Paintball

[RicoTen]

Hey, what's up guys. Probably like many MCB'ers with older guns, I have to balance playing with the gun and taking the risk that something irreplaceable will break, leaving me with a vintage paperweight. In my case, I'm fortunate enough to have AFT pistols but the "8-clip" that keeps the magazines in place are notoriously fragile. I came up with the following solution: A cast-plastic replacement, using molds made from the original clips.

In the picture attached, you see my first test casts. The silicone rubber molds are at the top, and the beige-yellow pieces are the cast replicas. Since I have two AFTs (#000378 and #000726) I have both the "curvy" 8-clip and the "less-curvy" 8-clip. I had extra silicone so I went ahead and made molds of both. The less-curvy one came with the later AFT, and it feels like a stronger piece than the curvier one. The resulting pieces fit perfectly but were a little too flexible, so now I internally reinforce the plastic before it sets up and I also played around with adding black dye to make it less obnoxious-looking. I think I've got it figured out with the right amount of "snap" when the magazine locks in. The plastic I'm using is strong, but I know it will eventually break. However, I can cast and keep extras in my toolbox. If there's interest, I can make more and sell for a small fee.

[agentSmith]

Nice job! This is the item that made me not purchase one of these after playing with it for a few weeks. I'm sure you'll find interest for them.

Rob

[foughtwolf]

I hate to sound like a horrid noob, because I do love my older markers, what is a AFT?

[Latoolman]

Looks like this..... Neat design ...
I'd be in for a couple clips also
AFT... Armed Forces Trainer, Based off of the F2 Illustator

[foughtwolf]

Originally Posted by Latoolman

Looks like this..... Neat design ...
I'd be in for a couple clips also
AFT... Armed Forces Trainer, Based off of the F2 Illustator
http://i20.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/b5/6a/3965_1.JPG

AAHHhhhh, those, I have seen those quite often, my shop owner had one for ages. I almost bought it, actually.

[Yellow5]

Nicely done! I have been making replacements out of some scrap Plexiglas and a Dremel scroll saw. Mine are not as pretty as yours, but they work just fine as expendable parts with the original safely at home as a template.

[Stechele]

Nice. I did the same thing to replace the figure 8 front piece on the Splatmaster.

[BretG]

I'll take a couple of the straight ones if you make any to sell.
lmk

[Azzy]

The one in my basement has a clip that Weltman and crew came up with, it opens at the top so the mag tube snaps straight down. Keeps the whole thing from having that huge stress point as well. Think that one is derlin... could be wrong.

[Yellow5]

I made a few in the vertical style like Azzy is talking about, but I think that way is actually more prone to snapping. I think the longer 'finger' allows more total flex than the individual shorter ones. My experience and thinking run along the same lines as if you climb out to the end of a tree branch how much farther it bends than when you're closer to the trunk. Of course, the tolerance on my handmade, Dremel-shaped pieces may play a role, too...