scratch-built 3oz aluminum valve

[nicad]

just built this valve today.. still raw finish.. :-/
designed specifically for a micromag body.
Its built without a reg on the back.. I run either a palmers vert or a single tank reg.

weighs 3oz, as opposed to a stock AIR valve body (no reg) of 6.8oz, or the entire valve + reg at 12.8oz.
being made..
http://www.deadlywind.com/aluminum_mag_valve/12040001.jpg
http://www.deadlywind.com/aluminum_mag_valve/12040006.jpg
http://www.deadlywind.com/aluminum_mag_valve/12040008.jpg
http://www.deadlywind.com/aluminum_mag_valve/12040009.jpg
http://www.deadlywind.com/aluminum_mag_valve/12040011.jpg
http://www.deadlywind.com/aluminum_mag_valve/12040012.jpg

everything (milled micromag body, valve, lvl10 bolt, vert ASA, palmers stabilzer reg, hyperframe, etc..) except for hopper, barrel, or tank.. all under 2Lbs. :)
shown here with a pass-thru in place of the palmers..
http://www.deadlywind.com/aluminum_mag_valve/12040005.jpg

[toymyster]

Be Careful!!! Your valve seems to be Aluminum, with a Stainless power tube threaded into it!! Remember under pressure, Aluminum streches more than stainless, which could cause your power tube to unscrew itself and cause dammage to you or your gun!! That is why if you noticed on the X valve, the threads are reversed and it's the valve that screws into the power tube!! I do like the idea, though!!

[nicad]

thanks for the concern. :)
both the valve and the powertube are of aluminum.. so expansion should be at same rates..
will have to see about wear this weekend tho. so far about 500shots and not real signs yet..!

[Kevmaster]

thast friggin awsome man!!

mad props. get that body annoed and youll be set!

[Bulldog]

I LIKE it! I want one. :D Let us know how it works out.

Put a l10 on too!

[Kevmaster]

he has a LX bolt in there...he mentioned it in the post :rolleyes:

[a_malfunction]

That is pretty sweet!!! Man... I wish I had time to learn some machining skills.

EDIT: Hey Nicad... will you be at the houston AO meet? My brother and I will. I would love to see this thing first hand.... Let me know!

[toymyster]

Please let me know how long that power tube lasts you!! I am intrigued!! Once again, very creative of you!!

[nicad]

yes ill be that the houston AO.. im helping Curtis get it going.

the aluminum powertube will be interesting- so far its showing signs of slight touching, but no gauling or wear..

im going to do some more work on the body. once its to my likeing itll get re-annoed. :)

out!

[magnj]

thats hot, Talk to AGD maybe you could sell it lol, any way good work.

[Bulldog]

kev: the first pic showed a level 7 power tube.:rolleyes: sorry I didn't see the text between the pics, sheesh.

[nicad]

Bulldog- very observant..! :)
I used an old L7 tip for sizing the OD of the powertube tip so as not to put my L10 tip in dangers way of a toolbit.

AGD has their X-valve, which is an all aluminum valve/reg..
but try getting one right now! :)
i dont know how light it is and it looks just like the other valves- I wanted something different.

out!

[Bulldog]

I wanted something different.
Well you got it, I tip my hat, and good job again. Are you goin to anno the valve to match? What do you do for the parts of the body that are milled out?


I used an old L7 tip for sizing the OD of the powertube tip so as not to put my L10 tip in dangers way of a toolbit.
Yes, you must not endanger the lx!:)

[BTAutoMag]

thats freaken awsome...

try fitting the palmer reg directly into the back of the valve. just block the air port on the side and tap a new hole in the back. then after you fit the reg to it you should have an awsome looking valve that works excellent with CO2

[Halliday]

I love it! Test it out and post how it goes. If it works out I'd be real interested in buying one.

[grumpyoldman]

Sweet!!!!

Now if only some one with CNC would start turning them out by the bucket full.

Two thoughts, have you thought about using a RT bumper to keep the bolt from pounding the threads out. The blue bumper may be too hard to protect the threads. And how about SS for the power tube, never seize and a good o-ring fit should make up for the metal mismatch.

Here's a project for you to think about. Taking a micromag body and boring it out so a standard SS mag body will press in. Keep the cocker threads but from there back use the more wear resistant SS of the mag body. If you deepen the grooves milled into the side of the micro then the (polished) side of the reg mag body would shine through.
Just a future project I've dreamed about waiting for access to a lathe and mill again.

Great job on the valve, Grumps.

[vaypourus]

Very quality machining right there. I am impressed! How many man hours into it so far?

Let us know how it works, and make sure we see the final deal!

[TheJester]

i have a CNC lathe in my shop class:D

[sniper1rfa]

the pounding of the bolt shouldnt be too much of a problem to the threads, it just might put its own little indentation into the aluminum.

nicad, what did you use to "knurl" that forgrip, sandpaper? ;)

very cool.

[BTAutoMag]

yea i want one and ive been debating about making it myself on my shop classes 50 year old lathe but i thought against it. i would want one with an ASA adapter right into the back so that i could mount a palmer stabilizer right off of it

[ah137]

Nice yeah you need to ditch those silly SS's on the sides, I did check it out-

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=50650

I just milled my other micro body like yours a few weeks ago.

http://www.automags.org/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=549111

I like the idea of your valve A LOT. Did you change the specs at all or is the chamber the same size? What chamber pressure do you need to shoot 280-290?

What is the thread on the back of the valve?

Could we more pics of the whole marker and valve chamber?

Later Hills

[ZyperioN]

That is so frickin' cool mr. bigglesworth.:D

[FreshmanBob]

thats friggin amazing! I've been by passing my stock reg for a while now looking for a way to get rid of that big hunk of metal that used to hold the reg. I never thought of that!

[BTAutoMag]

would you ever consider making some of us some?? i want one!!!

[nicad]

sorry have been out for a while.
I just put 3000+ rounds though it on sunday (local tourney). I started the day with it, and ended the day with it. its quite a feeling going into the first game with an un-tested prototype. :)

-worked flawless all day-

I ran it off of an amrageddon tank/reg (single reg) set at right around 600psi. I got +/- 2fps and no noticable shootdown while pushing it near the hyperframes limit of 13bps.

the aluminum PT tip is holding up just fine so far..

to answer some questions:
grumpyoldman- I do run an RT bumper.. not just for the sake of the aluminum, but helps out with the hyperfame to not chew up bolts..

vaypourus- umm.. to make it functional, about 4-6hrs?
aesthetics, etc.. another 2-3.
it pretty much took two evenings total.

sniper1rfa- hows the mayhem runnin? :) the "knurls" are sections hit with a dremel drum sander at perpendicualr to the forgeip while its spinning on the lathe..

BTAutoMag- quite possibly. ill need to OK it with AGD first ofcourse, and look at some better ways of making them (faster, consistent reproduction, etc..)

gotta run for now..
out!

[sniper1rfa]

aye. 'tis good to have a knurling tool... [/brag]

mayhems running good. im in the middle of a project though, so to be truthful, it aint running at all. :-)

how did you do the little indented round part? like, how did you cut it so it matched the micro body without making the indent flat?

[BradAGD]

Nicad brought this gun into the shop the other day. It is way cool...

The boy knows what he's doing, kinda scares me.

[BTAutoMag]

Originally posted by nicad
BTAutoMag- quite possibly. ill need to OK it with AGD first ofcourse, and look at some better ways of making them (faster, consistent reproduction, etc..)

well call AGD

[Remington]

Up for this. I want one too! :D

[BTAutoMag]

yea come on

just tell 'em BT sent ya:D

[personman]

:eek:
OMG!
Is it possible to make a retro version for the e-mag??
:D I want one!
Side question: Are you using both an adjustable tank and an inline reg? Or is it only nessicary for 1? And isnt 600 psi alot considering that the stock reg reggs it down to lower than that? (dont know exact numbers) or am I incorrect on that?
Thats pretty awesome though!!

[joeyjoe367]

if you change the airways in the on/off to be the same of a Retro valve, can you 'still get that reactive trigger feel, but no super-fast recharge?

[Remington]

Well, I guess it's unanimous(sp?): nicad, AO wants a ReTro version! That is of course, if it's cool with Tom. :D By the way, how much does it cost to make one of those? If Tom says yes and you decide to make/sell them how much would we have to pay?

[personman]

Now that I'm thinking about it, it might look cool on your gun, but thats because you got it milled down.
But on my micro e-mag I would have to chop the body back so it doesnt look stupid(that means reannoed and it wouldnt look as good.. or then again if the raw part was polished and sealed it might provide a nice accent... I dunno lol

[Cristobal]

Wow, nice job nicad! That's really neat how its milled to match the back of the micromag body. A couple questions: what are you using to seal the chamber and the power tube? What series aluminum are you using?

Also, for those asking for a ReTro version, you'll have to consider that for the ReTro to work it needs feedback (through the air passage in the regulator pin) from the dump chamber, because it regulates the pressure of the chamber not the pressure of the air going into the chamber. This would make it much harder to ditch the reglator part of the valve as nicad has done.

[nicad]

happy holidays everyone!
been away for a week or so and should be getting back up to speed on here in the next day or two..

out! (for now)

[dcmander]

Up :)

Is it a reality, nicad? For you to sell these?

Or should I go ahead and purchase the Xvalve? :) ;)

Let us know~!!

[Remington]

Up for this. Here's a terrific business oppurtunity for you nicad! :D

[GT]

Nicad,

I had this same idea blaze through my head today. any word on how the proto faired almost 1 year later?

[Hephaestus]

Nicad,

Really like your work. You may have found a nice solution for my second slug that was machined a little too short at the back. Capping it is a great idea. Are you using an o-ring or is it just locktited.

I'm also interested in your testing results.

Hephaestus

[FooTemps]

Holy thread resurrections!

Oh well, I loved this thread. I wanted a valve like that so badly once, but now there's the xvalve! haha

[PyRo]

I'm sure there are patents he would be violating by selling the valve. He would need to get a license from Tom first before he could sell them most likely. Or maybie make some modifications to it to get around the patent.

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by PyRo
I'm sure there are patents he would be violating by selling the valve. He would need to get a license from Tom first before he could sell them most likely. Or maybie make some modifications to it to get around the patent.

and this relates to the topic... how?

It isn't even a valve, it's just a chamber and pt assembly.

Hephaestus, I'm not sure that the design would fit perfectly on yoru super short body. As you can see, there is still come of it coming out back after the screw. Maybe you could have a little sticking out back but for sure I doubt it'd be flush.

[PyRo]

Just saying that there might be some patent infringment in selling it, i'm not 100% sure thouhg...

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by PyRo
Just saying that there might be some patent infringment in selling it, i'm not 100% sure thouhg...

BUT HE ISN'T SELLING IT. This thread is like over a year old... I don't see any recent comments on him selling it.

[PyRo]

I never said there was anything wrong with the one, it was adressed to all those asking him to sell one...

[FooTemps]

Originally posted by PyRo
I never said there was anything wrong with the one, it was adressed to all those asking him to sell one...

K, just remember to look at dates so you don't confuse the heck out of people. ;)

If you notice, the posts requesting him to sell that are nearly a year old.

[PyRo]

Well, maybie they still check everyday to see if he has changed his mind :)
Stupid dates :(

[nicad]

hooha! :)
sorry guys- I dont think I could bring myself to sell this thing. The amount of time it took to plot and build, I could never charge enough (or noone would ever wanna pay it). its worth way more to me in its novelty aspect.
I dont really use it much any more. last i looked, after being through about 30 games of play, its was holding up OK, but I can see where on the power tube the bolt is starting wear on it.

thanks for the compliments and encouragment yall (and the offers). :)

out!

[GT]

any thought on building an SS plug for the rear?

[PyRo]

I would talk to doc, he could probably do it for you, or any other machine shop would probably do it for you, you just need to get the correct size.

[GT]

Originally posted by PyRo
I would talk to doc, he could probably do it for you, or any other machine shop would probably do it for you, you just need to get the correct size.

I think nicad can do it;) , besides he is in the contigious 48 and Doc is a little bit further away.