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piston bumper

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 12:39 am
by roughboy
when building a piston gun is it important to install a bumper?

Is a bumper really important? even on an all steel piston cannon?



8) thanks youses

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 1:07 am
by A-98
yes, very, very , very important. i have an o-ring bumper on a piston that weighs less than a gram, but i still have one.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:15 am
by jackssmirkingrevenge
It's a simple thing to add and has its benefits in the long run - even steel will deform from repeated impacts, and after a while that will easily jam your piston.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:22 am
by TwitchTheAussie
Yup go with the O :lol: Cant wait to see it.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:35 am
by chaos
you guys have just made me relize how important these are, ill put one on mine asap.

yer use one mine is steel and it will help keep your piston from jamming.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:49 am
by jackssmirkingrevenge
chaos wrote:you guys have just made me relize how important these are, ill put one on mine asap.
DidnĀ“t yours have a spring already?

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:10 am
by chaos
Yer its got one. why, dont i need one if i got a spring?

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 3:25 am
by jackssmirkingrevenge
Well, a bumper is something that prevents the piston from slamming into the chamber endcap at full force - in this case, you have a spring for a bumper :wink:

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 11:56 am
by AmYisroelChai
Jack how strong would you say the spring needs to be for it to be a succesfull bumper? Also wouldnt the spring itself warp?

I am trying my first Barrel sealer now and I have a decent spring I want to try out for a bumber. I am concerned because it compresses with about 1-2lbs of force...

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:41 pm
by jackssmirkingrevenge
Personally I'd rather use a shock-absorbing bumper like rubber padding instead of a spring - simply because the spring won't allow maximum acceleration at the time of firing when it's most critical, which will hurt performance a little.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 2:50 pm
by Panzerfaust
I use a piece of thick rubber hose folded over behind the piston. At first i used some pipe insulation foam tube but that got sucked into the pilot.

Posted: Tue May 15, 2007 4:04 pm
by chaos
my barrel sealer has a spring that allows the piston to operate at 50psi, and it gets coilbound (fully compressed) when i shoot it, maybe a rubber washer behind the spring would help.

Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 12:05 am
by roughboy
what if my piston is made of hot glue do i still need a bumper?

Posted: Wed May 16, 2007 12:10 am
by A-98
tis a good idea. basic rule of thumb, if its under pressure, your main valve, and moves, you need a bumper.

Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:54 pm
by hi
sorry for kicking up an old thread, but im working on another piston valve and i have a spring and some hose for a bumper. can i use both just for extra safty? does it really matter?