Nite Finder Plunger Rod Reinforcement

[iamthatcat]

I recently wanted to up the power of my NF's but was concerned by the bending of the plunger rod that I was already noticing. I personally do not like epoxy putty so I looked around for some ideas. Hmmm.. CPVC is handy! So I chopped out a piece about 1/2 the length I needed and a little wider than the space available in the plunger rod's cavity. I used a ceramic sanding disc to do the cutting and also some shaping.



I cut another piece to match and started to fit them into place. I shaped the little strips to sit flush at the bottom of the area and to clear the catch at the top. I notched one piece so it sat nice and flush and carried some force.



Here's how they look once fitted. I filed them until they fit without bowing out the factory plastic. I scuffed everything and glued them into place. Clamp along the sides for a good bond. This may be a good job for solvent welding but I was unsure as to compatibility. Mine is fine with epoxy.



This has worked well for me and was certainly cheap & easy to do. My plunger rod is no longer flexing and has handled the extra power.

[Nerf Doctor]

Nice, a good, cheap way to reinforce the plunger rod. I think that some of them turn out stronger then others, seeing as I have some crazy springs in mine, and have no problems as of yet.

[iamthatcat]

I haven't had one fail or even show significant damage structurally yet. I have noticed wear from the catch and significant flexing where that cavity is. I did this before adding bands to my already strong spring NF.

I wanna try making the catch notch a little deeper and laminating in a little rectangle of fiberglass sheet over the catch face. I'm not sure if the catch will then fail though. I think it would be fine but dunno.

[Techshooter]

The only thing I've ever had break on mine was the priming handle, and I have extrememly strong springs in the one that broke.

I like to reinforced my plunger rod with epoxy putty, though, because it give a solider prime. This is a much cheaper alternative. Nice work iamthatcat