Ok, Paintball Flight Experts, Lend Me A Hand..

[OysterBoy]

Alright, Ive been toying around with an idea for a barrel and I think it could work, but once again, Id like to ask the only forum I trust for some help.

http://members.rogers.com/headfirstdesigns/Jabba%20Barrel.gif

The idea is that the gas propelling the ball is released at the balls base first, then sloping around to a tapered point. What i hope should happen is a backspin to be put on the ball, HOPEFULLY giving range and or accuracy. The 'point' would be rounded severely , but the main reason for it is to give the ball something to 'roll' on for about a half inch. This may or may not be backwards, lately I haven't been getting much sleep, the tapered point may be on the bottom. Are there any huge flaws behind this?

Thanks,
Alex H

[68magOwner]

just hack up your stock barrel and prove to yourslef that it wolnt work

[Blazestorm]

Only thing I see is that the tip could poke someone =P

Nifty idea :D

[OysterBoy]

Oh I plan to, but first Id like to see what you all think.

Mind giving some advice?

[magman007]

look, all that will happen, is it would get a bend in it, and then the balls would break on it. it wont work man. it is tho, a nifty idea, and i salute your inventiveness

[Blazestorm]

Another thing you have to remember is the threading, if you cut it wrong you'll get balls curving everywhere =P

[OysterBoy]

Im not totally suggesting either hacking up my stock barrel, or even using the design drawn up. Is there any possible way for this type if barrel to work? Say, bringing the 'point' as it has been dubbed and tweeking its angle upwards?

I'm not trying to keep the idea alive but if it can be made to work I would like to see how. Its the only way I'll learn.

[magman007]

again, no. this is what i was saying. the bal doesnt roll down the barrel, it just shoots out, like a knuckle ball in baseball, it would just hit the point and break, try taping a thumbtack to the tip of your barrel, then you will see what i mean

[68magOwner]

and then i pose this.....what for, i mean, people with 98c's with flatlines, ive never even noticed the difference when playing against them because, i can already shoot across the field anyway, i guess for woodsball, but ive heard that flatlines dont work well tehn either

[OysterBoy]

Hmm... perhaps its the drawing, as I dont understand what 'point' it hits off.Think crown point barrel, only instead of 3 or 4 V's milled, everything is milled off but a 'spoke'. Would it break then? I'm not trying to be difficult, at any time feel free to not respond if I am getting annoying. Whether the idea works or not is at this point beyond my interest; WHY it would or wouldn't work is what really interests me.


Take 2.. ?

http://members.rogers.com/headfirstdesigns/Jabba%20Barrel2.gif

The main thing is, the barrel form would not be 'indented' in anyway..

[ß?µ£ §mµ®ƒ]

Playing recball against many 98custom owners, i can say there is a difference when your getting shot at with a flatline barrel or if you shoot a flatline barrel, it almost makes it look like the ball is floating higher than your barrel sort of a lift effect which its designed to do.

[OysterBoy]

I suppose range could be an added benifit but the purpose was to have a somewhat more accurate barrel, if at all possible.

[Blazestorm]

Here's the problem, the ball isn't a perfect fit towards the end of the barrel, most barrels inside of the tip is .7" to allow the ball to flow, whats going to happen is its going to shoot right out, ignoring that design there.

[Blazestorm]

I will tell you one thing that DOES work, is actually pointing it DOWN.

Believe it or not, take a soft foam handle bar off maybe a bike or weight lifting set, and put it on your barrel, bend it down slightly and hold it, shoot your gun and watch as the balls float through the air instead of going straight, bend it up if you want the balls to come short (literally they'll hit the ground at like 100mph about 30-40 feet from you) and then bend it right to go right, and left to go left. It works if the handle-bar thing is soft enough to bend and has a smooth inside.

[OysterBoy]

Hmm.. a coat of oil in the barrel before setting up for the day? if the bore is just right at the end, an oil 'seal' should be able to.. but what do I know.

[Army]

Nope, won't do a thing other than allow the ball to go as straight as any other barrel.

The ball is never a perfect seal, hence, air is already blowing past the ball as it progresses down the barrel. If there is nothing to physically alter the balls path, it will exit in-line, regardless of where you direct the air.

Your theory is along the same lines as the bolt design that directed the air burst to the bottom of the ball at the start. It was thought to spin the ball at launch. With small paint and a big bore, it would accidently work on occasion, but there was no accuracy, efficiency, or enough success to make it viable.

The ball is still the one equalizing factor in this game. Regardless of how you launch it, or what you launch it from, it is still an imperfect sphere that will surrender to the will of physics and atmospheric conditions during its flight.

[OysterBoy]

Ah, thank you very much. Pretty stupid idea to begin with :o :cool:

[athomas]

Its good you are thinking outside the normal box.

In theory it may work a bit, but only on a short barreled gun where you have enough escaping gas to effectively alter the path of the paintball upon exit from the barrel. Practically though, on most barrels, the air pressure behind the ball is very low when the ball actually exits the barrel. There wouldn't be enough energy left to alter the direction of a moving object with the mass of a paintball.

The operation of the flatlilne barrel is a good one. It is an idea that was taken too far though. A more gentle curve might have yielded a more usable barrel design. You would give up the uber range but it would be more manageable. Pick up an extra 50 ft maybe without problems with barrel breaks or uncontrollable skewing. Like Blazestorm stated, the idea works. It just has to be managed better.

[the larch]

Oysterboy. If it was a stupid idea, I wouldn't have seen at least 7 or 8 smart people try the same darn thing in the last 12 years.
Heck, I once even glued skirts to my paintball with the idea that it would track like a badmiton birdie when I shot it. (had to muzzle load the thing into my trracer). The idea was that I would get one great "sniper shot" from ambush before I had to start pumping like crazy to "get the rest of em." It worked about as well as you might think it would.... :rolleyes:

[Eric Cartman]

If you're looking to create backspin on the ball, have you thought of trying to create some friction on the ball at the top of the barrell? I'm thinking something like a very thin layer of rubber (like condom thin) affixed to the inside of the top of the last couple of inches of the barrell. I have no idea how you'd get it in there so it wouldn't bunch up, get shot out of the barrell or just break balls, but it seems like it would create backspin if you could figure out how to do it.

... or I could just be doing the Ace Ventura thing and talking outta my ***

:o

[OysterBoy]

Heh. I tried that one, sorta, but even before hand knew it would create nothing but breaks. One thing that did work somewhat was when I taped a feather to my barrel and used wire to affix it in place. It seemed to work, but wouldnt be conventional in a game.