Scientific Trigger jobs

[Smoken]

Hey everyone,
I got bored in Physics class today and started thinking about my paintball gun. I was trying to think of all the ways to lighten the trigger on my MiniMag. Here's what I came up with. (Note: i'm not talkin about mods necesarilly, some of this stuff would need to be done during manufacturing, just so we're clear)
1) Polish sear for less friction between bolt and sear.
Negative: Increases wear, and decreases reliability and safety.
2) Reduce the concavity of the bolt base (where sear attaches), so when you pull the trigger you're not pushing the bolt backwards (against the air pressure) as much.
Negative: ? (possibly less crisp trigger?)
3) Reduce the diameter of the power tube and "bolt pin"(that thing in the middle of the back of the bolt). If the air pressure in the chamber is pushing on less area, then the bolt is not pushing as hard on the sear making it easier to move (Friction force=coefficient of friction*froce between surfaces).
Negative: ? (Decreases flow rate too much?)
4) Shorten on/off pin so the work of the trigger pull is all used in removing the sear from the bolt during the first part of the trigger pull.
Negative: ???

If anyone can come up with some more, I'd be interested to here them. Maybe you guys can tell some of the reasons these are not good, or if they would work. I'm mostly just looking to understand the physics behind it all better.

[athomas]

The pressure you feel during a trigger pull is more from the pressure of the on/off pin than the bolt sear. You can't really change this without altering the diameter of the on/off pin. Since you can't do this your only real choice is to get a two fingered trigger and pull lower on the trigger.

Remember, work = force x distance.

Its all a trade-off.
A longer pull = lighter pull.
A shorter pull = stronger pull.

Gentle polishing, tightening the tolerences, and removing play in the trigger assembly will help you deliver all the power to the trigger pull. If you can do this, it will probably provide a noticable crispness to the trigger pull.

Hope this helps

[athomas]

Oops! forgot to mention:

DON'T ALTER YOUR ON/OFF PIN LENGTH.

It throws the timing of the mag off. What happens is the valve doesn't shut the air off to the front chamber as quickly. The tolerences are tight. If you take too much off, the valve will leak out the front while the trigger is held.

[hitech]

Originally posted by athomas
The pressure you feel during a trigger pull is more from the pressure of the on/off pin than the bolt sear.

Actually, that is not true.


Originally posted by AGD
Yes your right it would lighten the on/off pin pressure but in the mag with the RT style pin it is actually a smaller component of the trigger force than the sear latching on the bolt.

I'll bet it's the same with the classic valve.

[athomas]

I stand corrected. I can't remember where I got the thought that the on/off was the main force in the trigger pull. I guess it was wrong.

[kenshinkandon]

I noticed something when I was playing around with my Mag the other day I put a new bolt spring on and aired it up. The trigger felt different to me almost like it was brand new I didn't like it so I put my old spring back in and it fires just the way I like it soft and short. Now I know that you are supposed to replace the bolt spring when your spring doesn't go past the end of the bolt but I still have room to go.

If you want to play with trigger strength I suggest messing with your bolt spring.

[Smoken]

I have messed with different bolt springs, but according top how I think the gun works a stiffer (newer) bolt spring should make for a lighter trigger b/c it helps equalize the force applied to the bolt by the air pressure in the power tube. This causes less friction force between the sear and bolt.