Marker Questions

Q. Autococker Mystery: A friend of mine asked me to fix his autococker for him. I do not play paintball or work on markers, but do a whole lot of bench rest shooting and some gunsmithing as well as machine work. It's easy work and the gun's engineering is simple and well designed. I am stuck at a certain point though. Several parts were missing when the marker was delivered to me: beavertail, cocking rod, and the little headless screw that connects the "trigger rod" to the pneumatics. The hammer had been stripped out as well- I suppose someone was trying to fix something and did this. I made a new hammer, but have not threaded it for the cocking rod yet as I do not know what the cocking rod is required to do. Can you answer this question for me: When the marker is cocked for the very first time, does the user pull on the cocking rod, or the bolt block? I assume if they pull on the cocking rod, it will be charged, but the bolt will not be pulled back to load a ball. I am going to use a piece of drill rod to make a cocking rod, and here is how it will be made (if it is the correct way!), can you tell me if this is "basically" correct: The cocking rod is just that, a piece of drill rod threaded at one end to fit into the hammer, and w/ a knurled cylinder at the other for the back block to "recock" it when operating on the gasses. Thanks a billion! ......Unsigned

A. (Awnser by Mike) Yes, the rod needs to be manually pulled back to initially cock the marker. This is because, once pressurized, the "two-way" ram will hold the block in the forward position. Also, the rod needs to be unscrewed and removed to allow an allen wrench access to the 3/16th hex in the velocity adjusting screw which is the main reason for the knurling. (The velocity adj. "screw" threads into the rear of the frame and applies compression on the hammer spring.) The cocking stock rod is .167" diameter and slides easily through the 3/16th hex hole. The rod is threaded on both ends with a #10-32 thd, .62" long on the hammer end and .75" long on the exposed end. The overall rod length is 3.75". The cylinder on the end is .375 dia., .75" long with a #10-32 thread thru the center. On my 'cocker, this cylinder engages about .30" of thread and has a .12" thick neoprene washer that works as a shock absorber. A standard faucet seal ring should work for this. You may also want to add a socket head set screw to act as an internal jam & insure the cylinder does not work loose. Also, you may wish to add a set screw thread in the hammer and add a nylon set screw. Adjust it so the rod is still easy to remove to allow velocity adjustment but has enough resistance so that it holds the rod from coming lose & backing out during operation. The autococker takes a little extra to get working right, but, once tuned, its reliable & very competitive in the field. Good luck,

Q. Autococker Threads (from Andrew) Do you happen to know what thread type WGP uses on their barrels? Thanks, Andrew
A. (Awnser by Joe) Andrew,Autocockers use there own proprietary threads that aren't compatible with any other earlier gun's threads. Many new higher end gun are now using AC threads on there new guns, epic, rain maker, mayhem, etc.
Q. Autococker Threads 2 (from Andrew) I know that wgp uses autococker threads on their markers, but I guess what I meant to ask was what size are the threads? (1/8npt...obviously not but just an example.) Any clue about thread size? Thanks Andrew (sorry for the confusion)
A. (Awnser2 by Mike) Andrew, I do not know the thread type on WGP barrels. However, the threads measure .923 - 24 inch. Since this does not come close the traditional fractional inch increments, the treads may be some metric variation, or, in all probability, some bastard size created by WGP for proprietary and space limits reasons. If you are looking for off the shelf tooling to make your own adapters, I highly suspect you are in for a long, disappointing search. You'll need to make your own tap & dies or pay dearly to have a job shop make them for you. If adapters are behind your Thread size inquire, LapCo makes many variations. Your local paint equipment dealers may also have or be able to order them to the combinations you want. Wish I had better news for you, Mike

Q. Flatine Barrel (from Eric) You definitely have the best autococker site that is on the web it has helped me would like to know if you heard of anybody that have had the autococker with the flatline for the barrel just wanting to no thinking of putting it on put would like to here if you have heard of any pros or cons goods and bads and if it is worth it would like to here from you thank you, Eric

A. (Awnser by Joe) Eric,Thanks for your kind complement, as far as Flatlines on ACs I haven't run into one yet. As far as Flatlines in gereral, I would say, Pros: Flater trajectory thus easier hits at long ranges.Cons: If you don't hold the gun perfectly verticle, the spin on the ball will make the shots will curve. Hits at extreme long ranges many times don't break. Joe

Q. AC Maintenance (from Eric) Hello again, always on your site for the tear down just wondering what is the the best maintenance for the gun after use IM new to the autococker world loving it but just want to take the best care of it and have it for a long time, like oiling and what is the best don't mean to sound anal but what are the best that I can do thanks again for your time like to here back with your expertise Thank again, Eric

A. (Awnser by Mike) Hello Eric.All I do for maintenance after a hard day of play is to clean any paint off of the gun. Then remove the barrel and bolt. Make sure these are clean as well as the receiver area (where the paint balls enter the gun and are fired). I then screw he barrel back on and put a drop of silicon (synthetic) oil on the bolt's o-rings and a little Vaseline on the outside and rear area of the bolt. The idea here is to lubricate the sliding contact area of the bolt against the gun body without going too much of the petroleum based Vaseline on the o-rings. Then, of course, re-assemble the bolt. Thats about it for after the game. You will want to check the tightness of screws from time to time, particularly if you've remove any recently. A key maintenance item I always do to lubricate he inside of the gun is before I start a day of paintball is put 2 to 3 small drops of silicon base oil (paintball gun oil. Roller blades & scatebords use the same stuff) into the fitting your bottle screws into just before screwing the bottle on. I also put a drop of oil on the bottle's o-ring. The idea here is to allow the gas to slowly supply oil to the gun's inside parts as you use it. Note: the manual says to use gun oil or sewing machine oil. These are both petroleum based. The cruel facts of life say that o-rings that are resistant to CO2 are distroyed by petroleum & o-rings that resist petroleum are distroyed by concentrated CO2. I've only used silicon oil on this gun since '99 (except for the Vaseline on the bolt) & have not had any problems with it due to o-rings. Good luck & good hunting! Mike

Q. LP AC? (from Daniel ) I have a 2k2 vert. feed autococker with hpa, and I have a question concerning low pressure on autocockers and the mac dev front pneumatic kit. First off in your opinion is the kit any good. There are a lot more front pneumatic kits I have been looking at such as the ANS and was wondering which one I should purchase. I prefer quality yet I would like to get parts that look good. Also, if I buy a reg. for low pressure what else do I need to make my cocker become low pressure. And does it need to be done all at once or can I run low pressure if I have some parts but, for instance use the stock valve. Which brings on another question, will I need a new valve for low pressure. I hope I am not to confusing and that you can help me. Thank you for your time. Daniel