Post by Lt.Col.Vortex on Sept 3, 2011 14:43:29 GMT -5
So if you have played paintball for any length of time, you have probably had a bent or broken tank pin. You have two options when it comes to something like this, buy a new top end for your tank( anywhere from 10$-20$, not too pricy) or attempt to self repair. I will show you how to do a self repair for your tank.
Warning: In this tutorial, you will be required to disassemble your Co2 tank. This may cause risk to you or your tank if not taken apart of reassembled properly.
The reason I say this is a Co2 tank repair as oppose to an HPA or other tank repair, is because I have only done this to a Co2 tank. If you wish, it is your risk to try and do this to another tank.
Things you'll need:
steel screw/pin( size will depend on your tank pin)
vice
high speed drill
hack saw
metal files
200ish grit and paper( higher or lower grit is ok, this is to smoothing out when your done, so any paper good for metal)
First off, you'll need to disassemble your tank. The best way is to place the head of the tank in a vice( one with no teeth. If your vice has teeth, place metal plaits to cover them so you do not damage your tank head). Then put a rag over your tank and place an oil filter wrench over the rag and twist off. If you don not have a filter wrench, place your tank in the vice and just remove the head with a wrench, but be careful to not damage your tank head as it is brass. Once that is done, remove your pin from the inside of your head assembly. There should be a spring and a teflon seal with your pin, always inspect for damage when dissembling things such as this.
Next you can start making your pin. If you have a caliper, take the size of the widest point of your pin and find a metal pin or bolt to match. If not, you can guess like i did. It is not dire important that you get an exact same size pin. Once you have your pin, cut it to length. Cut it about 1'8" too big, this will allow you some wiggle room.
Once you have cut it to length, mark off the length of the actual pin itself.( we'll break the whole pin into different parts for this tutorial. The "pin" is the thin part that you see in your tank. Then there is the "body" which is the whole assembly, then the "spring guide" at the rear.) Next insert the body side into your drill and place the drill in your vice. I call this "a poor mans lathe" and it works pretty good. It helps to have a drill with a locking trigger so you can file away with both hands.
Now you ca start filling, but first you might want to make a mark to prevent you from filling away too much. To keep from wondering too far into the body of your work, place your hack saw on the spinning pin close to toy our tape line and allow it to cut a grove. This will allow you to file without wondering too far and filling away too much material. Now you can start with the file I like to have a long file and put the head of the file on the desk and lean into the piece. This offers stability and consistent filling. I am not kidding you, this can take a LONG time.
If you have the tools, you can use a cut off wheel to sped things along. Just start the drill and lock it on, then use the cut off wheel to do the job of the file. Use this only to remove the majority of the material. Use your file to fine tune your finished product.
After that, proceed to the rear and start filling away the spring guide. This part is kinda tricky because its so close to the edge. The spring guide outsold only about 1/16 to 1/8 inch deep. You can make it longer if you wish, but do not go too long.
Depending on your pin body, you might have to file sides onto your body. This allows air to pass more easily around the pin. Again, every pin is different, but mine is octagon. You dont have to follow the pattern on your original body, just put some flat edges on it. I made mine a square.
After that, your done. Its easy in principal, but kinda harder in reality. Now I used a steel blot, but if you wish, you can use brass or aluminum. I used steel because I had some lying around, and brass bent in the first place.
Warning: In this tutorial, you will be required to disassemble your Co2 tank. This may cause risk to you or your tank if not taken apart of reassembled properly.
The reason I say this is a Co2 tank repair as oppose to an HPA or other tank repair, is because I have only done this to a Co2 tank. If you wish, it is your risk to try and do this to another tank.
Things you'll need:
steel screw/pin( size will depend on your tank pin)
vice
high speed drill
hack saw
metal files
200ish grit and paper( higher or lower grit is ok, this is to smoothing out when your done, so any paper good for metal)
First off, you'll need to disassemble your tank. The best way is to place the head of the tank in a vice( one with no teeth. If your vice has teeth, place metal plaits to cover them so you do not damage your tank head). Then put a rag over your tank and place an oil filter wrench over the rag and twist off. If you don not have a filter wrench, place your tank in the vice and just remove the head with a wrench, but be careful to not damage your tank head as it is brass. Once that is done, remove your pin from the inside of your head assembly. There should be a spring and a teflon seal with your pin, always inspect for damage when dissembling things such as this.
Next you can start making your pin. If you have a caliper, take the size of the widest point of your pin and find a metal pin or bolt to match. If not, you can guess like i did. It is not dire important that you get an exact same size pin. Once you have your pin, cut it to length. Cut it about 1'8" too big, this will allow you some wiggle room.
Once you have cut it to length, mark off the length of the actual pin itself.( we'll break the whole pin into different parts for this tutorial. The "pin" is the thin part that you see in your tank. Then there is the "body" which is the whole assembly, then the "spring guide" at the rear.) Next insert the body side into your drill and place the drill in your vice. I call this "a poor mans lathe" and it works pretty good. It helps to have a drill with a locking trigger so you can file away with both hands.
Now you ca start filling, but first you might want to make a mark to prevent you from filling away too much. To keep from wondering too far into the body of your work, place your hack saw on the spinning pin close to toy our tape line and allow it to cut a grove. This will allow you to file without wondering too far and filling away too much material. Now you can start with the file I like to have a long file and put the head of the file on the desk and lean into the piece. This offers stability and consistent filling. I am not kidding you, this can take a LONG time.
If you have the tools, you can use a cut off wheel to sped things along. Just start the drill and lock it on, then use the cut off wheel to do the job of the file. Use this only to remove the majority of the material. Use your file to fine tune your finished product.
After that, proceed to the rear and start filling away the spring guide. This part is kinda tricky because its so close to the edge. The spring guide outsold only about 1/16 to 1/8 inch deep. You can make it longer if you wish, but do not go too long.
Depending on your pin body, you might have to file sides onto your body. This allows air to pass more easily around the pin. Again, every pin is different, but mine is octagon. You dont have to follow the pattern on your original body, just put some flat edges on it. I made mine a square.
After that, your done. Its easy in principal, but kinda harder in reality. Now I used a steel blot, but if you wish, you can use brass or aluminum. I used steel because I had some lying around, and brass bent in the first place.