Paintball

[nerdcore]

MOST RECENT UPDATES NOW START FROM THE TOP!

5/18/12 - i've got an old airsoft pistol that might look cool as the "shell." It resembles Robocop's gun, but some china-town knockoff. Was a crappy airsoft gun, so perhaps it'll serve better on the ion. Not sure if it's large enough for the body, but we'll see.

5/17/12 - ok. Steampunk idea is scrapped. Post-Apocalypse idea is scrapped. I'm janking an idea from another user, and going with a Mech Ion Pistol. Not a lot of radical changes are needed (thank crom, cuz evidently i'm lazy and have ADD). Sorry if it's less interesting now, but really, i'm the one doing all the work!

Plans for new idea:
- Reg mounted horizontally, on left side of frame.
- Plug reg input (vasa) on frame.
- Secure asa to gauge port via 1/8 NPT male-to-male fitting.
- Reg goes in new side asa.
- Add braces so reg doesn't torque asa off fitting.
- Slash trigger in half for single trigger.
- Hack/bend trigger guard to match single trig.



5/11/12 - The Warrior Cage shell is gonna get cut down to just a body spacer & detent cover, maybe some tail for flare. Vertical asa attached to the frame is going to be brutally unattached. A rail will be mounted via the front body screw (maybe replace with a screw post of sorts, similar to Flex frame screws). On/off asa will slide onto there with the reg, wich will allow me to cut off the air to act as a safety mechanism, but cut it off after the reg so i won't have to re-adjust the reg (as i'd need/want to do with an on/off in the traditional place). I've got a grub screw threaded for an L-barb fitting, so the internal hose can link to the on/off asa. Trigger guard is gonna get cut at the grip portion, and re-bent to form a single-trigger-guard guard.

Here's some "concept art" regarding the newest phase of this project.



4/19/12 - got a job (not at Ace)! Been working for a month now, so project may pick up some steam (pun intended). I had no idea wood rifle stock is so expensive, even used or blemished. Ditching that idea, since running a bottomline + tank on/thru wood doesn't seem very sturdy, plus the SMAV inside (the valve that makes the Ion mech-operated) might've needed a new mounting bracket. Thinking either wooden panels/accents or leather wrapping on the frame/grip, maybe i'll put it to a vote.

I'm going to use the stock frame but hack off the vasa part. The reg will screw into a duckbill or similar, then mount the duckbill horizontally, parallel to the body. Haven't worked out the "hows" yet, but shouldn't be too difficult. I'll probably need a smaller, allen-friendly reg, like a CP Shorty. The brass fitting & line will run off the duckbill to an on/off valve of sorts, then finally to the T-barb inside. The rest of the bottomline setup won't be crazy: the reg will have a 90° fitting & line down to the asa like any gun (unless i think of something else, like mounting an asa to the back of the frame near the body, and make it resemble a back-bottle setup... crom help me, i don't need anymore ideas).

Gonna try making my own trigger out of brass. Not one solid block of brass milled down, but rather a few brass plates or sheeting, then bolting the multiple layers together to form the trigger. Sounds wacky, but bear with me. Imagine those wooden 3D models, formed by gluing layers of wood together to form the object. Just need to find the proper thickness combinations to get the fit right.

1/29/12 - a rather interesting turn. Almost killed the prjoect due to lack of money & materials, but decided against it. I need a custom frame to continue this thing, might try to hobble one together somehow, if i can find durable-enough materials amongst whatever crap is currently stored in the spare room.

1/25/12 - the grinding begins. Purchased some files since i can't find my dremel in the crowded mess that's our spare room. And the attachments are kinda small.



... about an hour later, holy jinkee, this is not easy. The raised sides of the aluminum cage shell don't much care about being grinded, they aren't going down. Best i can do is widen the windows, remove the sharper points, not a lot of changes. Bummer.

Had an idea of mounting the reg horizontally. Don't want to severely alter the frame, so an adaptor & line would be needed. I was thinking of sticking a reducer on the reg port w/ a brass fitting, mount the reg in a plain asa w/ another brass fitting parallel to the body somehow, then run a brass line between them. But DW had a great idea capping off the reg with a thread saver tapped for a fitting, which would definitely cut down weight/bulk. Maybe i'll do it, maybe i won't.

Ordered a collection of brass gears. Non-functioning, they seem to be purely decoration, but they're brass and they're gears. Only need one, but couldn't decide which one, so the seller agreed to post a mixed dozen. Donut c-clip is gonna be replaced with a gear, whenever those things get here. Then i'll need to figure out what to do with the other 11. Anyone want some 1" diameter ornamental brass gears?

Ordered a silver feedneck, as my last update stated my reluctance to stripping the Qlock's anno (which found a new home on the electro ion).

Off topic, i applied for a job at Ace.

1/20/12 - Ah, new year, old projects. Still trying to find my dremel, kind of got misplaced during the great move. Decided the mech ion needed more custom love, so the shell is gonna feel more dremel torture as i try to eliminate the milled angles, and open up the windows to show more brass. I'm also pet-peeving real hard over the black qlock & grenade asa, so those are getting swapped out (can't bear to strip them).

9/26/11 - shyeeyah, final parts arrived from DW! Now to cut the brass tube and see if this baby will work!

Actually inspected the Redz trigger, turns out it's the delrin version. LAAAAAME. I used to have the aluminum version, shoulda kept it (but who knew i'd be doing this project...). Maybe someone can make a brass trigger based off this one. Something for a much later date.

9/24/11 - Finished anno stripping, cut the brass sheeting to fit, cut the wrap part on the Gunslinger grips, AND cut & sewed the leather reg collar! So much stuff done today! Still gotta stain the reg collar to match the grips, cut the brass tube to the right length, and wait for the trigger and internal fittings to arrive. Thinking about a brass line for the bottomline, too, but weary of the pressure that'd be running through it.


9/23/11 - Picked up a small butane torch and went to work on the brass tube. Got the angle perfect, but the bend wasn't too pretty. Doesn't look bad from this side, though, and that's all that counts, lol.


9/22/11 - Finished the shell, and then some! Used some new dremel brush attachments to also strip the donut and lower half of reg. Upper half will get this studded pleather strip i discovered. Photo should provide an even better idea of how it'll look (can't see the brass fittings too well, but they're in place):


I slid the body into the shell for reference, and there's more stripping in the future. Gonna need to strip the tail end of the firing can, very butt of the bolt tail (part you see from the back), and a front/top portion of the breech, in front of the feedneck. Brass sheeting won't cover these parts.

In case you're wondering where the studded pleather strip came from, you'll never guess. But feel free to guess.

9/22/11 - Finished the shell, and then some! Used some new dremel brush attachments to also strip the donut and lower half of reg. Upper half will get this studded pleather strip i discovered. Photo should provide an even better idea of how it'll look (can't see the brass fittings too well, but they're in place):


I slid the body into the shell for reference, and there's more stripping in the future. Gonna need to strip the tail end of the firing can, very butt of the bolt tail (part you see from the back), and a front/top portion of the breech, in front of the feedneck. Brass sheeting won't cover these parts.

In case you're wondering where the studded pleather strip came from, you'll never guess. But feel free to guess.

9/21/11 - Wore the dremel wire brush down to nubs, now another trip to the hardware store. Brass sheeting is gonna need some measure/cut work, and holes punched for screw/fitting access, which will help keep it in place. Won't be able to cover the donut unless i strap the sheeting to it, so might sand the anno off just that part of the body.

Can't believe Hybrid Gunslinger grips are still available. Picked up a set on ebay. Kinda cheating cuz it's all "prefab" and not homemade leather grips, but saved me money & time this way. Gonna cut the wrap-around portion off, maybe even trim some of the non leather portions off. Should look nice. Also found a nib Redz Double trigger that's gonna get sliced in half to make the single trigger. Whoomp! No clue how i'm gonna work the trigger guard, though.

9/18/11 - The cage shell as of today, discovered i had a bristle attachment for my dremel, used it to attack the crevices of the cage shell. Gets what the Easy Off missed (still needs the other side done):


Visual of the brass sheeting (perfect fit with body is confirmed!):


9/17/11 - Photo of parts! The Warrior shell after numerous attempts with inferior methods to strip the anno, plug for front banjo hole, brass frame screws, brass grip screws, brass fittings, 1/4" brass tube (only size that had both male/female fittings in stock), spare compression sleeves in delrin, fancy trigger pin, and stuff you should already recognize:


Got yellow can Easy-Off, and brass sheeting. I think it's gonna be plenty thin, there's already a little play between body and shell.

9/12/11 - Crom, brass tubing large enough for the body is expensive. Back to round 1, using the right Easy-Off on the Warrior shell. I'm hoping enough of the anno'd metal will corrode off to leave space between body and shell to slide the thinnest brass sheeting Ace sells, to accent the windows in the shell. If it doesn't fit, maybe some Easy-Off on the body itself will provide the space i need.

Did a rough sketch for a custom tank cover. Leather panel wrapped around the flattest area of the bottle, with brass snaps to keep it on, braided leather cord along the butt, and leather cord on top to keep it on. Definitely a craft project in itself. Thinking of a similar project for the hopper, but since the hopper used may change, maybe i should just Krylon all my agitiating loaders' shells.

9/8/11 - well i feel dumb. Phase 3 involves brass tubes for the re-routed airway, so why not just use a larger brass tube as a body shell! Gonna see if hardware shops have an adequate selection; if not, i found some online suppliers with fancy options, even embossed hex tubes cut to length.

9/7/11 - found Easy Off among our household cleaners. Sprayed down the Warrior shell. Per the can, it says to wait 2 hrs for deep cleaning. Time passes, and the Easy Off did NOTHING to the anno. Turns out it's not the right stuff.

Measured the grip, looks like it needs 60+ inches of cord or lace to wrap it, varying depending on width of cord. Thin strips may work better... and by better, i mean lazier. Eh, solid wrap-around grips with brass grip screws sounds like a better idea now. Leather strip covering the upper half of reg, tied with leather cord.

As usual, DW has parts i need, being the thread-to-barb fitting. He's right, he is like my drug dealer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Original Thread Below~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the record, i "thank" DW, Y0da, & crazyorigin, for all the time/money i've spent in Ace, OSH, True Value, Walmart, Target, Michael's, Joann's, Goodwill, & eBay.

Original Concept & Progress: incorporate brass, wood, leather, and/or whatever else i can think of to make a unique mechanical ion.

Phase 1: say no to powdercoat. On a side note, Klean Strip paint stripper makes powdercoat look gross.
Anyone remember the bad guy from Robocop that got an acid bath? ghhheeerkg.


But it works. Used medium steel wool just to smooth the finish, i don't want it polished.


Phase 2: say no to anno. Right now, i've got a gloss black Warrior cage shell that needs to not be gloss black anymore:


Tried sanding it off while watching tv, then my hands/arms got tired (and was distracted by the tv), so i'm just gonna use Easy-Off oven cleaner. I'm mulling around with the idea of using brass sheets to wrap the body instead of using this non-steampunk-looking cage shell, but i'm not very good with metalcraft.

Phase 3: brass air tubes! The guage port is getting a new purpose, in the form of a brass compression elbow connected to a brass tube, connected to another brass compression elbow, connected to a thread-to-barb fitting that'll sit in the soon-to-be-widened power button hole. That'll all connect to the mech drop-in kit inside the frame. Front banjo hole in the frame will get plugged. Pic may clarify things a bit:


Phase 4: aesthetics. Leather-wrapped grip & reg, brass accents here & there, things like that.

[maloneoni]

I like the concept and I am looking forward to more pictures.

[nerdcore]

Thanks, and there will be more, as visual progress is made.

Anyone have ideas on stripping the reg and body parts (body as in breech, can, donut), without damaging the internal areas?

[tony montana 2]

you could media blast the parts

[nerdcore]

Media blast?

[BaconBaller]

Originally Posted by nerdcore

Media blast?

i think he means subject it to "Friday" until the gun is just how you like it

[tony montana 2]

media blasting also known as sand blasting, but there is other medias used like walnut shells, glass beads.

[nerdcore]

Originally Posted by BaconBaller

i think he means subject it to "Friday" until the gun is just how you like it

That would strip more than the anno...

Media blast = blasting with particles. Gotcha. I remember sandblasting auto parts back in high school... my fave class...

I've got no means to do that, though. I don't have access to any such facilities.

[Deathwish_DW]

First frame pic is cool!!

Just messaged you about those parts =p

I realllly want to see how this turns out.

Also: may have a hookup on paint.. Dad works @ advance auto parts.. may be able to get you a deal using his discounts/hording the spray paint on clearance (I have bought over 40 cans @ $.81/per so far..)

[nerdcore]

Holy cow. If i need paint, i'll hit you up.