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Chris North

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  1. Chris North

    Lots of things.

    By Chris North,

    In this entry I'll write about being emo, Black & Decker, "the best" foods, and talk a little bit about the MK1 I said I was going to write about a few days ago.
     
    Lately, again, I've been in a bad mood. I've been angry, sad, and nervous. They're all for good reasons (none of which I feel like sharing), but usually I've never allowed myself feel that way. I'm not really sure why I feel like this now, though apparently a lot of other people have the same problem. I guess, for me at least, it could just be the season. I recall feeling this way the past couple years before this one, though it's usually in the mid fall, not nearly winter.
     
    Oddly though, I almost like the feeling. I hate the feeling a lot more than I could ever like it, of course, but it's weird (maybe stupid is a better word) that I could like feeling bad. Maybe that's what "emo" is? In any case, it's been bothering me more than the feeling bad itself. It's pretty dumb to care about things either way, I think.
     
    On a lighter note, I've noticed that what's labeled as "the best" really isn't that great. A few foods that I've eaten that are famous for being "the best" were really just mediocre. Except for Cattleman's BBQ sauce. That stuff really is great.
     
    I've also recently realized that most of my power tools are made by Black & Decker. I don't know why they are practically the only brand I have. They're not bad or anything and have lasted a while (though I don't really abuse or use my tools a lot), but lately, the stuff I've seen advertised that they make seems a little useless. Powered adjustable wrench and tape measure? Electric jar opener? I played around with the wrench in the store, but I don't really see them as being necessary solutions to big problems. Useful, I'll give them that, but worth it? I've also played around with their auto jar opener, which as genuinely dumb. The basic idea really is that bad, since it did work for the most part, but the thing was huge, and only opened jars. If it could do cans, and pop open bottles, then maybe it would be worth the counter space it takes up, but I still don't think so.
     
    Anyhow, I did finish the suppressed MK1 project. It didn't come out that great though. The gun is actually louder with the suppressor, and it doesn't sit correctly. Drilling a hole in the dead center straight through a piece of wood is actually a lot harder than I though, so in turn the suppressor doesn't sit perfectly straight. Since I wanted to use baffles made out of thinly cut dowel instead of foam, the hole needed to be wider than they should be, and therefore weren't as effective as I think they could be. They did, however, work slightly better than the foam to reduce the report, though like I said neither were as quiet as the gun without the barrel. It still looks pretty cool, and the slight angle of the silencer is barely noticeable. I might want to try using the leftover barrel bit to make a snub nosed type of thing, however, since I think that would look pretty cool.
     
    A few pictures:
     

    What the pipe looked like before I cut it down to size. I was almost considering leaving it like that.
     

    Looking down the good end of the gun.
     

    The shortened inner barrel. The gun doesn't seem any less accurate, though I didn't really test it before and after cutting. Power was one thing I didn't think about, and one thing that would definitely be affected. I admittedly haven't tested that yet.
     

    This is the piece of the barrel that I cut off. "I guess this is just extra?"
     

    Tactical copper? Not really much point in this pic...
     

    What it looks like now. I decided to leave the grips I made a while go on there, since they work well, even if I'm not sure I like they way they turned out. I made to fit my fingers, sort of like a target pistol.
     
    I'll get a few more pics up later, mostly of the details of the can.
     
    One thing I've realized I really wanted whiling building the MK1, is a GBB MKII or MKIII. Come one Marushin, you've made a GBB Nambu, make something people want. And NOT in 8mm!
     
     
     
    ----
    Update
    December 13
     
     
    Could just make another entry, but meh.
     
    Firstly, the pics of the MK1 I promised. Didn't take that many though.
     

    You can see how everything doesn't line up perfectly, and how the holes aren't perfectly round. I had to sand them to make them slightly larger in certain spots. I also have to do a bit of touching up on the paint as you can see.
    And no, my head's not behind the camera...
     

    Sort of an assassin's breifcase thing. I chopped up the Super 9 in this pic a while ago, to sort of model it after RW's Blazing Skies, and I thought the MK1SD went well with it. The case is actually an old laptop case. You can see the S9's shells in the pen straps, though I don't know why my recorder is in there...
     
    You can see in the above pic of the full MK1 the dents in the rear part of the can. Basically I used a large pin punch to do that, to help secure the rear end of the suppressor in place. The front cap part uses a small grub screw (couldn't get a good pic of that, sorry) as well as some glue, while the center part uses only glue, in order to make them easily removable, yet still fairly permanent.
     
    I've also sanded down and refinished the Skorpion's grips. They're a bit more rounded at the front and back of the grip, as well as being a little bit more evenly shaped in the middle of the grip (no more funky Y-shape where the finger grooves are). I wanted to see what linseed oil would look like, so I finished them with that instead of the usual clear coat polyurethane I use. They don't seem to look any different, unfortunately, and linseed oil is a bit more time consuming to apply, so I'm not sure I'm going to use it again.

    You can't really tell anything from this pic, but I thought I would show it. This is after the sanding but before the finishing.
     
    On an airsoft-unrelated note, it was snowing earlier today. It's seemed to have stopped now though, and begun to sleet. I don't mind the snow most times, but since I'm the one that has to shovel it, it can be a little annoying at times. I remember this one year, where it snowed and then iced and then snowed and the iced and I had to clear the driveway. It was not fun. I ended up having to beat through the ice with a sledge hammer (being careful of course not to damage the pavement below it), then shovel it. I just hope I don't have to do that again...
     
    Also probably worth mentioning is that I've been up for 22 hours. Just in case it reflects in my writing and it seems like I'm drunk, you know why.
  2. Chris North
    Can't believe it's been a whole month already. The shortest month in the year, but still several weeks...
     
    I've not done everything I wanted as far as fun airsoft stuff goes, but I made a little headway with my planned projects (and a little with some unplanned ones, too).
     
    I did buy and install the quite nice CA MP5SD front assembly, and I'm pretty glad I did. The gun is far from quiet as far as suppressed AEGs go (in fact less quiet even than with the standard end and a KA suppressor), but the grip is much more comfortable and the whole thing looks very nice as is. It would figure that the day I get the money to buy an SEF lower receiver I saw on eBay both were sold to other people. Nearly 3 weeks with absolutely no apparent interest, then bam, they're both gone. It's pretty comical. I've not been able to track another one down with a similar price, and along with my lack of funds yet again I think this is going to have to be put on the back burner for a while. The current N group isn't too bad though, it's mostly that the selector comes down too low when in full auto for my liking and presses up on my index finger. Although, last time I tried an SEF the selector hit my thumb in FA. I do like the look of the old-school SEF better, which is another main reason for getting it. At this point it would probably be better and cheaper to just sell the JG I have and buy a CA, but that's not as fun.
     
    Since I ended up with a spare front end I decided to go along with sticking it on an old well that I had. I also bought a solid stock to try it out, but I didn't like the feel or the look as much, so I ended up sticking that on the stockless Well too. For a pretty old and supposedly crappy gun, it actually fires quite well and has held up for a long time. Like I think I mentioned in my previous entry, I wanted to keep it for a backup or loaner AEG, but I decided that some other upgrade parts would be better than another AEG so I sold it. It probably wouldn't have been a bad idea to keep the extra parts I put on it, but I'm almost sure that the state it would be in would make it hard to sell for anything more than $5.
     
    Got a picture of both, with the Well sporting an ACOG just for the hell of it:

     
     
    The ACOG I actually got in a trade, but I'm not too impressed with it. I was originally going to put it on my WE M4, but of course while waiting for it and the specialty Krytox lube I accidentally lost the very necessary hop up parts so it now does not fire BBs. I think I might even sell the 'COG, even though it took a long time to get to me and it was something that I was pretty excited about.
     
    The Krytox I was waiting for on the other hand is every bit as good as I thought it would be. The grease itself is a perfect consistency for most GBB applications, and as very slick. I'd describe it as frictionless, but that's stretching it a bit. The right amount on O-rings, inside of cylinders, on floating valves, and on the inside of the WE's bolt carrier does make everything operate tons better, even without cold temperatures. Just to try I also stuck my newly lubed WA 1911 and magazine in the freezer for 10 minutes then pulled it out and rapid-fired through half a mag (about 8-9 rounds), with zero catastrophic failures. Performance wasn't that great of course, but considering the slide locked back on the last round I think I could say I'm sold on the "it works" part. I also notice a bit better performance with my WE, too. All of its advantages do come at a hefty price (about $20 an ounce!), but since I didn't have to pay for it and a little bit goes a long way I'm pretty darn happy.
     
     
    Since I couldn't get my SEF lower I bought a threaded barrel for my WA, or so I thought at least. It turns out it was actually just a CCW adapter for the threaded barrel, which wasn't included like I thought. Basically the mix-up occurred because the site I ordered from is Japanese, and although it was in English, as expected the people that wrote the description probably don't use English for much more other than their job. So basically the page with the threaded barrel read "This is the CW attachment. If you want CCW buy [link] this one [/link]." Naturally I thought it was the same thing just with a CCW screw because I didn't bother to closely read the description. I was a bit confused when I finally got the package, but the $25 shipped threaded barrel for a WA part finally made sense.
     
    So right now I have a $25 aluminium screw thing with absolutely zero use. I don't have the $50 to spare for the actual barrel either, and honestly I don't think I would get it even if I did. I may be stupid enough to spend hundreds of dollars on plastic ball shooting (on a good day, when they work) toys that I rarely use, but $75+ on an aluminium threaded barrel for my toy suppressor is way beyond me. I did ask my pop about it, and he said he'll see what he can do about tapping the inside of my steel guarder barrel for me. Maybe not a total loss after all. If he can do it, it'll actually probably be better than the ally one that would cost me $50.
     
     
    Besides that, I've not done much to my own stuff. My WE is, as mentioned, not working and won't be for at least another few weeks (until I can get the replacement parts), so I obviously haven't invested anything besides the lube into that. I'm pretty sure I might skip the whole "faux16" thing, since I'd much rather convert it into a full-length M16. A guy that had posted his converted rifle that he deigned and had machined, Coco, was kind enough to share his plans with me. He said he would be willing to have one made for me, but it would cost more than I would be willing to spend, especially after the other necessary (in my eyes) items that I would need, like handguards, a new inner barrel, and a solid stock. It's still something that I'm considering, but honestly I don't think it will ever come to fruition.
     
    I also removed the ugly (and as I discovered, stupid) rail and RDS off of my M3 shotty. My eyes don't focus well with any of the RDSes I've tried, and they generally just seem to be more of a hindrance overall than anything. Besides, it looks much more badass without it:
     

     
     
    One other thing I managed to do that was pretty selfless was to fix up my brother's TM M4 (Which I also bought for him after he was scammed. Am I the best sibling of the year or what?). Basically the only thing that was really wrong with it originally was the 3,658 piece barrel that Marui used stock that wobbled like crazy. I bought a Dboys outer, but as luck would have it it's different specifications than Marui's, and among other things the handguard was about .5 inch too short. Easily solved by buying a new handguard, right? Of course not. The Dboys handguard just happened to be real-spec, and so wouldn't work with Marui's delta ring assembly and little front circle thingy. So of course the new barrel nut I bought had slightly different threads, and took about an hour of filing and force-threading to get on and stable. After that it did go together pretty nicely, and the barrel is rock-solid. In addition I redid the handguard wiring, which was excessively bulky in my opinion. I removed the fuse and its panel, and rewired it to Deans. I also fixed a second-hand EOtech that he bought, which had a stripped mount nut. Basically all I did was grind a nut and super glued it behind the it behind the standard nut (which also clamped the sight to the rail) so it wouldn't fall off during installation.
     
     
     
    With all the airsoft and other work I've been doing, my hands (and especially knuckles) have been shredded from slipped wrenches and other tools. I get asked who I beat occasionally.
     
     
  3. Chris North

    Projects!

    By Chris North,

    Well, it's been almost a year since I took a look at this. I'm not sure what happened, but lately I just feel like writing something down (And not the BS that I usually write. Y'know, the stuff that's involuntary.).
     
    Picking up where I left off with my last entry, almost all of my old airsoft stuff is gone. Besides my Skorpion and a few cheap guns, I have all relatively new stuff. Everything was bought second-hand, so I guess it's not truly new but it's new to me and for the most part something different. Over the past 2 months I pretty much did my best to keep my collection of toys down to the "bare essentials." Pretty much as last time, I still have a lot of stuff left. I'm probably going to keep it all this time, though.
     
    I've also pretty much fully delved into the world of sticking useless and expensive *suitcase* on my guns. Something about it is just incredibly fun. Over the past few months I've purchased and put together a really nice (in my eyes) WA 1911. The metal slide was pretty much out of necessity as the stock one was bent (apparently from some one using too much force pulling out the blowback unit) and made the gun fire wanky and look a little sloppy. Someone offered a PGC metal slide for a fairly reasonable price, so I snatched it. Several weeks later someone else put a Guarder steel barrel and chamber set and a steel recoil set up, so I bought those too. Prior to that I also experimented with a bunch of other parts, such as silver chamber covers and a threaded barrel, but for the most part none of them worked the way I wanted them to, so I took them out and eventually traded them for a shotgun shell holder. I also bought a few extra mags so that I could actually use this gun for more than just plinking, and made a set of wood grips for it. The grips could have been done a lot better, but they look okay for now.
     
    For the most part all of the parts were drop-in fit, though most some required cleaning and re-lubing and some needed just a bit of filing. I also had a problem with it jamming up, but a simple o-ring replacement seems to have cured that. Overall piecing everything together was a pretty fun experience. Nothing installed directly affects performance for the better, but each part helps and modifies the pistol in its own way. The aluminium slide is actually lighter than the plastic one with pot metal re-enforcements which would normally help with gas efficiency, but the heavier steel recoil spring plug pretty much balanced that out. This is good to me because it makes the blowback pretty strong and enjoyable. I hadn't noticed it until after I installed it, but the recoil spring guide rod is actually in two pieces with a spring inside to absorb some of the force of the slide hitting on the rearward stroke, so the gun should last on propane for a long time without trouble (though it probably will have something go wrong sooner rather than later). My only regret with the whole thing is that it doesn't look more unique, but it still looks how I like it so I don't regret it fully.
     
    I also learned that despite what I originally thought, the flat mainspring housings are a bit more comfortable to me than the curved ones. I also formed a solid opinion on WA pistols, which is something that might seem stupid but was actually important to me ever since I found airsoft and read people's questions about them and the different opinions people had as to whether or not they were worth it. I really think they are, but if you're going to spend hundreds of dollars on upgrades and accessories, you might as well go with TM. Part of the thing that makes WAs worth it is their heavier construction and better feel in stock materials, but if you're replacing them you should just go with the gun that's going to have a slightly better performing base system. WA's blowback system may be better for blowback, but Marui's BB and hammer system are better for consistency. TM also has a better hop up, and the upgrade parts are (from what I can tell) slightly cheaper, and a bit easier to get a hold of.
     
     
    Besides the 1911, I've also put together a shotgun. It's not as intricate, but it's a lot cheaper and a bit more practical. Just stuck a shell holder and a bunch of shells on it, and a rail on top for an RDS. Basically the whole thing is attached with a layer of clear 5 minute epoxy, but I also drilled three new holes in the metal back piece for small screws (not long enough to go through the receiver and into the internal worky bits) for additional re-enforcement. The top rail for the RDS is attached using a similar method. Everything is surprisingly durable, but it's not been abused enough yet for me to say it works perfectly. The shotgun itself is an inexpensive but effective DE M3 Super 90, which although isn't quite as effective as an AEG, it is a lot more fun. The tri-barrel system and the pump-action combine to make one badass gun.
     

     
     
    For the future (and to some extent the present) I would like to build my JG MP5A5 into an SD3. I'm already working on getting the SD front, but I still need to get an SEF lower. I don't think I'm going to work on getting the proper folding stock, as from the photos I've seen it looks a little shorter than the "J" style stock that's on there now. I did buy a solid stock, but I like the folding one. I also have an old Well MP5 that was made to be fired from a briefcase (which worked pretty well) that I think I'm going to try and fix up with some of the parts from my JG. I'm not sure how it's going to turn out though since the hop is really bad on the Well and I don't know how well the gearbox works. It would still be better than leaving the better JG parts laying around. Maybe might even be able to turn the Well itself into a perfectly functioning AEG, but since I don't have much experience with the inner workings of AEGs and I'd rather put money into other things, I don't know what will come of it.
     
     
    I also finally got one of the new GBB rifles that came out, too. I know I jumped around a lot with my ideas of getting one, from becoming obsessed with the Tanio Koba C8 to the WA M4 to almost setting myself up to buy the GHK AKSU, but I finally bought a WE M4 third-hand when it went up for sale for a really good price on the forums. All it really took to get running like new was a steel bolt-catch and a new charging handle, but then after a while I also had to get a new nozzle assembly. I really just bought it to tinker with at first, but now I can really see it being a practical skirmish gun. That would require spending quite a bit on additional magazines though, and I don't think I could use it for a few months when the weather is a bit warmer. It's really a nice rifle though, and I think depending on what the future brings I might turn it into an HK416-esque rifle. I'd call it a Faux16, like an M4gery.
     
     
    I'm pretty much beginning to consider myself a full-blown skirmisher, even though I've never been anywhere "real." I've got some basic gear and more practical guns, but I still have to find a definite site to go to and some face/eye protection that won't fog up as bad as the cheap goggles I've been using. I think I'm going to get one of those Cactus Hobbies Army of Two masks, just because they supposedly work well and look really cool. I'm also a little concerned with my face getting shot up...
     
     
     
    Speaking non-airsoft, that job that I mentioned in my last entry didn't last long. Unfortunately the guy I mentioned that was my ride quit about two weeks after I started, so it would have been too difficult for me to find a new ride and show up and etc. Other stuff has since been coming up so I still can make money every once in a while. Some pay a lot more than I would ever be able to make for the kind of work normally too, and some is even educational.
     
    The bass guitar thing didn't work out. Instead I took up regular 6-string, which has been going fairly well and is a bit more fun. I think I'm going to keep my old bass since I still enjoy its low sound.
  4. Chris North

    Untitled

    By Chris North,

    It's been over two months since my last entry. Not really sure why I haven't updated, just too lazy I guess. A bit's gone on in the past 60 days, though nothing really more interesting than what I usually post. About the title: It's surprisingly difficult coming up with a smart and interest-grabbing blog title, so leave me alone!
     
    Relating to airsoft, not a whole lot has happened. I sold off a large portion of my collection, though I still have a pretty decent amount of stuff left. I am still trying to get rid of some more of the things that rarely see use, like that assassin case I put together a while ago, as well as a WE 1911 I got in a trade. I've also had it with my Desert Eagle, so I'm selling that too. The straw the broke the camel's is the main valve on the mag, which had a piece that holds an O-ring on snap off for some reason. I really had a lot of fun with it, but the damn thing spent as much time broken as it did working. No one's showed any interest in it yet, though, so I fear I may be stuck with it.
     
    Funnily enough, I used to not like buying or selling second hand goods. It was just something about the lack of warranty, and chance that some one could screw you out of your money and stuff. I'm not really worried about either of those anymore, though I have found that owning what was some one else's baby sort of makes me have a hard time labeling it as mine. I'm dealing with it though.
     
    I've recently acquired a CYMA SOCOM16, which seems to have given me the upgrade bug. I've not done much to it, nor do I plan to do anything with the internals (except maybe a re-wire job) but I keep wanting to buy external stuff. It's the only gun that I've had this happen. It is a pretty nice gun though, it's just really heavy. So far anything that has to do with this gun involves the For Sale forum. I was about to buy a SOC16, when I found one for sale for a great price, then I found a bi-pod, then some one offered me a scope mount, and now I'm negotiating a trade for a bunch of other stuff. Pretty great.
     
     
    In other news, I've actually got a (semi) legit job! I say semi-legit, because it's still working for people I know, so it's really hard to get fired and I get a lot of leeway with picking days that I can work. It pays well, though it is a bit labor intensive. It's actually for my uncle's father's excavating company. Pretty much I do the *badgeress* work, since I can't do much else. I get a shovel, while every one else gets a bucket loader. I like it a lot though; there's something about the actual labor bit of it that makes me feel good. Sort of like a gym that pays you, only you don't get to pick the equipment you work out on.
     
    I actually got the job because my step-mom told me that my uncle (her brother) would be able to help me out if I wanted a job, since he works for his dad who owns the company. The company is pretty small, but they work at several sites and own their own equipment. I don't see my uncle's dad around too much, but I know him from before, and he's a pretty nice guy. I don't really think of my uncle as an uncle. He seems more like my brother in law, maybe even a friend or older brother, since we can actually be a bit competitive. He's got a personality some what like mine, and has led a life some what similar to mine. I don't want to be in his position in a few years though, even though it's not really an awful one, it's not a good one either.
     
    Since I'm just a student that hasn't "flown from the nest" yet, I don't have to pay a whole lot of money to live comfortably, which has allowed me to use the money I'm making for just about whatever I want. I plan to work a bit more after the school year ends. Right now I can't do much since it's cram time, and a lot needs to be done.
     
     
    Not much else has been going on that's worth telling about, except maybe that allergies have been acting up, and my old meds don't seem to be working. Every year this happens though, and it really sucks, to be blunt. I can't stop sneezing, my nose won't stop running, and my eyes tear up and are itchy. It's almost a full three months that I can barely function, so needless to say, it doesn't help with the schoolwork I need to get done, or with my new job.
     
     
     
  5. Chris North
    Almost another three weeks have past since my last update, and although a lot of stuff has gone on, I don't have too much to add.
     
    First, I did buy that bass guitar. It's a Fender Squier J Bass, which was part of a package that included "everything I needed to get started." Basically it was just about everything I needed; an amp, a tuner, a strap, a cable, a DVD, and a bag (for the guitar, obviously). Even though I went in the music store with the intention to buy a book and just look, then research, I ended up spending about an hour looking and asking questions (it was a small shop though, and I didn't spend much time talking...) before I made the decision to buy. As I said, it wasn't what I was originally going to do, but I don't regret doing it at all and I did buy a book on playing bass (though I haven't read through it completely yet).
     
    Anyhow, I think I've been picking playing up pretty quickly, and like most of the things that interest me, I spend a lot of my spare time researching as much as I can. So far, using mainly Wiki, I've learned quite a bit. Unfortunately I haven't devoted much time into learning standard music writing, so I've been using bass guitar tabs. They sometimes not accurate and you need to be familiar with the song in order to play it semi-accurately, but in addition to being easy to understand, they have the benefit of being free and easily accessible.
     
    Another thing that's been pretty fun is trying out different kinds of picks. At first I played with my fingers, and when I tried using a pick it was very awkward and I couldn't play as well, but I noticed that I got a much better sound from the pick, so I adapted a bit, and now I actually can't play as well without one.
     
    My brother actually also bought a drum kit, though so far he's not learning as quickly as I. But playing together is fun, although very challenging. Biggest problem is that he can't play any quieter, so in order to even hear what I'm doing on the Bass while he's playing the drums, I have to crank up the amp all the way. This results in a deafening noise that can be heard outside of the house, although there's enough space between us and our neighbors to drown out enough of the noise to keep people from complaining. We've been careful to play only in the day, as well.
     
     
    I've been thinking, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to give up on that themed collection. In fact, I'm probably going to sell a lot of the stuff I have, since I could really use the cash for supporting my new found hobby, as well as getting back into another hobby: video games. I haven't played a lot until recently, but with the release of GTA IV coming up, and a few other things going on, I've really become interested again. So with the cash that I've been getting (and will hopefully continue to get) form sales I shouldn't have much difficulty buying a PS3, which should get me started again. I actually was given an X-Box 360 a while ago, since the previous owner was apparently bored with it and owed me a bit. Recently, however, it showed the dreaded ring of death, something which I was extremely upset about. I was a PS3 fan from the start, but with this happening, and with the recent discovery of several websites that are specifically dedicated to the repair of X-Boxes, I've decided to get rid of it somehow and buy a PS3 (which, as I've noticed has a near zero failure rate compared to the 'Boxes estimated 33%, and no websites dedicated to repair).
     
    Anyhow, speaking of sales, I've actually made a bit more money than I thought. No where near as much as I had originally spent of course, though I wouldn't complain about that. Biggest problem so far has been the amount of time it takes to even get a buyer interested. I'm sure most people have sold something, but for those that haven't, it's a lot like fishing, and I really hate fishing. Negotiating and the actual selling is actually almost fun though (again, like fishing). To continue the metaphor, how about I try a better lure, and give 8% off to anyone that mentions my blog for a purchase?
  6. Chris North
    Well, it's been an even longer time since I've last updated. Not really finding much that I really care to tell about anymore, but I though it was time to post something again.
     
     
    Airsoft-wise, not much going on. I finally bought that PPK I've always wanted, and it's a lot of fun to shoot with propane. The blowback is much more fierce than I was expecting for such a little gun. It looks like it may come at a great cost though; the slide looks like it may be cracking in the very front where the left and right sides meet the bottom of the slide. I can't tell for sure, and I am hoping that it is just the metallic finish wearing. I'm messing around with it to see if the marks get any bigger, and I've added a buffer so the slide doesn't hit the trigger guard (where the slide hits on its rearward trip) as hard. It also seems that the blowback is a lot stronger when dry firing, so I've stopped doing that. I'm really hoping that I don't have use 134a with it, since it's almost not worth shooting with that stuff.
     
    I really like the little thing though. It's a great deal smaller than I was expecting, which is good. I was thinking that because RedWolf said around 6 inches, it was going to be pretty big. It is in fact that long, but the back of the grip that protects your hand from the hammer (forget what it's called) adds a bit to it. The mag and loading ramp thing are a little weird compared to what I'm use to seeing. If you don't load the mag in an absolutely correct alternating double-stack pattern, the PPK will double feed. You also have the potential for a nasty "hammer bite" with this things long hammer and short grip protection thing. The skin of my hand actually flaps over the end of the grip.
     
    I'm really upset that I didn't get a coaster with mine...
     
     
    I'm also going to (again) put off buying a slide for my G17 and buy one of those ACM M500 clones. Coincidentally, the same morning I was thinking about giving up on it because of the price of 8mm BBs, the 6mm comes out. I"m hoping they come out with a 6mm chrome version in addition to the black one. Yes, it's probably the opposite of what 99% of the airsofting community is going to choose, but hey. Hopefully I can make some shorty style wood furniture for it as well.
     
    I've also made a thing to launch grenades. Check out the project thread here.
     
     
    I've also finally received my new PC. Much, much faster than my old and battered laptop that shuts down because it overheats sometimes. I haven't gotten around to getting all the necessary bits to get it to hooked up to the Internet yet, so so far all I've been doing is playing games on it. Where my old PC would lag with the game options set to they're lowest, this things runs smoothly with everything set at it's highest. It's not one of those custom-built, multi-thousand dollar gaming PCs like some of you have, but it works extremely well for what I'm going to use it for.
     
    I've also installed a game that I bought a few years ago but couldn't get it to work with anything else. The disc was scratched a bit from being tossed around over the years, but a few runs through the Disc Doctor fixed that. Of course modding PC games is much more fun than playing them to me, so I've spent a bunch of time playing around with some of the files, changing things around and stuff. It's all a lot simpler than it sounds (and looks), and I am by no means a computer guy.
     
     
    The only thing else worth mentioning is don't get sick. It looks like I'm the last person I know the get this extremely nasty stomach virus. Vomited four times and about a gallon of fluids, diarrhea, waking up every two hours hallucinating with pain so bad I thought about killing myself. The good part is that the worst of it only lasts less than a day, with a loss of appetite and a bit of an achy body carrying on for the next two to three days. Day four for me now.
  7. Chris North

    I'm Back (In Black?)

    By Chris North,

    Sorry for not updating lately; I've been getting a lot of work done. Big relief now that most of it's done though.
     
     
    Finally got a hold of a KWC CO2 rig. Let me tell you, this thing is just *fruitcage*ing awesome. So far, I've been able to attach it to a bunch of GBBs, but only a few work outstandingly well with it.
     
    The Marui Glock 17 of course light strikes with it a lot, and since the stock plastic slide is already damaged I didn't try using it on that too much. Maruzen Skorpion is scary, but I noticed the top and bottom of the receiver had separated after just one mag, so I haven't tried it since. I wish it would work with a KWA Glock, but the valves are different, and since the gun isn't mine I can't just make it work. I haven't noticed any difference when I hooked it up to a CO2 Desert Eagle, even with the thing cranked up.
     
    KJW M9 works extremely well, and now I can fire a full mag's worth and have the slide lock back. Cranking up the pressure a bit makes the thing scary, but I'm afraid of the slide snapping off and hitting me, since needless to say, that would not be good. It works okay with the gas-guzzling UHC VP70, but any more than normal propane pressure and the thing will light strike. It seems to have trouble with using the stock, but I'm going to try and see what's up with that. Tried a few shots at normal propane pressure with one of the KWC 1911s, which worked pretty well, but since they're up for sale, I don't want to wear them any by cranking up the pressure.
     
    Speaking of which, I put my KWC 1911s and KWC Sigma up for sale here (though you probably already saw the link in my sig if you're reading my blog). Haven't been able to sell much so far, so sort of a special sale deal; if you mention my blog, I'll take 10% off of the price listed.
     
    For the first time in months, maybe even years, I've started to dream almost every night. Good news right? Not really. You see, I can remember most of them so vividly that I can almost have trouble remembering if what happened in the dream actually happened in reality. Others are re-occurring, almost haunting. The dumbest ones are when I'm in between getting up, and I'm thinking "Argh this damn Ron Popeil," and I'm changing the channel when in reality I'm just sleeping a bit more, then I wake up and remember I didn't do anything like that. Or something similar, like throwing a log into the wood burning stove. Another one was having this thing where the neighbors were some sort of crazy murderers, and I was spying on them with a security camera hidden in a Jack o' Lantern and hiding under a a pile of leaves with a pair of binoculars. Stupid things like that.
     
    One was like a sci-fi style thing where some scientist guy accidentally cut his finger while working on something and mutated into a weirdo monster thing and ate his lab partner, smashed through a glass gate, killed a security guard and escaped into an underground tunnel. Since then I've wanted to play Resident Evil. I think I could make it into a SciFi Pictures Original...
     
    Several have been a bit unpleasant. I think I may have passed an old acquaintance (less than that, actually) in the local mall a while ago, and since then, I haven't been able to forget about it. Dreaming hasn't helped, let's leave it at that.
  8. Chris North
    I was recently looking at getting an ACM Marushin M500 clone, since they look pretty good and most owners speak fondly of them. I really want to get that PPK first, but I was just looking at the M500 as maybe a future purchase. I was looking at several places, all of which were more expensive than I had originally thought they would be. I thought about buying from a retailer in the states, which was still pretty expensive. The 8mm BBs that I'll have to buy in addition to the gun are what are probably making it seem more expensive.
     
    I finally looked on RSOV, which had both the gun and a large bag of 8mms for a very reasonable price. Then I saw how much shipping would be. $83? I mean how far are we talking here? Is the PO going to stick a rocket to it and then send it towards the moon, use its gravitational pull to slingshot it back to Earth where its super packaging will prevent it from bursting into flames as it lands in a padded container in the back of the post office? It's not like they even deliver the damn thing to my doorstep, either. I have to go to the post office, wait in line, hope the delivery guy didn't take it with him to be able to give me another little piece of paper that reminds me that I have to go to the office to pick it, and then bring it back to my house. But whatever, it's not like I have any other choice, besides the other option which will save me $10 but take up to 14 days to get here.
     
     
    I'm pretty sure I'm going to just spend my money on something other than that WA M4. I was really sure I was going to get it, but if it retails for the $530 it's supposed to, I think I'll just spend some of the money I've been saving up for it on some other things. Since I still really want to buy the "staple" guns from Goldeneye (even though it sounds kind of stupid when I think about it), I think that's what I'm going to use it for. I still have to get that PPK (my card hasn't arrived yet, or else I would have it already...), then I want to get a Marushin Super Blackhawk, Tokyo Marui SPAS 12, Maruzen Micro-Uzi, and as I mentioned an ACM M500. There's also that Galaxy P90 that's rumored to be in the works. I'm now looking for an FTC Spectre M4 as well. Not only would it fit into the collection nicely, but I'd really like to own some sort of classic gas gun.
     
    As long as I don't allow myself to stray too far from my goal, I think I should be able to pull it off. Biggest obstacle I think I'll have to overcome is not price like I originally thought (thought that is going to be a bit of a problem), but finding these things. Some of the stuff I want to get seems to be out of production, so I'll have to hunt around for them. I guess I could just call it "part of the fun."
     
     
    I also think I'm going to try to build my own grenade launcher. Long story short, I'm going to try to make a new one so I can get rid of my old M203. I don't like the way I have to have the thing on another gun to use, and I don't think I want to shell out $200+ on something with such limited use. Don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but it's not like GLs are super complex (part of the reason I don't want to pay for one).
     
     
    Nothing much else is going on for me right now that's worth mentioning, really. Had a couple of warm days where the weather was in the 60s F, but it's a lot cooler outside now. Got a really small bit of outside work done though.
  9. Chris North

    New Year!

    By Chris North,

    Just like the months earlier, but with a different number at the last part of the date. So why do people make resolutions? Makes no sense to me. Most people I know give up on their resolutions before April. I mean, why not just work on whatever you want to any part of the year? Kind of what I do, although to be honest I don't really improve myself on purpose that often...
     
     
    Anyhow, bit of good news and a bit of bad news pertaining to me. Bad news first; I didn't get anywhere near as much stuff done as I wanted to and really should have. Spent most of my time doing other stuff I needed to do, then I spent whatever free time I had having fun (mostly playing Guitar Hero, seems like I'm not the only one addicted to it). Good news isn't as good as the bad news is bad, but it's something at least. Got a new debit card, and even though I don't like X-mas, I did get a few gifts that I thought were pretty cool.
     
    I've also been feeling a bit alone lately. It's kind of warranted to be honest, but recently I haven't been able to shake the feeling. I like being alone, but I don't like feeling lonely. Might not make sense, but it's the way it is...
     
     
    Recently I found an old mag valve that I incorrectly tried to fix by putting liquid teflon for plumbing on it (it was before I knew much about how a GBB worked, so I followed some rather poor advice), which made it leak a lot worse than it was before, and prevented it from operating completely. I filled it up to see if it would leak just for the heck of it, but to my surprise, it only leaked a bit. So I thought I'd take it apart and clean up the remnants of the teflon, and soak the rubber seals in steering fluid. Assuming I can get all the bits back together (really no reason I shouldn't), I've reached another small step in GBB repair. I was a bit surprised at all the little pieces that went into one valve.
     
     
    I'm thinking of getting rid of a few things I have that I rarely use. Problem is, most of the stuff I want to get rid of won't be worth much. I have a bunch of really cheap stuff that I think I might try to get rid of, but I think for the amount of money it'll take to pack up and ship out it would just be better to throw away. I guess I'll have to think about it.
     
    I'm definitely going to get rid of my KWC 1911s, I just have to get a box for those. Something I only just thought of was to use a box and most of the packing materials from an order that I plan on placing soon. Not sure if the box will work, but I think it's worth a shot.
     
     
    I'm starting to think about giving up on the WA M4. I have other things that I think I'd rather use my money for.
  10. Chris North

    The holidays!

    By Chris North,

    I hate Christmas. I used to like the getting gifts part, then I came to like giving gifts. More recently, however, I started to dislike having to buy other people presents, going out into the store for 5 or six hours, wrapping, all that BS. This year, I just hated the whole thing. I don't want to get anything for anyone and I don't want them to give me anyhting. The whole thing just seems so fake to me anymore. About the only thing I still like about this "holiday" is getting to visit my family. And the days off, which I don't technically get to enjoy anyhow, but whatever.
     
    Speaking of visiting my family, I'm in Bayonne, New Jersey at the moment, visiting a few people I rarely get toi see. I kind of didn't want to come at first, but I'm glad I did now that I'm here. Everyone's been nice(Except Evil Cat. More on him later.), and I like the change in enviroment. I don't think I would want to live here (I'll admit I'm a bit of a country-loving boy...) but with the excetion of how small the yard is and how many extremely tiny stairs there are, I like the busy-ness and the whole structural man-made feeling everthing has.
     
    As I mentioned, I hate how samll the stairs are, and how many sets I have to climb to get anywhere. I don't mind having to walk up and down stairs, but I seriously can't even get hlaf of my foot on a step. I actually tripped and ripped my favorite pants.
     
    Also as I mentioned, this side of my family seems to be so nice and trouble free. They aren't of course, and I can hear them tralking about things, but never around me or to me. I wonder why? To be honest my other family tree branch donesn't talk to me either, but they do a much worse job of concealing it. I guess it's just none of my business and I should concern myself with it.
     
    Something that has been a lot less than welcoming is my aunt's cat. He seriously must be where I got my dislike of cats from. You pet him, he either tries to scratch the *beep* out of you or bite your finger off. Her other cat isn't as bad, but isn't as welcoming as my grandparents' dog, which will jump on you, but only to play.
     
     
    In somewhat related news, I had a short while to myself, so I decided to make something again. I ran out of guns to make grips for, so I went for something a little more seasonal:
     

    From the other side:

    From the top:

    Not sure what you would call this angle:

     
    The tree is made out of the same wood I made the Skorpion's grip out of (would be kind of ironic if it was spruce ), which I basically just cut out in the shape of a triangular prism at first, then I cut that into a four sided pyramid, which I then removed the corners from with a Dremel to make it conical (I guess certain parts of math class have turned out to be useful...). Then I cut the stump part out by cutting a certain depth into each side of the base of the cone and then cutting downward to remove a section. The slits (or "branches") in the tree were cut using the Dremel and a cut off wheel. The base was made using some small sheets of one layer plywood, which I glued together (with the grain going in opposite directions for strenght) to make my own sheet of plywood. I then cut them out with a utility knife, though you can see where I messed up on one part. I tried the linseed oil again to finsih, which I think I'm begining to like. I'm still not sure if I'm going to stick with it though.
     
    I wasn't going to cut the branches in because I wasn't sure how it would come out, but I read in Candyman's build page on the WA2000 that it's better to work longer on something and have it turn out spectacular than do it quickly and have it turn out okay (or something along those lines), so that's what I went with. Not that I'm saying what I made is anywhere near as brilliant as what he makes, but you get the point.
     
     
    In airsoft related news, I'm thinking about selling my KWC 1911s. I like them, but not that much. They're not really spectacular or interesting enough for me. I bought them to dual weild, but since I've had them I did that maybe four times. I mostly use one of them for its threaded barrel, but if I could sell both of them for a decent price, I might just buy a few parts for my Marui.
     
    I'm also going to start recycling my used gas canisters, including the CO2 capsules and the 134a cans. It just seems wrong to throw away such a large steel can away. I'm not really sure where I can recycle them yet, though...
  11. Chris North
    Things actually look to be going a bit better for me. There's still things that need to be done, problems that need to be solved, and a few things that could be better, but hey, nothing is ever perfect, and if it was, life would probably suck more than when it's not. Sort of like that episode of The Twilight Zone...
     
    Anyhow, the linseed oil on the skorpion's grip has dried. I'm still not sure if there is enough difference in color to warrant the switch over from a poly finish, but I think I'm going to look at it some more, and maybe try and see how it looks on a few other woods. And, yes, this is probably the last time you'll have to read about the grips from me.
     

    This picture was taken in different lighting and it's a little unclear, so comparing it to some of the older pics accurately probably won't be easy...
     
     

    This pic is a little blurry, but you should be able to see where I removed some of the grip to make it shaped a bit more like the stock one. Ignore the yellow tack stuff; I used it to hold the grip in place while finishing it but then I couldn't get it off.
     

    This one's a little blurry as well, think it might be from the camera lens fogging up after moving from my warm bedroom to the cold basement.
     
    As I mentioned before, boiled linseed oil is a lot more time consuming to use compared to the "traditional" stain. Main thing I was worrying about is the warning on the back on the can: "CAN CAUSE SPONTANEUS COMBUSTION." Of course that sounds cool and all, but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be if it actually happened. So in order to prevent that I have to soak all of the rags and gloves that I used under water, and I'm also a lot more careful not to spill this stuff or get it onto my clothes or work table. The stuff also supposedly contains metal additives to aid in drying, which can also pose a health threat (I'm guessing no more than the poly stain, though).
     
    Also, not sure if the image size is too big for anyone. I figured that because of the new image resizer thing I might as well leave them un-resized in case some one wanted to see a bigger version.
     
     
    Worth a mention before I get on to other things is 3M's SandBlaster paper. I can't remember if it cost's more than regular sand paper, but if it does, it's worth it. The stuff lasts a lot longer than my cheaper stuff, and sands stuff down a lot faster than the regular stuff. It's all I really use for woodworking any more.
     
     
    Anyhow, after reading hkssr20det's blog I've joined a new forum: AGGF. Arnies hasn't really gotten boring or anything, but I think it's time for a change, and since I only know stuff about gas guns, thought it might be interesting to check it out. Not that much is going on there right now, though it's still pretty new. Arnies is still my main forum, though. The environment here is - unique. That's not to say it won't be unique in it's own way there someday, but even then (if I'm still doing this stuff) I'll still visit here often.
     
     
    Anyhow, as for things looking better, I'm pretty sure I can resolve that private issue I've written about a few times before. I think the best part about my new found solution is it's not easy (therefore has a decent chance of working well according to the way things work) and it's not going to be impossibly difficult. Like I've mentioned before, sort of a private, yet important thing.
     
    I've also been presented with a way to make some extra cash recently, which is almost always good. Looks like I'll have to work in the cold on the week right after Christmas, but I should make out pretty well.
     
    I've also lost a bit of weight, as well as gained a bit of muscle over the past couple weeks. I think the weight loss is partially down to me being sick the past couple days (I usually lose weight when I'm sick), but the muscle gain must be because of all this physical work I've been doing lately. Taking in fire wood, and shoveling the driveway are probably the most notable things. My arms are noticeably bigger.
     
     
    On a few more airsoft related notes, I've become almost obsessed with WA's GBB M4. I hope it's at least somewhat affordable and comes out soon. Tanio Koba's has also been in development for a while. Wonder what's taking them?
     
    Also, Maruzen is coming out with another PPK box set. Probably have to get it when I get the chance. Hope it won't sell out before I can get some cash together after the holidays.
     
     
    There was a bird pecking at the window a few minutes ago. Must've been eating the bugs that die on the sill...
  12. Chris North

    I've got wood...

    By Chris North,

    ...grips!
     
    Spent most of my free time yesterday and some time today in the work shop working on a few things.
     
    One of them; the grips I didn't think I was going to build.


    Makes it look a bit better, no?
     
    The part I was mainly concerned about, the trigger guard attachment point, didn't need to be copied form the stock grips as well as I had thought. The little notch that helps hold the grip in place doesn't really do that much, so I just cut out a spot in the new grip for it to fit into. It would be practically impossible to replicate the little groove without a special tool (I think it's called a tongue and groove cutter?), but the new grip fits perfectly tight.
     
    A few photos:
     

    You can sort of see in this pic where the T-shaped bit on the gun would normally fit into the stock grip.
     

    A pic of the front of both grips, again showing the groove.
     

    Instead of hollowing out the wood grip, I decided to just drill a hole. Not only would it have been harder to hollow them, but it would have also reduced the strength of the grip. In case you didn't know, the screw that holds the grip on goes through that hole.
     


    A few more comparison shots. You can tell how the new grip is a little deformed compared to the stock one, as wel as a little less round and curvy. I might fix that, but its still very comfortable. I forgot to take a pic of the left side of both grips, unfortunately.
     


    Might as well show what it looked like without the wood.
     

    My dog also decided to join me during clean up. After laying down in her shop bed for a while, she sniffed around for a few minutes, then got bored and went back in my bedroom to sleep on my bed.
     
    I think the wood that I used was spruce, though I'm not sure since it came in an economy package of leftover blocks of carving wood. The color came out a bit darker and browner than I originally thought and would have liked, but I still think it looks good. Making the grip was something new; even though I've made grips before, cutting something out in 3D was a lot more difficult. It was fun though, even if several times I was really nervous that the grip would crack from the drilling I needed to do to it.
     
     
    I've also finally gotten around to that MK1 thing I was going to build. More on that in my next entry, since I can't put up any more images, and it's not done yet.
  13. Chris North
    I got my Skorpion yesterday (day before, technically), and already I've spent about an hour working on it. About 50 minutes of that was mostly because I didn't know what I was doing, but 10 minutes was because of a somewhat legit problem.
     
    Don't read too much into the title, I don't really believe that. I'm actually agnostic.
     
    Anyhow, for some reason, the 61's blowback is quite a bit stronger with the stock extended and unsupported (as in not against my shoulder), but strangely the two halves of the receiver pop off at the back. So the first time this happened, I was a bit surprised, but having read a review on Arnies someplace that mentioned a similar problem with the stock removed, I wasn't too upset. After pulling the gun apart, I had a bit of difficulty trying to put it back together, so I spent a bit of time on that. I can't remember why exactly I had a problem with the hammer mech, but it when I pulled the trigger, the hammer wouldn't fall. So I ended up spending a stupid amount of time trying to figure out why I couldn't get the hammer to work, when finally I figured out that it was just because I had dry-fired the thing, and when I pressed the hammer back to put everything back together, I never reset the mech by pressing the little reset thingy. Then, the little pin and spring set that helps hold the take down pin in place sprung out and onto the floor, so I had to look for that (apparently, not vacuuming my floor for three weeks really wasn't a good idea). Getting all of that back into place was not a picnic either. I was able to learn a few things from the experience though, like what gas system the Vz 61 uses, and how to pull the bolt and blowback mech out.
     
    Earlier today, though, I was letting some one play around with the Skorpion, when suddenly the bolt stayed locked back, even though the follower was locked down. Apparently, the hammer fell before the bolt cycled fully, and prevented it from returning to battery. Not really sure why that happened, but it was an easy fix.
     
    So far it's been pretty fun though, seems to fire at 1000 or so RPM on propane. I've been shooting it with the follower locked down so that I don't need to use BBs, since I probably only have about 1000 left in combination. Hopefully I can a container or two of the cheap ones this weekend. I'm also thinking about making a grip out of wood, but the grip looks a bit intricate in some places, so I'm not sure I can pull it off. It looks like it might be the only way to get a wood one on there; I haven't seen any real steel grips anywhere (I can't be sure they would fit, even if I could find one) and the ones that were made for the Maruzen don't seem to be in stock any place. If worse comes to worst, I could probably paint a wood pattern on there, but I don't think it would be worth it to do that.
     
    --------------------------------------------------------
     
    Instead of another entry, I'm just going to update this one.
     
    I took another look at the Skorpion's grip today, and although I think that with enough work I could make one, I'm not sure I'm going to try. The part I'm worried about is the trigger guard, where the grip slides over. Then there's also the general shape of the grip, which I'm not sure i can replicate at least semi-accurately. I did clean up the shop the other day though, so I kind of want to get in there and do something. I also fixed my saw, so maybe I can try that out as well. It's been a little difficult cutting hard woods with a hand saw.
     
    Forgot to mention yesterday that I also bought a KWC green gas conversion valve for CO2 mags, though I'm not really sure why I bought it. I guess mostly to play around with it, though I haven't really been so far. I've only been able to get it to work well with the Sigma, and for some reason the valve's begun leaking with that so I have to soak in steering fluid for a while (which does work really well). One of the things that I want to check is if the setup will work with KWC's external CO2 rig (which I'm still looking for, if anyone has one).
     
     
  14. Chris North

    Bad times?

    By Chris North,

    Lately I haven't been feeling to well. Not sick, just upset. I think it's because I'm not sure whether I'm behind or doing okay. It's an awful feeling that I can't seem to shake. Not really sure what to do about it either, except continue to do what I do, and hope for the best. But that seems so irresponsible, doesn't it? Just hope and work? I'm sure I'll figure it out, I'm just not sure when. This all probably sounds like nonsense, but I don't care to elaborate any more on it, since it would require me to be a bit more personal, and I'm not comfortable with that.
     
    In lighter news, I did buy that Skorpion, and I'm waiting for it to get here. Speedpost tracking said it was in the US and being processed for two days now, so I hope it's not stuck in customs or something. I'm still not sure it was wise to spend that kind of money on myself, but I forgot all about that when I got the email about the raffle they have going on. Thought it was pretty cool, though I'm not even sure I actually got a "ticket," and even if I did, the chances of winning are probably pretty slim. Still, it gives me something to look forward to.
     
    I'm also thinking I'm going to start a sort of Goldeneye collection. I know it might sound like a stupid use of money (Well how many plastic ball shooting toys do you own?), but All of the things that I want to get I want to get anyway. I've wanted a PPK for a while now, I've wanted a Super Blackhawk even longer. I've always sort of liked the P90, though I think I'm going to have to wait for a clone of that to come out. I was considering getting a TM SPAS 12 as my first "quality" airsoft purchase, but I avoided it in the end. I'd rather get a clone of that too. A Micro-Uzi and the shotgun are things that I'm fond of, but never really though about buying.
     
    I'm going to try to fit all of this on my wall display, so I taken down most of hat was up there, and finally made use of that rifle case I got a good deal on.

    Now the wall display looks empty, and I can't remember how I got my MP5k on there, so it's crooked and facing the wrong way. It's funny how I can't seem to get two hooks in the right spot to get this thing on there.
  15. Chris North

    Stupid wires...

    By Chris North,

    I have a bunch of other stuff that I should be doing right now, most especially sleeping, but oh well.
     
    I've been having some pains in my left hand the past few days. I think it's because I was splitting wood. Normally this wouldn't affect anything other than my arms, but it was cold out and I made the mistake of wearing cotton cloves. In case you didn't know, swinging an 8-pound smooth wood-handled maul is not easy when you're wearing cotton gloves. I'm not sure why it's only my left hand though, as I'm right-handed. I only took a few swings before I switched to a different pair of gloves as well. I guess I just pulled something. It's actually a really good thing that it was my only left hand, since it's difficult and painful to manipulate anything. I don't know how I would have been able to do anything without my right one.
     
    Anyhow, before I knew just how difficult it would be to move my hand, I took apart my Galaxy MP5k. I don't know how to do a full strip of the gearbox or anything like that, but at least I figured out how to separate the two receiver halves. Getting it back together was a different story. The main problem I had was the wires. They were popping out all over the place, getting in the way of the tabs, then when I got everything together, I realized some of the wiring was not where it should be, and prevented the mag from clicking into place. I figured out how to get everything back together before that though, so fixing that wasn't difficult. Nothing big I know, but at least it's something. Did I mention I couldn't use my left hand?
     
    My Desert Eagle seems to be working great so far, though I've not been using it extensively. Like I said, as long as it breaks in the same spot, I can continue to repair it. I just noticed I saved a piece the blowback frame that broke a while ago, so I'm going to try to fix that once I get some of the appropriate adhesive.
     
    After my last blog entry, I remembered not really trying to fix my Madbull shell after it broke (and admittedly I compounded the problem). So I was really surprised when I tried it and it worked. Things that fix themselves are a mixed bag. Something's been fixed without any work, but you don't learn anything abut why it broke or how to fix it. Still, I've been firing it off, shooting anything that will fit down the barrel across my yard. It's convinced me not to get that M79, despite that sale ASGI was having the past few days. I really like it, but It's a bit of a pain to get a shell set up every time, and having to fire it outside has just convinced me to get something else. It's almost definitely going to be that Skorpion, but I'm not sure how smart it would be to spend money on myself at this time of the year.
     
    Nothing else going on at the moment. Think I may have gained a bit of weight over the holiday vacation, but they say most men gain weight when they're happy, and lose it when they're sad, and I've been losing weight pretty steadily, so I guess it's not all bad. My computer mouse left button is broken. Still somewhat usable, but I really need a new one. I think it's lasted me a year though.
  16. Chris North

    Oh come on!

    By Chris North,

    My KWC Desert Eagle stopped working again. It figured, I get rid of or repair one thing, something else breaks and takes its place.
     
    It's not all that bad, though. It had destroyed itself for no reason once before. I was firing it one day, when all of a sudden the blowback frame snapped around the area that a little grub screw that reset the trigger mech was screwed into, causing a bunch of little pieces to be launched from the slide. Pretty stupid of them to make such a part out of plastic.
     
    Anyhow, I was able to fill in the damaged area with epoxy resin, then Dremel and drilled it to make it like the old parts. I got some one who has access to a bunch of parts to get me a bunch of little grub screws, so I could pick what was the best one. After which I got everything together and it worked fine, until yesterday, when the trigger mechanism wouldn't reset when the slide returned to battery most of the time. The problem was that the epoxy didn't stay threaded as well as the package said it would, and the screw was pushed in too far into the frame, meaning in would not hit the little trigger mech lever to reset. I did basically the same thing I did before to fix it, except this time I used a larger screw with more coarse threads, and left a bit more epoxy in the frame for the screw to thread in to. Looks like it should work, but this epoxy doesn't harden as fast as the package says either, so I want to give it a longer time to harden before truly testing it out.
     
    I like KWC, mainly because they're one of the few Taiwanese GBB companies that add at least a little bit of their own design to their products. I just wish they would try just a little bit harder, then they would be excellent. Most of their GBBs seem to have problems only in one area (the Uzi's bolt guide, the DE's frame, the Sigma's trigger mech, my 1911's mag valves), which really just means that a quick trip back to the drawing board would probably help dramatically. It seems that a lot of companies don't try to improve their products after they've been released, bar a select few cases.
     
    I've also been able to get rid of my M1100. I'm having mixed feelings, but mostly I'm glad that it's no longer my problem and I have some extra cash. I still don't have quite enough to get what I want. What do I want? I don't know. I'm pretty sure I want a Skorpion, but that new Echo1 M79 has thrown me off. I really liked my M203, but then the Madbull shell stopped working for some reason, and I've never truly considered buying more of them. I don't know, maybe I should spend my cash "on more sensible stuff." Like a stereo system. I just wish my making money could be a little faster for me. I'll probably have to stop slacking off and get a "legit" job.
  17. Chris North
    First ever airsoft related entry!
     
    My Maruzen M1100 (pain in the *albatross* though it was) really reminded me of the unique feeling I got after repairing something, or getting something to work like I wanted.
     
    Ever since I was really young, I always enjoyed taking things apart. Not necessarily to see how the worked, and I never tried getting those things back together, but just taking them apart to see what they looked like inside, and p[laying with all the little bits. As I matured I started taking those little Matchbox cars apart and sort of customized them with bent pieces of wire for custom exhaust parts and boxes of wood for bass speakers in the back. I even painted them and swapped wheels between cars, and dropped and increased the car's suspension by adding blocks of wood to the axles. I'm not really sure where I was going with this...
     
    Anyhow, I really enjoy working on GBBs. I've had no shortage of things breaking on me (for no real reason I should add), but I've still been a little bored simply repairing my GBBs. I'd really love to get into that whole customizing scene, but almost every time I say to myself "I'm going to buy that, and upgrade it!" I never do. I don't know quite why, but I never stay interested in something long enough to want to upgrade it. Often what happens is I stop using something and I begin to care very little about it, so I chop it up into something.
     
    That gun right now is my KJW Mk.1. I think I'm going to make a suppressor for it. The idea is far from original (some one even posted his in a pic thread), but I don't really care. The main thing I want to see if I can do is get this thing quiet. I once botched a silencer onto mine, only to find that the report was a lot louder than before. The guy (sorry, I really don't remember his user name) that built his said that he had the same problem. I thought that the increase in loudness was because of the now unsupported barrel vibrating, but with out the outer barrel the report was only slightly louder. I'm hoping that this "mystery" will provide some entertainment for a while. Along with that little problem I still have to figure out how to build and attach attach the suppressor in a way that will make it look good, and I think I'm going to cut down the inner barrel and make a better pair of grips. I made a set before, intending them to be like the grips you see on target pistols, but they turned out really just plain ugly and uncomfortable. Maybe I'll put a picture up later.
     
    I'm still toying with the idea of buying a few things for my Marui Glock, namely a PDI barrel with a threaded attachment, a Guarder recoil spring, and a PGC metal slide and barrel set. I'd been thinking about getting the metal slide since I bought the G17, but I'm still thinking I'm going to pass it up and buy a Maruzen Skorpion, because I think I really need to get a "real" full auto GBB. My CO2 Desert Eagle is capable of F/A, but to be honest it's just not the same.
     
    I was really thinking of getting a Maruzen PPK with the silencer set separate as well (instead of, is more accurate). I wish I jumped on that "movie prop" PPK package that Maruzen released a while ago. Had I known it was a limited run I would have. Damn Maruzen. The separate set, although more expensive, does look a bit nicer. It also costs about the same as a PPK magazine (What's up with that?), so if I were to get the PPK it would definitely be with the barrel and suppressor set.
     
    The only other things worth mentioning right now is that we got the first snowfall of the season today. It just started and hasn't stopped, now there's about an inch on the ground. I also got a new shirt the other day, which made me look exceptionally sexy.
  18. Chris North

    Trip to the dentist

    By Chris North,

    Nothing airsoft related but I went to the dentist today. I'm not going to get into it too deeply (I'll spare you that horror).
     
    First thing I notice when I get there is the mini TV. Do people really need to watch TV while they're getting their teeth cleaned? The only thing I can do while some one's scraping at my teeth with a steel pick (more on that in a second) is sit still and fall half asleep.
     
    Next thing I'm thinking about while sleeping in their chair is how can all this scraping be beneficial to my teeth? And then they use this rubbing compound and drill to polish them. The only thing I can think of while all of this if going on is that time I wrecked my plastic watch face cover with a dremmel and a soft buffing cloth wheel.
     
    Through all of this, the hygienist kept glancing at the TV. I couldn't really see it that well, but it really didn't seem like anything that interesting. In between as ad, in the middle of some guys on ESPN talking (nothing that would have really needed to be seen), and then I notice these weird lights and black bulb on the TV, and a bunch more wires than a small TV with a basic cable hookup would need. My paranoia began acting up again, and I started to think there was a camera in the TV.
     
    So basically the only thing I know for sure is that I have to get my wisdom teeth pulled before the screw up my perfectly straight expensive orthodontically corrected teeth. Which basically means I'm probably going to have to wait 5 weeks in order to get an appointment. Who would have thought getting teeth pulled was as hard as pulling teeth?
     
    In airsoft related and positive news, I made a replacement for the piston head on my Maruzen M1100. I'm pretty proud of myself. Unfortunately I lost my buyer, and it's still up for sale. Check it out, why don't you? Okay, so there's probably only four of you that clicked on my blog and read this far, but that's four more potential buyers.
  19. Chris North
    Since blogs can be made by anyone now, I thought I might make my own to fill with a bunch of stuff that no one's going to see 'cause no one reads these things anyhow. Mainly I created this blog because I like to write, and since school's started again and I have to write now, I barely get to write anything I want. I'd usually write reviews, but I try to get those as perfect as possible, and often it'll take me several hours of work to get them the way I want (not all at once of course).
     
    Anyhow, I thought since I think about some stuff that I'd like to share sometimes I'd figure this would be the perfect outlet, since my thoughts don't need to be written perfectly here (not that they're perfect before I've put them down here), and I don't like to share my thoughts with any of the few people I know (and since they probably rather I keep what's in my head where it is).
     
    I'll do my best to keep it airsoft related at least some of the time, and at least partially interesting. Hopefully I'll be able to keep my interest in this for longer than a week.
  20. Chris North
    Once again, I feel that I'm wasting my life, doing nothing and not bettering myself. After what has to be done is done (well, the bare minimum, but I'm lazy and don't really feel like doing more...), I do the same stuff over and over again. After a while it becomes unfulfilling, and more importantly, less entertaining. So I was thinking of doing something I rarely ever even consider. I'm thinking about trying to commit to something completely new. I think I'm going to try to learn how to play the bass guitar.
     
    After playing (damn near mastering ) numerous "like you're playing a guitar" games, I realized how little it is worth to be able to do that. I have developed an interest in learning how to play a real guitar. I made an attempt to play a few small bits of a few songs on my pop's guitar a few times, and I did okay, but I really couldn't get into it.
     
    I'd like to try bass instead of a regular six-string since I figured it might be a bit easier to start with, and it looks like the strings are spaced a bit further apart. I was looking at some guitars online, and the cheaper ones don't seem too expensive. The amp looks to be the thing that will cost, but I found some sort of adapter that looks like it allows you to hookup a guitar to a PC via a USB so that you could listen to and record what you're playing. I really don't have much of an idea on what to get or what to look for, which is why I'm going to do another thing I rarely do: build a plan. Hopefully later today, I'll be able to get to a music store, have a look at what they have, and buy a book on the subject. Maybe after a bit of reading I'll have an idea of what to do.
     
    One thing I'm not so sure about is if I have any natural talent. I'm really tone deaf, so I don't think that would help any. Even if I end up sucking no matter how hard I try, it's not like it would be a big waste of money or time, compared to what I've been doing...
     
     
    In other, even less interesting news, I'm having a hard time seeing text on my monitor. I don't really having a problem seeing the text, but my eyes hurt after a while, and I've been sitting in front of my computer a lot less that I once was. I've decreased the brightness on my monitor and increased the text size on my FireFox browser, but my eyes are still hurting. Maybe it's the size or distance away my monitor is? I don't know, but I'm already partially nearsighted, I don't want to be farsighted as well.
     
     
     
  21. Chris North

    Not the best day.

    By Chris North,

    We've had some bad weather last week here, which normally wouldn't bother me since I really didn't have any place to go.
     
    Monday wasn't that bad. It was very windy at times, at a fine snow fell every once in a while which would make it impossible to see more than 50 feet. But again, I didn't have any place to be at the time this was going on. Firewood needed to be brought in, but since I was only out there very briefly and then came inside, it wasn't bad.
     
    Tuesday wasn't the worst day of the winter storms, but it wasn't the best. It just kept snowing and snowing, for about 14 hours. it was mostly a light and fluffy snow, so it was easy to clear, but at night it started to rain at night, which of course froze on top of the snow and just about everything else. Luckily I was able to clear a large portion of the snow that had fallen before the freezing rain.
     
    Wednesday. The thawing, paired with a lot of raining. First problem I have is an unresponsive printer, but that's unrelated. But when I go downstairs to check on something, I notice there is a pool of water on my bedroom floor. It looked a lot like it was coming in from the outside wall, but luckily this was not true. Upon further investigation I realized that the last person in the bottom door the night earlier hadn't pushed on the door to close it, and so there was a small crack where the door met the frame, where water leaked through and then leaked through the wall into the bedroom. Without thinking, I opened the door to see why there was water leaking through it (since I've only had a problem like this once before, and that was with an extremely heavy rain). There was a large pool of water that had been dammed up by the slowly defrosting snow from the previous night on the other side of the door, which now rushed in to open door and onto the floor. I had slipped on some flip-flops and rushed outside to shovel the slush out of the way in an effort to get the draining water moving again. No problems in that area again, although my toes were now numb.
     
    Later on in the day I was walking downstairs and noticed a damp spot in a corner where the dehumidifier was. I thought it might have just been pushed, and some of the water was spilled out of it, so I ignored it. Even later in the day, I realized that this was definitely not the case, since4 there was also a pool of water coming in from the same wall but a different spot. I also shrugged this off, since this has also happened before when it rained a lot. I did go outside to check out just how heavy it was raining, when I saw this:

    The driveway covered in snow and ice, with a lot of water running down through it from the street.

    A closer shot of what the flow of water looked like. I don't think you can tell how much water was actually there from the photos, but I took them already.
     
    Oh ######, right? Using some old lumber and a shovel, I (along with a bit of help) cleared the mess of slush so that the rain water would stop following paths in the slush (toward the house) and start going where it was supposed to (drains and such that carried water away from the house). About an hour later, using the moving water to carry snow and ice downhill and out of the way, we had cleared 80% of what had to be cleared. However, that small puddle of water inside that I had just thought would stay small and I'd mop up later? That had grown into a small lake. Why? Well there was another small stream that was running through the yard that I had completely ignored. Again, the slush carried the water around the paths that drain water was meant to go, and directly to the house, where it pooled up between the house and the front porch. A new path was immediately carved for it to follow, which seemed to have taken care care of it, but then there was still an inch of water to clean up on the floor. Turned out it was actually easier to scoop of the water with a shovel and throw it into a wheelbarrow. Another hour, and two carts of water later, a majority of the mess was cleaned up.

    I'm hoping the water is tinted green because of the cart, and not because of what was on the floor....
     
     
    What else is new? Not much. Finally got the bits for my PC, so now I can use the Internet. Oddly enough, as slow as my old computer was, this new one runs the Firefox browser just as fast as the old one. I know how fast pages load have to do with your modem and stuff, but I was thinking it would be a bit faster. Oh well.
     
    Near nothing new is happening that's airsoft related. Finally sold something substantial, but I still have lots more I want to get rid of. I think I'll just start a new thread with everything in it so I don't have to check multiple threads.
     
    I'm also thinking of holding off buying anything airsoft related for a while. I don't really I think I use anything I have all that often enough to justify the money I spend on it. I think I need to find a place to skirmish, otherwise what's the point in having a bunch of toy guns?
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