Stefan (Zero Dart) Tutorial

I know there's tons of Stefan Tutorials on the internet, but there's not many here with pictures either so I thought I'd post one up.

Materials:

1/2" FBR
1/4" BB'S
A hot glue gun
Hot Glue Sticks
Fragile Tape (Packaging Tape)
Mitre Box
Hair Dryer
Stanley Knife
Something to stand your darts up in.


For starters use a mitre box to cut your foam into lengths between 1.5" and 2.5". I recommend using 2.0" inch as this is the average and provides best performance.



After you have completed your cuts, grab your hairdryer and pop your blank cuts into a bucket with something to cover 80% so the bullets don't fly out while hair drying. Start hair drying your darts until they change colour slightly or straighten. This varies from foam to foam, my foam usuually takes about one minute. Make sure when you are hair drying them that you don't focus on the one spot move it around lots to ensure even distribution of heat.

Next step is to grab your trusty hot glue gun. I find the best ones are the cheapy one's from Crazy Clarks, The Warehouse, Dollar's & Sense etc.



Let your gun heat up. Put a hole with the tip of your gun into the centre of the foam as shown below.



Next drop your weight into the hole.



Next use your glue gun to create a nice dome over the hole. Be patient with this step and don't rush it, or the dome's don't shape nicely. Try to keep your gun in the centre and if you have problems with glue stringing, gentle move around in a circular motion around the dome until the glue comes off the gun.



Stand your darts up in some PVC or PETG or other material.



You now have finished darts, but if you want to create zero darts read on.

Grab some packing tape or fragile tape. DO NOT USE ETAPE as this is rough and hurts the performance of the dart. Smooth lightweight tape is the best. Cut it down to the correct size I use just enough to make a complete layer around my dart. I only cover 50-70% of the dart with tape, sometimes I do batches with 25% of the length of the dart.



Once again using a mitrebox increases dart quality.



Carefully wrap the tape around the bullet evenly. DO NOT allow excess tape on the front of the dart. make sure your tap only covers foam, not thin air.



The Finished product.

Excellent write up informer. How much does the tape around the dart effect performance? An extra couple of feet?

Yeah in my mod man big blast I noticed an increase of 5 sometimes 10 feet. But only usually an increase in air weapons, spring loaded I haven't noticed an increase.

Excellent writeup. You even taught me how to get rid of the string. Thats always tricky for me. Do you put a hole in the back of the dart thought? Try it.

What's a mitre box?

A mitre box is an implement used to centre a saw so cuts are flat and not angled (vertically not horizontal) made of plastic or wood. Inf0rm3r, how can you use a stanley knife in a mitre box? A really long blade? Excellent writeup, clear pictures

Yeah my dad gets these orange ones, which have really nice blades.

I like your colours Where do you get them ?

I originally bought them at a cheap shop, then they ran out and said they wouldn't reorder so I went straight to the supplier and bought a crapload.

The colours look sick!

If you are? What colours are they and are you selling any?

I'll get some more stock then let you know

I was pretty sure Zero darts had thin foam sheet wrapped around as a collar, which are pretty fun darts.

Where do you get your FBR foam? Also, what store did you get that hot glue gun, the brand etc? I bought one like it, but can't remember where I bought it and I need to get a new one lol. Thanks in advance.

inf0rm3r imports those high quality foam from America

Okay, it just looks like the stuff that I used to get in Australia... :s

The hot glue gun you can get from Dollars and Sense, the warehouse or crazy clarks. I think their the best guns except after awhile you have to rip them open and clear all the glue out, but they don't burn the foam at all which is great. The hot glue came from a store called FDB's up here its a 2 dollar shop, generic branded.

well first of all where do you get the FBR's and where to you get a bb

not another thread attacked but this guy :S

FBR is imported the stuff I have and the BB's well I only know of one store which has them but I do sell them.

could i use a fishing weight instead of a ball bearing sorry if i am necroing.

Yeah, that may make them slightly to heavy though.

ok thanks.

No Worries :), if your using a High powered air gun I can imagine them working decently.

oznerfer wrote:could i use a fishing weight instead of a ball bearing sorry if i am necroing.

Size 00 Split Shot sinkers are the best fishing weight to use in a Stefan. They're a little bit light compared to say a Steel Shot 6mm BB but they're consistent performers nonetheless.
Size 00 in the Jarvis Walker brand ie Kmart, size 00 in other brands can be too small to be effective.

I use them but they seem to crack the hot glue alot easier then other weights.

I use them aswell but the hot glue is so shit that it goes hard not like a softish stuff like inf0rm3r's is it from the type of hot glue gun?

Im not sure man but do you want to discuss this for the next 50 posts in this forum?

I think that it could be your hot glue gun because mine is 14 years old.

Well mines pretty new, about 1 year now. So any ideas why it does that?

Sounds like cheap glue, I use the stuff from office works, really smooth and does a nice job. It costs more but its worth it.

I use $2 shop hot glue, and most of the tips on the darts I have made crack. I have over 100 sticks of it, to. It will do for now, but damn.

- Jacob.

That what I use (talking to inf0rm3r not Poison) , but it is colour glue I belive it is made by "Rapid" with "fun to fix" on it. Is that a bad brand?

Are they the one with the thicker sticks come in packs of 6 or 12 I think and they come in a strange package? I know coloured glue is a bit harder to deal with as it does seem thicker in most brands. I stick to the clear stuff generally now. What type of gun are you using?

I do the exact same method as you do inform3r, I think the tape adds around 5 foot of range in my nitefinder. I use 00 jarvis splitshot sinkers from kmart. They work fantasticly. I compared them to my previous weights and they work a charm. I also use hot glue from the 80s My mum used to sell craftie things and she had heaps left over.

~Dylan

I have noticed the tape darts also last longer if done properly and with some care. The majority of my tape darts from my first ever batch of stefans are still used in our wars and there is still a few left after countless uses.

Can you use a stefan in a clip?

Or do you have to make a different type?

I think to use stefan in a Clip you need to make the New Stefan with Inform3r blue foam.

flyjammer wrote:Can you use a stefan in a clip?

Or do you have to make a different type?

You can use it in a clip, but you will have to modify your recon stock barrel to a 13mm Aluminium barrel

And also you need to modify the muzzle of the recon (without barrel extension) for it too fire out properly.