I wrote this 'general' review in this format because I did it in Word and other forums have separated sections for such articles.
Custom Made Freak Barrel Tips – My Review
Rating is scored 0-5. A “0” represents the lowest opinion or quality; A “5” represents the highest possible quality or standard.
There is this member of the Smart Corps Forum who goes by the name of jcurt454, who is a machinist by trade. He’s offering his vocational services to supplement his income. He has an EBay name of jcurt455 and sold several 1” Freak-styled tips he made. He also appears to have good feedback there so we talked about him creating a tip to my particular specifications. His email address is
[email protected] and communication was excellent - and my barrel tips were here within a week.
Shipping/packaging: Rating 5
Like I said, he had to create one from scratch but I also got one that already existed. I had both parts within 6 days from initial conversation.
Barrels were well wrapped and separated from each other in the package.
Tip #1 was the one’s he’d previously made. The length is 1” and was anodized dust black.
Tip #2 was the one I had created. It is raw and unpolished.
Craftsmanship, Tip #1:
My first impression is that the piece is very well made. Other than the ones that appear below the threads (to the right of them in the pic) here are no visible tool marks or even the slightest hint of mistakes or errors. These are purely cosmetic and will not affect performance. Rating 4
Porting was done in a tasteful manner and the holes appear to be proportionately spaced. The porting on the barrel bore is perfect…there are no burrs inside the bore. Rating 5
There is a groove for a barrel O Ring. None was supplied but I knew this in advance. The lines are even, clean and square. Rating 4 for lack of the O Ring.
Threading for the Freak back appears to be well cut, since there is no presence of burrs or any other obstruction in the threads. Rating 5
Finish:
The piece arrived anodized dust black but upon inspection, it appears that the anodizer failed to polish out the bore. Other than this fact, the finish is consistent and even all the way around the exterior. Rating 5
Performance: Performance will be tested on Sunday 16 Sept 07
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Tip #2 was the one I had created. It came with a raw finish, the tip is 2 ½” long and the milling is exactly as I requested. The edges of the muzzle break are well cut and there were no burrs, sharp edges or any other visible errors. Rating 5
The porting behind the muzzle break is identical to the 1” models he previously made but spaced farther apart because of the extended length. There are no burrs inside the bore. Rating 5
The threading was again perfect…however this tip does not come with a barrel O Ring, nor is a channel cut for it. I did not include the channel for an O Ring in my schematics and no O Ring would be supplied. Again, I already knew this. Rating 5
Since this is a ‘raw’ tip, it also came with an unpolished bore because I will have it finished and anodized by a different person. Rating 5
Performance: Performance will be tested on Sunday 16 Sept 07
Pictures: I have s ****ty camera and had to 'enhance' some pics in my photoshop. Forgive the quality.
Tip #1 - 1" Freak tip threaded section. Note the tool marks right of the threads:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/druidsdecendant/Paintball/1adb5d2b.jpg
Pocket for the Freak insert:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/druidsdecendant/Paintball/0339ab11.jpg
Muzzle area:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/druidsdecendant/Paintball/624bd1c5.jpg
Profile:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/druidsdecendant/Paintball/0863eb1c.jpg
Tip #2 - 2.5" Tip attatched to the Freak Back. I asked him to make it a little thicker that the blackened model so it better matched the Freak back. He did that and even though it's a bit thicker than the back, I think it looks alot better than the thinner walled (Black) version:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v388/druidsdecendant/Paintball/775f544c.jpg