Huge smile here and goose bumps!
Sal, You're wonderful! SO GENEROUS to offer any info for those that cannot afford to purchase your incredible invention!
My plunger was 1/2" diameter (I had no real measurements to go for and that was the stainless steel rod that was available off the shelf at the local metal supply source.)
Glad to know (and so appreciative for you to share), that 1/4" is beyond what I need to do the job! (Makes me feel more comfortable.)
Now all I have to address is my device "jumping" up (recoil) when I fire. First I need to correct the geometry of my trigger... (Too much force to release it and I loose control over my device.)
Once I get an easier/lighter trigger pull, I will address the recoil by molding a lead bar that wraps partially around my barrel (behind the upwards portion of my plunger release screw), so that it conforms to the outer form of the barrel, is narrow and rests along the barrel. I believe adding this mass will help hold the device still while the plunger is released.
Geeze!!!! You had to have gone through quite a few preliminary prototypes to get your Rabbit Zinger refined!!!!! After building mine, I TOTALLY understand and agree with you regarding the price... As I shared before, if I were to attempt to manufacture this, I just couldn't see how you were doing it and even breaking even! There is a LOT of work that goes into this and with your new version, well... What can I say? It's a piece of art!
So, with your permission, I will post my captive bolt gun TOTALLY inspired by your "Rabbit Zinger"... Very similar but I took short cuts that were easier for me to deal with in my shop and time available...
Since the closest I could guesstimate the plunger diameter, I chose 1/2" diameter (I really didn't have a choice.)... I still had to machine it on a lather to get it a little smaller to fit into the 1/2" thick wall aluminum tube.
I thought that there might be a recoil issue so I also purchased a larger diameter aluminum tube to go around it. I made linear runners that held the inner tube lined up with the outer tube. I then poured a high temp, high mass resin (The grey ring in between the two tubes), to hold everything together and add more mass.
I didn't have anything to bend a thick handle like yours, so I inserted a small length of SS tube for a thinner SS rod handle to fit in. I don't have the equipment to weld Stainless, so I used JB Weld. There is a space where the two ends of the SS handle meet. The springs around the handle hold the handle in place. I roughed the tube and rod so that it would not pivot during firing. When the handle is pulled to one side, the elastic band can be slipped off or put back on. Pull in the other direction and you can do the same with the second band.
The handle and handle pivot unit was machined (Much easier to machine aluminum than your nice Stainless Steel. Again, attached with JB Weld.
The location of my handle, the trigger and the release bolt are WAY OFF! There is too much force needed to pull the trigger and not enough leverage (distance) to do it easy... Still working on that. The result is, that with the force needed to pull the trigger, when it does release the plunger, the knuckles on my other fingers gripping the handle get whacked something awful! (LOL!) It would be hard enough for me to worry about dispatching a rabbit AND worry about how much it's going to hurt me!!!! I've since added a second screw through the pivot point location and machined a slide with a stop so that no matter how hard you pull, the handle stops before striking my knuckles. (Whew!) Now I can hold on and not worry...
Again, I think my biggest mistake was getting the geometry on the trigger/plunger release wrong. When I test the plunger release without the bands, I see that pulling the trigger raises the plunger a few thousandths of an inch... THAT is what I'm fighting. I'm slowly machining the plunger hold screw so that the angle conforms to the arc of the trigger pull... If i go too far, I will create a hair trigger or worse: create the possibility for an accidental/unintentional "misfire"...
These are part of the reasons I didn't want to post photos of mine... If you copied mine, you would be in the same regrettable spot I find myself in now...
Sal: Again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart (and Tresa's) for inventing your "Rabbit Zinger" and posting here on RT offering help!
OK... Back to work here... Today's afternoon project is building a small Top loading rabbit cage. The purpose: A "holding cage" where we can pet the candidate for "freezer camp". We find that when giving treats, our rabbits LOVE being petted on the top of their heads, exactly where the "Rabbit Zinger is supposed to fire... They go into a blissful trance, holding still and almost always, forgoing ANY treat we offer them, wanting to be petted instead. There's a place on our back porch where I do a lot of farm stuff building and I can give them LOTS of attention, talking to them, giving them veggies from the garden and petting their heads. We don't have a lot of rabbits (current kindle approaching freezer camp day is 9). We don't feel we need to do them all at once, so this will work for us.
Thank you Sal!
