How to cut bolt spring?

[gmiller0]

I've researched this a bit and am not sure on a few things... Here's the issue... If I use the shorter gold spring, my mag works great but WILL chop a ball... If I use the middle spring, it WILL NOT chop at all, but I can't get the velocity below 290 without it getting bolt stick and chuffing the first ball or not firing at all... I have the correct carrier as the next one up leaks...

If I let the gun sit for a while waiting to engage a target it won't fire, and if I can get it to fire, the gun chuffs a ball halfway in my barrel or the bolt sticks and air rushes out the barrel.. I need a squeegee to reset the bolt everytime... This happens all the time with the medium spring unless the velocity is cranked up close to 300 fps

So, I want to toy with cutting the medium or long silver spring to tune it so as to chrono in at 280 or so with good anti-chop capabilities... What is the procedure for cutting the bolt spring? I'll be using a dremel tool and am wondering if there is an algorithm I can follow of how much to cut per what fps is affected?? Ie: 1/4 inch of the spring accounts for (x) amount of FPS?

[shooter311]

You can try the next carrier smaller. More resistance on the bolt will make it easier on paint.

[gmiller0]

I want to keep he "correct carrier" and just adjust the spring to be perfect at 275-285 or so... I just don't wanna start cutting the spring and mess it up, so I need some guidance.

[shooter311]

For tuning AGD suggests moving to a smaller carrier before cutting the spring.

Fine tuning
For most people the setup outlined above will make every paintball day a great experience. For those looking to get maximum anti chop with fragile tourney paint we offer the following suggestions. The O-ring friction can be used to additionally slow the bolt down. By going to the next smaller carrier you add an additional layer of protection at the expense of risking bolt stick. You must keep your marker oiled daily to keep it working reliably. The long mainspring can be trimmed to further fine tune the performance. The best performance comes when the marker just starts firing at 270 fps and works reliably at 290 fps.

I had the same problem you did. I moved to the next carrier down, and it bounces off extremely fragile paint. I have never trimmed a spring otherwise I would help with that.

[gmiller0]

For tuning AGD suggests moving to a smaller carrier before cutting the spring.

Fine tuning
For most people the setup outlined above will make every paintball day a great experience. For those looking to get maximum anti chop with fragile tourney paint we offer the following suggestions. The O-ring friction can be used to additionally slow the bolt down. By going to the next smaller carrier you add an additional layer of protection at the expense of risking bolt stick. You must keep your marker oiled daily to keep it working reliably. The long mainspring can be trimmed to further fine tune the performance. The best performance comes when the marker just starts firing at 270 fps and works reliably at 290 fps.

I had the same problem you did. I moved to the next carrier down, and it bounces off extremely fragile paint. I have never trimmed a spring otherwise I would help with that.

Shooter... Were you using the short gold spring when you went to a smaller carrier?

[shooter311]

On my X-valve it was the red spring, and on my RT pro it was the short gold spring. Bot just barely touch the ball and reset. I have never had a problem with bolt stick. It sounds like in your case you could try the smaller carrier with the gold spring. I just like sizing the carrier down because its not a permanent modification. It might not be a big deal for you, but I don't have any shops around me so getting a new spring would be a pain.

[gmiller0]

I hear ya... I will try that also just as a test.

If anyone has cut their spring before, any input would be much appreciated I don't wanna cut to much off. Ideas?

[Newt]

If you HAVE to cut the spring, use an abrasive wheel on a dremel and keep some water running over it so you're not overheating the metal and affecting the spring temper.

[gmiller0]

I think I may try this tonight since I got a bee in my bonnet about getting this thing... Time to make some coffee

[gmiller0]

That makes total sense about using the water to keep temper stable!!! Ok, so in what increments do I cut? I was gonna start with a cut right below where the end of the spring is on the side that is not as flush... I know I cut, and grind the end flat so it rests flat against the bolt and test it... Then I figure I'll cut 1/8th sections untill I can get it to start firing at about 260 fps so it will let me go 20-25 fps more for desired fps of about 280-285... I'm gonna use the red spring for this... Does this sound right?

[factoid]

Tin snips work if you've got em. Wire cutters work too, but you need big ones, not the little guys.

I used a dremel cutting disk, it should be faster and more precise than an abrasive wheel, and it won't impart nearly as much heat to where you need to worry about affecting the temper.

When i cut mine i don't recall it being even warm afterward. I can see how that would be a problem if you're using the wheel though.

As for how much to cut, I started with half a coil, then made one more cut just a quarter inch or so and it was perfect, starting to shoot at 265 or so. If I put the gold spring on I start shooting around 240.

[gmiller0]

Thanks factoid!!! I needed to hear in detail and you nailed it... Were you cutting the red or long silver spring? That's precisely the results I want!!!!

[gmiller0]

Yippee!!!! Factoid.... You rock!!!! I ended up cutting little pieces off at a time (about 1/5 sections) of spring at a time... Got it down to start cycling with paint at about 250-255 fps... Turned it up to 280-285 fps and she rips and works great!! I let it sit for about 7 minutes to see if the problem of bolt stick would reproduce itself and it DOES NOT Test some very old paint in the breach to see if it would chop and the bolt just bounced right off it everytime... Did the drop test on the test balls and they broke as soon as they hit the ground from 5 feet so I know the paint was crazy brittle so I would definately tell people that want to tune the springs by cutting them that it's totally worth it AFTER YOU FIND THE RIGHT CARRIER AND AMOUNT OF SHIMS!!! I tested everything with the stock R/T on/off and once I tuned it all, I put my ULT back in and tuned it to where it's using 5 shims and the reactivity is perfect!!!!! Retested velocity and it's still consistent at 284 fps and absolutely NO bolt stick

[factoid]

Yippee!!!! Factoid.... You rock!!!! I ended up cutting little pieces off at a time (about 1/5 sections) of spring at a time... Got it down to start cycling with paint at about 250-255 fps... Turned it up to 280-285 fps and she rips and works great!! I let it sit for about 7 minutes to see if the problem of bolt stick would reproduce itself and it DOES NOT Test some very old paint in the breach to see if it would chop and the bolt just bounced right off it everytime... Did the drop test on the test balls and they broke as soon as they hit the ground from 5 feet so I know the paint was crazy brittle so I would definately tell people that want to tune the springs by cutting them that it's totally worth it AFTER YOU FIND THE RIGHT CARRIER AND AMOUNT OF SHIMS!!! I tested everything with the stock R/T on/off and once I tuned it all, I put my ULT back in and tuned it to where it's using 5 shims and the reactivity is perfect!!!!! Retested velocity and it's still consistent at 284 fps and absolutely NO bolt stick

Glad that worked for you. Whenever you're cutting springs you should start with the longest grey spring. AGD doesn't even produce the red ones anymore, so the only way to get a middle-length spring is to cut one.

Make sure that you've got the cut end of your spring facing the bolt. If you have the cut end sticking into the body it can twist and end up sort of threading itself into your breech, which will seize up your whole marker until you tear it apart.

[gmiller0]

Well, I figured I could cut the red spring to be able to give me perfect maximum chop resistance at 275-285 fps and tune the long silver one for about 290 or so... I can't believ how well this works!!! The small spring shot great but had way too much force and WOULD chop paint... Now it chrono's perfectly and will not chop a ball! My final say on this is ... If ya wanna max out the capabilities of your level 10 then cut the springs to tune to start firing 25-35 bps under where you want to actually end up. If ya want 285 fps then cut down the spring in small sections and testing after each cut until you gun STARTS to cycle well at about 250-255 fps perfect!!