The Top Secret Project

[RedLeaderSB]

How many shots on a 12g is the real question

[DocsMachine]

Damn, no CAD is wild. I would've botched this six ways to Sunday by this point without having drawn up a CAD file beforehand.

-Really? A 'Cocker body is dirt simple. Bud was making them with a bandsaw and a drill press in a garage at the beginning. I made the first Vee-Twin with one piece of paper with a few scribbled dimensions on it. In 2004.

Now, to be fair, I did whip up some drawings for this- as noted, I was trying to plan ahead as to what taps and cutters I might need.

Will it be run on 8gram CO2 cartridges?

-I have some plans for an air system, I've even posted hints about it. But for general use/testing, I'll be making a scale remote hose adapter, as well as a scale threaded end for a CCI bucket changer.

That said, many years ago, I ran across a vendor that had a BUNCH of specialty CO2 cartridges available. The usual 8, 12, and 16 gram stuff, the threaded 24s and 88s, etc. But what attracted my attention was they had- if I recall correctly- a 6g and 4g... and a 0.75g!

The 6 and 4 looked about the size of a AA and AAA battery, and the .75 looked about the size of a Jolly Rancher.

Rough math suggested the latter might get two shots out of a reasonably efficient marker, so I scribbled up a rough plan for an absolute minimal single-shot, kind of along the lines of that dinky pump Craig Palmer made for his wife all those years ago- if any of you remember that. (Think a short-barrel Piranha pump that's been cut down another 50%. )

Unfortunately that was, at this point, half a dozen computers ago, I lost the link a long time back, and searches I've done since can't turn up anything smaller than the usual 8g. Always wondered if I'd stumbled on, like, some kind of specialty scientific supplier that no longer sells to the public, or something.

How many shots on a 12g is the real question

-I'm betting sixty, easy.

For the "low impact" fields, what's the recommended velocity? Still 280/300?

Doc.

[The Hobbit]

My local field runs 50cal at 230-250 or so.
video was some of the most cinematic work I’ve seen on YouTube and this is probably the highest end .50 built.

[William the Third]

Damn, those must never break unless close and/or on hard parts (hopper, mask, etc). When we did (technically still do, but try to talk people out of it) .50cal we often chronoed at 290~300 FPS so the damn things would break.

[DocsMachine]

Continuing on what has become known as the Three-Quarter Sniper Project, once I had the internals drilled and tapped, I plunked the body into the horizontal mill, and rough-grooved the sight rail.



A quick 90 degree roll and a different cutter, and the pump-rod groove suddenly appears!



Now, I don't have the right cutters to profile the body properly- something I'm already attending- so I used the 45 degree edge of the face mill to at least taper it a bit...



And a corner-rounding bit to finish off the back of the rail in standard WGP fashion.



The front gets a 15-degree angle, and that finishes off the top side



Flipping it over, the center is located, and the grip frame, vertical air adapter and inner gas passages are drilled and as needed, tapped.



Finally, the hammer lug slot is milled.



A Sniper pump needs a backblock, so a blank is squared up, and the bolt passage drilled and reamed.



The lower half is drilled and then the pocket milled out...



... And then sliced off at an angle.



The same face cutter and a handy 60 degree taper mill profile the top a little to match the body...



And all we need is a bolt! Turn down a handy stick of black Delrin...



Gussy it up a bit...



And voila! She's still a little rough, but starting to look like the real thing!



Doc.

[Swedgin!!]

🤘🏽 Hells yes. Well done, Wizard.

[DocsMachine]

And Video Part 2!

Doc.

[$L!mBo]

aaaaaaand its gone.
stupid youtube

[Swedgin!!]

That was most satisfying to watch 👍🏼

[DocsMachine]

I thought that, if nothing else, you all would like a little better look at the mostly-complete version, and compared to a regular Sniper.

And remember, I have to make everything. The grip frame, pump handle, back block, bolt, valve, RVA... there's nothing on this gun, besides springs, screws and O-rings, I can take off the shelf.

Doc.

[Daltech]

Any chance at a deposit for pre-sale?

[Swedgin!!]

I think that’s a 1 of 1

[DocsMachine]

Any chance at a deposit for pre-sale?

-I haven't yet really decided what to do with it. This wasn't a project with a purpose, it was really just to see if I could do it. Heck, I had most of it built before I even thought of making a video out of it...

But, that said: First, keep in mind it's literally kid-sized. An adult can shoot it, of course, but really, it need to go to an 8-12 year old.

Second, if I were to charge even a reduced shop rate, this thing will be $4K-$5K by the time it's done. As I said above, I have to make everything- and from scratch. Trigger, sear, sear pivot pin, bolt, pull pin, ball detent, hammer, sear lug, cocking rod, RVA, valve, cup seal...

No one's going to pay that, of course, but again, I wasn't building it to make a profit. I already have an informal offer, that I think assumes a price in the range of a good modern electro, for a reader's 9-year-old.

I was thinking the fairest thing for all parties would be to put it up in an eBay auction and let the market decide.

I think that’s a 1 of 1

-There'll be at least two. Note how the photos show the top rail being profiled with the horizontal and a face mill, while the video shows it being profiled with the custom cutter.

I made the first one on a whim- almost literally a case of "damn it, screw all the other stuff, I've wanted to do this for years!" sort of thing. And it did wonders for my mental outlook. But after I got most of it made, I thought hey, I should be doing this as a video! I'd been taking my usual build-blog photos, but no video, so I restarted from scratch.

Then, I got the bright idea for the "twist ending" to the initial video... which meant that I needed to machine a standard full size body as well.

The "mad" part of "The Mad Science of Paintball" isn't just for show, y'know.

TL-DR, I have made no firm plans for it yet. It'll be at least a couple of months before it's finished, so there's time.

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

Got hit with a "community violation"- apparently I'm not allowed to show "manufacture or modification" of a firearm.

I've appealed, of course, and hopefully whoever checks actually knows it's a paintball gun, and should reinstate it. And if not, I can of course reedit and reupload- and I'll be sure to specify "paintball marker" in future videos.

Doc.

[Ecapnation]

They... Is an algorithm and doesn't care

[DocsMachine]

Possibly, but it was more likely a person/persons that made the initial complaint. Forgotten Weapons has gotten strikes for things like inserting magazines- I'd be surprised if an AI could identify that, specifically, and flag it under "manufacturing or modification". Either way, supposedly an appeal gets a human overlook, and hopefully whoever does that can recognize it as a PB gun.

If not, I'll edit in a few "this is a paintball gun, you moron!" messages and reupload.

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

Ah, just thought: The first video had my "The Mad Science of Paintball" tagline, and the second one didn't. That's where it went sideways, I'd bet...

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

Reedited the video to emphasize it's a paintball thing, not a firearm, and reuploaded.

Let's see how this one does!

Doc.

[DocsMachine]

Aside: Anyone got a better idea for a name for this thing? I'd kind of settled on the "three-quarter Sniper" (hence the three quarters in the lead pic, in case it wasn't bloody obvious. )

But it seems I can't- or shouldn't- use the term "Sniper", and most likely even "Sniper II" or "MicroSniper". "Pump Fifty" sounds stupid, ditto things like "mini pumper" or anything like that.

Was trying to come up with something like "Squeaky" or "Sprite", but anything like that sounded goofy.

Any suggestions?

Doc.

[Swedgin!!]

The Squirt. 😂 I’m terrible at naming things

[$L!mBo]

If we dont go with "The Little BUDDy" , im gunna be FLABBERGASTED

[latches109]

Big Cricket

[jetenginekyle]

so when can i buy one?

[Drunkscriblerian]

Aside: Anyone got a better idea for a name for this thing? Was trying to come up with something like "Squeaky" or "Sprite", but anything like that sounded goofy.

Any suggestions?

Doc.

All I can come up with is ".50 SENT". But I don't think that's good. If you want to use it though, feel free.