow taper at the front and the bolt taper matches it. More on that in this thread.

The taper would be easy to do for anyone with a drill:

• take the plastic set screw out of the bolt (it will melt from heat otherwise)
• put a piece of wood dowel in the TPC to prevent crushing
• chuck the TPC into a drill, with the bolt attached
• secure the drill in something like a wood vice and spin it up
• use a diamond file to grind off the nickel plating on the bevel
• once past the nickel, use a mill bastard file to take the bevel down to match another Redux bolt (you'll need one as a pattern)

Of course, you could just order a spare bolt from the Mongo at the Redux factory.

[DSA]

Hey I picked up a Carter combo and need the Redux Slide retainer drilled but have zero tools how easy is it to drill? Chad?? CJ??? Mongo???

[CJOttawa]

Originally Posted by DSA

Hey I picked up a Carter combo and need the Redux Slide retainer drilled but have zero tools how easy is it to drill? Chad?? CJ??? Mongo???

Biggest challenge drilling the Phantom bolt: getting through the nickel plating.

The easy way to do this is to pick up a diamond point bit set for a few dollars. Ideally you want to use it on a high-speed rotary tool (Dremel) but it'll work on a drill.

Here are the bits I used, red-arrows for the specific ones:

1. I started by marking the spot with an "X" and putting a needle/tapered point diamond bit very carefully to that point.
2. Only once the nickel plate was cut through did I add pressure; nickel's very slippery so any pressure will cause the bit to skitter across the surface.
3. I used the needle point diamond bit to drill a pilot hole about 1/4" deep.
4. A spherical diamond point about 1/8" across was used to create a "crater" around the pilot hole, removing more nickel.
5. With the nickel removed around the pilot hole, standard HSS drill bits can be used, going to progressively larger sizes to duplicate the cocking pin hole.

Best to use a depth stop collar so you don't punch through to the TPC threading, though punching through won't make the bolt unusable; drilling through the TPC would probably require a new TPC.

[DSA]

Nice post.

[CJOttawa]

OK, I've now turned four CCI Phantom bolts to work in the Redux and I'll share some tips with you.

Tips for Cutting the Bolt Taper
First, as outlined above, the bevel at the front of the Redux bolt is designed to match the "step" at the front of the breech that leads up to the barrel/insert lip, in the snub.

The angle on the bevel appears to be the same as the CCI Phantom bolt but is cut deeper onto the bolt which has the effect of extending it farther back and making the ramp more shallow.

When turning this on a lathe or drill press, I had success matching the bevel originally on the bolt and just pressing a cutting tool or file into the bevel, removing material but retaining the angle. Periodically, I'd remove from the chuck and check in the gun to insure it inserted into the breech correctly. Do this without the o-ring attached!

Also: be careful not to let the taper eat into the area the o-ring sits. Taking too much off the front will let the bolt sit too far forward in the breech.

Tips for Drilling the Field Strip lever Pin Hole
This step was giving me agita. Here's the problem: if you get the position of this hole wrong, putting it too far forward or back, the slide on the Redux won't sit flush with the rear of the valve or the front of the barrel, making the gun look silly.
The solution:

• turn the bevel on the bolt first, getting it "good enough" to mate with the gun
• install the bolt in the gun, with the bolt o-ring to give friction
• install the slide and hold it in place, flush with the rear of the valve
• mark the quick-strip lever pin location on the bolt, through the hole in the slide
• remove the bolt and drill at the marked point

I suggest using a transfer punch to mark the bolt, through the hole in the slide.

Regardless of whether or not your bevel is perfect, marking the quick-strip pin location while the bolt and slide are installed will give you a perfect location every time.

Mad-props to PMI 3/Canuck for the sage advice, use of a drill-press and tools.