dakota.potts
New member
The thread on the solvent trap kits got me thinking. They seem like they work halfway decent for what they are. I notice that there are both stainless steel and titanium tubes available (Threaded on both ends internally) as well as steel and titanium thread protectors and endcaps.
From what I read, all of that seems to be pretty decent, but I think I would want to go with a monolithic baffle design over the freezeplug and spacer design. It seems more durable that way.
I would want to make a monolithic baffle on a lathe, presumably out of steel. It would just be a simple cylinder with an oversized bore (probably around .375-.400") and a number of circular chambers milled out at regular intervals.
I have some ability with machine tools, but doing something like this is about the limit of that ability. I can turn items on a lathe to a tolerance with minimal runout and I can mill straight holes and paths in things.
Most would choose to leave a threaded lip on the baffle and then thread the tube directly into that. This is beyond my ability currently though and it would want to be something that I can build. Obviously I wouldn't be building the tube and endcaps in this design, but at least the baffle would be mine.
The SDtactical and other various "solvent trap" kits get around this by using a PVC pipe spacer inside the tube which snugs up to the baffles and vertical spacers. You simply drop it in and screw it together. Apparently the spacer keeps it tight enough that wandering isn't an issue.
My thinking was, could I do something similar with a monolithic baffle design? If the tube has a 1" inside diameter, could I machine the baffle to something like a .998" diameter so it would slip in with minimal tolerance but still wouldn't need to be an interference/press fit? Would the pressures be an issue in that case? The endcaps could then be sealed up against an o-ring to keep the baffle from moving vertically inside the tube.
I'm just thinking about this for now. I'm starting machine tool classes in Early August, which is the earliest I'd be able to send in a form 1 anyway. I was looking to spend about $400-450 on another project, and that's why I'm thinking in the terms that I am. Buying all of the stuff from SDtactical would put me about the same ($100 trust + $200 tax + $~125 materials). I know good stock to machine a baffle would be more.
I'm a gunsmithing student (starting machining before gunsmithing) but I won't be allowed to work on any NFA items in school, so it will all be extracurricular.
I want to make something fun, relatively cheap, to see what can be done. I would like to build some kind of a portfolio while I'm in school, and I think a project like this would be cool to include. I'm not concerned with top end performance (I obviously want it to work though) or weight, as I know these will diminish with lower cost of material. I just want something of a decent durability and usefulness. Size is not too much of an issue either.
I will use it pretty much just at the range and maybe a couple of shots a year during hunting season. Maybe in 2 gun type competitions also. Probably not for home defense, too many issues with that for me. I would like to use it on .22 (reason for needing it to disassemble for my own maintenance), .223 AR 15, 7.62x39 VZ2008. Maybe a Mosin Nagant, but that's not really important to me. Also, I have future projects in .308 and .338 Federal. Would like to use it on those if it comes to fruition but not entirely essential.
What do you think, people who have done a Form 1 silencer before?
From what I read, all of that seems to be pretty decent, but I think I would want to go with a monolithic baffle design over the freezeplug and spacer design. It seems more durable that way.
I would want to make a monolithic baffle on a lathe, presumably out of steel. It would just be a simple cylinder with an oversized bore (probably around .375-.400") and a number of circular chambers milled out at regular intervals.
I have some ability with machine tools, but doing something like this is about the limit of that ability. I can turn items on a lathe to a tolerance with minimal runout and I can mill straight holes and paths in things.
Most would choose to leave a threaded lip on the baffle and then thread the tube directly into that. This is beyond my ability currently though and it would want to be something that I can build. Obviously I wouldn't be building the tube and endcaps in this design, but at least the baffle would be mine.
The SDtactical and other various "solvent trap" kits get around this by using a PVC pipe spacer inside the tube which snugs up to the baffles and vertical spacers. You simply drop it in and screw it together. Apparently the spacer keeps it tight enough that wandering isn't an issue.
My thinking was, could I do something similar with a monolithic baffle design? If the tube has a 1" inside diameter, could I machine the baffle to something like a .998" diameter so it would slip in with minimal tolerance but still wouldn't need to be an interference/press fit? Would the pressures be an issue in that case? The endcaps could then be sealed up against an o-ring to keep the baffle from moving vertically inside the tube.
I'm just thinking about this for now. I'm starting machine tool classes in Early August, which is the earliest I'd be able to send in a form 1 anyway. I was looking to spend about $400-450 on another project, and that's why I'm thinking in the terms that I am. Buying all of the stuff from SDtactical would put me about the same ($100 trust + $200 tax + $~125 materials). I know good stock to machine a baffle would be more.
I'm a gunsmithing student (starting machining before gunsmithing) but I won't be allowed to work on any NFA items in school, so it will all be extracurricular.
I want to make something fun, relatively cheap, to see what can be done. I would like to build some kind of a portfolio while I'm in school, and I think a project like this would be cool to include. I'm not concerned with top end performance (I obviously want it to work though) or weight, as I know these will diminish with lower cost of material. I just want something of a decent durability and usefulness. Size is not too much of an issue either.
I will use it pretty much just at the range and maybe a couple of shots a year during hunting season. Maybe in 2 gun type competitions also. Probably not for home defense, too many issues with that for me. I would like to use it on .22 (reason for needing it to disassemble for my own maintenance), .223 AR 15, 7.62x39 VZ2008. Maybe a Mosin Nagant, but that's not really important to me. Also, I have future projects in .308 and .338 Federal. Would like to use it on those if it comes to fruition but not entirely essential.
What do you think, people who have done a Form 1 silencer before?
