Q:

Tips on This valve pls! thanks

Edit.. -now im more scared of my Co2 bottle. I used a G-clamp on the bottle (bottle was clamped between a steel bar and my table) to try remove original pin valve. (have no vice). Am i a dead man if i use that bottle?

Hey guys, i havnt worked metal b4 (or any other material) so im having some technical probs.

i’ve turned out the whole valve assembly so far (havn’t threaded them yet, just googled how to lathe the threads 10min ago, will do that later.)

The problem is putting those holes on the valve stem(probe? poppet?)

here are some pics



stems are “smoothed” by running a million passes along back and forth with sharp tool thing on the lathe. feels very smooth, shouldn’t be a problem right?

edit: oh, one of the stem(poppet) is stainless316 and the other is 304 if that makes a diff

Mods/Machinists

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ummm…ya do what they said 8)

thanks a bunch for the drilling advices.

i made awesome holes.

i drilled one hole with milling machine, 1 with drill press, then 2 with hand drill

I don’t know if this is valuable, but i found in the end, after making a lil dimp, hand drilling with a electric drill was the best! very accurate.

— as for the bottle, i can’t see with my eyes any dent.
but proly get a new one.

You never use steel to clamp something fragile, even if cushioned with fabric. If you have to clamp it in the future, just buy some cheap lumber, or find wood scraps. Mark each to make a shark bite in them the same diameter as your bottle, then cut. Glue all of them in a stack to make a thick block that has a cutout to fit your bottle very snugly. Make 2, and clamp your bottle between them. Put a layer of rubber matting between the wood and bottle to give grip and final cushion.

To see if your bottle has damage you will probably have to remove the foam. Spin it to see if it is concentric. If you are really paranoid take it to a fire house and have it pressure tested. The test pressure for most vessels is stamped on the outside. I don’t remember if AF bottles have the test pressure stamped or not. But SCUBA bottles rated for 3000psi service pressure is usually tested to 5000? something near that. So nearly double the rated service pressure. Last time I took a bottle for testing they charged me $20 to do the pressure test, so if you ask me, cheaper and more peace of mind to just buy a new one.

Whoops.

its a CO2 tank. (12oz)

Wrapped in fabric, then clamped between a bar of steel and my table.

My untrained eyes can’t see the tank being warped.

just felt i should have used a vice.

i don’t know it is actually structurally screwed or not. warped a lil?

Wonton, maybe you should describe your problem again. I’m not sure what you are asking.

The air tank on a condor or talon is tempered aluminum. Its pretty tough but can be damaged. If you heat it up in any way to a point where it gets too hot to touch, never use it again. Throw it away. The strength of the aluminum is gained by a process known as tempering, which uses heat controlled in a very specific way to make the molecular structure stronger. But heat can also undo the process, called annealing. As a general rule of thumb, if you can see physical damage caused on the surface by crushing or bending the aluminum, throw it away. If it has ever been heated hot enough where you could not touch it, throw it away. The tank when pressurized to 3000psi contains the energy equivalent of a couple sticks of dynamite.

omg thanks ! i’ll give that a try. punchin a lil dimple is a cool idea!

and yea most likely an insert. i have no idea what any tools for actually..
thanks.

also i’ll take that advice and start with smaller holes.

>>Oh yea, I’m scared. i tried to take of the Co2 Valve off my paintball tank (my ‘condor’ screws onto it, thats not the point 😉 ) anyway, i don’t have a vice, so i wrapped the tank in fabric. then placed a bar of steel on top. Clamped that steel down on the bottle against the table and tried, no luck.

The thing is, is it dangerous? should i not use that bottle now? i feel i may have screwed the bottle somehow.

If using a drill bit, you have to give the bit something of a start otherwise it will skitter off. Centerpunch the start hole first, just a small dimple is fine. The drill bits themselves are very flexible and will wander all over the place, which is why Adam suggested using a center drill to start. This is good advice because these types of bits are very stiff and short… Enco and MSC have the usual 5 bit sets for very cheap. They also cut much cleaner and closer to final tolerance than a normal bit, well worth the investment. I buy several sets at a time because you cannot resharpen these bits as you do a regular twist drill bit.

A better way is to use a mill and mill the holes rather than drill them. For small parts like this, you can just get a milling attachment for your lathe, don’t have to buy a mill.

aloha,
walt

500 rpm for plastics is fine

need a very sharp HSS bit with correct angles.

It appears that you may be using inserts for the cut?????
no good as it pushs material off more than cutting.

Cheers,
Walter….

To get those holes where you want them. Put the part in a vise and angle it so the surface where you want the hole make sure it is perpendicular to the drill chuck.

Start the hole with a center drill and then use smaller drill bit up to the diameter you need. Then deburr and polish

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