Sep
29

Week 39, 2013 – Some Projects and Some Links

Projects

I have some interesting airsoft-related projects in mind, but they’re really in the larval stage right now, a little too early to say much about them.  It’ll be cool though.

My mother brought me an interesting find; what turned out to be an antique paintball marker.  A PMI/Sheridan Magnum 68, manufactured in 1988.  Missing a tank, missing a hopper, pretty filthy, but it has what turned out to be an aftermarket— and pretty hot shit —bolt.  I have it in mind to refurbish it beyond new, to fabulous! Clean it up, strip the beat paintjob, replace it with a powdercoat finish, make a new lightweight breach block that incorporates a picatinny rail instead of the old dovetail sight rail, maybe improve the grips…

Someone asked me “Man, why the f#%k does your mom keep giving you weapons?!” because, yeah, this is not the first time.  Recently she brought me a sword cobbled-together by hillbillies that we’ve come to call the ‘Compleat Rural Defendre’ (sic)…pictures to come once I work up a Diablo-style stats screen for it… And before that, she found me this beauty; A pre-1975 Crosman Mark 1 Pellet Gun, IN THE BOX, with an original tin of pellets, and a box of CO2 cartridges.  And I know it’s pre-’75 because in ’75 they removed the pressure adjustment screw and clamped it to a lower projectile velocity, because people were leaving it wide open and then complaining about crappy gas efficiency.

Links

Claudio Grassi’s YouTube channel, primarily chronicling the construction of his 1/6 scale radio-controlled 6×6 truck, with functional hydraulic power steering and air brakes…all handmade! His videos on broaching the planetary gears for his 6-wheel drive powertrain were especially enlightening.

I stumbled upon this thread about a really awesome compressed air V8 that Chuck Fellows machined.  Hella impressive! You should also check out his YouTube channel.

Sep
22

Week 38, 2013 – A Different Kind of Patent Trolling

One of my many hobbies is collecting airsoft guns.  Given that I am exceedingly poor, I have taken great interest in making airsoft guns and accessories.  Electric guns are easy, everyone knows how they work.  Gas guns are…not so easy.  I mean, the general how is fairly easy to understand, but the mechanical details and the way valves and stuff go together…  So I did a lot of digging for information, and that’s when I stumbled upon a patent, as well as the whole ‘Google Patents’ sub-site.

Once I figured out how to search right, my brain’s knack for retaining seemingly pointless trivia whether I want it to or not came in very handy.  For instance, a lot of Taiwanese and Hong Kong airsoft company names are seldom given as anything other than acronyms… But the full names— which over the years I have occasionally come across —are what’s on the patent applications.

Examples: ICS = I Chih Shivan Enterprise Co., Ltd. and HFC =  Ho Feng Industry Co., Ltd.

And of course the Japanese companies like Western Arms have all sorts of patents.  And all these applications have mechanical drawings.  Not dimensioned or anything, but I get the idea of what’s going on.

Here’s some interesting patents:
In-Magazine Pressure Reduction Valve (For 12g CO2 cartridges)
12g CO2 Cartridge Gas Gun Magazine (HFC’s patent)
ICS’s design for 40mm BB shower grenades (Not as nice as Madbull’s!)
The Firing and Rotary Magazine Assembly for ICS’s Rotary Launcher

Sep
15

Week 37, 2013 – Harbor Freight Sale

So, I made an order at Harbor Freight to get in on the Labor Day sale, and I used the main sale coupon to get 20% off the already absurd price on their Chinese knock-off ‘Porta-Band’ (Portable Band Saw), getting it for a mere $65.  I was going to get their horizontal band saw, but that would’ve been all my money, plus I found out that it wasn’t even on sale.  Then I saw the Porta-Band.  At any rate, I needed one or the other to cut stock into manageable pieces.  Especially cutting down round rod for the lathe.

I’ve only made a few test cuts with it, I’m ordering some more suitable bi-metal anti-vibration variable pitch blades from McMaster, and then I’ll probably be able to really review it next week or the week after.

I also bought their 1500-watt dual-temp heat gun, because I was really getting tired of having to lug around my SMD reflow soldering hot-air workstation just to shrink-tube something! It was 30% off at $10.

I ordered an air compressor, something I’ve desperately needed for YEARS, and it was 20% off, bringing it down to just $104…  But for some reason, they dropped it from my order and refunded the money.  It wasn’t out of stock or anything.  So now I have a compressor accessory set, an air filter, an airbrush hose…and no goddamned compressor!  What’s more, if I were to re-order it, I wouldn’t get the $25 off… I’m going to have words with them about that, but for the time being, I said screw it and decided that the $100 could be put into materials for projects in the meantime.

I found these great ear plugs at Amazon.  I’ll review them after they get a bit of use!

Sep
08

Week 36, 2013 – Holding Pattern

Nothing to report right now.  Been planning a lot of stuff, plotting out my whole operation and my idea portfolio.  Made an order at Harbor Freight, will have a little something to post next week!

Sep
01

Week 35, 2013 – The Summer of Suck

I’ve come up with this new format where I’m going to try and post a weekly status report summarizing the week’s happenings, whether I’ve posted about them or not.  That way, if there’s things I’ve uploaded pictures of to show people on IRC, but I don’t write a whole blog post about it, it still gets mentioned, and the images linked.

I’ve been sidelined pretty much since mid-June by a spate of nasty illnesses, on top of which, a visit to the eye doctor turned up that my sudden rapid decrease in eyesight is due to a degenerative condition of the cornea and can’t be corrected optically. Best. Summer. Ever.

I’m about to do a whole bunch of stuff on here to get caught up, hopefully. So stay tuned.  (I’m kind of locked into it.  I mean, I’ve got stuff goin’ on.)

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