BB Barrels

[Velocity]

The genious that I am, I bought some 6 mm tubing to use as a barrel for airsoft BB's. I had the gun all assembled and I borrowed some airsoft BB's from my friend... only to realize that the BB's did not fit. At all. I looked online, trying to solve this problem. I saw that some airsoft companies offer a "tight-bore" barrel, with an ID of 6.03 mm. Do I need to trash this barrel and buy a larger one (which will be a HUGE pain given my current setup; I would probably have to trash my brand new gun, which already took me hours of work and a lot of money, given that I had screwed up the construction several times...)?

For the record, these airsoft BB's can only be described as crap. They are yellow 0.12g ones, the kind that you find on Amazon.com for like $0.10 for 10,000,000 of them. I really think the BB must have been the problem, because on Wikipedia, a very reliable source ( ), it said that the diameter of an airsoft BB ranged from 5.98 mm to 6.00 mm. But anyways, I think I am going to buy some BB's online (high grade polished ones). If worse comes to worse, I'll just buy expensive 6 mm steel balls, which cost $5.57 for 50...

[Hubb]

Don't trash it just yet. Experiment with other type of ammo / bbs. I don't know about you but I don't think I would be too crazy on spending 6 bucks on 50 bbs, unless, of course, you design a target to catch the ammo to reuse, but then that would create the problem of not being able to shoot at random $#!t.

If the bbs don't work, design your own ammo, then post some pics.

[Velocity]

I really like the idea of BB's, just because they are so plentiful and fairly cheap as well. I suppose the way I have designed my launcher, I could easily adapt it to shoot regular (4.5 mm) BB's; the C:B ratio would be a little crazy though (it already is high; but with a 14 CI chamber to fill, I certainly am not complaining).

I guess when I buy the 4.5 mm BB's and pellets, I'll buy some high grade .2g or maybe .25g airsoft BB's, and see how those work.

[Los Frijoles]

If possible, I would switch to using 3/8" brakeline tubing since it has about .25-.5mm of clearance, which would allow for cheap deformed bb's.

[Velocity]

That might be my last resort. I just realized that switching barrels might not be such a huge issue. Essentially, all you need to know is that the OD of any barrel which I use with this gun must be able to fit well inside of a 0.315" hole.

Still though, before I go out and buy anything (with the exception of BB's), I would like to know definitively whether or not this barrel will function. Because if Wikipedia is right (and we all know it is), and airsoft BB's are made between 5.98 mm and 6.00 mm, there should be no reason why quality BB's should not fit...

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

I use 6mm nominal tubing for my airsoft launchers, actual inner diameter is *looks for vernier caliper* *omg finds scorpion* *captures scorpion in pint glass* *measures 6mm tubing* 6.05mm

edit: I wasn't kidding about the scorpion

[Hubb]

You know, Jack, if you break of the stinger, those things are edible.

I learned that on Man Vs. Wild

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Cheers, I've just eaten :p

It's either going back to the garden where it probably came from, or will be kept and fed smaller insects for my amusement.

[Hubb]

I don't know if this is lucky or unlucky, but the only ones I've seen here in the U.S. are very tiny ones that are almost see-through. I've yet to find one of that size.

[Novacastrian]

Cheers, I've just eaten :p

It's either going back to the garden where it probably came from, or will be kept and fed smaller insects for my amusement.

You just have to choose your second option! What a cool little "pet"
Now on topic, would it be possible to "tumble" those deformed bb's down to size?

[Velocity]

It might be possible to change the size of these deformed BB's, but if you take into account my lazy factor, it makes it all but impossible.

I found some tubing on McMaster that has as ID of approximately 6.09 mm... would this be too large of a gap? 0.04 mm is not a large amount at all... though, I haven't really ever worked with BB's before, so I don't know...

[frankrede]

You know, Jack, if you break of the stinger, those things are edible.

I learned that on Man Vs. Wild

In soviet russia, Scorpions eat you!

[Velocity]

You know, Jack, if you break of the stinger, those things are edible.

I learned that on Man Vs. Wild

In soviet russia, Scorpions eat you!

In soviet russia, thread hijacks you!

Just kidding, I actually made this post to say that I went ahead and bought the .24" (6.09 mm) tubing from McMaster, and that it should be here in a few days. I'll post an update when it gets here (or maybe a finished cannon).

[VH_man]

there are some BB's that are deliberatlely made smaller than 6mm to reduce the possibilites of jamming. i cant remember the brand.....