E-bolt M98 build

[Jordan]

Xenon's post about e-bolt rams, and a recent conversation, reminded me I had an e-bolt project i started last year for the POP contest but had yet to finish.

Given the Thanksgiving long weekend, and the fact that I have a Morlock3 lying around that I wanted to do something with... I dug around, found everything back, and finally got going.

So far:




I modded an Impulse ram last year, but that's really as far as I got... I did sandblast the body shells at the beginning of the summer with the vague idea I'd try to get everything ready for some big games, but I got busy with other stuff, packed it away, and forgot about it.

So far, the valve's been modded with a sleeve to prevent blowback, the ram was drilled and tapped for either 4-40 screws to plug the inlet holes, or 10-32 for hose barbs and mounting screws. I clearanced the body shells, installed a gas-thru grip for a volumizer, mocked up the solenoid and board, and I'm in the process of wiring everything and figuring out what microswitch to use.

I need to make a linkage arm for the bolt yet, and I'll probably get the body shells powdercoated by Ratzo this winter. Bright pink, maybe? 🙂

[Meleager7]

This reminds me, I have a full boar 98 slot cover and screws set I have no need for. It’s in my toolbox, remind me at the next meetup. If you could use it you can have it.

[Jordan]

This reminds me, I have a full boar 98 slot cover and screws set I have no need for. It’s in my toolbox, remind me at the next meetup. If you could use it you can have it.

I can definitely use the screw set... I have a slot cover (that I'm going to use as a battery holder) already, found it in a box of junk.

Now if I can just find that front grip and the M98 All American back I've got somewhere, I'll be all set.

🙂

[Meleager7]

sounds good

[Jordan]

Everything is mounted on the inside and both halves even close flush.

I just need to finish off the air supply(s), then I need to find my player's kit so I can put a detent in and the feedneck latch, then I can run some air and paint through it to see what I need to tweak.


Kinda wish I did this months ago, but at least I'm getting it finished. Maybe next meet-up I can use it.

[Jordan]

So... got everything assembled, air lines ran, and screwed a tank in. The valve took a second to seal - once I got over 200psi input it sealed up - and despite a leak in the grip frame it cycled!

The Morlock's Autoresponse mode is absolutely nuts, and it's probably a good thing the board defaults to semi when it's shut off. 🙂

I tracked the leak down to a shaft seal in the ram, so I replaced that, greased the ram, and tried it out in FA. Gotta hold on to that sucker...

The only left is to make a proper linkage up - I used some aluminum brazing rod for a temporary link to test everything - and maybe powdercoat.

Or... we've got some red wrinkle coat paint at work... could look cool with the lettering polished.

[Alexndl]

Is the video public on youtube?
you might have some question on the different adaptor you could use on this thing...

cant wait to see this run!

Would have been a great contender for the poo build

[Jordan]

No, it's not public on YouTube. 😁

I can only imagine the comment section.

[XEMON]

This looks great 👍
do you have a low pressure kit?
I'm thinking about making one ...

[Jordan]

This looks great 👍
do you have a low pressure kit?
I'm thinking about making one ...

Sort of.

I made my own, in a way... I modified the valve to increase flow and get rid of any blowback, put a lighter spring in, and installed a gas-thru grip as a LP chamber.

I thought I took pictures of it but apparently I either deleted them or didn't. The grooves I cut into the valve are HUGE, I was actually worried I overdid it a little. 🙂

Originally the plan was to run a conventional LP setup with a reg in the foregrip, but LP kits are hard to find these days, and I also didn't feel like spending money on something that won't get used a lot, so everything was scrounged from my bins of random stuff.

[Jordan]

I found a brass tube from somewhere and pressed it into the back of the valve to eliminate blowback... fits the valve stem fairly closely. I think it might have been a hose collar from a Cocker.

That meant the "bump" on the stem had to be removed for the stem to pass through, so it's a slight compromise compared to the "pump" valve stem available, but it was a zero-dollar solution. Seems to work, I didn't notice any blowback gases through the cocking slot.

I may dig into the valve some more, depending on how the current mods perform. I had the HPR set at 400psi with the LPR quite low during testing, as I wasn't sure what was leaking - I was concerned it was a solenoid leak at the time. Now that all my leaks are fixed, I fully expect those numbers to change, with the LPR going up quite a bit and the operating pressure dropping.

I have my dwell at 15ms right now. nadrepadre said his build was running 12ms and 240psi, with the LPR at 150psi... I'm ok with my numbers being different but at least have an idea of what numbers to kind of start at.

[nadrepadre]

I used 1/8'' brass rod to make the linkage arm for my impulse ram 98. Also, I used the stock aluminum hammer which forced me to run a fairly high LPR pressure. Your hammer looks like it's stainless which is a good deal heavier and will definitely result in lower pressures. When I drilled and tapped my impulse ram, it took a little while to smooth out the holes on the inside. They will cut o-rings for a while and make it kind of a pain. Good thing is, you can remove the ram shaft right out the back of the gun now without having to take anything apart. What solenoid is that? Looks like an e-blade solenoid or something. Good work man!!

edit-I also used a QEV on the forward stroke of the ram, which lowers dwell time a touch. Ideally, you want to vent the air in front of the ram as quickly as possible so that the ram can move forward with as little resistance as possible.

[Jordan]

I used 1/8'' brass rod to make the linkage arm for my impulse ram 98. Also, I used the stock aluminum hammer which forced me to run a fairly high LPR pressure. Your hammer looks like it's stainless which is a good deal heavier and will definitely result in lower pressures. When I drilled and tapped my impulse ram, it took a little while to smooth out the holes on the inside. They will cut o-rings for a while and make it kind of a pain. Good thing is, you can remove the ram shaft right out the back of the gun now without having to take anything apart. What solenoid is that? Looks like an e-blade solenoid or something. Good work man!!

edit-I also used a QEV on the forward stroke of the ram, which lowers dwell time a touch. Ideally, you want to vent the air in front of the ram as quickly as possible so that the ram can move forward with as little resistance as possible.

I kept most of the holes in the ram stock size - they were pretty much the perfect size for 4-40. I was concerned about cutting orings, too. I do have a larger barb on the front to help vent a bit quicker, but will likely run a QEV in the future.

The noid's out of an Evil Pimp - they're rated for up to 175psi input out of the box, and they cycle pretty quickly, figured I could bandaid my lack of QEV with a good noid.

I just got my switch from Amazon and installed it in the slot cover I'm going to run as a battery compartment, so once I have the color figured out ill get the body halves painted, finish wiring everything, and give it a field test.

[XEMON]

How much difference does the weight of the hammer makes in this setup?

It would be easy enough to add weight to the aluminum hammer if needed ...

[Jordan]

I decided on wrinkle black instead of red, mostly because it was readily available. 🙂

All together, aired up with no leaks, and ready to go... I'm hoping to get out one more time this season and try it out.

[Jordan]

If I understand your question, no... I'm running a HP MaxFlo in a screw-in manifold, and a WGP bullet LPR off one of the ports on the MaxFlo. The Maxie is at 400psi right now, the LPR at probably 100ish? I haven't put a LP gauge on it.

I'll try chronying it tomorrow, see what it's at. Sounds pretty good, though.

[XEMON]

Ok, thanks
Couldn't see the lot on the right side ... 😅
Do you have to have an expansion chamber with that low pressure? (Trying to figure out if I want to keep it looking as stock as possible or go crazy 🤔)

[Jordan]

I think you need SOME extra volume for this contraption to work... I've got a different fitting coming that I'm going to try to use to do a more conventional setup, so I can run a reg as a foregrip and have a smaller LP chamber instead of the gas-thru grip setup it currently had.

[Jordan]

I shot some paint over the chrony tonight after work to check functionality - HPR is at 425ish, not sure where the LPR is yet, without popping my tester on. Dwell is at 14ms.

Shoots super consistent (as expected with the MaxFlo regulating everything), last 5 shots over the chrony once adjusted were 277, 277, 279, 281, 280.

Other than an intermittent leak at a macro fitting and an occasional hiss from the ram, all on air-up, it actually shoots great. Should be interesting to run it for a couple games.

I'll mark it as done, for now, until I decide to tinker a bit with the setup later.

[Jordan]

Well... I tinkered a bit more. 🙂

I found the perfect air fitting to duplicate Tippmann's LP setup - it needed a little trimming and I had to modify the vertical adapter a bit - which allowed me to run a more conventional appearing setup.

Here's the "final" form... I may still cut the frame and grips to allow me to run the OLED screen that comes with the Morlock, but I'm on the fence still.




The LP chamber is a late-model Sledgehammer that I gutted, drilled out, and plugged. It's surprisingly large inside, with at least a cubic inch of volume, maybe more. You can see the microswitch behind the trigger - I briefly thought of locating it further in and installing an adjustable setscrew in the trigger, but the KISS principle won out.



Lastly, my on-off switch mounted in the slot cover, which also serves as a battery compartment.




I think the wrinkle paint turned out better than I thought it would... 24 hour drying time followed by an hour in the oven at 200°F seems to have left a fairly durable finish.