boyntonstu wrote:First, let me say that I take suggestions very seriously, especially safety warnings.
Good choice. I see all too many people who don't take safety warnings.
You would have thought that looking down the barrel of a gun was a bad idea, but people can still be stupid enough to do it.
I am intrigued with the idea of obtaining kinetic energy with high speed without igniting fuel and without pre-compressing air.
Well, that's not exactly specific to a design like this. There are a great many ways to get kinetic energy without igniting fuel, or compressed air.
I have a design that fits the description in the pipeline, which uses magnetic fields to do the job.
I'll admit it's not the easiest solution to the job, but it's something of a challenge, and I like challenges. Also, it's cool (in a geeky way) to have a rifle pretty much lifted directly from science fiction.
7 years later, and after hundreds of hours of use, I believe that I have proven that a safe elevator could be built for $100.
Thus illustrating the importance of taking in feedback.
While I don't doubt the idea may have merits, you still need to ask yourself if this is the right way to go, considering not just cost and performance, but difficulty of construction and associated risks.
What I see as a possible solution in my gun design, is some sort of safety wall/deflector between the rubber and me.
Well, the only option to make something like this safe is isolating all dangerous parts from the user - or alternately, isolating the user from dangerous parts.
My accident made the choice of air rifle I later bought an easier one. If looking for a top of the line underlever spring rifle, the choices are really the Air Arms TX200 or the Weihrauch HW97K.
The one I eventually went for (the Air Arms) was the one that with the design that would stop me having a repeat accident. The design makes it damn near impossible to catch your fingers in it - you'd have to be TRYING to get yourself an injury.
Would this idea have prevented your injury?
The only thing that would have really worked is sealing away any moving parts. If you're doing this kind of thing, a shield here and there is a waste - seal it in properly, and have shields that can be moved for the parts you HAVE to get to, then put them back in place when you're done.
You'll also need to make sure the construction doesn't fail under load, for which you need to have a solid grip on the obscene forces generated in this kind of thing.
What caused your accident?
Complacency. I put a hand a hair too close to where shouldn't've been, and then a failsafe that I thought was solid failed on me - wham.
If I were doing it again, I'dn't've been daft enough to get myself in that position. Unlike some people, I learnt from it (without being scared off) and it was fortunately something that was capable of growing back - although I am still left with a less than pleasant scar as a reminder.
