ADA: Ask Doc Anything!

[GanonsGrin]

Out of sheer curiosity, How many customer projects do you have in queue right now vs. personal projects?

[Ecapnation]

From a bored tinkerer....

What the one thing you still want to build?

[DocsMachine]

Doc, since you don't answer email or pm[...]

-I answer what I receive, at least as many as I can. I can't find an email from you and your last PM was two months ago- which I replied to.

I'll once again post here. I'd like my solenoids back.

-On their way.

Months have passed and there have been no updates or communications from you.

-You, like so many others, assume that if you don't hear anything, I'm therefore not doing anything. In this day and age of hourly Twitter updates, Zoom meetings every fifteen minutes, daily Facebook briefings and a weekly podcast release, everyone assumes that if no one's heard from me in fifteen or twenty minutes, I've run off to lay in a hammock on the beach somewhere.

This, suffice to say, is not the case.

I can only assume that you are not interested[...]

-Right. I've been doing this airsmith thing as a full-time day job for closing in on twenty-three years, and literally make my living designing and manufacturing products exactly like this, but I'm not interested.

Pull the other one, it's got bells on it.

[...]or too busy to work on this project.

-Therein lies the rub. I do indeed have a great deal on my plate, and more is on the way. You demonstrate the ability to walk on water just once, and then everyone wants you to trot across the lake on an errand.

I have a couple hundred dollars in material already cut and turned for this particular project, and several hours into doing up some proper drawings for the part. But hey, won't be the first time I've thrown money away... Good thing I make so much of it, right?

I'd like to move forward with this and thus far I'm still waiting on you.

-I had no idea I possessed the last two such solenoids on earth. They shall be returned forthwith and post haste.

Doc.

[Indeed]

Doc, since you don't answer email or pm I'll once again post here. I'd like my solenoids back. Months have passed and there have been no updates or communications from you. I can only assume that you are not interested or too busy to work on this project. I'd like to move forward with this and thus far I'm still waiting on you.

[Arthur]

DocsMachine , question for you good sir:

Recently acquired one of your AC adapters for mags. I tried to install it in my sydarm but it feels really tight. I might be neglecting something really obvious too, so forgive me. Just want to be careful with this relic.

[MrBarraclough]

Thanks! These are great answers to questions that had been rattling around in my head. I had been eyeballing some of my old twistlock barrels and considering using my drill press to drill holes for finger detents, but decided not to chance it since I wouldn't have a good way of cutting the grooves for the detents to lay down into as the bolt passes by.

I'll actually give cutting down the feedneck a shot. Since I now have a secondhand Minimag body on my Automag, I decided to experiment with the original stock body. The tube cutter I had on hand put a shallow groove in it but I don't think is ever going to cut through, given that it was meant for copper tubing and not stainless. That is assuming, of course, that I can fix my Dremel which I nearly burned up drilling out the bolts holding the original ASA on the rail.

[dartamon]

If you were going to do a vertical feed Brass Eagle Raptor build, what would you include in it?

[DocsMachine]

Have you ever milled slots for rubber finger detents into twistlock Automag barrels? I would think the tooling setup for doing so would be virtually the same as for your adapters. Or would that just not be a cost-effective thing to do compared to simply using your adapter and getting an AC threaded barrel?

-An interesting idea. I had not thought of doing so, and you're the first to ask. But yes, the wall thickness and whatnot is the same, so the only potential issue, off the top of my head, is possible interference with the twist-lock groove. I'd have to pull out an old barrel and check- and it my vary from barrel to barrel, since not all companies milled the barrel the same way.

Which makes another question occur to me: Would it be possible (or practical) to convert a twistlock barrel by cutting off the breech and cutting AC threads into the barrel (assuming it is a one piece barrel)?

-Possible, yes. I've done quite a few that way, particularly for those with "splash kits" that want to keep the matching barrel. One of my adapters, a conversion to 'Cocker thread, and a Freak bore, and all of a sudden your 25-year-old Eclipse Splash Kit can shoot modern paint again.

What would be the preferable method for a home hobbyist to cut some length off the feedneck of an old stainless Automag body? Pipecutter, hacksaw, Dremel with cutting wheel, or something else?

-If I didn't have a machine shop, what I'd do is wrap a turn of masking tape around the tend, with the edge of the tape where you want the tube cut. Wrap it carefully so the tape lines up- that is, one end comes around and is still level with the other end. That will help you make a "true" cut.

I'd then get a Dremel and some of the little cut-off discs. And with a respirator- you do NOT want to breathe stainless steel dust- very carefully cut around the tube right at the edge of the tape. Take your time and go slow. And it's usually better to cut a circle several times, increasing the depth each time, rather than trying to slice through in one pass.

You'll burn up a small handful of the wheels, but with patience it's fairly easy.

Once you've parted it off, a small stone or sanding drum can be used to smooth the edges.

Oh, and before you do any of that, double-check that you don't cut too much. It's a lot easier to take it off than put it back on.

Doc.

[MrBarraclough]

Some Automag-related questions:

I'm enjoying my Doc's Adapter in my Automag, but I'm a little sad that my collection of twistlock barrels are effectively now obselete. My buddy still uses twistlocks in his mag, but current force-fed hoppers tend to overpower the nubbins, especially with today's smaller paint. Have you ever milled slots for rubber finger detents into twistlock Automag barrels? I would think the tooling setup for doing so would be virtually the same as for your adapters. Or would that just not be a cost-effective thing to do compared to simply using your adapter and getting an AC threaded barrel?

Which makes another question occur to me: Would it be possible (or practical) to convert a twistlock barrel by cutting off the breech and cutting AC threads into the barrel (assuming it is a one piece barrel)?

What would be the preferable method for a home hobbyist to cut some length off the feedneck of an old stainless Automag body? Pipecutter, hacksaw, Dremel with cutting wheel, or something else? Should the inside of the tube be reinforced with a dowel or something while cutting? AGD was awfully generous with the tubing on those stock feednecks and they make for a super tall marker compared to most of today's direct vertical feed models.

Thanks,

[DocsMachine]

I have a 56-1/8 by 3/8 band saw (tabletop). Its usually setup for wood cutting, any metal blades out there for this saw?
Ive been looking for a bit, and would like to avoid buying a whole new saw (no room).

-I don't know of that particular size in general, but the trick to doing metal on a wood bandsaw is the blade speed. Wood blades move way too fast for metal, You probably would be too bad with thin aluminum, but for steel, you'd burn the teeth off the blade. For steel, you generally want a blade speed in "feet per minute" (also known as "surface feet per minute", or SFPM) of around 180 to 250 FPM. For aluminum you can be closer to 500-700 FPM.

If the saw itself doesn't have a way to slow it down, you'll have to add a "jackshaft" or gearbox of some sort. LOTS of how-tos online about that, a very common mod.

As for the actual blade, again, just doing aluminum, a typical HSS/carbon steel wood blade will work, to a certain extent. For steel, you'll want the real thing, though- try sources like bandsawbladesdirect.com. I've bought from them a couple times, seems like a decent deal.

Doc.

[Cunha]

Well, really, that's just a long-winded way of asking "what's your favorite gun?"

Arguably, there's a dozen or more current markers that would work, from any one of the top makers.

But me, personally? I'm still a big old-school fan of the 'Cocker. Mainly just because I'm a gadget freak, and the 'Cocker is by far the most customizable marker we've ever had. I could come up with some hornswoggle about it being the most versatile, able to be a fast E-marker, a top-end mech, and even a pump, but in truth, I like 'em just 'cause they have lots of bits and bobs and moving parts and they're just generally fun to work on and shoot.

Doc.

Sort of the same question, but for me it would be more about the form of the game that shapes around the gun versus just the gun that I enjoy.

My choice would be some stock class gun because I see it as a way of play that allows for a better game, that might even be a sport. On paper at least. I could see people caring about Olympic level stock class games, but not Olympic level semi auto ball games.

[XEMON]

I have a 56-1/8 by 3/8 band saw (tabletop). Its usually setup for wood cutting, any metal blades out there for this saw?
Ive been looking for a bit, and would like to avoid buying a whole new saw (no room).

Thanks Doc.

[moving_target]

Caliper first. Got it.

[DocsMachine]

Is there any increased difficulty to boring slip fit barrels for inserts compared to threaded ones?

-The actual boring? Not particularly. The application for said bored barrel? Yes.

The two slip-fits off the top of my head are the Blazer and the SL-68. On the Blazer, the OD is too small where it goes into the gun. Only .795" or so. The OD of the typical Freak insert is circa .745". That leaves you a total of about 0.050", or a wall thickness of about 0.025". That's not quite beercan thin, but it's getting there.

I've made Blazer Freak backs before, but I always make sure the owners know they're basically not warranted. You tentpeg the thing or otherwise bend it, I'm not gonna replace it. (Though in honesty, I've only heard of one being damaged, and that got squashed in his gearbag, not even mounted to the gun. )

On the SL-68, there's more sidewall meat, but the Nelson-style bolt actually chambers into the breech of the barrel- there's no inner step or wall to retain the insert.It's possible the bolt O-ring can grab the insert and pull it backward. It won't come completely out of the barrel, of course, but it also won't let another ball chamber.

To make an SL Freak, you have to have the insert come in from the front, and that means having a screw-in tip. Using a stock Freak tip means a "knuckle' in the barrel about an inch in diameter, and that of course won't fit through the pump grip.

Using an XL insert is somewhat better, as that moves the 'knuckle' where the front and back screw together, further forward, but you'd still have to bore out or saw off around an inch of the pump grip.

Doc.

[moving_target]

Is there any increased difficulty to boring slip fit barrels for inserts compared to threaded ones?