Post by Admin on May 27, 2011 20:48:16 GMT -5
(If this looks familiar it's because I posted it on the OFS a while back. Useful all the same)
This is by no means perfect so feel free to experiment. Just know that I splattered my garage in paint more then once trying to figure this out, so don't be surprised if it takes a couple goes to get it right.
Materials Needed
-Surgical Tubing: I used latex with an inside diameter of 1/4" interrior diameter. Color is irrelevent, though if you use black you won't be able to see the paint fill. Est. The spool I bought was about 50' and somewhere around 30 bucks. It was WAY more then I needed initially.
-Zip Ties: Needs no explanation. Get alot. Estimated cost: $2
-1/2" Washers: I used metal the first time around, but plastic would be safer if you can find them. Estimated cost: 10 for a dollar.
-Cotter Pins: Again, metal or plastic. As long as they are slightly longer then the washers it'll work. Before these I was using small nails that I filed down. I don't recall the cost of the cotter pins.
-Washable Paint: This one is up to you in terms of brand and color. I use Crayola personally however I'd like to experiment with some off name brands in hopes of saving some dough. Estimated Cost: $20 for a gallon.
-Something to fill the tubing. I tried a turkey bastor with horrid results and eventually ended up using an irrigation syringe that I found laying around the house. For as little information I have on this material, it's one of the most crucial because you'll be presurrizing the grenade with this. Best bet is to check online.
-Clamp(s) that can be operated with one hand. Trust me, you don't want to use a C-Clamp or a bar clamp here.
Preparation
-Cut tubing into proper length. This will vary based on the thickness of your tubing but a good rule is the thicker the exterrior is the shorter you can cut it. In turn a shorter cut will give a more rounded grenade. I used a 5" cut.
-Before we go any further I'd like to remind you to use a WASHABLE non-toxic childrens paint. If your home made grenades end up staining other players BDUs or even worse causing them illness I will personally see to it that you're assassinated by a band of monkeys. It will not be pretty.
Determine how thick you want your paint. This may vary depending on which brand you chose to work with. If you're not sure then use the the thickness of your average paintball. It should be thined enough that if it were on a surface it would drip slowly but not appear watery. I used a 1:1.5 solution, one part paint one and a half parts water. This gives a thick solution. Whatever you choose to mix in make sure it's something where you can easily use the syringe to suck up paint. Again, learned it the hard way.
-Most importantly, lay out all of your materials before hand and if possible, have someone on hand that will be able to help you. The next part gets a little tricky...
Assembly
1. Start by taking a single tube and fold over a portion of the tube over itself. Using 1/2" to 1/3" should be enough.
2. Use a zip tie to pinch it together tightly. If you make it to loose then the paint will shoot out the end when you go to fill it, mess up your work bench and go down the front of your pants. So to be safe, make sure it's extra tight.
3. Fill your syringe with as much paint as you can and insert the tip into the open end of the surgical tubing. It's important that no air is allowed to escape, so the better fit your syringe is to your tube the better results you'll have. By injected paint into the tube you'll be pressurizing the grenade. You'll need to find a way to keep the syringe in the tube without it shooting out. I had a friend holding the grenade (good friend) and I filled with the syringe.
4. You'll likely find that one syringe isn't enough to fill your grenade and you'll need to repeat this process until you've got a desired fill. Before removing your syringe use a clamp to seal the breach so your grenade doesn't gush out onto you. I'm won't like, I messed this step up several times before getting a successful fill.
5. When you've filled your grenade with enough paint remove the syringe and clamp the breach at the lowest point you can. Use what portion of the tube is left and fold it over itself like earlier, this time however you'll insert a washer over the fold and a a cotter pin between the fold and the washer. The washer should be pushing up on the cotter pin, and that's how you know you've done it correctly. At this point you can remove the clamp, you may need to cinch the extra material down a bit by pulling it through the washer first though.
6. As a final step you can use another zip tie to make a ring through the cotter pin, which will make it easier when you go to pull the pin. In my experience the grenade is very sensitive, so you'll need to be gentle when pulling the pin.
If all goes well you'll be on your way to making your very own paintball grenades in no time at all. If you want to take it a step further and turn these into a booby trap then you can tie a string to the washers before they go onto the grenade. Simply lace the string across a well traversed path and brace the grenade. When someone trips the string they'll set off the grenade and get a nice covering on one side of them.
This is by no means perfect so feel free to experiment. Just know that I splattered my garage in paint more then once trying to figure this out, so don't be surprised if it takes a couple goes to get it right.
Materials Needed
-Surgical Tubing: I used latex with an inside diameter of 1/4" interrior diameter. Color is irrelevent, though if you use black you won't be able to see the paint fill. Est. The spool I bought was about 50' and somewhere around 30 bucks. It was WAY more then I needed initially.
-Zip Ties: Needs no explanation. Get alot. Estimated cost: $2
-1/2" Washers: I used metal the first time around, but plastic would be safer if you can find them. Estimated cost: 10 for a dollar.
-Cotter Pins: Again, metal or plastic. As long as they are slightly longer then the washers it'll work. Before these I was using small nails that I filed down. I don't recall the cost of the cotter pins.
-Washable Paint: This one is up to you in terms of brand and color. I use Crayola personally however I'd like to experiment with some off name brands in hopes of saving some dough. Estimated Cost: $20 for a gallon.
-Something to fill the tubing. I tried a turkey bastor with horrid results and eventually ended up using an irrigation syringe that I found laying around the house. For as little information I have on this material, it's one of the most crucial because you'll be presurrizing the grenade with this. Best bet is to check online.
-Clamp(s) that can be operated with one hand. Trust me, you don't want to use a C-Clamp or a bar clamp here.
Preparation
-Cut tubing into proper length. This will vary based on the thickness of your tubing but a good rule is the thicker the exterrior is the shorter you can cut it. In turn a shorter cut will give a more rounded grenade. I used a 5" cut.
-Before we go any further I'd like to remind you to use a WASHABLE non-toxic childrens paint. If your home made grenades end up staining other players BDUs or even worse causing them illness I will personally see to it that you're assassinated by a band of monkeys. It will not be pretty.
Determine how thick you want your paint. This may vary depending on which brand you chose to work with. If you're not sure then use the the thickness of your average paintball. It should be thined enough that if it were on a surface it would drip slowly but not appear watery. I used a 1:1.5 solution, one part paint one and a half parts water. This gives a thick solution. Whatever you choose to mix in make sure it's something where you can easily use the syringe to suck up paint. Again, learned it the hard way.
-Most importantly, lay out all of your materials before hand and if possible, have someone on hand that will be able to help you. The next part gets a little tricky...
Assembly
1. Start by taking a single tube and fold over a portion of the tube over itself. Using 1/2" to 1/3" should be enough.
2. Use a zip tie to pinch it together tightly. If you make it to loose then the paint will shoot out the end when you go to fill it, mess up your work bench and go down the front of your pants. So to be safe, make sure it's extra tight.
3. Fill your syringe with as much paint as you can and insert the tip into the open end of the surgical tubing. It's important that no air is allowed to escape, so the better fit your syringe is to your tube the better results you'll have. By injected paint into the tube you'll be pressurizing the grenade. You'll need to find a way to keep the syringe in the tube without it shooting out. I had a friend holding the grenade (good friend) and I filled with the syringe.
4. You'll likely find that one syringe isn't enough to fill your grenade and you'll need to repeat this process until you've got a desired fill. Before removing your syringe use a clamp to seal the breach so your grenade doesn't gush out onto you. I'm won't like, I messed this step up several times before getting a successful fill.
5. When you've filled your grenade with enough paint remove the syringe and clamp the breach at the lowest point you can. Use what portion of the tube is left and fold it over itself like earlier, this time however you'll insert a washer over the fold and a a cotter pin between the fold and the washer. The washer should be pushing up on the cotter pin, and that's how you know you've done it correctly. At this point you can remove the clamp, you may need to cinch the extra material down a bit by pulling it through the washer first though.
6. As a final step you can use another zip tie to make a ring through the cotter pin, which will make it easier when you go to pull the pin. In my experience the grenade is very sensitive, so you'll need to be gentle when pulling the pin.
If all goes well you'll be on your way to making your very own paintball grenades in no time at all. If you want to take it a step further and turn these into a booby trap then you can tie a string to the washers before they go onto the grenade. Simply lace the string across a well traversed path and brace the grenade. When someone trips the string they'll set off the grenade and get a nice covering on one side of them.
