ADA: Ask Doc Anything!

[DocsMachine]

Wow, so how come the Black Ice retailed for more than the Vigilante 20 years back?

-Can't answer that one. Keeping in mind there's been a LOT of "boutique pricing" of paintball gear over the years- players (well, any buyer, really) automatically have the assumption that just because one product is more expensive than another, that the pricier one is somehow better.

DYE was the prime example of this- when the Boomsticks came out, they were $120- in late 90s money!- where virtually all other aftermarket barrels at the time cost between $60 and $80. There was no functional difference- the Boomer was 2-piece, but so were the All-Americans. They were part stainless, but so were LAPCOs, Steel Winds TASO Tulips and a dozen others.

But the Boomer cost $40 more, and sold like hotcakes, in no small part because the players thought it was better.

Doc.

[dartamon]

Wow, so how come the Black Ice retailed for more than the Vigilante 20 years back?

[Arsenal]

Instead of removing the pin entirely, shorten it so it still rides in its channel but won't engage the bolt. Don't want the hammer rotating enough to stop engaging the sear. Don't ask how I know.

[lew]

Doc, I "located" a foregrip for my Shocker project, so we can call off the hounds on the custom project. By locate, I mean, the project gun was also missing a fire piston, so I pulled that and a Gadget Grip off one of my other, older Shockers, which is now designated a donor gun (ironically, what that one was intended to be).

[DocsMachine]

Can an original 4X4 Sport Shocker run on CO2?

-Of course. Co2 was still the dominant propellant back in '96 when those first came out. And the shoebox was so gas-inefficient, that a 20-oz CO2 tank was basically the only way you could get through a game. (It was good for about 600 shots.) The early 3K psi tanks might only last 300-400, and that was assuming the field could even get you a full 3K fill. It was rare for a field to have an actual compressor setup- early on, most went with bottled gas, or massive banks of SCUBA tanks. We had to do things like "cascade fill" or use boosters. Thank yer lucky stars you don't have to do that kind of thing anymore.

What's the difference between the Air America Vigilante, Black Ice, Violator regulators? Other than the externals?

-Conceptually, they're all variants of the same design.The original was the all-stainless-steel UniReg. After a while, they milled off some of the dead weight around the spring pack to take a couple ounces of steel off, and called that the Violator. Internally they're essentially the same.

Later, that same design got a far lighter aluminum body and was called the Black Ice. Internals are again, effectively the same.

The original Vigilante took the same design, but gave it a larger secondary piston, and a lighter spring, allowing it to work reliably at much lower pressures. (The UniReg and Black ice were really meant to run in the 600-800 psi range, the Vigilante would work just fine at 250 to 450.)

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

Why do you live in Alaska and have you thought about living elsewhere?

-First, my parents moved here when I was basically a toddler. So you could say I didn't have a choice. But really, I love it here.

Second, yes, I have considered moving any number of times, and I've always thought that if I were somewhere with a larger population, I'd be a lot more successful. In a discussion over on the Guild just recently, I suggested that had I lived somewhere, say, on the East Coast, when I started this biz, I might have found an affordable used CNC machining center early on, and gone more toward production than one-off customization.

But, I honestly can't think of anywhere else I'd like to be. I'm not a big-city person, I hate big-city driving, and given the recent rampant stupidity in places like Seattle, Chicago, New York and Minneapolis, I'm extremely glad I don't live anywhere near those places.

I admit I'm getting kind of tired of the six-month-long winters (that's not an exaggeration- we generally get the first sprinkling in mid-October, and there's usually still snow on the ground by mid-April) but I am also not a hot-weather person. 70F is a hot day, to me.

In 20 or 30 years, I may think about retiring to Florida or something, but I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

how do i get these last two out?

-Being a machinist, I'd set the motor up on the mill and carefully drill them out. But I don't recommend that unless you have a milling machine.

Optionally, look up how to use Alum to dissolve steel out of aluminum. It's slow, but most of that is "sit and wait" time, and it's effective.

Doc.

[dartamon]

Can an original 4X4 Sport Shocker run on CO2?

What's the difference between the Air America Vigilante, Black Ice, Violator regulators? Other than the externals?

[DocsMachine]

1. What are the extents of your machining services? IE could one send you a block of aluminum and have a marker body milled and drilled from it?

-Certainly. I'll make you anything you want, and as as many as you want... as long as you're willing to pay for it.

But, it's also worth noting I am, for the moment, a largely manual shop. If you want 200 parts, there's CNC shops that will suit you better.

2. Do you rethread barrels? Markers?

-Of course. I have photos somewhere of an original-style Jacko Infinity I rethreaded to fit a 'shoebox' Shocker, then there's another Shoebox I rethreaded to take 'Cocker barrels- oh, and there's a couple LCD Angels out there that now take 'Cocker barrels. I can rethread barrels- if there's enough meat- to even fit the old ICD quad-lead thread.

Doc.

[spikeball]

Two part question:
Why do you live in Alaska and have you thought about living elsewhere?

I spent a week up in your neck of the woods last year and loved all the beauty, so I completely understand why you wouldn't go somewhere else.

[Tarsun2]

i removed the engine from a push mower and snapped off 2 of the 3 bolts that hold the motor to the deck.
Motor is off the deck but the bolts snapped off 1/4in below the surface.
Bolts are steel (and oddly are slightly triangular) while the mounting flange of the motor is aluminum.

how do i get these last two out?

[scottieb]

Doc,

1. What are the extents of your machining services? IE could one send you a block of aluminum and have a marker body milled and drilled from it?

2. Do you rethread barrels? Markers?


Thank you in advance.

[lew]

-No prob. Figured I'd ask.

No sweat on the grip, you want a 1" or 78"?

Doc.

Doc, whatever's easier for you, but 7/8" would be fine.

[Axel]

No. I nailed two customer-supplied LCDs together. I cut away the battery tube of one, and milled it to 'nest' over the hammer tube of the other.

Then made a "rail" that bolts the two together- which was surprisingly complex all by itself- flipped the door of one, made a custom one-piece backplate that also helped tie them together, and a bunch of other little bits.

No CAD, pure brain, baby.

Doc.

That's more reasonable but still dammed impressive

[DocsMachine]

Doc, thanks for the offer, but I already have two Nunmech VASA's that I don't use, and I'm one of those guys that likes my support hand and the foregrip under it right close to the trigger frame.

-No prob. Figured I'd ask.

No sweat on the grip, you want a 1" or 78"?

Doc.