Why are moderators mostly metal now vs carbon fiber before?

I assume it may be due to not having a reliable supply of competitively priced carbon fiber tube now.



I haven’t seen many supply issues with aluminum tube, but availability of CF tube from China has been spotty at best.

For me carbon fiber has not worked on HP guns I have used them in a .223 condor and they have blown in parts...not the carbon but the ends have separated and the inside gone to infinity n beyond....for HP aluminum is the way..

in the size components your dealing with in a moderater the weight benefit would be negligible compared to the durability benefit of aluminum ... the only reason to use cf would be it looks cool, cf may be strong and light but it abrades or crushes easily and wont wear near as well as anodized aluminum .. my guess 

I've had 2 CF mods blow up, they were on my 40 fpe Daystate .22 Cal huntsman.

I have a couple of the STO carbon fiber units. They have twice the volume of the stock FX moderators but are still slightly lighter. They are way lighter than comparably sized aluminum units. One is used at 74fpe and it has held up for thousands of rounds with no problem. 

As you stated aluminum costs less is more durable, for the most part, and is way easier to machine.

I know some of the moderators are coming apart, as has been mentioned, so that would be yet another reason.

Another would be they can't be taken apart for cleaning. 

As stated the carbon fiber may be hard to get hold of in the days of the China virus. So, that may be yet another reason.

Likely we will never know the best answer for this but my guess would be a combination of the above and the fact that people have less money for their hobbies/addictions these days.

Carbon fiber is dangerous to the person machining the material, the dust fibers are very dangerous to breath in. The fiber also causes splinters that easily fester and become infected. Also difficult to clean up. Everyone got on board the carbon fiber craze, making everything they could but over time we have began to realize it can be a health hazard. Aluminum is much easier and safer to machine!!

Carbon fiber is dangerous to the person machining the material, the dust fibers are very dangerous to breath in. The fiber also causes splinters that easily fester and become infected. Also difficult to clean up. Everyone got on board the carbon fiber craze, making everything they could but over time we have began to realize it can be a health hazard. Aluminum is much easier and safer to machine!!

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Nothing worse than the feeling of having a shard of carbon fiber stuck in the back of your throat. 

It might have a little to do with the "comfort" level vendors have now, relative to a few years ago, with respect to Alphabet org and the rules for PBs. Years ago metal moderators were unheard of in the AG world and it was clear to the authorities they could not be used on PBs. Once the vendors got comfortable with the legality of moderators for AGs (which probably was slowed down somewhat by the inane insistence on calling them LDCs) ... but once the vendors understood they weren't going to be targeted they probably felt more comfortable moving from CF to metals. That is pure speculation on my part so ... not worth much.

Carbon fiber is dangerous to the person machining the material, the dust fibers are very dangerous to breath in. The fiber also causes splinters that easily fester and become infected. Also difficult to clean up. Everyone got on board the carbon fiber craze, making everything they could but over time we have began to realize it can be a health hazard. Aluminum is much easier and safer to machine!!

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I've always thought this as well and wondered what hazards people were exposing themselves to cutting CF tubes at home. A couple of times I had thought of buying some tubes to make a sleeve or shroud, I just never felt comfortable or safe working with the material. 

That being said - I have no preference on material, but it does seem a metal housing and threaded end cap would be more secure over time especially in higher fpe airguns. 

I have a lot of respect for STO so I am not surprised that @biohazardman is having success with them.