Spring Feed General Principles

[RuleOfSines]

Ahoy again, I need to springfeed my project brass:



Can't see it in this pic, but it has the brass feed tube soldered in place.

I have a couple reference pieces for springfeeds, but am interested in what others have run into or tried. How wide of a slot do you cut in the tube for the guide? Anything to watch out for slotting a brass tube? How about ensuring the spring compresses nicely into the follower?

[Carp]

Ahoy again,... [Snip].... follower?

Is that an old Cooper-T IMP kit? I think, I've only seen red ones.....🤔

Edit... Or with a VASA. 😲

[RuleOfSines]

Is that an old Cooper-T IMP kit? I think, I've only seen red ones.....🤔

Edit... Or with a VASA. 😲

Yep! The vasa is my own design, one of my first mini-mill projects:



More stuff about it here: https://www.facebook.com/PeculiarPai...73210791075703

[Axel]

Yeah, I saw this on the Book and figured the owner would have to show himself on MCB eventually

[NONOBLITUS]

Whoa , another cool project. I’m tunning in to see what happens next.

[Spider!]

My only spring feed was from aluminum angle, so I built the slot. I can say that I spent at least as much time on the guide/retraction handle. I think it was a number 6 screw with a cover of brass tubing. The screw head wasn't the best grip. The position of the slot matters for ergonomics. In hindsight, I would consider a separate guide from the handle. A 3d printed handle would be a nice option.

[Arthur]

This thread is off the chain, mein.

[gabe]

Yeah, that gun is intense. VERY neat build.

I liked the old springfeeds that PPS (I think?) used to do. It used their feed plug with the parabolic ramp and when turned ~90 degrees the ramp would clear a hole in the top to feed it through and then you would turn the feed back and the ramp would cover the loading port and force balls down towards the chamber. The follower had a stud that rode in a simple slot all the way down the feed tube with a dogleg notch to lock it back while loading.

To load just run the follower back and lock it, turn the feed plug 90*, dump in paint, turn the feed plug back to feed, and release the follower. Very fast and simple.

[russc]

Holy crap you really do like obscure gear. Do those actually work worth a damn?

[russc]

Serious response to the original question, though...I would recommend you put the guide pin at the front of the follower. I feel that binds less when you pull back. I think PPS uses low profile pins so that users don't create a big moment around the follower and bind it up. I also suggest that you try and measure the slot so you don't have an infuriating 7/8ths of a ball gap at the end, where it seems like you could fit one more in.

AgentSmith had a cool mod to his Zeus pistols that put the feed hole at the very end of the spring compression, so you don't need to twist any knobs. You just yank the spring back, lock it, pour a tube in, and release.