Pump handle - make your own?

[spike_ball999]

I just got one of those Lightning pump cockers off of Ebay. It's schweet, but the pump handle is heavy! So I got an idea to make it lighter.

How well do you think a wooden pump handle would work and look? I'd stain it ebony to match most of the stuff but is that a bad idea or a good idea? I don't want to put too much money into this thing, but I still want it to look good, operate well and stay durrable.

Oh, and if I decide against using wood, where could I get a block of colored acrylic or derlin? Thanks!

[trevorjk]

I just got one of those Lightning pump cockers off of Ebay. It's schweet, but the pump handle is heavy! So I got an idea to make it lighter.

How well do you think a wooden pump handle would work and look? I'd stain it ebony to match most of the stuff but is that a bad idea or a good idea? I don't want to put too much money into this thing, but I still want it to look good, operate well and stay durrable.

Oh, and if I decide against using wood, where could I get a block of colored acrylic or derlin? Thanks!

what ever you do just make sure you have smooth pump guide holes and a VERY STURDY AND STRONG spot for the pump arm to thread into

[Freebird]

ive been tossing around the idea of making wooden pump handles for phantoms.
I have all of the tooling, just lack of time



on another note, drill a few holes into the derlin, that will not sacrificer structural integrity.

[StygShore]

I just got one of those Lightning pump cockers off of Ebay. It's schweet, but the pump handle is heavy! So I got an idea to make it lighter.

How well do you think a wooden pump handle would work and look? I'd stain it ebony to match most of the stuff but is that a bad idea or a good idea? I don't want to put too much money into this thing, but I still want it to look good, operate well and stay durrable.

Oh, and if I decide against using wood, where could I get a block of colored acrylic or derlin? Thanks!

Better off to get like oak or a hardwood and stain it as dark as possible. A piece of ebony that large will run you more than buying a new CCM pump kit.

Take a larger drill bit and drill about 4 holes around where your pump rod goes in place, there is so much delrin there, I dont think you could hurt the integrity much unless you drilled into the guide chamber.


Styg

[Freebird]

in the past ive done modifications for some of my buddies to make the pump handles light weight.

PM me if your interested.

[ThePixelGuru]

Isn't the pump handle delrin? I don't think wood would be lighter.

[spike_ball999]

The handle is aluminum and I don't like it.

I was actually planning to make the handle out of oak then staining it a dark ebony finish. That be nice. This could be fun.

[Madmox]

Don't forget to seal it. Nothing spells fun like it getting wet and swelling up around the guide rod then warping and hosing up the pump action. And you could probably get something fun like purple heart also that would make a stunning handle especially stained dark. Or Lignum Vitae won't absorb water at all for the most part.

Madmox

[magmonkey]

I had intention of building a wood pump for the next sniper I build. do it it will at least be a fun project

[ThePixelGuru]

The handle is aluminum and I don't like it.

I was actually planning to make the handle out of oak then staining it a dark ebony finish. That be nice. This could be fun.

Cool. Do a pool ball pump handle!

[Railgun]

Go for some black walnut and just finish it with a clear finish. Buy enough to make new trigger frame slab grips to go with the new pump handle. Black Walnut is a lovely blackish brown color and is very upscale looking.

Or if you can afford the money then go for cocabolo. A very deep red to black grain that polishes up nicely. Again matching slab grips for the trigger frame would tie the whole look together.

Black walnut hand works well. The cocabolo is much harder but will still hand work. Although in both cases a drill press will pretty much be essential to ensure the guide rod holes are straight and where you need them. Also both woods will need a little metal insert where the pump rod attaches to take the loads. Drill a hole, stuff in a short length of round metal and then drill in from the end and tap normally so it passes through the metal.

Or you could try this. Drill and tap the 10-32 pump rod hole. Flood in some thin watery Cyanoacrylate glue (like Crazy Glue) that you can get from a hobby shop. Get the "thin" version so it soaks in. The glue will penetrate the grain and then go off so it's like adding a plastic bushing. Retap since the glue curing seems to shrink the hole.

For a finish I'd recomend epoxy. It's hard, will resist wear and washing far better than varnishes and it gives a nice finish with little trouble. Get the slower cure stuff. 5 minute is much too fast and thick. Laminating epoxy is what you want. Spread it on and then hit the epoxy with a hair dryer on high. The warmth will soon thin the epoxy to a watery state. While it's this way spread it around to encourage it to soak into the wood. Wipe off the excess. Let cure. Put on a second coat, let cure. Lightly wetsand off any roughness using a 600 grit paper. Polish with some 1000 grit WetorDry sandpaper. Add a last coat for a shiney finish or leave alone for a matt finish.

[spike_ball999]

Wow. Lots of awesome ideas here. Hopefully I'll be able to do most of it with my hand files, dremel and sandpaper.

[Railgun]

Spike, it's wood. You'll need a wood cutting saw and sandpaper. LOTS of sandpaper if you don't have access to a table saw, bandsaw or can time very carefully with the hand saw. But you will need a handsaw for wood working.

There's a lot of home woodworkers out there. CHeck around at work to see if there's someone that can cut the stock to the final block dimensions and then you can work it with sandpaper and the Dremel for grooves and the line.

This assumes you're after a Duck Slide like pump handle and not one of the rounded ones. If you want a rounded one you'll need to find someone with a wood lathe.

But really the Duck Slide style or flat boxy style or something that looks like the pump handle from a real shotgun would be pretty nice looking. A pleasant change from the usual round ones we see.

[spike_ball999]

That's pretty much what I'm going for. Duckslide.

In fact, I do have some small saws, but most of the major cutting will be done by my friend and drum endorser.