ball breakage

[Mr. Ducati]

I am new to the Automag world. I just got a new Emag and fired it for the first time yesterday. It seems like I am breaking a lot of balls in the barrel. I have my input pressure set at 750 PSI and I haven't crono'd the gun yet (the regulator in the gun is set as it came from AGD). I am using a Warp Feed. I've chopped a few balls but that was a feeding problem. Any ideas?

[TheTramp]

If balls are breaking in the barrel then you are having a paint to barrel match problem. The balls you are using are probably too big for the barrel and the friction caused by air forceing them through is enough to crack the shell and break the ball.
Try blowing one of the balls through the barrel. If it takes a little effort but still blows through the match is good. If you can't blow the ball through with lung power the ball is too big and if it just rools out the ball is too small.
Your gun could also be shooting hot. this will make any ball to barrel match problems much worse.
There are a bunch of good threads on paint to barrel matches. Do a search and you'll probably get all your questions answered.

[Russ]

These are the words of our gracious host, Tom Kaye...

Ok I'll get involved here. This is the diagnosis path:

1. If you break on the first shot AND there is only paint down the barrel, then you likely have a bad barrel to body match.

2. If you break on the first shot AND there is paint up the feed tube then it can only be from the ball in the barrel rolling forward past the nubbin and letting the ball waiting get half way in and that one is getting chopped.

3. If you NEVER chop the first ball AND break them up the feed tube while rapid firing your loader can't keep up or you have a blowback problem.

4. If you NEVER break the first ball and balls blow up down the barrel you have bad paint or bad barrel body match.

Test these and get back to us.

AGD

I just got my E-Mag on Wednesday. I've shot over 3000 balls through it, with only a few PMI Premiums breaking in the barrel. That paint was exposed to some moisture (humidity) on Sunday, and had swollen ever so slightly. Still, I only broke a few.

[Mr. Ducati]

Thank you for all your help. I played this weekend and put over 1000 rounds thru it and I only broke a few balls. After noticing that when I was chrono'ing the gun, inserting one ball at a time by hand, that I never broke any balls. When I hooked up the Warp Feed they started to break. I bent the nubbins in a little and that seemed to solve the problem. Could it have been that the new Warp Feed needed to break in it's "friction" disks first? Do you think it was over driving the balls into the breach? Thanks again for all your help!!!