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With the shortage of pellets and having to buy from places that don't pack them very well. how do you go about fixing them. Is there anyone who has made a simple tool at home?
I use a center punch to fix them. It has to be the right angle though. The store-bought ones that came in a kit weren’t quite the right angle.I made some at work with different angles that just happened to work good that I ground on a WhirlyGig on the surface grinder.
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I have found that a 1/4” head phone jack adapter makes a good seating tool for a break barrel and also happens to straighten out the skirts.
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Not sure what kind of tools you have access to but here are a few ideas. Figure out the angle that you would need using the centerline through the pellet and the edge of the skirt on a good pellet.
1) probability the easiest and probably will cost the most but not too much. Go to an online Industrial supply company like McMaster-Carr (grainger sucks over priced unless you have a company account). Love McMaster, one day shipping through ups if you place your order by 6:00pm. You can purchase a single flute counter sink to press the skirt out to the proper angle while twisting the tool backwards so it doesn’t cut. They come in 60° 82° 90° 100° 110° 120° Angles. If I recall correctly a countersink will run anywhere from 10-200 bucks depending on the size of the body. 1/8 is super cheap and one at a 2” diameter cost my company $250, but I needed it for a part I was machining for them. Anywho you could probably use a 1/8 or 1/4 10-20 bucks. Drill a hole in hard wood (oak maple ash etc) deep enough for the pellet to sit in and use the countersink to make a nice angle on that hole. Pop the pellet in and use the same countersink to push the skirt out. If you drill a bunch in one piece of wood you could make short work of this after the initial setup.
2) home supplies. Take a drill bit and cut the bugger at the shank to remove the flutes. 1/8-1/4 inch drill bit would work fine but a larger one is easier to Hold. A die grinder would cut one or you could put it in a vise and snap it with a big ass hammer, butt of a splitting maul, axe etc). Then grind it with a grinding wheel to an appropriate angle then dull the point so you’re not poking the pellet. Follow the same process with the wood block and do 20-40 pellets at a time. Drill bit usually have a 118° or 132° angle you could use to make the flare in the wood block. If you have a piece of round steel bar, that would work well also. A transfer punch would make for nice metal stock. If you don’t have a set you can pick em up at a harbor freight for cheap Chinese prices. If you don’t have a grinding wheel a belt sander works in a pinch. I turn mine upside down and lightly clamp it in a vise and use a cordless drill to turn the stock to get a nice even grind wither using a grinding wheel or at home w a belt sander.
3) a plumbers flare tool may have the right angle. Take a piece of wood, and we’ll you know the rest. Bunch of holes drilled to fit the pellets and flared out at the top to reshape.
I’m curious what brand and type metal pellets are you working with? Why are they so hard to get?
so far in my guns out like 20-25 different pellets I think I get my best groups with crossman hollow points. $8 from Walmart. Subsonic in my gamo magnum so not too much noise. The gamo magnums shoot horrible in my gun, like 4” grouping at 25yrds. I did notice many of them had issues with the skirts. The other ones, all the fancy non lead seem to do whatever they want as well in my rifle too. Those prometheus ones go though my old ladies frying pan at close range but don’t shoot straight to save your life. She was pissed even though she hasn’t used the pan in two years. Super sonic and make that crack from the shockwave but fun for punching holes in stuff though. Shot up an old bras lamp the other week with them too. Barely hit the thing from 30yrds but they sailed through it and kept going. The crossman ones went through it most times, the magnums did not go though both sides. The plastic red points bounced off.
I guess where I’m going with this is how expensive are the pellets you are using and is it worth the time effort and cost. It might even be more cost effective to cast you own. There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of ammo around where I live. Local airgun pro shop is pretty stocked up.they even cast their own slugs. For .22 they have .216-.220 molds. Don’t have much luck with slugs in my gun though.
Please ignore any misspellings and poor grammar it’s 2:00am, insomnia is a b**ch.
hope you figure something out and share your solution with us.
-icy
1) probability the easiest and probably will cost the most but not too much. Go to an online Industrial supply company like McMaster-Carr (grainger sucks over priced unless you have a company account). Love McMaster, one day shipping through ups if you place your order by 6:00pm. You can purchase a single flute counter sink to press the skirt out to the proper angle while twisting the tool backwards so it doesn’t cut. They come in 60° 82° 90° 100° 110° 120° Angles. If I recall correctly a countersink will run anywhere from 10-200 bucks depending on the size of the body. 1/8 is super cheap and one at a 2” diameter cost my company $250, but I needed it for a part I was machining for them. Anywho you could probably use a 1/8 or 1/4 10-20 bucks. Drill a hole in hard wood (oak maple ash etc) deep enough for the pellet to sit in and use the countersink to make a nice angle on that hole. Pop the pellet in and use the same countersink to push the skirt out. If you drill a bunch in one piece of wood you could make short work of this after the initial setup.
2) home supplies. Take a drill bit and cut the bugger at the shank to remove the flutes. 1/8-1/4 inch drill bit would work fine but a larger one is easier to Hold. A die grinder would cut one or you could put it in a vise and snap it with a big ass hammer, butt of a splitting maul, axe etc). Then grind it with a grinding wheel to an appropriate angle then dull the point so you’re not poking the pellet. Follow the same process with the wood block and do 20-40 pellets at a time. Drill bit usually have a 118° or 132° angle you could use to make the flare in the wood block. If you have a piece of round steel bar, that would work well also. A transfer punch would make for nice metal stock. If you don’t have a set you can pick em up at a harbor freight for cheap Chinese prices. If you don’t have a grinding wheel a belt sander works in a pinch. I turn mine upside down and lightly clamp it in a vise and use a cordless drill to turn the stock to get a nice even grind wither using a grinding wheel or at home w a belt sander.
3) a plumbers flare tool may have the right angle. Take a piece of wood, and we’ll you know the rest. Bunch of holes drilled to fit the pellets and flared out at the top to reshape.
I’m curious what brand and type metal pellets are you working with? Why are they so hard to get?
so far in my guns out like 20-25 different pellets I think I get my best groups with crossman hollow points. $8 from Walmart. Subsonic in my gamo magnum so not too much noise. The gamo magnums shoot horrible in my gun, like 4” grouping at 25yrds. I did notice many of them had issues with the skirts. The other ones, all the fancy non lead seem to do whatever they want as well in my rifle too. Those prometheus ones go though my old ladies frying pan at close range but don’t shoot straight to save your life. She was pissed even though she hasn’t used the pan in two years. Super sonic and make that crack from the shockwave but fun for punching holes in stuff though. Shot up an old bras lamp the other week with them too. Barely hit the thing from 30yrds but they sailed through it and kept going. The crossman ones went through it most times, the magnums did not go though both sides. The plastic red points bounced off.
I guess where I’m going with this is how expensive are the pellets you are using and is it worth the time effort and cost. It might even be more cost effective to cast you own. There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of ammo around where I live. Local airgun pro shop is pretty stocked up.they even cast their own slugs. For .22 they have .216-.220 molds. Don’t have much luck with slugs in my gun though.
Please ignore any misspellings and poor grammar it’s 2:00am, insomnia is a b**ch.
hope you figure something out and share your solution with us.
-icy
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Thank you icycrosshairs.
I share your pain of not sleeping some times,, i have restless legs and bad spelling,,lol I have a .25 Cal avenger and pellets are being bought up as fast as there being made of this and larger calibers and when you can find them they have gone way up in price. there is a lot of .22 and .177 so back to .25 pellets, since i cant get JSB or any good so called pellets i was left buying vortex and they are on ebay so the way they packed them??? i expect damaged pellets.
the only place i have to buy pellets local, is Wal mart and they only have .177 may be .22 and most of all the gun shops here stay a way from airguns all together.
I share your pain of not sleeping some times,, i have restless legs and bad spelling,,lol I have a .25 Cal avenger and pellets are being bought up as fast as there being made of this and larger calibers and when you can find them they have gone way up in price. there is a lot of .22 and .177 so back to .25 pellets, since i cant get JSB or any good so called pellets i was left buying vortex and they are on ebay so the way they packed them??? i expect damaged pellets.
the only place i have to buy pellets local, is Wal mart and they only have .177 may be .22 and most of all the gun shops here stay a way from airguns all together.
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Icycrosshairs,
Let's hear it for one of our newest members (just 2 days), jumping in with a detailed and helpful post response.
Well done, this is the kind of collaboration that makes this a great community!
Let's hear it for one of our newest members (just 2 days), jumping in with a detailed and helpful post response.
Well done, this is the kind of collaboration that makes this a great community!
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I just use one of the other pellets in the tin and push the rounded nose into the skirt of the bent pellet. Works for me and you don't need another tool.
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I've made similar things by putting shanks in my drill press with the shank spinning use my hand grinder to shape. works like a lath, it works great
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I have made a few of these SPECIALTY skirt truing tools as an Accuracy improver for my competition shooting. Made to Exactly match a specific pellets skirt angle and depth.
The blunted tip bottoms out in pellets skirt cavity if pushed to hard preventing flaring. YES it straightens bent skirts better than new !!!
Scott S
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Hey thank you man! You guys are awesome!
@gunner616
Ahhhhhhhh I gotcha.
Yeah I don’t think I’ve ever seen .25 at “regular” stores…. I only need .177 and .22 which aren’t hard to find. I like the gentleman’s idea of the headphone jack! That would work great on a break barrel, could probably work when loading a magazine too.
That custom skirt tool looks like a winner for sure! Very nice!
If you’re ordering from fleabay you do have buyer protection. If they are all banged up just contact the seller and let them know they sent you a damaged item. They might ask to send them back (which for a damaged item the shipping is their responsibility). Some sellers are really good about working with buyers and may offer a partial refund. I buy a lot of weird stuff on eBay. It seems like whenever I find a really nice oil lamp for a good price, the glass shades or chimneys are in pieces when it arrives, grrrr. But, I’ve been lucky enough to have dealt with some nice sellers that simply send the return label or ask if I want to keep the lamp for a few dollars less. Some ask for pictures to put in a shipping insurance claim. I wonder if they can get their money back from the post office claim and still keep the eBay money? That would make sense. I’ve sold some of my mantle lamps and mantels on eBay and fortunately haven’t had any issues whatsoever. But, I pack the ever loving crap out of them. Pack them like a soccer player will be delivering them is my motto lol.
There is a gun shop very close to me called Browns. Tiny place, one owner, old as dirt, and totally reminds me of Clint Eastwood. No f**ks given and not afraid to tell buttheads to pound sand lol. Seen it! He has a 3/8 steel plate full holes next to the door. I asked about it and he said he made brass bullets with a buddy. Can’t remember the caliber but I was impressed they went through steel that thick. I’ve thought about asking him if he could order airguns bc they used to do paintball but stopped bc they had issues with players turning up their regulators and exceeding his limit on their field. Thinking on it, I may go see what he has for scopes, and if he sells used ones. I don’t mind used to save some money if it works well.
There’s also an airgun place about 45 minutes north of me that has an indoor range and a pro shop. Not a long ride and they seem really nice. I think the owner has a day job and does the airgun bizz as a side gig to fund his guns and because he likes the sport. He was telling me about his personal riffle, it sounds impressive. Nice little mom and pop place. When I was up there it was him and his wife working. I found him when shopping for a new riffle and bought a new springer there, was happy to find one local and not overpriced. His wife was telling me that they used to do birthday parties before Covid. They have a little hangout room/lounge for the party. Before any of the young adults can use the range they do a 45 minute gun safety lesson on proper and safe handling ppe and how to shoot if they don’t already know. I would assume if your having a party like that your family is into shooting sports but not all of the friends invited may have experience. They seem very big on teaching gun safety and introducing younger shooters to the sport. I thought that was pretty neat. I was going to take my family out there this weekend because it was rainy, but the range is still closed. Whoever answered the phone yesterday (it wasn’t the owner) said they haven’t reopened the range after covid because they are using it as a stock room, they loaded up on stock with anticipation of a shortage on items. They hope to open it up in the fall. Looking forward to that, my son likes to shoot and my wife is pretty damn good with a pistol. Seems like they sell mostly high end tin pellets. I still like lead so that’s really all I asked about, he has a bunch of lead to choose from. I was curious about slugs but my gun doesn’t seem to like them. If you like, when I get messaging privileges (new member) I can send you the name. Don’t really want to give up my source and have the whole forum wipe him out albeit, I don’t shoot .25. I thought his prices seemed fair to pretty good. I think he ships but not certain. They have a website but I just drive up so can’t confirm that they ship.
Best of luck with the pellets man.
That head phone jack is a REALLY clever idea @makincheez! I’m going to try that on my break barrels instead of cramming em in with my finger tip or a twig.
The tool @motorhead made looks excellent. Good lathe work, gnarling on it and all!
Stay awesome guys!
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I have made a few of these SPECIALTY skirt truing tools as an Accuracy improver for my competition shooting. Made to Exactly match a specific pellets skirt angle and depth.
The blunted tip bottoms out in pellets skirt cavity if pushed to hard preventing flaring. YES it straightens bent skirts better than new !!!
Scott S
Those tools would sell, I would buy 2 if available
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Sadly guys I DO NOT SELL THESE. The time to make them correctly is not cost effective on a manual machine. ( Personal use tools only )
Was just sharing what those of us neurotic enough to chase hidden nuggets of accuracy potential have made .. and they straighten bent skirts too ... Lol
feel free to reach out to me if you have any further Q's
Scott S
Was just sharing what those of us neurotic enough to chase hidden nuggets of accuracy potential have made .. and they straighten bent skirts too ... Lol
feel free to reach out to me if you have any further Q's
Scott S
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@motorhead
Unless it’s proprietary and you really don’t want it copied, you could draw it or have someone else draw it in CAD. Then take the file to a machine shop and get a quote to have a CNC poop them out like pancakes at an ihop. It’s not a very complicated part just needs tight tolerances. A Gnarl, a couple cutting passes and cutoff. Also you could distribute the file and let others figure out how to have em made. Not sure how big the market would be for them but sounds like you sold two already lol.
Also If you don’t want to pay for them up front, do one of those gofundme things-a-ma-bobs and take orders up front and pay the kid next door to box em and ship em. I don’t know how to do a gofundme but I’m sure one of my neighbors 10 year olds does
Just as idea on cost per piece a one machine shop near me has prices cheaper than ALL the other shops we used. It’s called Slater hill tool in Putnam. Send him a picture and ask for a quote if you supply the file in g code. The owners name is Josh and he was always good to us. iirc it was like $50 an hour plus stock. That could be like 60 of the buggers plus the cost of the metal bar. Food for thought. Have a feeling you’re a machinist if you made a couple already.
Man I need to take it easy on the coffee or something….
Edit: my wife just informed me that gofundme is for people going through financial hardships from things like cancer, house fires, car accidents, and other really bad things. You would want a “Kickstarter”…Whoops…
Unless it’s proprietary and you really don’t want it copied, you could draw it or have someone else draw it in CAD. Then take the file to a machine shop and get a quote to have a CNC poop them out like pancakes at an ihop. It’s not a very complicated part just needs tight tolerances. A Gnarl, a couple cutting passes and cutoff. Also you could distribute the file and let others figure out how to have em made. Not sure how big the market would be for them but sounds like you sold two already lol.
Also If you don’t want to pay for them up front, do one of those gofundme things-a-ma-bobs and take orders up front and pay the kid next door to box em and ship em. I don’t know how to do a gofundme but I’m sure one of my neighbors 10 year olds does
Just as idea on cost per piece a one machine shop near me has prices cheaper than ALL the other shops we used. It’s called Slater hill tool in Putnam. Send him a picture and ask for a quote if you supply the file in g code. The owners name is Josh and he was always good to us. iirc it was like $50 an hour plus stock. That could be like 60 of the buggers plus the cost of the metal bar. Food for thought. Have a feeling you’re a machinist if you made a couple already.
Man I need to take it easy on the coffee or something….
Edit: my wife just informed me that gofundme is for people going through financial hardships from things like cancer, house fires, car accidents, and other really bad things. You would want a “Kickstarter”…Whoops…
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If I had cared about copying would NOT of shared it. We are a community with some of us not looking to turn a profit with there innovation or design ideas.
Scott S
Scott S
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No sir Putnam C.T.
Vermont is beautiful! When I was growing up my family would go camping up there for two weeks every summer. My parents favorite campground was Jamaica state park a little south of the ball mountain damn on rt. 30
Hi Scott,
I really hope I didn’t offend you man and I apologize if I did.
It’s a really neat tool and a good idea, something worth passing on.
Hope I didn’t offend or sound capitalistic. Just a mental vomit of ideas on how you could have them made up and not eat the money or time to do so. Sometimes I get a lil carried away when I start typing. Hence the ease up on the coffee. Hope that explains the splurge. Sorry about that, little embarrassed.
Stay awesome guys,
Eric
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