ADA: Ask Doc Anything!

[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."

[jeramiej]

Great update Doc. 2021 and 2022 finds your roadblocks are common with many.

[DocsMachine]

Doc, how is the “Duke” going? A very impressive build.

-Okay, without making a huge wall o' text out of it:

One, yes, I very much plan to try and produce a run of Dukes. The size of said run is still up in the air, but I'm doing what I can to bring it around.

Two, things that have been holding me back include, but are not limited to, time, funds, the physical ability to make the parts (in economic quantities) and time. It's also worth noting that I designed the gun around easy-to-get and inexpensive Phantom parts... which at the moment are neither. I can make the stuff if I need to, but that just adds to cost and time.

Three, last year I borrowed heavily and bought a couple of my own damn CNC machines, both to speed up day-to-day production, which should, I strongly hope, also help with the income bit, but also to produce the Duke parts themselves (rather than having to farm them out to flaky third-party shops.)

All that said, I can give no hard ETA, and I absolutely will not be taking any down payments of any kind, until I have parts on the table.

IF anyone would like to help, finances are and always have been, the biggest rock in the road. A few bucks a month toward my Patreon would be one of the easiest ways- the income from that is basically the only thing that got me through 2020. There's also my eBay store and my badly-in-need-of-updating online store.

Thank you.
Doc.

[jeramiej]

Doc, how is the “Duke” going? A very impressive build.

looks like insert link loses the page, here: http://www.docsmachine.com/projects/lever/mk2-01.html

[XEMON]

I was thinking about making an insert (machined or 3d printed) to "hold" the insert and preventing it from collapsing ...

[Jordan]

I've done nail polish detents in Freak inserts - they worked - so I'm sure wedgits would too, just a matter of figuring out how to avoid destroying the insert.

[XEMON]

but one idea there I'm not sure I've seen anyone try yet, is wedgits on an insert. Maybe take a common and easily-replaced insert like a .686" and put some wedgit dents into it.

Doc.

I've been thinking about trying it for a wile, i got an insert with a huge bore so not a big loss if i mess it up ...

Also, i did this to my bushmaster to prevent rollout:

[DocsMachine]

There's no one best method. It depends on the gun and how far you need to go. (IE, how small your paint is.)

Generally speaking, I tend to prefer something changeable or removable- that is, I'd prefer an insert or sizer, or tape or nail polish, rather than actual dents in the barrel or the like. That's because the paint is still too variable in size- and, if we're lucky, the makers will start bringing it back up at some point.

For anything with a removable barrel, tape, nail polish or even one of FreeDummy's rubber inserts will work just fine. There's no Big Secret to it, just something that will hold the ball more or less in place for a few moments.

For a common barrel, ideally a Freak or iFit system is the best choice, in my opinion. Yeah, it's not perfect, considering that even the smallest Freak inserts are starting to be too big for some paints, but one idea there I'm not sure I've seen anyone try yet, is wedgits on an insert. Maybe take a common and easily-replaced insert like a .686" and put some wedgit dents into it.

The tricky ones are the fixed barrel guns, like unibody Phantoms, Bushmasters and Wintecs. The nail-polish thing is probably the easiest, using a small brush maybe taped to the end of a popsicle stick or shish-ka-bob skewer or something. (Drinking straw, disposable chopstick, forceps, whatever works. Takes good lighting and a steady hand, but can be done and is of course reversible/removable.)

Doc.

[un2xs]

I dont remember seeing you answer this one before, but i did not go through all 24 pages of previous posts.

What is the best form of rollout prevention for old guns? Does it matter which type of guns... i.e. brass guns candidates for Wedgits? Or perhaps unibody vs removable barrels?

[XEMON]

Dam ... A 5C shereline 🤯
11X24 or 32 would be great, but I've looked at a few that had 3/4" bore 😒

So if it takes 5C it got ~1"3/8 bore?

[DocsMachine]

While on the topic of spindle bore size ... What's the smallest lathe with 1+" spindle bore?

-Smallest? Sherline either makes or used to make one of their little tiny lathes that actually took 5C collets. They even had a gang-tooled CNC version.

More realistically? Look for a Southbend, 9" or 10", an 11" Logan, or a 10" Sheldon. I'm sure there's others, but any of those are available with a big enough bore to take a 5C drawtube. (About 1-3/8".) Out of the three, an 11" x 24" Logan would likely be the absolute most compact for you, though an 11" x 32" will be more common to find, and not that much larger.

Doc.

[XEMON]

While on the topic of spindle bore size ... What's the smallest lathe with 1+" spindle bore?
I'm super limited in space ...

Thanks DOC 👍