Your best DIY project?

[spikeball]

We've all done it. Finding ways to try to improve upon our gear in ways that can't be found in the aftermarket. Or it's a comfort thing.

What's your best DIY project or modification you've done to your gear?

Here is my top three:
My parts unibody Phantom. Lots of modification of parts that weren't originally meant to go together.
Vforce Morph mask made to accept Dye i3 soft ears.
Ninja 35ci tank butt stock made from part of a foam ball taped to the tank and then covered in a 68ci tank grip. It's VERY comfortable to shoulder.

[glaman5266]

I don't really do this sort of thing, but I have a buddy who does. His latest creation was a horizontal 2x140rd pouch made from an old car airbag & some velcro. He's pretty handy with a needle & thread.

[spikeball]

Any pictures of these pod packs? That's some interesting material to use, and clever!

[Magmoormaster]

That would be my Tippmann 98 I converted to pump:

[rawbutter]

It's probably not my best, but one of the mods I'm most proud of is my Revvy lid mod. How many times have you flipped your lid shut and thought it snapped, only to have it pop open and dump all your paintballs onto the ground while you're running down the flank? This fixes that problem, and it's also great if you've lost the spring that helps the lid stay open when filling. I also play a lot with new guys who are borrowing my gear, and they're notorious for not checking the lid carefully, so this does the job for them. With this mod, the lid always stays closed even if it doesn't snap shut.

All you need is two holes drilled in the lid and a loop of elastic strapping. It doesn't matter how far apart the two holes are in the lid, but they should be about halfway down. You can also make the loop of elastic larger or smaller to change the tension on the lid. Then loop the elastic around the narrow part of the loader, right behind the neck.

Since the elastic is looped through the lid, it won't fall off and get lost. And if it gets shot and breaks, it's easy to replace. The elastic is pulled tight when the lid is halfway open, but it's a little loser when closed or fully open, so the elastic band really only wants to hold the lid in the open or closed position.

[lew]

That's a clever fix, especially for a newbie who already has a lot on their mind.

[XEMON]

Awesomely simple!
Ill have to do that to one of my revy ...
Thanks

[glaman5266]

That's pretty neat.

[Magageddon]

For my z frame build I needed a foregrip extender for my classic rail since my z grip still had its wings. So I took an old lapco foregrip extender and dremeled/filed some material from the back so It would clear the z frip trigger guard. I then jeweler sawed some of the foregrip extenders front material off and dremeled a slot in the middle so I could attach an rt pro style foregrip. Really happy with how it feels/looks, especially after anno

[spikeball]

That looks like it was meant to be like that. Well done!

[lew]

That's really clean. Nice work.

[DocsMachine]

Quick and cheap mod that had a huge effect on my comfort: Back when I first started playing, I eventually splurged on a TASO Spartan, mainly because I couldn't afford the additional $100 for an SI Bushmaster. But, I've always had relatively big hands, and I never liked the Lone Star grip. Too thin at the top.

So one day, I wrapped the grip and back part of the frame with masking tape, and smeared Bondo all over it. Once it cured, I took a rasp and then several files and coarse sandpaper to it, to smooth things up and adjust the shape to my liking.

I spray-painted the finished piece black (which eventually wore off, but it looked good for a while) and "glued" it to the Lone Star with some black RTV.

Was significantly more comfortable to hold and shoot- a lot closer to a 45 frame, but such things were not commonly available back then, and I didn't yet own a milling machine.

Cheap, quick, simple and effective.

Doc.

[Siress]

Best... hmm.

By Doc's metrics, that would be adding a pin lock to my phantom feedgate. <5min work to make my phantom usable again during the summer. Without a pin, it'd just come off when I tried to pull the 10rnd tube out.

[nerdcore]

Homemade mask fans, probably. Made a couple but my favorite was on a Profiler. Had dual 25mm laptop fans & a chain pull on/off switch from a ceiling fan.

[spikeball]

That's one way to have a lightbulb moment!

[The Inflicted]

Probably my ongoing zoom camera projects. I've really loved these things, not only because your GoPro footage is more interesting if you can cut to a zoomed shot of your target getting splattered, but because after you're hit you can stand on the sidelines and have a really nice, zoomed-in and focused camera already ready to go and rolling to film the other players around you. This has greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the hobby because even after I'm hit I immediately have something fun and constructive to do rather than just sit around.

Note that footage jerks pretty substantially with the recoil of the Tippmann I have it mounted on here- with smoother-shooting guns it's far less obtrusive.