A big thank you to userd1402 for testing out the cylinders. You've been a great help in making this happen and I can't thank you enough for it.
It pains me to see them have issues of any kind and my brain is working overtime now to try and figure out the why and possibly a fix for it. Although it's a mix of emotions since the issues are with both Don and my own variants, it's still going to gnaw at me until I figure it out. On the bright side, I'm happy to see everything lined up correctly and at least know my processes are somewhat okay and for the most part, they fit and kinda worked.
I'm wondering since the issue is present in all three variants, if it's something to do with the added weight of the steel causing the issue, something in the tomen design or something else that was overlooked.
I noticed in the first video that the little hook didn't seem to engage as well as it should have, somewhat missing those engagement teeth. Maybe having that ejector star sit a little proud would help that. Currently, as per the original plastic part, it's recessed to 2.1mm, but maybe 1.8-1.9mm might help with a more positive engagement and still leave enough room for it not to hit up against the body?
"The star shaped part of the ejector is also a very snug fit on Ted's cylinders. I don't know if that makes any difference or not and I don't know how to test whether it does or not."
The ejector star being a snug fit might just be slight differences in the casting of it. The hole was made with an 8mm endmill and measures to about 8.10mm and those slots were made with a 2mm endmill and are a little over (2.05-2.10mm). Without me actually feeling where it starts to get snug, I'm just speculating as to what could be causing that. Although, I don't think it would have anything to do with the cycling of it since it's keyed in with those three 2mm slots in the cylinder. I would guess it would only make the ejector star a little more sticky in it's operation when ejecting the casings.
"It's important to note this happens on all three cylinders including the old steel one from Don in the states so It's probably that my building technique is causing some problems here. If I leave everything loose I get one result and if I make everything secure it binds up whichever cylinder I use."
When everything is tightened and it all starts to bind, I'm thinking it may have to do with the plastic itself flexing causing the issue. It may need to be done in a specific sequence or maybe whatever tolerance is built into them isn't enough and is taken up once things are snug. It's one reason I don't like working plastic since holding tight tolerances is difficult... not impossible, just really difficult.
"After spending most of the day playing with this I'm just about ready to throw an expensive kit out the window and give up with them. I've decided the answer is if you don't like the Tomen's tendency to play up when using heavy steel replacement cylinders then don't play with it and don't pull the trigger. That's what I'm going to do. I have now placed my guns back in the display cabinet and I'm going to open a bottle of wine and pretend they don't exist for a few days."
I wish things turned out better and it all worked flawlessly. I'm not a wine drinker, but I'll crack open a couple of beers and try to figure some things out watching those videos you posted in hopes of having a eureka moment and coming up with a fix. The problem with me now is, knowing what I know about their operation, I can't pretend they don't exist at all and I'll probably see these things in my dreams for the next few days trying to figure it out. This is going to have it's fun with my sanity.
If anyone has any ideas, feel free to chime in.
It pains me to see them have issues of any kind and my brain is working overtime now to try and figure out the why and possibly a fix for it. Although it's a mix of emotions since the issues are with both Don and my own variants, it's still going to gnaw at me until I figure it out. On the bright side, I'm happy to see everything lined up correctly and at least know my processes are somewhat okay and for the most part, they fit and kinda worked.
I'm wondering since the issue is present in all three variants, if it's something to do with the added weight of the steel causing the issue, something in the tomen design or something else that was overlooked.
I noticed in the first video that the little hook didn't seem to engage as well as it should have, somewhat missing those engagement teeth. Maybe having that ejector star sit a little proud would help that. Currently, as per the original plastic part, it's recessed to 2.1mm, but maybe 1.8-1.9mm might help with a more positive engagement and still leave enough room for it not to hit up against the body?
"The star shaped part of the ejector is also a very snug fit on Ted's cylinders. I don't know if that makes any difference or not and I don't know how to test whether it does or not."
The ejector star being a snug fit might just be slight differences in the casting of it. The hole was made with an 8mm endmill and measures to about 8.10mm and those slots were made with a 2mm endmill and are a little over (2.05-2.10mm). Without me actually feeling where it starts to get snug, I'm just speculating as to what could be causing that. Although, I don't think it would have anything to do with the cycling of it since it's keyed in with those three 2mm slots in the cylinder. I would guess it would only make the ejector star a little more sticky in it's operation when ejecting the casings.
"It's important to note this happens on all three cylinders including the old steel one from Don in the states so It's probably that my building technique is causing some problems here. If I leave everything loose I get one result and if I make everything secure it binds up whichever cylinder I use."
When everything is tightened and it all starts to bind, I'm thinking it may have to do with the plastic itself flexing causing the issue. It may need to be done in a specific sequence or maybe whatever tolerance is built into them isn't enough and is taken up once things are snug. It's one reason I don't like working plastic since holding tight tolerances is difficult... not impossible, just really difficult.
"After spending most of the day playing with this I'm just about ready to throw an expensive kit out the window and give up with them. I've decided the answer is if you don't like the Tomen's tendency to play up when using heavy steel replacement cylinders then don't play with it and don't pull the trigger. That's what I'm going to do. I have now placed my guns back in the display cabinet and I'm going to open a bottle of wine and pretend they don't exist for a few days."
I wish things turned out better and it all worked flawlessly. I'm not a wine drinker, but I'll crack open a couple of beers and try to figure some things out watching those videos you posted in hopes of having a eureka moment and coming up with a fix. The problem with me now is, knowing what I know about their operation, I can't pretend they don't exist at all and I'll probably see these things in my dreams for the next few days trying to figure it out. This is going to have it's fun with my sanity.
If anyone has any ideas, feel free to chime in.
