ADA: Ask Doc Anything!

[DocsMachine]

Are you available to provide hints on the best way to remove welds from the previous power-feedneck?

-Virtually anything. Dremel, belt-sander, hand file, milling machine, rasp, rotary file, Foredom tool... if you're careful, even a sharp chisel and a hammer. Cleanest and best would likely be the milling machine, but if you don't have access, that's not an option. Dremel and patience, an air sander, a 4" grinder with a flap wheel?

Also, is there anything that can be done to make loading the First Strike rounder easier? It seems like I'll have to shove the First Strike rounds further into the breech to prevent a chop.

-You might not have the capability for this, but here's an idea for you. Remove the pin that links the bolt to the hammer. That way the bolt is no longer actuated by the hammer movement. Come up with a locking method to keep the bolt forward- a really trick idea would be to mill an L-shaped groove in the upper tube, and add a rifle-style bolt handle to the bolt. Lift, draw back, chamber, push forward, fire. You'd want to add a block or pin or something to keep the bolt from simply flying out the back of the gun when you yanked on it, but it's doable.

And the slower bolt movement should help feeding.

Doc.

[Hooptie]

Greetings Doc, I'm looking to understand First Strike rounds, and figure rather than investing in a new marker, why not modify a beat-up old Spyder.

Are you available to provide hints on the best way to remove welds from the previous power-feedneck? Also, is there anything that can be done to make loading the First Strike rounder easier? It seems like I'll have to shove the First Strike rounds further into the breech to prevent a chop.

[DocsMachine]

What color/pattern should I anodize this? I know these were sold as body kits, but any parts you'd change if trying to be period correct?

-First, a solid color or a gradual fade. A 'splash' or sponge pattern would obscure the lines too much.

If that were my build, I'd lose the Impulse bolt and go back to the stock one, as that bolt will cost you gas efficiency. There's a reason I designed the originals the way they are. (And yes, that was one of the relatively few things I contributed to that design.)

I'd also mill down the tail so it better matched the grip frame, but apart from that, give it a nice solid copper anno, or a fade between two of your favorite colors.

And post pics when you're done.

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

Hol' up. Are you saying you can machine a like-quality, typical 12"-14" long barrel on your lathe(s)? How?

-Yes and no. It's true it's not easy to machine a proper solid-bore barrel in a small-shop environment, but it IS relatively trivial to make a Freak barrel. Neither bore needs to be particularly accurate nor particularly smooth- the insert takes care of that for the important part. Drilling and boring to 5-1/2" deep is relatively easy, look at how many people offer Freak boring services.

And it's easy to extend that to 8" with a conventional chucking reamer.

Doc.

[Axel]

-I cleaned up the linework to the first one, and had plans to fiddle with the second today, but I have a LOT on my plate right now. I'll get 'em sorted out, though I might not have all three finished 'til the weekend.

You do know that a typical strip takes around four hours, start to finish, right? And that's ON TOP of my day-to-day work.

Doc.

Oh no, I get that, hence my prediction.

Leave it as is, it's funny

[skinnyfatguy]

What color/pattern should I anodize this? I know these were sold as body kits, but any parts you'd change if trying to be period correct?

[JasperStout]

Hol' up. Are you saying you can machine a like-quality, typical 12"-14" long barrel on your lathe(s)? How? I threw in the towel on that kind of work and sent it out to shops with gun drilling machines.

I will say I bought one of docs tanto barrels fore freak inserts and it’s a nice shooter. It’s only 9” though I think

it also came in a cool envelope with the polar bear letterhead that my girlfriend really liked

[Siress]

-Generally speaking, the grip frame has the most machining. Profiling, hollowing, slotting for the trigger, holes for pivot pins, etc. I wouldn't call it "difficult", just time consuming due to all the different cutters, setups and positions you generally have to do.

I've recently been working on the grip frame for my "Recreating a Masterpiece" thread, if you remember that from before the forum kerflooey, and while none of it is complex, or needs any real precision, there's just a lot of fiddly swapping, moving and rotating to get it all done.

The body- for a Nelson- I'd say is a close second. A lot of it can be done in just a couple of setups in the lathe, but it's generally relatively easy boring. Parts might take a little more precision, but again, this isn't rocket surgery.

If you can successfully make those two parts from scratch, all the rest of the pieces are comparatively easy.

Doc.

Hol' up. Are you saying you can machine a like-quality, typical 12"-14" long barrel on your lathe(s)? How? I threw in the towel on that kind of work and sent it out to shops with gun drilling machines.

[DocsMachine]

You're never going to finish those last three strips, are ya?

-I cleaned up the linework to the first one, and had plans to fiddle with the second today, but I have a LOT on my plate right now. I'll get 'em sorted out, though I might not have all three finished 'til the weekend.

You do know that a typical strip takes around four hours, start to finish, right? And that's ON TOP of my day-to-day work.

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

If I were trying to machine my own nelson type paintball gun from scratch which part do you think would be the most difficult? Body, frame, internals, barrel, etc,

-Generally speaking, the grip frame has the most machining. Profiling, hollowing, slotting for the trigger, holes for pivot pins, etc. I wouldn't call it "difficult", just time consuming due to all the different cutters, setups and positions you generally have to do.

I've recently been working on the grip frame for my "Recreating a Masterpiece" thread, if you remember that from before the forum kerflooey, and while none of it is complex, or needs any real precision, there's just a lot of fiddly swapping, moving and rotating to get it all done.

The body- for a Nelson- I'd say is a close second. A lot of it can be done in just a couple of setups in the lathe, but it's generally relatively easy boring. Parts might take a little more precision, but again, this isn't rocket surgery.

If you can successfully make those two parts from scratch, all the rest of the pieces are comparatively easy.

Doc.

[Siress]

in b4 "barrel"

[Axel]

You're never going to finish those last three strips, are ya?

[JasperStout]

If I were trying to machine my own nelson type paintball gun from scratch which part do you think would be the most difficult? Body, frame, internals, barrel, etc,

[DocsMachine]

Got another question - shop related this time. Say you have a simple aluminum bore that was machined a little to large to keep a SS dowel from having a precise fit that still allows rotation of the pin. Would something like bearing retaining compound fill the gap such that you could knock the pin out to break it loose, then reinsert the pin and have that more precise fitment? I'm not worried about the bearing load here at all... it's practically nothing...

-Probably not. First off, I'm not sure what you'd use as a release agent, and also it's been my experience that Loctite type products crumble to dust when they fail or are wrenched loose.

I don't know your exact application, of course, but the proper fix sounds like you should machine the bore slightly larger, and press in something like a thin bronze bushing, or a replacement aluminum insert. The trick to that kind of thing is to not try to make the bushing too thin- if you have the room, give it some body. The trick to that is to press in a much thicker busing than you need (that is a smaller or even solid bore) and once it's properly fixed, then redrill/rebore to dimension.

Doc.

[Siress]

I think about that Bourdain quote every once in a while. Staying motivated to simply exist can be such a struggle at times. It is, as you say, satisfying to improve the world around us.

Looking forward to seeing your next creation, Doc!

Got another question - shop related this time. Say you have a simple aluminum bore that was machined a little to large to keep a SS dowel from having a precise fit that still allows rotation of the pin. Would something like bearing retaining compound fill the gap such that you could knock the pin out to break it loose, then reinsert the pin and have that more precise fitment? I'm not worried about the bearing load here at all... it's practically nothing...