Posted: 12/15/2011 22:22 PM Post subject: sabots - cheap, quick and easy method
aspiring machinist
Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 21752 40561.64 Spud Bux
A little picture tutorial on how to make lightweight yet strong sabots to fire subcalbre projectiles, enjoy:
sabot01.jpg
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You will need: aluminium foil, a short section of barrel material, and a rod with the same diameter as your projectile - in this case I'm using a 4.5mm drill bit for a 4.4mm steel BB.
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sabot02.jpg
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1) fold the foil until you have a strip 4 to 5 times the diameter of your projectile.
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sabot03.jpg
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2) wrap the foil strip tightly around the rod until it's the same diameter as the inside of your barrel. You might need to use tape to help you do this.
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sabot04.jpg
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3) slide the foil out until the rod is only 1-2 times the diameter of the projectile into it, and pinch and twist the rest of the foil.
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sabot05.jpg
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4) push the whole assembly into the secton of barrel tubing, place it on a hard surface and tap the rod firmly with a hammer. This compacts the twisted end into a flat base, sealing it and adding strength.
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sabot06.jpg
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5) voila, sabot. Use a sharp blade to trim the front part to match the length of the projectile. You can also cut slits in order to aid sabot separation, as in a shotgun wad.
Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 21752 40561.64 Spud Bux
The problem with thin foil is that it does get a bit tiresome for larger calibres. You can substitute the foil for paper or thin carboard and make it the same way, then throw in a ball of foil before putting the sabot to hammer it in, and make a composite round.
Just to illustrate the effectiveness of this, here's a shot from my mini hybrid at 9x with a lead pellet:
Here's a shot with a 4.5mm BB in a sabot built as described above, fired from exactly the same setup at the same target:
You can see small flecks of foil from the sabot around the entry hole.
I found these shrader valve caps, and the fly straight when shot out of my cannon using your sabots, theses caps are a great way to make missiles without have a machine shop
Joined: 23 Jun 2006 Posts: 10038 12515.11 Spud Bux
jackssmirkingrevenge wrote:
Just to illustrate the effectiveness of this, here's a shot from my mini hybrid at 9x with a lead pellet:
[...]
Here's a shot with a 4.5mm BB in a sabot built as described above, fired from exactly the same setup at the same target:
So one shot was with a lead air rifle pellet and the other with a copper/steel 4.5mm BB? Just want to clear that up because if that's the case, surely it isn't a fair test?
Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 21752 40561.64 Spud Bux
MrCrowley wrote:
So one shot was with a lead air rifle pellet and the other with a copper/steel 4.5mm BB? Just want to clear that up because if that's the case, surely it isn't a fair test?
Fair point, the hardness of the BB does give it an advantage beyond what the sabot offers. Unfortunately the mini hybrid used for this test is now defunct so I can't repeat the experiment with a lead ball, though I have every reason to believe this would also have penetrated just as well.
When fired from my micro hybrid against similat steel sheet, both the lead and steel 0.177" BBs gave similar results:
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