Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Homemade water gun threads that are notable.
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JLspacemarine
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Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by JLspacemarine » Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:07 am

This is a homemade nozzle I've build a year ago. It was first meant to be used only on my powerpak replacement gun but I discovered how good it was for any water gun mod/project. I tried fixing it temporarily onto my CPS 2000, as well as using it on my CPH and my Hydroblitz(new mod, coming soon). All these experiments has been so successful that
I decided to detail the construction of this Laminator.

Strongly inspired by the CPS 2000's nozzle construction, the laminator consists of a simple but effective combination parts:

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-3/4" to1/2" threaded reducer (x2)
-3/4" threaded PVC sleeve
-Drinking straws
-Screen mesh (x2) (I found those in my house along with spare sink parts, so they should be available in hardware stores)

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First you put the screens in the reducers like this. (they fit perfectly)

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Then you pout the sleeve along with eight straws. You must cut the straws so that they are just long enough to fit perfectly. Add the final reducer.

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The finished product.

That's it! Thick laminated streams for any homemade project or nozzle mod.

Note: This laminator is only working with large streams. End caps drilled too small are most of the time not very effective or will shoot strangely.

The laminator in action:
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^ Endcap drilled to 7/32". Probably the best nozzle size to use for a good combination of range,output and shot time.

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^ Endcap drilled to 5/16".

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^ No endcap. As you can see the powerpak can't supply enough water flow to power such a large stream.....

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.....But that's not the case of the flash flood. ;)

This nozzle will be facing the ultimate test when I'll receive some LRT from Ben. I want my CPH to be able to shoot like my flash flood shown above but with more range and shot time. Hopefully this is going to be one heavy hitting homemade water gun. :cool:
Armory: AS Hydroblitz (x2), MI FlashFlood, STE TripleShot, XP Backfire, XP 215, XP 105, XXP 175, Big Bottle BLaster(x2), SC Power Pak, SpeedLoader1000, SpeedLoader 1500, SpeedLoader Double-Cross 3000, CPS Splashzooka (x2), CPS 1200, CPS 1500,CPS 2100, CPS 2000 Mk2, CPS 1-3-5

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cantab
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by cantab » Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:15 am

Wow. Brilliant work!

People have found the 2000's performance is in part due to its nozzle; putting a 2000 PC into a 2500 results in performance only slightly better than the stock 2500. So copying it's a fairly good idea.

This is very similar to the fountain nozzle described elsewhere, but smaller, and as I there anticipated, using screens rather than scouring pads. The third shot looks very similar to said fountain nozzle; it seems higher speeds necessarily weaken the lamination, but not by too much.

Obvious question; is having the laminator larger than the barrel necessary?

Also, how does it compare to other nozzles of the same diameter? Eg the PowerPak's stock nozzles.

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Silence
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by Silence » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:58 pm

Wow. That's what I'd call an elegant device. It's simple, clean, and compact, and it gets the job done. I absolutely have to make this now. :)

Have you experimented with different straw diameters? Those narrow coffee stirring straws that you get in coffee shops might work well at higher pressures. They would definitely restrict the flow more, though.
cantab wrote:Also, how does it compare to other nozzles of the same diameter? Eg the PowerPak's stock nozzles.
Like cantab, I'm interested in before and after pictures. In this case it should actually be very simple to do comparisons, because your laminator goes from female to male threads, just like an extender. Whatever nozzle/riot blast you had before using the laminator can be screwed on after using it, which is quite neat.

Edit: Would you mind if we uploaded your laminator guide to the website? If so, should it be in modifications or homemades?

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Specter
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by Specter » Sat Jul 19, 2008 3:14 pm

Thats cool. Looks like it works perfect judging by the stream shots :) The streams look really cool too. I like how on the Flash Flood shot it looks like the stream is accelerating faster than the first drops that came out. Then again it probably is :)
should it be in modifications or homemades?
It should be a homemade modification ;) :P
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

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SSCBen
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by SSCBen » Sun Jul 20, 2008 2:46 am

Nice simple project JLspacemarine.

When there's an overlap between homemades, modifications, or repairs, I don't know what to do and usually put it in what I think it would be most useful in. This would be most useful in the homemade section because I don't think too many people will be interested in modifying current water guns to have laminators, though, with the flood nozzles it's tempting.

I didn't know you could get wire mesh at a hardware store... I'll have to look for it. A few years ago I futz around with straws and concluded straws alone blow out of the nozzle too easily. I gave up too easily.

It'd probably be worthwhile to use longer straws. The 5/16" nozzle looks like it's breaking up early a little bit and I bet this would help improve that. If I remember correctly my CPS 2700 used 3 inch straws and I tried to duplicate that in my APH back in 2004, but as I said I didn't use a mesh screen to prevent the straws from shooting out. Your straws seem to be about 2 to 2.5 inches long. Experimentation will determine what works without increasing length too much.
Last edited by SSCBen on Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Specter
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by Specter » Sun Jul 20, 2008 4:51 am

I didn't know you could get wire mesh at a hardware store... I'll have to look for it.
You can probably look in the plumbing/faucet section of the store to find the little screens. What he has seems to be the part that goes in the end of a faucet to make it not splatter out.

You can also try finding a broken window screen and cut a piece out, can't you?
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

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cantab
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by cantab » Sun Jul 20, 2008 11:58 am

Yeah, I was thinking the mesh is like what a lot of taps have. No prizes for guessing the function it does in the taps ;)

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Specter
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by Specter » Sun Jul 20, 2008 4:10 pm

cantab wrote:Yeah, I was thinking the mesh is like what a lot of taps have. No prizes for guessing the function it does in the taps ;)
I already know what it does lol. had to fix a faucet where the screen came loose and broke out.
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

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Silence
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by Silence » Sun Jul 20, 2008 4:47 pm

Ben, look for mesh for screen doors and windows. We have small rolls of aluminum and some softer material. I actually used the aluminum mesh to help cover up and filter dust out of air going into my computer (I leave all the drive bays open for more airflow). The mesh is also strong enough to hold the straws in, but in the end, epoxying the straws together might be better. It may not be good to let wire block the flow.

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cantab
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by cantab » Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:07 pm

Experiments on the CPS 2000's nozzle found that the screens help the lamination. They'll also stop debris entering the nozzle. So using them is probably best.

This is the site: http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/cp2000.htm

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Specter
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by Specter » Sun Jul 20, 2008 6:29 pm

cantab wrote: This is the site: http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/cp2000.htm
Look what I just found while skimming that site :
The bladder enters the clear tube loosely through a hole on the right. Pulling it out, I discovered the source of the problem: a rupture. I tried several patching techniques but none of them held. The only solution was to replace the bladder. Following the suggestions on the webpage at http://forums.sscentral.org/t3710, I ordered some replacement tubing from McMaster Carr. It arrived just 36-hours later and I immediately set to work.
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

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cantab
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by cantab » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:29 pm

Yup.
What I find most significant is that the PC replacement didn't noticeably change the gun's power either way. Modulo how different the LRT is to the original chamber, this suggests that the power of the gun is more strongly infuenced by other factors, like tubing diameter and nozzle design. That's something to bear in mind for modifications (of other guns) or homemades.

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JLspacemarine
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by JLspacemarine » Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:57 pm

Thanks for all the feedback! :)
cantab wrote:Obvious question; is having the laminator larger than the barrel necessary?
This would need some experimentation, but I think that it is better to have the laminator larger or at least on par with the barrel. The one I've made is for use with 1/2" ends, so if someone has done or is doing a homemade water gun out of 3/4 piping it should be about as easy to realize the nozzle. Anyway this device has not been designed before its construction, it was just by coincidence that I added the screen in a reducer and that I found out how perfect was the fit, so the Idea of a laminator nozzle came out. :p
"Also, how does it compare to other nozzles of the same diameter? Eg the PowerPak's stock nozzles."
"Like cantab, I'm interested in before and after pictures."
Kept the idea in mind, I should be trying that soon. As for the stock powerpak, it halready has a great selection of nozzles, including the 10x that has already a laminator inside. Actually, the 10x stream looks alot like the nozzle drilled to 5/16" pictured above.
SilentGuy wrote:Have you experimented with different straw diameters? Those narrow coffee stirring straws that you get in coffee shops might work well at higher pressures. They would definitely restrict the flow more, though.
I didn't had the chance to try different types of straws because these were the only one I had nearby, but I like the idea. Coffee straws should be worth trying.
Would you mind if we uploaded your laminator guide to the website? If so, should it be in modifications or homemades?
Thanks! I'm always glad to contribute to the website.

I think I wasn't off topic posting this in the Homemade water guns section, so it should be the same on the website. Anyway, most of the commercial water guns already has laminators on larger nozzles. So this laminator is less likely to be a mod unless it's for a better multi-nozzle mod, like on my FF.
cantab wrote:Experiments on the CPS 2000's nozzle found that the screens help the lamination.
Yeah that's true, back then I've done my first experiments with laminators some time after I read wayne's CPS 2000 page.
SlientGuy wrote:Ben, look for mesh for screen doors and windows.
One problem I see with mesh for screen windows/doors is the fact that it can be tricky to cut them into circular shapes. I've tried cutting into a metal screen and it does not work, all the little wires doesn't hold together very thigh. As for plastic-like mesh screens, they just won't hold in the laminator without glue.
Specter wrote:What he has seems to be the part that goes in the end of a faucet to make it not splatter out.
Thats exactly what I'm using. Sorry for the confusion. These screens are stronger than any mesh for windows, does not require any glue and are already meant to help lamination. So that's why they are the best for a laminator. At worst you'll be cutting the edges of the screen a little bit to make them fit in the reducer.
Armory: AS Hydroblitz (x2), MI FlashFlood, STE TripleShot, XP Backfire, XP 215, XP 105, XXP 175, Big Bottle BLaster(x2), SC Power Pak, SpeedLoader1000, SpeedLoader 1500, SpeedLoader Double-Cross 3000, CPS Splashzooka (x2), CPS 1200, CPS 1500,CPS 2100, CPS 2000 Mk2, CPS 1-3-5

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Silence
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by Silence » Mon Jul 21, 2008 2:12 am

Oops, I lost my reply somewhere.

I've uploaded the article, sans the last paragraph. I also scaled down the second image to match the others and the site convention. Tell us if you want your email linked from the article, using JavaScript to evade spambots. Once again, thanks!

I suppose you're right about screen door mesh. For those who don't know, each wire is just a zig zag, and all the wires overlap in a way that they stick together. Except for the wire on each edge.

Now that I think about it, coffee stirring straws might slip through the mesh. A double faucet mesh might work, but that would restrict flow, and the rings around the pieces might be a little clumsy to work with.

Edit: Hmm, I didn't lose my reply after all, but this one's more concise so I've kept it.

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Drenchenator
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Re: Homemade nozzle: Laminator

Post by Drenchenator » Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:43 pm

Good build! I've been waiting for someone to build something like this. All of the information was out there; someone just had to do it. And it's a brilliantly simple design too, nothing complicated at all. Great work! I'm sure many builders are going to incorporate it into their designs.
The Drenchenator, also known as Lt. Col. Drench.

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