Airsoft Body Fabrication

[mako]

I was recently working on a airsoft bolt action sniper, and ran across a fabrication problem. As you can see, the piston is exactly like those found in commercial airsoft springers. The entire piston cylinder is pulled back, until the piston rod catches on a sear. Then the cylinder is moved back to the barrel. The piston rod is then released, leaping forward and creating a quick, high pressure burst of air which propels the BB. So far so good.

My problem was coming up with a case for the entire assembly.
I had intended to place the 3/4 inch PVC cylinder inside a slightly larger pipe with a slot in the side for the charging handle. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a pipe with an inside diameter of the correct size.

Any idea's on creating a case for this?

I thought of a block of something (steel, aluminum, wood, epoxy) with appropriate sized holes bored through, but I lack the tools to do a really good job of it. The problem is that the nozzle has to end up in a very specific place each time, and any variation could cause rapid wear.

[jrrdw]

These plus this and some of this you should be able to get it done.

[mako]

Yeah, I'd thought of that. I'd use oak, or something harder, but I didn't know if the wood would stand up to that kind of wear. Also, I have a drill press (old but in good shape). The biggest problem is getting the holes to go exactly straight.

[jrrdw]

Use a 3/4" steel washer for a stop to prevent wear. Do you have a vise on your drill press? A tilt table? A combination square? If you have those tools you should have no problem drilling any angles or straight holes. I have that exact set of spade bits, for cheep-os they are surprisingly good.

[mako]

The wear problem would be on the hop-up chamber nozzle, but if the hole is exact its not a problem. And no, there's no built in vise on the drill press or a square, but I guess I could fabricate a jig for that. And spade bits aren't too hard to lay hands on.

[jrrdw]

Use a 3/4" steel washer for a stop to prevent wear. Do you have a vise on your drill press? A tilt table? A combination square? If you have those tools you should have no problem drilling any angles or straight holes. I have that exact set of spade bits, for cheep-os they are surprisingly good.

Well I worded that wrong. Do you have a vise for your drill press? And a combination square?

Vise: http://www.harborfreight.com/4-inch-jaw ... 30999.html

Combination square: http://www.harborfreight.com/12-inch-co ... 92471.html

or

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-heavy-du ... 69362.html

[mako]

Hey, thanks, man. 8) I didn't realize they made those.
I could use that. Have you ever used a drill press on aluminum block?

[jrrdw]

I used my drill press to drill the equalizer holes on this piston I made for another SF member. I tilted the table with the vise I showed you. Bolted my vise to the table, tilted to about 45 degrees and drilled 3 holes in it.

[youtube][/youtube]

[mako]

Nice piece of work, mate! I'm impressed. I guess maybe I'm not as limited by the tools as I thought I was.

[jrrdw]

You can do a lot with a drill press. If my camera hadn't broke I was going to get a video of me drilling the EQ holes but I wanted you to see the aluminum piston so you know you you can use what you have. I hope it helps.

[Crna Legija]

were you from? if you can't do it, put a post in here and maybe someone can help you!

[Zeus]

Crna, if we're taking bets, I'll guess New Zealand, airsoft, but using mate

If you're within a fair shipping distance of Aus, I'll gladly run something up when this lathe comes in

[Crna Legija]

yeah that why asked though he might be aussie, hahah if you are draw what you need and ill see what i can do!

[mako]

Sorry, guys, not Aussie. Good old Lone Star State. I can't stand the standard use of the word "Dude", so I use "mate". @Crna Legija, I can make the stuff myself, but I wanted to know if there was an easier way to go about it.

[cammyd32]

You could cast a casing using casting resin, I think Jsr recently posted quite a good link about casting resin somewhere, I'll see if I can find it...
You could put your pipe inside a polystyrene mold and fill it to the top with high strength resin wait till it cures and remove the mold, then hey presto, you have a solid completed housing encasing your spring-plunger setup, no complicated drilling required, and if you cure it right, it's clear, so you can look inside to see your mechanism working