Battery Stock Conversion Tutorial

[FarEast]

Over the years of playing Airsoft I have made a lot of purchases, some better than others and that is clearly evident when looking in my spare parts and junk box! While some of them are destined to be thrown away eventually, others with a little creativity and skill can be used again.

 

One of these poor choice purchases was a Prime 6 position crane stock, the one that can’t take the battery. Now when this piece was originally bought I had need of moving the battery to the back of the gun, In fact I probably had no intention of purchasing another gun, 30 guns odd later and it didn’t seem like such a good choice after all….. Or was it?

 

 

The Project:

 

Turning a non-battery crane stock in to a 9.6v Battery stock, this mod will work with any 6 position crane stock where the battery compartment is removable.

 

This 1st project is very easy to do and just requires a small amount of skill as well as the following tools:

 

• Dremel or other hand held rotary tool

• Reinforced cutting disks for the rotary tool

• Hacksaw blade

• Modelling files both flat edged and rounded

• Sharp craft knife

• Water based coloured marker (So you can wipe it off)

 

How to do it

 

Battery Compartment:

 

The first thing you need to do is remove the two battery compartments from the cheek rest of the crane stock.

 

 

These are actually slightly bigger in diameter than the cells of the battery I’m going to be using, in this case an 8 cell 9.6v battery which happens to be perfect for this job.

 

 

The next job is to measure the length of the battery and then mark out where it will sit in both the battery compartments.

 

* Remember to take into account the wire and solder.

 

 

Using a sharp craft knife I cut to the middle of the battery compartments, once I had done both ends I then cut length ways to create a tray for the battery to sit in. Once you have done this I recommend that you use the file to remove any sharp edges or burring that might damage your battery.

 

*Please note that the plastic is a little brittle, so score the line over and over again to get the neatest and best results.

 

 

 

As you can see from the image below the battery now sits inside the battery compartment snugly, which means no movement during games.

 

 

*You may wish to make the bays bigger depending on the battery you are using for this modification.

 

So congratulations this part is done, easy right!

[FarEast]

Cheek rest Modification:

 

This part is probably the hardest step of the modification because it is just so fiddly, you’re going to need the hacksaw blade for this step and a lot of patients as this is where you could damage the outward appearance of your stock, so take your time.

 

 

Using the blade you will need to cut a channel down the inside of the stock, I used the lip that the battery compartment plugs latch into as my guide on how high channel needs to be. Working slowly I cut all the way down the inside of the stock and stopped around 1.5 from the end. Then using a file I made the channel wide enough for the wires to flow down.

 

*Again you need to remove any burring or sharp edges as this could sever you battery wires as you open and collapse the stock during game play.

 

 

You may wish to slide the battery compartment in to the cheek piece now to make sure that your wires are running smoothly down the cheek piece.

 

 

Great, now the cheek piece assembly is finished!

[FarEast]

Stock Tube Modification:

 

If you have left the battery compartments with the battery still in the stock you are going to have to remove it for the time being. We also need to reassemble the cheek piece to the 6 position tube. Once this is done you need to extend the stock to its maximum length and using a marker, mark the point where the latch for the battery compartment starts on both sides of your tube.

 

 

Using water based coloured marker, I then marked out the area that needed to be removed with the Dremel. You need to make sure that you cut away enough so that the wire doesn’t get snagged as you extended the stock, but not to much that you affect the durability of the stock.

 

 

Once you have cut out the area you will need to round off all the edges while also removing all the burring and sharp edges, as this will certainly damage your wires otherwise.

 

 

You’ll also need to make sure that you can’t see the clearance area!

 

 

*Please make sure you are in a well ventilated area when cutting and that you wear appropriate eye protect while cutting.

 

You’ll need to totally reassemble the stock now, including the battery to make sure that the stock can be fully collapsed and extended without catching on the wiring and damaging it, if you find that it does, you will need to cut away more height or round off your corners and edges more.

 

 

Now the final part of the modification is to cut about 4mm from the bottom of the stock tube fixing plug. This is so the wires can run through the tube rather than outside of the stock piece.

 

 

So there you have it, what was once a standard stock collecting dust in my spare parts box is now and usable piece of kit, so much in fact it’s going on my latest project!!!

[UBIE]

Very Nice Job!

[FarEast]

Thank you, I really want to post a picture of the gun that it has gone on, but alas your going to have to wait for it as i don't want to ruin the suprise later!

[MDK_Marshal]

Hurrah for more of these tutorials It's been a while since anything like this popped up - there's quite a few cool projects on the go, but very few how-tos around. Kudos to you!

[Agujereado]

So that's what the crane stock I picked up was. Cool, now I can put it to use.

[FarEast]

So that's what the crane stock I picked up was. Cool, now I can put it to use.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Give it a try, if you have all the tools and your willing to take your time you should be able to produce a better result than mine as you've got a documented walkthrough with the hints on how to avoid the mistakes that could arise!

 

Let me know how it works out

[SilentScope]

FarEast, I'm going to try this with a real LMT Crane stock and modified buffer tube in a few weeks or so. I'll post a series of pictures once it's done.

 

Thanks for writing this up and giving me ideas.