Yeah, I am just saying that that is an option.

I do not know much about making stuff out of Carbon Fiber or Magnesium, but I just assumed Carbon Fiber required expensive tools, because isn't it strung together really tightly? Sorry if this is wrong, like I said i do not know much about Carbon Fiber.

Yeah, it requires expensive tools, in that a jigsaw, bandsaw, or Dremmel-type rotary tools are "expensive". It seems that so long as quality resins are used in the manufacturing, it's actually pretty workable.

However, from an industry perspective, CF is a very new material, steel has been in use for hundreds (if not arguably thousands) of years. (Not many thousands, but one or two). We've had Carbon Fiber for what, a decade and a half or so?

My research indicates that you would need some decent tools, but a $200,000 CNC machine is not a necessity by any stretch. Especially for what I have in mind. Anyone want to loan me about $50,000 for a small business startup?

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LOL cash or check

Sorry for my noobishness, I just didn't know that carbon fiber was that not-hard(I still don't think it would be EASY). That is a great idea, and i wasn't trying to criticize it in anyway if it sounded like that. You responded with a great post about a great idea.

Yeah, I've been looking into this for a couple of months. A lot of information from robot-builder hobbyists seems to indicate that when it comes to CF, anything you could carve/cut/mill from steel or aluminum, you can carve/cut/mill from carbon fiber. The only real complication is dust contamination, wearing a breathing mask is heavily recommended. I'm thinking that having a water nozzle nearby might be really really useful to limit the dust.

I'll have to see if the wife will let me splurge for some carbon fiber materials then... If nothing else, I really want to rebuild my trigger assembly from CF.

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i hope you get to do it! i wanna see!

How bout an electronic cyclone. It could allow for faster feed rates, doesnt depend on the pressure output of your tank, and would allow for the excess co2 to be used for something else. Perhaps that balloon idea or something.

As for the carbon fiber thing, you might want to expand your market and make bodies for other guns as well, ion...etc. I dont think the A5 market alone would be enough alone to justify the costs. Also, if carbon fiber is fairly cheap and easy to work with, why wouldn't companies with lots of money be using it. There has to be some down side to it, and as far as I can tell it must be the cost. Anything that I have seen that is made out of carbon fiber is always more expensive than a similar product made out of something else. Stiffi Barrels, hoods for cars, air tanks, shoes with a carbon fiber shank plate for added spring to your step etc.

Jimi makes a good point, everything we see on Carbon Fiber points to it being really expensive. Heh. I believe that the key factor is corporate greed. You mention CF hoods for cars...

This is the same industry that will gleefully charge $30 for a chrome muffler tip. $2 of metal sheet bent into shape with $0.01 of silver electroplate equals out to $2.01. Figure $10 for shipping a dozen of them, we'll round that off to $1 each, and a $5 stocking fee, I'm coming up with $8.01. So, where does the other $21.99 come from? I guess someone has to pay for those CEO salaries.

Of course, I'm figuring my kit will probably clock in at nearly $170 with the LPK included, I'm guessing for $130 for just the casing itself. I think I can sell it for that much, but I don't even have material cost quotes from the supplier I'm looking at... yet. Also, the ultralight bolt may well cost more, though I have a few ideas on that as well, if there's even a need for it. Going too light on weight will be bad.

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I have worked with CF a little bit My grandfather actually owns a yacht company and is working with carbon fibers quite a bit. It is very expensive. Mainly because it is hard to find anything but a huge roll for big money. My estimate on a prototype if your not familiar with working with fiber glass already is a couple grand but once you have some molds made you might be able to get the costs down. However be prepared to do a lot of sanding and have a lot of splinter that hurt like you couldnt imagine. But I would love to see you succeed in this. I would suggest trying to do this out of reg fiber glass first untill you get the hang of it and then go to the cf.
good luck

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Have you ever stuck your head out from around a bunker you just hid behind and gotten shot in the face?

Ya, most of us have gotten shot in the face at one point or another.

How about a "Ricochet" Facemask? Take the angled sides principle to the mask level... I could imagine the angled lens would be a pain the arse, but the rest of it might be pretty easy to do for a mask manufacturer.

I'd take a "ridge" down the middle for some reasonable chance of a bounce instead of a burst on the face mask.

(The only thing better than this mask wise would be a mask that flings paintballs back at the enemy ;?) lol

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