Triggernomics . . . (56K=SuperDeath)

[madcrisis]

Fixed.




IIRC , every one of his insane creations "Work" , even the Mad cocker disease. That's what makes his stuff even more amazing. Now whether or not he would chance gassing one up and pulling the trigger is a whole 'nother question.

when i say work i mean can it shoot a paintball at 250 fps????? but it is beautiful

[Maghog]

For once and for all, yes, they work.
TLC #'s 1, 2, and 3 have all been shot and worked wonderfully last I checked. #5 needs some serious tuning, and a proper three way actuator, #6 needs some air hoses and it's ready to go.
The ONLY one that could wind up with problems is #4(Mad Cocker Disease).The valve chamber walls on that thing are only a shave away from being aluminum foil in certain spots, so although it's ready to function properly, airing it up would likely blow a hole in it somewhere. I knew that was what was going to happen to that gun, and I never let it bug me. Sorry if it bugs you.
The Sterling has a neat little concept, one that I'd really like to add to a gun that I'll use someday. There are two ASA adapters on there, intended for use as a dual 12 gram powered gun, giving me somewhere around 70 shots instead of 30. It could add a nice alternative to stock play, with check valves and the like, allowing you to never really lose any pressure in the gun while you change one of the cartridges.
But that's all stuff for playing paintball, something I am unfortunately unable to do anymore since I moved to Germany. All I have left to do with paintball now is gun-carving and nothing else.
Oh well, time to go finish the E-Mag....and I promise you, it will work.
Dan

[Boden]

The cutting tool is known as a flexible shaft. It's something like a dremel, only stronger, faster and more reliable.
Dan@Triggernomics

What model of flex shaft is that. Most Foredom flex shaft are slower than dremels. 18000rpm compared to 30000 rpm. Beutiful work though. Might have to give it a shot one day, how do you cut your blanks? Is the ball feed wax n cast?
Goldsmiths can do ANYTHING, fellow goldsmith Boden.

[Railgun]

Dan, you have FARRRRRR too much time on your hands. BUt then this is what Engineering Art is all about isn't it....

You've got a lovely eye for shapes and flow and blend the use of formed metal, welding (or is it silver soldering?) and pure carving to bring about these fantastic works.

The nose of the tool you guys see is certainly only one of the tools he uses. It sure looks like the nose of a Foredom or similar flex shaft tool. I'd be very surprised if there isn't a belt grinder somewhere in the shop or some other equally destructive roughing out tools.

Speaking of which.... Dan, if you're still reading in here any chance of letting us in on the series of tools and roughly how far each stage with them goes through?

[Maghog]

I'm more than happy to discuss technique.
The foredom I use is the TX model, using similar rare earth magnets to the ones in the E-mag, and producing as much as 15,000 RPM's. Some electronic dremel tools might claim to hit 30,000, but as soon as they come in contact with material, they slow down or just burn out. The foredom holds a constant revolution, no matter how hard I bear down on it, a very important feature for what I do.
The blank you see at the top is where this started. 2 inches thick, and the rest of the sterling parts to go with it. I use grinders, belt sanders, drills, saws, files, teeth, sweat and blood to remove material any way possible. I'll be totally honest too, I make some huge mistakes along the way that sometimes even change the direction that the design is taking. I never go by a predestined design, it all just happens as I go. Polishing is then done with buffs and pastes as are known to every jeweler.
I could say that it's all just that easy, but in the end, these tasks are really monstrous. Hours upon hours go by, wondering if anything will ever be finished, only realizing that there is so much more to do. I think that's what excites me about this though, finding things that no machinist or even any other fellow mortal would dare to try.
Nothing is cast. All parts are either fabricated by manufacturers, or cut out of blank stock. From there, shapes are grinded as far as the shape will allow, then carved with the foredom, filed, sanded, and finally polished. The amount of time on each piece depends on the complexity of the shape. Certain areas are even near impossible to get to and finish properly, so I just kind of cheat it. This gun took about 300 hours in a span of just more than a year, and I just have to say, having that grip in your hands is a feeling like none I've ever had before. If some manufacturer out there is smart enough, he might think to copy that design, but then, I don't know that he would dare to try.
Dan

[Boden]

I hear you, brother. The amount of time and effort of making an object as small as a pendant or a ring for a ladies finger, and making it "perfect" would have alot of people stunned. But to make something 1000X as big absolutly floors me. You get the job done, a piece of art work most would not have the dedication to complete.

[Doc Nickel]

What model of flex shaft is that. Most Foredom flex shaft are slower than dremels. 18000rpm compared to 30000 rpm.

-Speed is much less important than power, in most cases. The Foredom tools have a much larger and more powerful motor (aren't they something likje 1/6th HP?) while a Dremel probably has less than a tenth that.

As Dan said, the Dremel bogs down when cutting, but you'd have to really bury a bit to bog down a Foredom.

Almost as important, the bearings in the Foredom motor and handpiece are much larger than those in a Dremel- combine that with the Foredom's steel-and-aluminum construction, and you have a more powerful tool that lasts longer than a Dremel.

'Course, a Foredom also costs several hundred dollars, as opposed to a $40 Dremel, so it depends on what you need it to do.

It's a pity Germany is so restrictive about PB gear. The one time I tried shipping a gun over there- at least not to a US Army base- it was confiscated by customs, and caused all sorts of problems.

It's odd though, that there's a German-language paintball magazine. I got a subscription when they wanted to use one of my X-ray images for the cover; it's a great, glossy, well-laid-out magazine that looks as good as or better than any of it's American counterparts... I just wish I could read German.

So somebody over there must play.

Doc.

[Boden]

I think the most important feature of the foredom compared to the dremmel is the foot actuator. you can get them for the dremmel but they are just on or off, for the foredom the harder you push the faster it goes. This leads to MUCH finer control of the unit. Dont get me wrong, my foredom is my best friend. But there is alot you can do with a dremmel, if you take it slow and dont overload it.

[Maghog]

Yeah, they do play over here, but you have to play at 214 fps. At a velocity like that, you're dodging balls before they get to you. It's kind of fun for a while, making you feel like Keanu Reeves in the Matrix, but it gets old fast. Besides that, they don't really play aggressively at all. The first time I ran onto a speedball court I bunkered three people, and they acted like they'd never seen it before, and asked me not to do it again.
Since then I don't play here. Going to France was fun, but they're the exact opposite from Germans. No chrono's, go at it and don't call yourself out until the other guy does too.

I miss Maine.

[warbeak2099]

The Germans... not being agressive???? And the French... what is this world coming to????

[Warwitch]

-Speed is much less important than power, in most cases. The Foredom tools have a much larger and more powerful motor (aren't they something likje 1/6th HP?) while a Dremel probably has less than a tenth that.

As Dan said, the Dremel bogs down when cutting, but you'd have to really bury a bit to bog down a Foredom.

Almost as important, the bearings in the Foredom motor and handpiece are much larger than those in a Dremel- combine that with the Foredom's steel-and-aluminum construction, and you have a more powerful tool that lasts longer than a Dremel.

'Course, a Foredom also costs several hundred dollars, as opposed to a $40 Dremel, so it depends on what you need it to do.

It's a pity Germany is so restrictive about PB gear. The one time I tried shipping a gun over there- at least not to a US Army base- it was confiscated by customs, and caused all sorts of problems.

It's odd though, that there's a German-language paintball magazine. I got a subscription when they wanted to use one of my X-ray images for the cover; it's a great, glossy, well-laid-out magazine that looks as good as or better than any of it's American counterparts... I just wish I could read German.

So somebody over there must play.

Doc.

I know some of our air powered handpieces spooled up to 50K, but like you said, not much torque. Dremels are a joke if you have ever used a real handpiece. And the good stuff is more like $700-1200

[Railgun]

Great write up Dan. Pretty much sums up a lot of big projects in any craft. I've done a few woodworking project that felt like that but nothing that lasted a year.

But then I haven't gotten to the boat I want to build either....

Anyhow, a masterful job even if you did hide your boo-boos well....

[Bolter]

The Germans certainly do play paintball.

http://www.syndicate-paintball.net/video2006.php

And as always, your work is stunning Dan :)

[pump]

is there any side shots?

[Maghog]

There will be on the website, if I ever get it going.