How I think I stopped my darts splitting (don't worry, there are pictures)

First off, this is an amalgamation of different 'dartsmithing' ideas - that thread by LittleTwigs, and advice in the splitting darts thread from different people (servulus and clunk off the top of my head)

Instead of continuously whining about my blue foam darts splitting up in the middle, I decided to do something about it. This is what I did, I call them 45mm sili tips.

As the name says, they're 45mm long (because I love metric)

I cut it to a length of 45mm, and then with the 'leftover' piece I decided to turn them into strips of foam.

Then those strips, using that thing.. from inside a ballpen, were rammed into the tubular hole of the silicone tipped blue foam, were my fingertip is pointing. Now as to how much foam you put is a matter of discretion. Personally I like to keep it a bit dense so that it doesn't deform too much.



Now I tested it after this step, but the foam rammed in could, and would fly out during propulsion. Of course superglue is a no-no with foam so I decided to use hot glue instead. A tiny sufficient amount, enough to fill in the hole. I specifically use my hot glue in a low-temp, so I only do it in batches of seven, letting the hot glue cool down in between so that I'm not burning foam.

Apologies for the bad focusing.
========

I know this might not be your cup of tea. There are certain limitations for this one. First up you might not want the 45mm length of your darts. Secondly you might think it's too much weight for a dart and you lose range. But what I've done now is I have a vast selection of darts I can use depending on which blaster I feel like playing with.

Suggestions are very much welcome

EDIT: in terms of ranges.. I would say it's comparable to a 8g snap cap dart, just a bit better. Though as with amateur dart-smithing, it's always little things that make a difference between good, great and a lemon. I've had darts sail through 30 meters, but others fishtail at around at 24m mark

Nice work, man.

How are the ranges affected? (compared to a normal sili tip?)

nice , but have you tried straw modding your darts?

I haven't, primarily because I don't have straws lol.

But I was thinking about it, if I want my straws to be permanent inside the tubular foam, what sort of adhesive can I use?

hot glue is fine, just be sure you use a lot of it. just go to the super market and purchase some straws, the ones I stooged from the science and engineering challenge(the ones that are in every place with a straw dispenser) seem okay for blue foam.

I've used PVA wood-working glue to do the straw mod on streamlines back in the early days.

Unsure as to the compatibility with blue foam, but it's worth a shot if you've got some glue lying around.

Cheers,

I did the straw mod to a selection of darts and you actually dont need any kind of adhesive because the straws are usually too tight (mine anyway) that if you used anything close to the Macca's size one, you'd be folding it in half and it would be putting little stress on the sides of the inner walls.
-James

Something that popped into my head was maybe get some expanding foam with the thin nozzle to fill in the hole. You could cut any excess too.

That's an idea.. maybe Bunnings has it. I haven't checked.

Mind you I came up with this idea and did it all in my room, using the materials I had at the time

Yeah it's also really good considering you used up the leftovers from cutting the dart instead of throwing it away. Although you can always make your own darts if you want the 45mm ones, that way nothing goes to waste. A couple of options to choose from I guess.

Nice idea do they split now?

Nope, you can consider them 'solid darts' now because the 'tube's been completely covered

Ok, Is there a Range Difference?

He said around ~25m ranges, which is pretty good considering it isn't pre-made solid foam in the first place. I reckon it's worth trying considering the ease of it.

well I forgot to put a disclaimer.. that's with my two most powerful guns, the BBUMB and the singled TS, both with an RSCB. So don't complain your Reflex isn't getting 25m with these type of bullets.

Try it with a few darts if you have plenty. Make sure you don't use too much hot glue and you are generous with stuffing the tube with foam, but making sure it's still cylindrical.

Have you thought of just inserting 6mm fbr?

Here in the states, you can find 12.7mm stickers at office supply stores. I just put them on the ends of my streamlines.

It kinda sucks though, when someone doesn't realize this and tries to load it in a stock blaster with the air restrictor peg still in place.

taerkitty wrote:Here in the states, you can find 12.7mm stickers at office supply stores. I just put them on the ends of my streamlines.

It kinda sucks though, when someone doesn't realize this and tries to load it in a stock blaster with the air restrictor peg still in place.

What's that got to do with the price of fish?
-James

melbnerf619 wrote:

taerkitty wrote:Here in the states, you can find 12.7mm stickers at office supply stores. I just put them on the ends of my streamlines.

It kinda sucks though, when someone doesn't realize this and tries to load it in a stock blaster with the air restrictor peg still in place.

What's that got to do with the price of fish?
-James

Well, obviously, the sticker prevents the burst of air from entering the tube inside the foam. It's a quicker method than the OP. Not sure about sustainability though, but it is pretty intelligent.

Cheers,

Oh, I was thinking he was putting it on the other side to make it look good. (i gotta read more carefully)
-James

And here I was thinking that I was learning some new Aussie slang.

Someone else found metallic stickers and put them on the ends of their stefans. Given that darts usually land head-first in the grass, this made them easier to see.

My stickers are orange, so they work, but not as well, when put on the backs of stefans. When put on the back of streamlines, they pretty much blend.

I should do some on some silitips and see how they look.

On the topic seeing darts in grass... blue foam is probably the best colour I've experienced and looking for it in grass. You can literally see it from several metres away.

I stop my darts from splitting by doing the straw mod, although I guess the good thing is that you don't have spend extra cash on straws! Unless you go steal them from Subway or somethign <,<.

taerkitty wrote:Someone else found metallic stickers and put them on the ends of their stefans. Given that darts usually land head-first in the grass, this made them easier to see.

That's actually a tops idea. If you could do it with .5" holographic stickers it would make non-blue foam a viable option.

littlebro05 wrote:On the topic seeing darts in grass... blue foam is probably the best colour I've experienced and looking for it in grass. You can literally see it from several metres away.

I stop my darts from splitting by doing the straw mod, although I guess the good thing is that you don't have spend extra cash on straws! Unless you go steal them from Subway or somethign <,<.

Thats what I do
I normally steal them from the cinema though.