A interesting idea. I have thought the extractor problem over quite a bit and researched some other methods. Nearly every gun out there has a spring loaded extractor finger. Most of those have a pivot pin but not all. Marlin had a spring steel flat finger with a circular clip that snapped around the bolt, much like the pocket clip on a pen.
One normal requirement of the extractor, on most guns, is to hold the empty case firmly against the bolt face so it does not fall off until it hits against a ejector at its rearmost travel. The idea is to not drop the case prematurely and cause a jam. In the case of the gatling I don\'t think retaining the case is necessary, only long enough for the case to clear the chamber.
I am surprised that the wire you use, soldered at the end of the bolt has enough flex to \"snap\" over the round during feeding. Also, the wire being so thin, I wonder if wear over time to the edge will be a issue.
How many tests have you performed? Were they with rounds fired in the chamber? (rounds fired in the chamber are tighter and much harder to pull out).
If it works out well, its certainly a easy fix to a big problem.
George
Very nice ! As you have found out, misfires are the other big issue. The accepted fix for that is non rotating firing pins with the end wedge shaped like most rimfire firing pins. A pic of your extractor mod would be great when you get a chance.
Nice to see some action on the DE gun here.
George
Large pics will show up as a big thumbnail. Click on the thum to blow it up
To my understanding, the front and rear cams are nearly identical, the gap between the two forming the track for the bolt lug to follow. How did you get away with advancing the front cam only without the bolt lug binding up in its track/groove?
Back when I started the gun, I ran across a great sale on 22 shorts, high velocity. You are not the first to have problems with high power shorts. I bought 5000 of them. Great LOL
George
Hello George:
I was able to move the front cam about one half inch. There seemed to be enough room and it worked OK. I will have to look over the drawings of the original cams to see if there is a difference but to my knowledge they are slightly different. My plans are old. Maybe newer plans show them the same. Anyway it made a big difference.
I tried to attach a photo of the breech ring with slots but it did not show up. Not sure what to do about that but I probably need some instruction here.
Tim
Well the long cold winter has given me plenty of time to work out all the bugs in this build with the music wire extractors. Today I was able to to get 15 rounds through the gun with no problems. This of course was the result of lots of tweaking, fitting and testing. Overall I ran a few hundred rounds to get to this point. I ran out of ammo after my final adjustment. The final solution required a new breech ring, recutting the barrels and moving the front cam to allow the spent casing to drop away earlier. As best as I can determine, my gun fires between 4 & 5 o\'clock and extracts between 7 & 8 o\'clock. Before I advanced the front cam, the spent shells would not drop away. The slight advance made a world of difference.
The slot in the breech ring/barrels is .063 wide and .140 deep. The new extractors are made from .045 music wire and are fastened by peening over the end after it passes through a .043 hole drilled 90 degrees through the bolt. The original design had the extractor soldered in but that took the heat treat out of the music wire. After A few broke off I came up with peen over idea. Now they can be replaced without soldering.
The gun is sensitive to ammo. Sub sonic or target stuff works best. High velocity CCI rounds were blowing out the cases in the area of the slot. Since the slot exits the breech ring there was no way to limit the extractor travel and a few blew right off. The breech ring could be filled in with a ring of brass material or a shroud could be attached under the gun to limit the extractor travel but it just makes sense to use the wimpy ammo.
I use CCI CB shorts in my gun, they work the best.
Great news Tim ! I would sure like to see some pics of the music wire extractors and any info related.
I just started building a 32x50 pole barn this week for a workshop at my new location in South Carolina. Although finishing my gat gun is delayed, I am more encouraged than ever that it is possible to get a D&E design to be a reliable shooter with a few mods.
George
I cant honestly help you because your using mobile stuff. It would make more since to post it to photobucket or something like that and hot link it. Hell, email it to me, i\'ll post it
HI,
Have completed the gun, cant get it to fire consistently, I don\'t know why your pictures are not showing up on forum. Have you made any drawings with dim, any good pictures? I have a gun, carriage, and tripod mount that I have spent hundreds of hours on. It fires once and awhile. Can you make a video of all your mods? Id be happy to help you post it if you can not. I have 30 pounds of steel and brass that don\'t do much. My gun is tru to the drawings but as you well know the functionality is garbage. Id love to see what your solution is, I\'d sure love to have a working gun..
I have attached some pictures of my gun. I wish it would work :mad: too many hours for it not to, Plans screwed me.
My gun on the tripod minus the clip.
Hope to get the firing and ejecting figured out. I really want to see your solution.
Thanks
Kirby, Ohio.
HI,
Have completed the gun, cant get it to fire consistently, I don\'t know why your pictures are not showing up on forum. Have you made any drawings with dim, any good pictures? I have a gun, carriage, and tripod mount that I have spent hundreds of hours on. It fires once and awhile. Can you make a video of all your mods? Id be happy to help you post it if you can not. I have 30 pounds of steel and brass that don\'t do much. My gun is tru to the drawings but as you well know the functionality is garbage. Id love to see what your solution is, I\'d sure love to have a working gun..
I have attached some pictures of my gun. I wish it would work :mad: too many hours for it not to, Plans screwed me.
My gun on the tripod minus the clip.
Hope to get the firing and ejecting figured out. I really want to see your solution.
Thanks
Kirby, Ohio.
http://www.gatlinggunforum.com/forum/index.php?/topic/1224-de-video/
Firing pin shape is key, beefing up the extractor is also necessary. I believe the gun was not meant to actually fire If made to the prints.
Frank
I
Firing pin shape is key, beefing up the extractor is also necessary. I believe the gun was not meant to actually fire If made to the prints.
Frank
I
Your gun is a thing of beauty! ALSO, one of the extremely few DE guns that actually functions! I admire your work.
HI,
Have completed the gun, cant get it to fire consistently, I don\'t know why your pictures are not showing up on forum. Have you made any drawings with dim, any good pictures? I have a gun, carriage, and tripod mount that I have spent hundreds of hours on. It fires once and awhile. Can you make a video of all your mods? Id be happy to help you post it if you can not. I have 30 pounds of steel and brass that don\'t do much. My gun is tru to the drawings but as you well know the functionality is garbage. Id love to see what your solution is, I\'d sure love to have a working gun..
I have attached some pictures of my gun. I wish it would work :mad: too many hours for it not to, Plans screwed me.
My gun on the tripod minus the clip.
Hope to get the firing and ejecting figured out. I really want to see your solution.
Thanks
Kirby, Ohio.
Good job!!