An on-going saga of my impulsive, ADHD med fueled passion project. Let me start by saying that I am a poorly-skilled, ham-fisted, but motivated modifier of parts. Most of my work is done impulsively, at odd hours, and with a joint in my mouth. Never one to measure twice, thus I suffer from the consequences of cutting once.
This was my starting point:
I have had this Empire Trracer since I bought it new in the early 2010s. I have always liked them. The AC threads and built in detent were the modern changes I wanted to make to basically every Nelson I've ever owned. I have had a few other Trracers over the years, but I could never get used to the rail and right feed setup on them.
I solved the problem on this one when a machinist at my previous place of work took pity on me and milled the body to take a phantom feed. I drilled and tapped it for a reverse feed, bought one of the Apoc@lypse Paintball springfeeds(this one accepting the empire spring tube) and I played with it a fair amount in this setup.
For a long time though, I have hated the frame and wanted to create something better.
I received an Ender 3 for Christmas in 2019, and it saw a decent amount of use through early 2020 as a time filler. I couldn't wrap my head around the design software, though, and I mostly stuck to printing existing designs. Then I moved in with my parents as everything collapsed and it sat in their basement until a couple months ago.
Fast forward to recently:
I decided to dive into learning Fusion 360, and this project actually became a fantastic way to do that.
I have had one of the flyweightnate? Nelson-milled BL Millenium frames kicking around. I've bounced around using it for a pneumag(someone do this, please), putting it on my Sheridan, but settled on fixing the Trracer trigger frame problem. (The problem is it sucks)
It started with a trigger design:
And quickly I realized the geometry was difficult to capture. I used 2 bearings, but quickly switched to one as space was tight in the frame and there was no noticeable difference in trigger pull. I wanted to use one of the existing holes in the frame, so I played around with the rotation point a fair amount. Still, it was dragged badly on the sear and not activating consistently.
I added a spacer plate, and there were many revisions to both...
But eventually it all came together. I don't have a photo of the final trigger, as there are still some final touches to make, and I was half-way through typing this out when I realized I never took a photo of it.
I also had to drill a new rear-frame hole, but that's about it in terms of frame mods.
That brings us to today. with no air, I was able to trip the sear with a trigger pull, so it was time to test:
I still have some cleaning up to do on these parts. I need to work out where the trigger is snagging inside the frame, and I want the plate to extend just far enough to hold the detent in place. They are all printed in PLA, and once I am happy with the design, I plan to get these printed professionally in a carbon-fiber nylon or ASA or something stronger/more heat resistant.
The next biggest steps are going to be designing a pump handle and feed that I'm happy with. I wanted to install a standard Phantom feed, but I massacred the hole for that and have to take a different approach.
More to come.
This was my starting point:
I have had this Empire Trracer since I bought it new in the early 2010s. I have always liked them. The AC threads and built in detent were the modern changes I wanted to make to basically every Nelson I've ever owned. I have had a few other Trracers over the years, but I could never get used to the rail and right feed setup on them.
I solved the problem on this one when a machinist at my previous place of work took pity on me and milled the body to take a phantom feed. I drilled and tapped it for a reverse feed, bought one of the Apoc@lypse Paintball springfeeds(this one accepting the empire spring tube) and I played with it a fair amount in this setup.
For a long time though, I have hated the frame and wanted to create something better.
I received an Ender 3 for Christmas in 2019, and it saw a decent amount of use through early 2020 as a time filler. I couldn't wrap my head around the design software, though, and I mostly stuck to printing existing designs. Then I moved in with my parents as everything collapsed and it sat in their basement until a couple months ago.
Fast forward to recently:
I decided to dive into learning Fusion 360, and this project actually became a fantastic way to do that.
I have had one of the flyweightnate? Nelson-milled BL Millenium frames kicking around. I've bounced around using it for a pneumag(someone do this, please), putting it on my Sheridan, but settled on fixing the Trracer trigger frame problem. (The problem is it sucks)
It started with a trigger design:
And quickly I realized the geometry was difficult to capture. I used 2 bearings, but quickly switched to one as space was tight in the frame and there was no noticeable difference in trigger pull. I wanted to use one of the existing holes in the frame, so I played around with the rotation point a fair amount. Still, it was dragged badly on the sear and not activating consistently.
I added a spacer plate, and there were many revisions to both...
But eventually it all came together. I don't have a photo of the final trigger, as there are still some final touches to make, and I was half-way through typing this out when I realized I never took a photo of it.
I also had to drill a new rear-frame hole, but that's about it in terms of frame mods.
That brings us to today. with no air, I was able to trip the sear with a trigger pull, so it was time to test:
I still have some cleaning up to do on these parts. I need to work out where the trigger is snagging inside the frame, and I want the plate to extend just far enough to hold the detent in place. They are all printed in PLA, and once I am happy with the design, I plan to get these printed professionally in a carbon-fiber nylon or ASA or something stronger/more heat resistant.
The next biggest steps are going to be designing a pump handle and feed that I'm happy with. I wanted to install a standard Phantom feed, but I massacred the hole for that and have to take a different approach.
More to come.
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