Topics

1

Homemade Ammo / New Discarding Sabot

« on: May 28, 2012, 07:32:24 PM »

The problem with my previous discarding sabot design was being limited to one type of pipe. To make a sabot that will work with any barrel, I decided to try casting them out of plaster of paris. My first one weighs too much (64 grains), I'm going to have to make it shorter and hope it will still keep the nail centered in the barrel. It was too dark to chronograph, but the sabot discarded nicely and the nail dart flew ok, considering I made the fins out of masking tape for a quick mock up.  I've got to work all day tomorrow, but am supposed to be off the next day. Hopefully I can get the technique perfected then. For now, here are some pics of the process to enjoy:

2

Considering Membership? / Perks of membership

« on: May 15, 2012, 09:12:37 PM »

Considering membership? Here are some reasons to join -

• Great members, you'll understand what I mean when you talk to them
• Access to the chat system
• Access to the search function
• No more advertisements
• If you post enough, access to a members only section

If you are interested in homemade airguns or build them already and like to have clean, civil discussion on the topic, we'd be glad to have you join. If you are already a member, but dont post, we'd be glad to hear from you as well.  Be sure to introduce yourself in the new member introduction board, we'd like to get to know ya.

3

Homemade Airguns / Easy semiauto airgun

« on: May 11, 2012, 09:50:51 AM »

Been on vacation all week, so I've had a lot of time to spend with the family and on hobbies. One of the projects I've worked on is a feeding system that allows my spool valve airgun to work as a semiautomatic. Using poor quality glass marbles as ammunition, it will occasionally double feed. I believe this problem will clear up when I get some better ammo. The beauty of it all is how simple it was to build. No bolt needed, just a simple blocking mechanism to keep the ammo out of the valve and a detent to keep the ball from rolling out the barrel between shots. I'll do a video on it in the future, but here is a picture of it for now:

4

Crosman And QB Mods / Crosman Modders Welcome

« on: February 28, 2012, 05:33:37 PM »

I know a lot of my site traffic comes from the Crosman mod pages on my website: http://www.airgununiverse.net/crosindex.html. If you have questions on how to mod your Crosman, or mods you want to share with others, this is a great place to do it.

5

Homemade Airguns / High Efficiency Valve for PVC Airguns

« on: February 02, 2012, 08:13:26 PM »

With copper costing so much, I decided to build another PVC airgun. To keep things safe and utilize a free nebulizer, I'm keeping the pressure at 45 psi. I removed the compressor from the nebulizer, found it had 1/4 npt threads, and added a gauge and quick disconnect to it.

Since the pressure is so low, the valve is going to have to be very efficient. I decided to go with a balanced spool valve. The spool is made from 3/4" nylon rod. I machined the o ring grooves with my table saw blade set low and rotating the nylon rod. Instead of using a t fitting, I used a cross, which doubles the air flow. Here's the video:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/dAossoHCu8E" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/dAossoHCu8E</a>

6

Tutorial Section / Drilling and Tapping PVC

« on: February 02, 2012, 06:07:22 PM »

To safely (as if pvc and air is totally safe lol) add fittings to pvc airguns, it is important to drill and tap the hole where a fitting overlaps the pipe. This will give a better number of threads and make it less prone to leaking and breakage. For reference, look at the three photos attached below.

The first step is to solvent weld the pipe to the fitting. When the cure time has been reached, drill the appropriate sized hole.

Second, deburr the hole and tap your threads.

Third, use pipe thread tape and attach your fitting. For a longer lasting attachment, use pvc compatible epoxy.

Hope that helps you make airtight connections between pvc pipe and fittings.

7

Tutorial Section / Ball Valve Trigger System Howto

« on: January 31, 2012, 08:16:11 PM »

A lot of you probably have seen my video on this, but for the frequent guests, this might come in handy:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/t3NlHS5RP9g" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/t3NlHS5RP9g</a>

There are many other ways to do this, but this is one of the more elegant versions of a sprung ball valve airgun.

8

Homemade Airguns / Small Coaxial Airgun

« on: July 26, 2011, 10:08:26 PM »

I took out an old project and made it new today. I took my coaxial pistol and added a pvc shoulder stock and foregrip to make it more accurate to shoot. I also switched to nail darts that weigh 76 grains. On a 400 psi fill, which takes 50 strokes of the shock pump, it makes 9 fpe. That'll bring down small game easily. Heres a video: http://youtu.be/hvZSaxvyXlo

9

Homemade Airguns / QEV airgun

« on: July 18, 2011, 06:23:54 PM »

It aint no beauty queen, but it is very functional, powerful, and accurate.

Here's a detailed write up on how I built it: http://www.airgununiverse.net/qevairgun.html
Here's a video of it doing a bit of shooting: http://youtu.be/1Uto6sHoq5s
I'm finally getting a bit more time off work, so hopefully I'll get to hunt with it soon. 

10

Homemade Ammo / MOVED: 2000 psi

« on: May 06, 2011, 06:08:44 PM »

This topic has been moved to Homemade Airguns.

http://www.airgununiverse.net/community/index.php?topic=470.0

11

General Discussion / Been busy with other projects

« on: April 15, 2011, 07:31:37 AM »

Work has slowed down a bit, but I havent been working on airgun stuff lately. Been working on woodgas stoves and engines and the like. Trying to produce my own electricity and heat using what I can grow off my land. Here's a video of a 2 stroke engine that I converted to run off of air or steam: http://youtu.be/q-c6ySGYkWY

I found two more old weedeaters and a old chainsaw on my property that the previous landowner had dumped. One of them was a homelite that looked to be sitting in the elements for 4-5 years. 10 minutes after bringing it in, I got it running off compressed air.  Very simple and cheap way to get an old motor running. My next thing is to get a compact boiler system going...

12

Homemade Airguns / Another Pistol

« on: February 06, 2011, 09:51:53 AM »

I built a air pistol for fun the other night. Here's a post I did on it with quite a few pictures: http://airgununiverse.net/blog/blog6.php/2011/02/06/coaxial-pistol. I'm planning on putting a wood shell around it to make it look a little more realistic as well as more accurate to shoot.  I fixed the mistake I made on the one I built before - the piston on the old one wasnt serviceable. Not a good thing when it went out of service.   

13

General Discussion / Man, have things changed

« on: January 22, 2011, 09:48:44 AM »

The other night I put together my old sprinkler valve airgun and took a few shots with nail darts. I always used shot or roundballs with this airgun and wanted to compare its power to some of my more recent airguns. At 150 psi with its huge air tank and 24" barrel, it only puts the point barely through a piece of 3/4" plywood. At the same pressure, my balanced spool valve can start putting the head into the same board. That sprinkler valve airgun is one of the most powerful I've seen for its kind, but it is puny compared to more advanced valves. It has me wanting to build a 3/4" spring ball valve airgun for more comparisons. lol

Have you all noticed a difference in power from the airguns you used to build to the ones you build now?

14

Homemade Airguns / Balanced Spool Valve

« on: November 24, 2010, 12:58:40 PM »

O rings give me a terrible time, hard to get a perfect seal using common tools. I've figured out a way to make a parachute seal out of a faucet washer and so far, they work remarkably well. I used it on the pilot side of my new piston for my t valve. Air goes in easily, but when it tries to go the opposite way, the edge of the seal flares out, making a perfect seal. On a 250 psi fill, a 10 gauge wad flew over 700 fps. I'll try to get some pics and possibly a video up later. Been having too much fun shooting.

Ultimately, I'm trying to make a balanced spool valve (QDV) using these as the seal instead of the troublesome o rings. This type of valve will give me a full bore valve seat, should yield greater power (.785 vs .625 diameter). It also offers mechanical actuation and no pilot air losses.

15

Homemade Ammo / Back to making darts

« on: October 27, 2010, 01:41:23 PM »

I'm finally getting around to working with airguns and ammo  Here's a new video that demonstrates the nail darts I left off working on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SK2LH7OuyI4