I've always wanted to build a pneumatic assist pump my own way, without worrying about perfect machining or ano matched parts, almost like a rat build or steampunk-like features. I knew I wanted a to use a cocker body but wasn't sure which one to start with. I dug into my gear and found an old '98 body that I used as unregulated stock class and had a horizontal feed tube. This wasn't what I had in mind but it's taking up precious storage space so I figured I use it. With Spring Pump Event West coming up this weekend I decided to just do it out of the blue with no plan.
I stared at the body for a while thinking about how I wanted to tackle this. The pneu kits that are are in circulation have pretty neat designs but I don't have a mill or machining equipment to produce something similar. I'm a fabricator and certified welder so my skills are a little more crude. With that said heres what I came up with..
I drew up some .375" 6061 T6 alum tabs in CAD and got them cut out by sendcutsend. These were going to be welded to my vasa and would allow me to mount my ram on one side and the 3 way on the other. The 3way would face backwards to allow the timing rod to mount somewhere to the pump handle. Since these tabs will be welded to the vertical asa it makes this whole kit technically bolt on! And if none of these parts are in the front block area then I can use whatever off the shelf pump kit I want. I posted on here asking what grade aluminum the vasa is made of but couldn't get a definite answer. There was only one way to find out if it would work and if it didn't I'm only ruining a single vasa. I sanded as much of the ano off in that area as I could, grabbed some 4043 filler rod, fired up the TIG and burned away. The VASA almost acted like it's made of 5052 where it wants to melt at a different temperature than 6061 which made these welds look horrible. Also note that there were definitely impurities rising in the puddle. If I was starting with new, raw part I'm sure things would look way better. Anyway, here she is all burned in. I decided to only weld the backside of the tabs to keep the front looking a little cleaner and the extra strength isn't necessary for this application.
Here it is bolted onto the body. As you can see I had to weld the 3way tab on a little offset because I tapped it a little off 😁
I'm starting to think this might be better suited in the Pile of Poo section on here.
I'm converting one of my pumps to a cocker so it gladly donated it's Niche frame to this build.
For the pneumatics I was going to use spares I had laying around but the 3way I had was missing it's shaft so I picked up a new ST bomb II.
I also didn't have another HPR so I picked up a new dye reg. It fits this build nicely.
Since the ram sits further back and away from the body I had to modify a pump rod. I cut down the end and tapped it. Then I broke the pump rod by bending it without heating so I welded it back together at an angle and bent it as needed. I also heated it more just for some stainless aesthetics. Not giving a shit about perfection makes this build fun.
Next up was attaching the timing rod to the pump handle. I wanted to keep the handle as far back as I could because it no longer needs the full stroke. I cut down an old timing rod and bent it to a 90. Then I drilled a hole in the pump handle for the rod to sit. There shouldn't be enough force on this rod when it's aired up to elongate the hole over time but we'll see.
Now the pump handle actuates the 3way, and the back stroke of the handle was limited by the guide rod assembly, the handle would come out at full extension so it was time to limit that too. Here's what I came up with. Since the pump rod was so far away from the body there was room in body channel to house another rod so I took an old pump rod, cut it down and bent it so it wraps around the ram tab. I gave the rod some heat on the threaded side for more aesthetics and added some heat shrink where the tab contacts for good measure. Now the front and back of the stroke of the pump handle is completely tunable.
Here it is mostly put together. I think she looks pretty neat.
But there's still one thing left to do. I need to mount the LPR somewhere. This is where I need your feedback. My original plan was to tap the side of the valve chamber so the LPR mounts directly off of it with a 90* fitting. I think I have three options for the location. I'd like to keep the LPR on the pass side to minimize complexity of the micro line but here's the problem. The 3way tab is directly in front of the valve chamber.
So question for you guys. Should I...
1. tap the side of the valve chamber where the valve spring sits? Is this even a practical option? I don't see how it could mess too much with airflow, especially with this being a purpose built mod stock build. But I could see maybe the threads of the fitting sitting too far in which contacts the valve spring. I like this idea most because the LPR will sit horizontal and out of the way.
2. Tap into the valve chamber directly in front of the tab and run the LPR straight down. Would look kinda neat with style of this build I guess. Would this effect the operation of the reg?
3. Run a macroline fitting out of either one of those spots and mount the LPR remotely. Not my favorite option but would give it some character.
See pics below for the placements.
By the way I brought my drills and tap to work so I'm literally ready to tap this right now. I'd like to get some of your thoughts before I do this though. I'm leaving for SPEW in 2 days so this has to be done by today. Let me know!
I stared at the body for a while thinking about how I wanted to tackle this. The pneu kits that are are in circulation have pretty neat designs but I don't have a mill or machining equipment to produce something similar. I'm a fabricator and certified welder so my skills are a little more crude. With that said heres what I came up with..
I drew up some .375" 6061 T6 alum tabs in CAD and got them cut out by sendcutsend. These were going to be welded to my vasa and would allow me to mount my ram on one side and the 3 way on the other. The 3way would face backwards to allow the timing rod to mount somewhere to the pump handle. Since these tabs will be welded to the vertical asa it makes this whole kit technically bolt on! And if none of these parts are in the front block area then I can use whatever off the shelf pump kit I want. I posted on here asking what grade aluminum the vasa is made of but couldn't get a definite answer. There was only one way to find out if it would work and if it didn't I'm only ruining a single vasa. I sanded as much of the ano off in that area as I could, grabbed some 4043 filler rod, fired up the TIG and burned away. The VASA almost acted like it's made of 5052 where it wants to melt at a different temperature than 6061 which made these welds look horrible. Also note that there were definitely impurities rising in the puddle. If I was starting with new, raw part I'm sure things would look way better. Anyway, here she is all burned in. I decided to only weld the backside of the tabs to keep the front looking a little cleaner and the extra strength isn't necessary for this application.
Here it is bolted onto the body. As you can see I had to weld the 3way tab on a little offset because I tapped it a little off 😁
I'm starting to think this might be better suited in the Pile of Poo section on here.
I'm converting one of my pumps to a cocker so it gladly donated it's Niche frame to this build.
For the pneumatics I was going to use spares I had laying around but the 3way I had was missing it's shaft so I picked up a new ST bomb II.
I also didn't have another HPR so I picked up a new dye reg. It fits this build nicely.
Since the ram sits further back and away from the body I had to modify a pump rod. I cut down the end and tapped it. Then I broke the pump rod by bending it without heating so I welded it back together at an angle and bent it as needed. I also heated it more just for some stainless aesthetics. Not giving a shit about perfection makes this build fun.
Next up was attaching the timing rod to the pump handle. I wanted to keep the handle as far back as I could because it no longer needs the full stroke. I cut down an old timing rod and bent it to a 90. Then I drilled a hole in the pump handle for the rod to sit. There shouldn't be enough force on this rod when it's aired up to elongate the hole over time but we'll see.
Now the pump handle actuates the 3way, and the back stroke of the handle was limited by the guide rod assembly, the handle would come out at full extension so it was time to limit that too. Here's what I came up with. Since the pump rod was so far away from the body there was room in body channel to house another rod so I took an old pump rod, cut it down and bent it so it wraps around the ram tab. I gave the rod some heat on the threaded side for more aesthetics and added some heat shrink where the tab contacts for good measure. Now the front and back of the stroke of the pump handle is completely tunable.
Here it is mostly put together. I think she looks pretty neat.
But there's still one thing left to do. I need to mount the LPR somewhere. This is where I need your feedback. My original plan was to tap the side of the valve chamber so the LPR mounts directly off of it with a 90* fitting. I think I have three options for the location. I'd like to keep the LPR on the pass side to minimize complexity of the micro line but here's the problem. The 3way tab is directly in front of the valve chamber.
So question for you guys. Should I...
1. tap the side of the valve chamber where the valve spring sits? Is this even a practical option? I don't see how it could mess too much with airflow, especially with this being a purpose built mod stock build. But I could see maybe the threads of the fitting sitting too far in which contacts the valve spring. I like this idea most because the LPR will sit horizontal and out of the way.
2. Tap into the valve chamber directly in front of the tab and run the LPR straight down. Would look kinda neat with style of this build I guess. Would this effect the operation of the reg?
3. Run a macroline fitting out of either one of those spots and mount the LPR remotely. Not my favorite option but would give it some character.
See pics below for the placements.
By the way I brought my drills and tap to work so I'm literally ready to tap this right now. I'd like to get some of your thoughts before I do this though. I'm leaving for SPEW in 2 days so this has to be done by today. Let me know!
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