ADA: Ask Doc Anything!

[Siress]

I restored one of these in my teenage years. Thanks for the flood of nostalgia. The issue I had with it was that the surface corrosion was too significant to recover. The best I could do was avoid carbide tools and use sand paper for finishing the parts I turned. Even then, I think I had to start around 220 grit sand paper.... she was rough.

[scottieb]

Well done, hee hee!

[cougar20th]

curious what your thoughts are of this. 1940/50s vintage Craftsman 109.21270 Mini lathe.

Everything seems to be free and moving. Ways need attention as they are rusted.not horribly. It sat in a garage for many many years. I do have a couple motors I could use. But not the original.

Obviously part size is limited with it. Not sure about the max size it will hold.

Is it worth restoring? Or atleast getting running.

[Meleager7]

well done sir!

[Axel]

Hey Doc, what is the best method to grill a steak?

Set it under a bright light, and bring a buddy to play the "bad cop"

[Meleager7]

Hey Doc, what is the best method to grill a steak?

[Walking Stick]

It's also worth noting that I have done relatively few "full custom" builds in the last... well, quite a few years. I've repaired tons of them, done minor mods or upgrades, made thousands of parts, etc. but not that many 'complete' markers.

Hey Doc, so are you still modifying and customizing markers today? Jeez, I still remember that glorious Doc9000 Model 98 with 68Automag piggybacked on top from my heyday!

I ask because I would love to have one of your ring triggers for a 'Mag, and I have a parts ICD Desert Fox with damaged powerfeed that sits forgotten just begging to be converted into a modern centerfeed...

[Dirklax39]

You are a legend! Thanks for the information.

[DocsMachine]

Any idea why this phantom I just bought has a milled hammer? If it's an upgrade mod, how can I utilize the lighter hammer best?

-Old trick to lighten the hammer. People have been doing it since the 007 days.

The idea is to try and get more shots per cartridge, and it can work, if you're willing to fiddle.

What you want is, generally, a medium-stiff valve spring, maybe a bit stiffer than the factory CCI. Then what you want is a good stiff main spring, but a short one. That is, when the hammer is not cocked, the main spring should not be pushing on the hammer. (Or at worst, should only have a very minimal "preload".)

The idea is the short, stiff spring gives the light hammer the energy to open the valve, but leaves the hammer free- IE, no remaining pressure from the spring- to 'rebound', or let the valve close, as fast as possible. That gives the best per-cartridge efficiency, all else (like paint/bore match, etc.) being the same.

The only real drawback is that the gun tends to be a little more sensitive to pressure variations- you get more of a swing as the cartridge empties.

Doc.

[Dirklax39]

DocsMachine

Any idea why this phantom I just bought has a milled hammer? If it's an upgrade mod, how can I utilize the lighter hammer best?

Thanks!

[DocsMachine]

What is the one paintball gun you have built or modified of which you are most proud? Basically the one that gives you warm fuzzies when you say, "Yeah, I built that."

-That's kind of hard to pin down. There's been more than a few guns I made that I'm proud of, not necessarily because of how stunning the end result is, but how well the actual work came out.

For example, one of my all-time favorites is this gun:



Compared to hundreds of more modern guns, it's really not all that spectacular. BUT... that started out as a side-feed body, which I milled out, and then fitted that block. Which fit perfectly. To the point where when I got the parts back from anno, I had to slightly warm the body to slide it in- it's not a press fit, but it's damn close. Better still, I fitted the top tube so that when the block is bolted down (you can see the dots of the two tiny stainless screws) that "clamps" the feed tube in place.

Moreover, I did that on a worn-out mill-drill, very few endmills, using a sh***y drill press vise, in the first year I as in business, and with all of about half a week of actual machining experience under my belt.

For one where the result came out well, as well, I've always been fond of this one:



Wasn't happy with how the Freak back came out, but I love the grip frame, which was 100% from scratch, including the trigger and sear.

It's also worth noting that I have done relatively few "full custom" builds in the last... well, quite a few years. I've repaired tons of them, done minor mods or upgrades, made thousands of parts, etc. but not that many 'complete' markers.

That said, I'm kind of proud of how the Duke came out, too...

It doesn't seem to make any practical performance difference. Is my buddy's one some kind of prototype or earlier production run?

-It happens. The industry term is "stacked tolerances". Generally speaking, my adapters- and yes, I've done dozens and dozens of separate runs- are within about 0.001". From 0.9995" to 1.0005". Automag bodies are a little wider than that- I've measured them from 1.002" to 1.005", with most of them being on the lower end.

Really, without hand-fitting, or making the insert a press-fit that you never take out, there has to be a tiny bit of tolerance. Most people are lucky and get very minimal wobble, others wind up with a touch more clearance and see a bit more.

It's worth noting. though, that the worst fit I've ever personally seen, was still notably better than almost any twist-lock barrel.

Doc.

[MrBarraclough]

I bought one of your Automag barrel adapters from you directly and later got a used one from Superman to give a buddy. The one for my buddy has "Docs Machine" engraved on the side (or maybe "docsmachine.com" or similar) and fits slightly loosely in his mag body. There is just a teeny amount of wobble you can feel when you grab the barrel. Mine is perfectly snug. It doesn't seem to make any practical performance difference. Is my buddy's one some kind of prototype or earlier production run? Potentially relevant detail: He's using his original classic mag body while I am using a polished steel minimag body.

[MrBarraclough]

Are the margins better for you via your online store or eBay?

If you can produce Timmy/Spyder detents and Angel A-1 detents, how about PE Ego/Etek detents?

[flyweightnate]

Do you prefer selling through ebay, or your site to save fees?

[un2xs]

Why do tornados hate trailer parks?

More on topic for MCB: What is the one paintball gun you have built or modified of which you are most proud? Basically the one that gives you warm fuzzies when you say, "Yeah, I built that."