Airguns And Airgun DIY.Including - Streak Freak's Stick Stocks.Steves Co2 Pages. |
Aim’s.
To
produce a Silencer that will
work adequately on an airgun but not at all on a firearm.
To produce a Silencer using only the simple tools found in most houses.
To produce an inexpensive disposable Silencer.
To produce something that is not hideously ugly.
To produce a Silencer using only the simple tools found in most houses.
To produce an inexpensive disposable Silencer.
To produce something that is not hideously ugly.
Safety + Liability.
Take
care if you chose to follow
this procedure, read it thoroughly from end to end and then decide if
you are able to safely perform it. You are the only one who can make
that decision and you alone are responsible for the outcomes of your
actions. I will take no responsibility or liability for any adverse
event, injury or loss that may occur as a result of your actions or
errors or omissions in this document.
Legal Issues.
If
you are in the USA you must
fill in some forms and pay your government $200 before you start to
make a silencer.
Introduction.
This
procedure seems long
don’t be intimidated it’s very easy to follow, just
read it
through and think about it BEFORE you do anything .
Common Constructions. - HERE.
Commercial silencers very often just screw onto the end of the barrel using one or two point mounting. This is a strong, gas tight and attractive fitting but threading a barrel requires tools I don’t own.
Silencers - Single and Two Point Mount types.
Common Constructions. - HERE.
Commercial silencers very often just screw onto the end of the barrel using one or two point mounting. This is a strong, gas tight and attractive fitting but threading a barrel requires tools I don’t own.
Silencers - Single and Two Point Mount types.
Single Mount Types.
Screw,
push, grub screw, compress,
fitting on at the muzzle. They are easier to make, more convenient to
use, shorter, lighter and less likely to interfere with the front sight
or any under-leaver retaining clip. The best choice for a barrel
cocking rifle.
With a Single Mount it is harder to obtain and maintain perfect line up with the barrel.
With a Single Mount it is harder to obtain and maintain perfect line up with the barrel.
Two Point Mounting.
These
are longer and heavier, the
outer tube has two or more bushes that slide onto the barrel, one will
locate at the muzzle end and the other much further down the barrel.
Two point mount silencers can be fixed at the muzzle or at the bush
further down the barrel.
Two point mounting make it easier to line everything up right and is ideal for a barrel shroud.
Two point mounting make it easier to line everything up right and is ideal for a barrel shroud.
At
home the hardest part of making
a decent silencer is ensuring that the hole through the middle of the
silencer lines up exactly with the path of the pellet as it leases the
barrel. In practice this means that the silencer tube (outer body) must
line up with the barrel of the gun. I’ve used tape
but that
is not the only choice, if you have the facility to work metal it is
the best option.
Front sights get in the way, if you don’t need it remove it, if you decide to keep it then it may be possible to cut a slot in the silencer tube so that it slips around the sight and even a second slot to accommodate the under-leaver clip. Two point mounting would be the only realistic option.
I’ve made a single mount, simple baffle type but I will explain how to produce a double mount and how to make something like a Logun silence.
Front sights get in the way, if you don’t need it remove it, if you decide to keep it then it may be possible to cut a slot in the silencer tube so that it slips around the sight and even a second slot to accommodate the under-leaver clip. Two point mounting would be the only realistic option.
I’ve made a single mount, simple baffle type but I will explain how to produce a double mount and how to make something like a Logun silence.
Keeping mind that spring guns cannot be fully silenced the action makes a lot of noise but still it’s very possible to quieten them down so they cause little disturbance.
Needed Equipment and Supplies.
Gummed
Paper Tape.
1” or 1.5 “wide. This is the old fashioned type brown paper tape that sticks when wet. This stuff is amazing when wound into a cylinder and allowed to dry. When dry it’s very hard it dose not compress as easily as say PVC electrical tape so it makes very good and quite rigid bushes.
1” or 1.5 “wide. This is the old fashioned type brown paper tape that sticks when wet. This stuff is amazing when wound into a cylinder and allowed to dry. When dry it’s very hard it dose not compress as easily as say PVC electrical tape so it makes very good and quite rigid bushes.
Rigid
Plastic Tube. I used a
bit of an old snorkel.
12” will be enough and cardboard could be substituted. The diameter should be a little larger than that of the barrel but up to 1” or more will work. Larger diameter tubing is better suited to two point mounts. Use the lightest rigid tube you can find.
12” will be enough and cardboard could be substituted. The diameter should be a little larger than that of the barrel but up to 1” or more will work. Larger diameter tubing is better suited to two point mounts. Use the lightest rigid tube you can find.
Plastic
Washers/Baffles.
See:- UK
Airgun Forum
You may need to register - it’s free.
For
a 0.22 rifle the hole in the
centre should be not less than 7 mm and the washer should be a smooth
sliding fit in the tube. You can stick felt on the baffles if
you
wish, I’m unconvinced that it makes much difference.
There is a trade off here, the closer the hole in the baffle is to the size of the pellet the better the silencer works BUT 7mm gives only 1.25 mm on each side as the pellet passes through the baffles – so line up is critical.
There is a trade off here, the closer the hole in the baffle is to the size of the pellet the better the silencer works BUT 7mm gives only 1.25 mm on each side as the pellet passes through the baffles – so line up is critical.
Silencer
End Cap. The front end of
the silencer.
Barrel
Stop.
Used with a Two Point Mounting, to stop the silencer sliding too far down the barrel. An extra thick bush or a fixed baffle with a hole say 8mm dia, again use whatever you have.
Springs or other Spacers.
Used to hold the baffles apart, use what you have available.
Used with a Two Point Mounting, to stop the silencer sliding too far down the barrel. An extra thick bush or a fixed baffle with a hole say 8mm dia, again use whatever you have.
Springs or other Spacers.
Used to hold the baffles apart, use what you have available.
Various
Glues.
Making The Silencer.
General
Comments.
Making bushes is a critical step, the fit and shape of the bushes determines if the barrel and the silencer tube will be concentric.
I was lucky with my UK B4 the barrel is exactly 15mm so I was able to use the winding set up shown. The tape was wound around a piece of 15mm chromed copper pipe making it very easy to do.
Most rifles will not have such a convenient diameter of barrel or have a front sight.
Your choices are usually to wind the tape directly around the barrel or make up rod with the same diameter as the barrel.
Making bushes is a critical step, the fit and shape of the bushes determines if the barrel and the silencer tube will be concentric.
I was lucky with my UK B4 the barrel is exactly 15mm so I was able to use the winding set up shown. The tape was wound around a piece of 15mm chromed copper pipe making it very easy to do.
Most rifles will not have such a convenient diameter of barrel or have a front sight.
Your choices are usually to wind the tape directly around the barrel or make up rod with the same diameter as the barrel.
To
make up a rod the round
section of a suitable twist drill would be ideal base building up the
diameter to exactly match that of the barrel with tape or
ShrinkOn. This would be fiddly and basically second rate BUT
if
you have a front sight then you may feel it to be better than forming
the bush around the barrel and then cutting it off with a risk of
damage to the blueing. Build for two point mountings.
Arrangement
of
Baffles.
The chamber nearest the muzzle should be the longest; no two chambers should be the same length. Nor for acoustic reasons should any chamber be an even fraction of any other. For example if the first chamber is 2 “ then non of the others should be 1” or ½” and so on.
See:- Link Above. You may need to register - it’s free.
The chamber nearest the muzzle should be the longest; no two chambers should be the same length. Nor for acoustic reasons should any chamber be an even fraction of any other. For example if the first chamber is 2 “ then non of the others should be 1” or ½” and so on.
See:- Link Above. You may need to register - it’s free.
Procedure.
Silencer
Tube Preparation.
Selection of Baffles.
- Cut to desired length and take any sharp edges off the tube ends.
- Clean the inside of the tube and spray with WD40/Duck Oil.
Selection of Baffles.
- The baffles should be a smooth sliding fit into the silencer tube.
- The holes in the baffles should be a minimum 7mm for a 0.22.
- Three should be enough but more can be used, experiment. Remember, we are building for a low power airgun not a deer rifle.
I’m
using three
½” tap washers with the hole bored out to 7 mm.
Making
the Bushes.
If you are going to make a silencer with a two point mounting make two bushes.
If you are going to make a silencer with a two point mounting make two bushes.
- Spray the Barrel or rod with WD40/Duck Oil or even lightly grease it. If you are using a rod then mounting it in a drill will speed things up.
- Wet a length of tape and start winding it tightly and evenly around the barrel. Try to do the whole bush with one piece of tape. If you must use more than one then the ends should meet but not overlap as this would distort the finished bush.
- As the bush gets thicker be careful to make sure that it stays square, that the ends are flat and that no bubbles or debris get caught in it.
- Regularly check the diameter against the silencer tube, it’s better to make it a little too large and then remove tape than too small and have to add tape.
- Going in the direction the tape has been wound twist the silencer tube onto it. It should be as tight a fit as possible with out ripping the tape or pushing the tape sideways. The tape should remain square and the tube should run on inline with the barrel.
- If a front sight has been retained then the diameter of the tape must be measured to determine when enough has been wound on to the barrel.
- If possible slide the tape and the tube off the barrel and let the tape bush dry in place. Alternatively let the tape dry on the barrel.
- When dry slide the bush out of the tube or cut it off the barrel. If you must cut the bush then do so in line with the barrel but in two places 180° apart so as to produce two half pipes.
Checking
the Bush.
The bush should slide snugly and smoothly on to the barrel.
The silencer tube should slide snugly and smoothly onto the bush.
The silencer tube should be concentric with the barrel.
The bush should slide snugly and smoothly on to the barrel.
The silencer tube should slide snugly and smoothly onto the bush.
The silencer tube should be concentric with the barrel.
If any of the checks fail and the problem cannot be easily resolved then throw away the bush and make more.
Options.
- Depending on the elasticity silencer tube and any shrinkage of the bush there may be a benefit from tightening up the fitting by adding one more turns of paper tape to the outside of the bush. Unfortunately the only way to be sure is to try; it could easily be too big.
- Harden the bush further by running some Cyanoacrylate (SuperGlue/Crazy Glue) glue all over it. This is a must if a tube clip fixing is to be used.
At
this point the procedure
diverges depending on whether it’s a two point mounting or a
single point mounting silence that is envisaged.
Single
Point Mounting.
The only choice for barrel cocking rifles unless metal tubing is used.
Simple Two Point Mounting- No front sight.
Ideal to shroud a side-leaver barrel.
Complex Two Point Mount – front sight and under-leaver clip.
Personally I would remove the front sight rather than cut two slots in the silencer. I’m far from sure it would work i.e. line up reliably with two slots and I’m very sure it would be too much trouble to worth doing.
Checking Line Up.
Just slide the silencer on to the barrel and check that everything lines up at 0.22 cleaning rod or a straight knitting needle that is a smooth sliding fit into the bore can be useful for this.
The only choice for barrel cocking rifles unless metal tubing is used.
- Using an appropriate adhesive glue the bush into one end of the tube
- Working from the other end slide in the first spacer or spring. If a spring is used it should be pushed against the bush/barrel stop. Friction fit spacers need only be entered into the tube.
- Insert a baffle followed by a spacer and so on until the tube is nearly filled.
Simple Two Point Mounting- No front sight.
Ideal to shroud a side-leaver barrel.
- At the desired point glue in the barrel stop and glue the first of the two bushes just behind in (breach side of the stop).
- Glue in the second bush at the breach end of the silencer.
- Working from the other end slide in the first spacer or spring. If a spring is used it should be pushed against the stop. Friction fit spacers need only be entered into the tube.
- Insert a baffle followed by a spacer and so on until the tube is nearly filled.
Complex Two Point Mount – front sight and under-leaver clip.
Personally I would remove the front sight rather than cut two slots in the silencer. I’m far from sure it would work i.e. line up reliably with two slots and I’m very sure it would be too much trouble to worth doing.
- Cut slots in the silencer tube such that it can slide down the barrel past the front sight and the under-leaver clip.
- At the desired point glue in the barrel stop and tape or glue both halves of a bush to the barrel just behind the fore sight.
- Tape or glue both halves of a second bush to the barrel at a point that will be just inside the split end of the silencer tube.
- Working from the other end, slide in the first spacer or spring. If a spring is used it should be pushed against the stop. Friction fit spacers need only be entered into the tube.
- Insert a baffle followed by a spacer and so on until the tube is nearly filled.
Checking Line Up.
Just slide the silencer on to the barrel and check that everything lines up at 0.22 cleaning rod or a straight knitting needle that is a smooth sliding fit into the bore can be useful for this.
Making an End Cap.
An easy option is to make an extra thick bush, by winding tape a round a 8 or 10 mm drill shank. When dry cut it use ½” or so for the end cap and possibly some of the remaining length as a barrel stop.
Harden the end cap see Options 2.
Fitting
the End Cap.
General Comments.
The end cap can be glued or pinned into place and both have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Pinning, screwing though the silencer tube into the end cap would have to be done carefully and can only be done if the baffle is thick enough to take a screw. Its advantage is that the screws can be withdrawn and the end cap removed if adjustments are needed.
Glue is permanent and can be used when screws can not. However some types of plastics need special glue. I used a Cyanoacrylate with a special plastic primer, not the glue that came with the primer as it sets much too quickly but a gel type that takes about 10 sec to set.
When fitted there should be no rattles or sloppiness in the baffle/spacer assembly; the end cap should tighten it all up.
Procedure.
Gluing.
This step must be done in seconds so practice it first leaving the adhesive out.
Paint the inside of the tube, where the cap is to be fitted, with the primer, run some slow/gel type adhesive right around the end cap and fit it very quickly.
Pinning.
I’m not going into detail 3 or 4 screws equally spaced should do the job.S
At this point the silencer should be complete and ready for fitting to the gun but hard choices have to be made.
Glue it on at a bush.
Good looking but permanent a good choice for a shroud.
Use a hose clip at a bush.
Ugly but easy, removable and will not damage the guns finish. Used a continuous band clip so pressure is applied evenly right around the silencer. If you have used a hard silencer tube two slots may need to be cut into if to allow the clip to compress it.
CARE. Don’t over tighten the clip, if you do you will crush the bush
Set Screws.
Will mark the guns barrel – not recommended.
Boss Tape/Duck Tape.
Easy to use but not good looking. Goo Gone or equivalent can be used to remove adhesive traces left on the barrel after the tape is removed. (Check compatibility with the bluing in an inconspicuous place). If you pick the colour of the tape well and use it carefully the appearance should be acceptable.
To use tape run it down the barrel length wise, for about 6” down the barrel and well onto the silencer. Then run one band of tape around the silencer tube so the edge is running with the tube end. Run a second band around the barrel just behind the silencer.
This could be problematic if there is a large step change in diameters between the silencer and the barrel.
Care is recommended as some types of tape trap water and that could cause a rust problem.
In the USA? Have you paid?
Do it now you know it makes sense!
A few comments of a Logun type silencer. I’m not going to go into detail this is long enough already and with a little thought you can modify the procedure above.
Logun types are a two tube design; the inner-tube is perforated and contains baffles separated by springs. This tube is wrapped in padding, “ J Cloth “ or Scotch Bright scourers work. The inner tube locates between a recess in the end cap and a matching recess in the barrel stop. It’s a rather heavier silencer so consider a Two Point mounting.
Enjoy.
Ora