Just in case you haven't found them yet, there is a real good metal shop across the street from Diablo Stadium. They will sell you 1 foot long hunks of common sizes of steel, brass or aluminum & charge reasonable prices.
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Just in case you haven't found them yet, there is a real good metal shop across the street from Diablo Stadium. They will sell you 1 foot long hunks of common sizes of steel, brass or aluminum & charge reasonable prices.
“an armed society is a polite society.”
Robert A. Heinlein
"Idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset."
Publius Tacitus
I don't know (on both counts).Originally Posted by HollowPoint
McMaster Carr has a pretty good selection of springs. Sometimes you can get lucky at the local Ace Hardware if it happens to be a common size, but they don't carry that much.
To measure the compression strength, you basically apply a known force & measure how much the spring moves, then do a calculation. Depending on how big & strong the spring is, a fishing scale & either a pair of calipers or a tape measure may do it for you.
Last edited by JIMinPHX; 08-03-2010 at 04:41 AM. Reason: typo
“an armed society is a polite society.”
Robert A. Heinlein
"Idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset."
Publius Tacitus
I checked out the Ace Hardware store down the street from me. That's usually where I get my springs but, this time around they didn't have what I needed.
I got lucky though; a while back I ordered some springs online for another project I was working on. I think it was that "Soft-Pointing-Tool" project. Anyhow, I found one of those springs I hadn't used and it turned out to be pretty close to what I was needing both length-wise and strength-wise. What luck.
As far as the metal I needed for the Cocking Lever I hope to fabricate, I ended up ordering just enough to make two of them. Actually I ordered enough to allow me to screw up the first try and maybe get the second one close to right.
I'm almost there. I got the money for my new Hand Pump. Now I want to change out the existing Fill Probe to one of the Foster type quick disconnect fittings. I'm not sure where to get the right ones though.
There are more than just a few outfits offering them for sale but, not all of them are rated for the 3000 PSI that they'll be subjected to. Anybody know where I might find the correct fittings? They have to fit 1/8" or 1/4" BSPP threads.
HollowPoint
Here you go. Note Leroy's comments on heavy springs in the 909. Definitely need a custom cocking lever for it.
http://www.bgmfairguns.com/otherproducts.html
http://www.hamcontact.com/airgun/HoseAssembly/
Last edited by Butcher45; 08-05-2010 at 02:02 AM.
I guess I'm getting more and more impatient regarding getting this toy up and running for the first time.
I finally ordered my Hand Pump and the fitting I mentioned in my last post. I made a mistake on my order though. I ordered two of the male Foster fitting when all I needed is one.
I'll see if I can't sell it off. Someone's bound to need it eventually. If all goes well I'll be ordering one of those EPP/UG bullet molds next week and finally shooting this Big Bore as well.
This gives me just enough time to try to make up my new cocking lever again; this time out of steel.
HollowPoint
Wait until you pump that gun up from zero psi to 3000psi.....not fun. You may need to cock the lever to take pressure off the valve in order to get it to take a fill when pumping up an empty reservoir. Don't let your pump get to hot (feel the base for heat periodically). If you can find someone in your area that has a tank with foster fitting for that first initial fill, it will make life MUCH easier. Fill as slowly as possible when using a tank, to avoid over-heating the internals with what is known as a "flash fill".
Make certain you don't shoot it down more then 7-8 shots (or down below about 1500psi). The valve will "dump" when the pressure gets to low, then you will have to pump it from zero psi all over again. I refill my rifle when it gets down to about 2200-2500psi to get the most efficiency for my pumping effort without burning-up my pump. The more psi left in the reservoir, the easier it is for me to pump up.
That extra fitting should fit any of the Korean guns. So if you decide to get a .25 or a 9mm or something in the future you will already have the fitting.
Or you could sell it here......should move fast (often in a matter of hours) as there is about a full page of business posted there every day.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/79574/
Research buyers here.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/406412/
While you are in the shop fabricating the cocking lever, I suggest making a stainless steel breech sleeve. Sometimes the original sleeve will allow the o-ring to blow-out from under it from time to time. When that happens, you have to take the barrel off to re-set the o-ring, which means sighting in all over again.
Good move on the EPP/UG mold. That boolit is a safe bet in the 909 guns. Hopefully you get a mold that drops'em nice and fat.
I have a scuba tank if you have the adapter. I have scuba yokes with NPT pipe thread fittings too if you need to screw something together. I'd kind of like to see what the airgun fittings look like & maybe take a few measurements.
“an armed society is a polite society.”
Robert A. Heinlein
"Idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset."
Publius Tacitus
Check out the links I posted in post #125, and you will see what they look like.
Foster fittings are the most universal (lots of airguns use them), and the easiest to use.....that's the way to go.
As mentioned, the 4500 psi carbon fiber tanks are the way to go if you can get it filled.
Being you charge or fill to around 3000 psi the smaller lower pressure SCUBA tanks wont give many fills before it will be below your fill pressure.
You can top off the rifle with a pump when the tank is below the fill pressure.
The CF tanks are high $ new but you can find used ones from fire departments.
And Butcher is right filling from zero pressure ain't much fun with a pump .
Bob
I've been trying like crazy to stay on the budget I set when I first decided to get this new toy. So far I've been able to do just that without diverting funds from other areas of life.
I'd be nice to just go out and drop a wad of cash on all the items you guys have listed; I'm certain it would make things whole lot easier too but, with the cash I was able to scrounge up by selling off my Encore setup I wanted to get just the necessities needed to be able to shoot this Air Gun.
Within the last year or so the Encore had just become a dust collector. It's never a good thing to have a nice gun like that and never shoot it. Most of the components of that Encore are now in the hands of folks that will put them to good use.
Maybe sometime in the future I'll pick up a scuba or carbon fiber tank and the peripherals needed to pre-charge this Big Bore but, I think I'm going to stick to my budget for now. It may be that after I've pumped it a few times I'll change my mind.
I agree with Butcher that the first fill will be the hard part. After that though it should get a little bit easier. I just can't see myself hauling a tank in my back pack while in the field. I could be wrong but, a Hand Pump just seems a little more convenient for that application.
As for the extra fitting I ordered; I'm not sure when that will arrive but when it does get here you're more than welcome to use it to take measurements and such.
I finished up the motor home I was working on early today so I spent some time with my .45 caliber Lyman devastator mold. It was dropping bullets at .452 so I opened up the tail end to .457.
I want to try those cast bullets in this Air Rifle. I can size them back down when I reload for my Kimber .45. If I get time I'll cast up some straight stick-on wheel-weight-alloy'd devastator bullets this weekend. If it gets hot enough I might not even have to plug my melting pot in.
It's all coming together; slowly but surely.
HollowPoint
I made due with the HillPump for over two years, and didn't think I would ever be able to come up with the cash for the 4500psi tanks. I still managed to do more shooting than most. If anything, that pump makes you focus on every shot you take, because you worked for it. Most bigbore (and probably the majority of smallbore) shooters use CF tanks, and thought I was crazy for using my handpump to refill a bigbore every 3-4 shots.
If I had to choose one method of filling, it would be the pump for the reason HP described....being able to hike around with it in a pack out in the woods.
Then a good friend made me an offer I couldn't refuse on two tanks (66cu ft, and an 88 cu ft) along with all the fittings. If it wasn't for his kindness, I would not have CF tanks (he practically gave them to me).
I still use the pump for the most part, as I have a hard time arranging fills over at the paintball shop. I'm going to try and arrange a workable filling schedule with them.
Hey Bob....what are you shooting airgun-wise?
I'm down to 3 air rifles, as far as PCPs I still have the Rapid MK2 in 22 caliber.
Really don't see ever parting with the Mk2 I love shooting that rifle and it's my main vermin whacker.
Last week a casting friend shot my MK2 from 50 to 100 yards so now I'm looking for another used one for him.
Used a pump for a while when I started shooting PCPs the first one I had took 580 cc of air, the Rapid takes 400cc.
I've got arthritis and it got to the point I couldnt use the pump as much as I wanted to shoot so I got a 4500psi CF tank.
Good to see ya still shootin with air power !
Bob
My new Hand Pump finally showed up today. And wouldn't you know it; my new Sam Yang Big Bore was leaking air.
I ran to my neighborhood Ace Hardware store and picked up some silicone grease and I was back in business.
Airing it up wasn't as bad as you guys made it sound. It did take some time but, only because I deliberately would stop for a few minutes to let the pump cool down a little.
The hard part was the initial stages of airing up. Once I got to the 300PSI mark it actually went fairly well. The cheezy little factory fill probe didn't help matters much.
I noticed that from the 2500PSI mark it only took about 25 pumps of the handle to get me to 3000PSI mark.
When I read your previous descriptions I was thinking, "Damn, I'm going to have a pretty muscular upper body by the time this is up."
To anyone who may have been spooked away by thoughts of alot of hard work to keep your Big Bore shooting; fear not, it's not that bad. Once you get it aired up initially, it's even less work than what you may have imagined.
Here's the kicker though; One of the Foster quick-disconnect fitting I ordered was on back-order. I didn't know this before. That means I'm going to have to start from scratch once I get that fitting delivered.
The metal I ordered for my new replacement cocking lever showed up today too. The only problem is that I may not have the time to make it for a couple of weeks. I have it all laid out on my metal stock. I just need the spare time to shape it.
And I never did get around to casting up some of those Lyman Devastator bullets either. Oh well; maybe this weekend.
HollowPoint
Congrats HP !
Your right the smaller air capacity rifles are not that bad to pump back up once you get it up to pressure.
Those pre charged air rifles are addictive, just like other guns it's hard to only have one!
Keep us updated I'm fascinated with the big bores using cast boolits.
Bob
If only SamYang or PyramidAir would grease the rings before sale.
I forgot that you have the 909S, which has much less air capacity than the 909. So your 909S reservoir would be far easier to build pressure in than a 909. The latter part of the fill goes easier so long as the one doing the pumping weighs enough. I have a lighter-weight friend that needs to wear a backpack with 60lbs of weight in it to pump his 909.
I'd bet dollars to donuts that the Devastators' diameter will be to small, especially cast in relatively soft lead. Are you willing to modify the mold to drop a fatter diameter?
As stated in one of my previous posts, I already have modified my Devastator mold. It was dropping bullets at .452 even with straight stick-on wheel weights.
I opened the driving bands to .457. I can always size down when I reload for my Kimber 45. I think they should work. Time will tell. If not, no matter; it's not like I've ruined the mold.
Also; I had thought about ordering one of the EPP/UG bullet molds this week but I decided to get a Boring Head instead. I can use it to alter even the cheapest molds to mimic the EPP/UG's general dimensions.
When I first looked at that specialty bullet I noticed that particular website showed their EPP/UG bullet with all of the dimensions needed for duplicating.
It looks like it's just a .357 bullet with a couple of .454 diameter driving bands placed fore-n-aft. With this new Boring Head I think I can make up a suitable Boring Bar and bore some appropriately sized groves in the cavity walls to mimic the same look. Wether it will work or not is anybodies guess but, I though it was worth a try.
Besides that, I can deduct that tool on my taxes; something I couldn't do when buying a bullet mold.
I have an old 44 caliber mold that I buggered up a while back by using the wrong tools trying to alter it. I'll be using it as my Guinea pig to see if this theory will work or not.
Well, it's time to hit the sack; got a busy day tomorrow.
HollowPoint
Oh yeah. I forgot about that.
I got the female end of the Foster Quick Disconnect fitting I ordered.
Quick Disconnect??? More like; Won't Disconnect, unless there's little or no air pressure behind or in front of these fittings.
Does anyone here have any experience with these fittings? I have them on my air tools but they only go up to 90-100 PSI. These little Foster Fittings really won't disengage when the pressure is above 300 PSI.
There's no way I put them on incorrectly; and Yes, I did bleed the air before attempting to disconnect them. I ended up having to bleed the air out of my reservoir completely in order to disconnect the darn things.
Is there a trick to it that I don't know about? I don't want to have to put the factory fill probe back on. A little help please.
HollowPoint
We'll get you thru it.
First of all: Describe to me what happened when you unscrewed the bleeder valve on the base of the pump after pumping up the rifle. The bleeder valve is to be opened all at once/abruptly in quick fashion, so the bleeding should last for no longer than one second.
Also, how did you go about bleeding the air out of your rifles' reservoir?
There isn't supposed to be ANY pressure at all when dis-engaging the foster fittings. Do you really want to dis-engage a whip and female foster fitting with 3000+psi of pressure behind it? That's a far cry from a shop compressors' pressure, and far more dangerous (especially with large-capacity tanks).
The bleed valve should have dumped all the air from the pump and hose. It sounds like you tried to get the foster fittings apart while under pressure? Always bleed the line on the pump before dis-connecting.
Since you apparently did try bleeding the air out of the pump and hose before trying to dis-connect it, and still experienced pressure in the line, I can only guess that the problem is one of the following:
1) The male-end foster fitting often works best when it isn't screwed-down all the way. IF you have it screwed down all the way, try backing-it out A LITTLE BIT, and filling it again. Sometimes it can help to put a small o-ring between the bottom of the male foster, and the rifle when installing. Try a couple of different sizes. When you get it to take air without problem, don't ever mess with that foster fitting unless you absolutely have to.
2) The check valve in the reservoir behind the male foster fitting might have an obstruction to one degree or another.
When the rifle is holding air, and the check valve is working right, yoyu can take the male foster off while there is pressuree in the air tube. If there is a lot of resistance when un-screwing the male fitting, and if you hear ANY air at all that means the check valve in the rifle is failing and you need to screw that male foster back on. You do NOT want the male foster fitting to come flying-off with 3000psi being dumped behind it.
3) The end fittings in the tubing were not put back in just right. Particularly the insert that goes into the airtube (if the 909S is like the 909, which I don't know.....never tore-down or handled a 909S).
First, pump the rifle up to about 1500+psi and see if you can get the line bled, and dis-connected. No sense filling to 3000 if it's just going to dump=out.
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