O ring for the L10?

[Menace_AO]

Yes, this is probably not feasible, but if no one asks, no one answers.

I'm thinking of pressing out the stem on the L10 bolt, having an inside o-ring groove cut in the back of the bolt, and popping in an 014 o-ring, just for giggles.

Oh, and pressing the stem back in, of course.

Figure it might help with a couple of things. If properly done the o-ring should just fit loosely on the power tube, but seal it up relatively effectively. So no real sticktion issues, and no real worries about leaking. Just a little smoother, a little more efficient, maybe a little more consistent, etc.

So:

1. Is this madness? If so, why, and if not, why not?
2. Can one of you do this?
3. How much?

Let the festivities commence . . .

[Nobody]

well, it would give 2 points of contact. the stem riding on the powertube and then the new oring. if you were to do a polish, or a high polish, this would give the movement very smooth. what that would mean i don't know. if the design were more of a spool valve, or something that rides the inner parts, i would see that, but i really don't know.

efficiency, i don't think it will be effected at all. the only way to increase efficiency is to either A) devolumize the dump chamber. that would give less volume, but increase the pressure inside the gun, letting you use less air overall. B) reg down the air going into the gun to the minimal number needed to get velocity and make minor adjustments with the stock reg back. because of the design, most of the air is used from the breech area forward, unlike a poppit. but, i know of no test ever done to see the gas usage through the breech, or any loss of gas that doesn't go down the barrel. if we could only see air, and have a see through body(or one that has slots to see the bolt movement and air), then we could even see if there is any loss away from the barrel.

i'm surprised that Spider! hasn't taken this idea of yours. the only person that i know has familiarity with Mags in general would be TyMcNeer. you can PM him on MCB to see what he says. he does love to talk theory, so be prepared on reading a page or 2. and i mean that in a good way. each talk i've had with him has been fruitful.

[BigEvil]

I think some people have experiments with putting orings outside on the powertube... but sounds like an interesting experiment

[Justus]

I think hill put o-rings outside on the powertube actually. Maybe on the powertube tip?

Edit: Here it is - https://www.automags.org/forums/showt...Efficiency-mod

[Menace_AO]

Thanks, guys.

Yes, Hill's mod got me thinking about this. He saw some small gains, but of course, what he did can't really be done so well on an L10. I guess you could put o-rings on the PT tip of you like, but only for show.

This isn't a big hurry issue just yet. Just something to think about for a while before really getting after it with gusto.

[Cyco-Dude]

i think if it was worth it, agd would have done it.

[Spider-TW]

i'm surprised that Spider! hasn't taken this idea of yours. the only person that i know has familiarity with Mags in general would be TyMcNeer. you can PM him on MCB to see what he says. he does love to talk theory, so be prepared on reading a page or 2. and i mean that in a good way. each talk i've had with him has been fruitful.

I had to think about this for a while. I think my first attempt would be to glue a small delrin guide bushing (sleeve) onto the power tube to simply block that space. If it is too thin to handle, idk. I don't think the level 10 bolt stem takes well to being pressed out and in again, at least not without the right temperatures and fixtures.

Honestly, I always thought the little play in the bolt fit helped with the tolerances in the assembly, so even if there was efficiency to be gained, I would still have to think about the overall value of the mods.

[Menace_AO]

Funny you should mention the business about the guide bushing.

Already tried that, and the first draft failed after a few shots. But before it failed, it was reeeeaaally nice. That's what has kept my interest. If it had been meh, I'd have left it alone.

Problem with the sleeve is that it needs to be exceedingly thin. Basically the bolt tore off the sleeve after a few shots. Thought about sleeving the bolt, but an o-ring would be a better option if it weren't too much trouble.

Well, I'll keep mulling this over.