Carbon fibre barrel help

[cstru18]

I was just wondering if anyone knows if a carbon fibre barrel is any good to use cause it kinda scares me knowing that its not metal. Thanks in advanced

[Kilash]

Is it pressure rated?

[cstru18]

Nah it's not pressure rated.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Carbon fibre paintball tanks are happy to take 4500 psi if it's small diameter and with decent wall thickness you should be fine, especially for a barrel that only suffers a brief instance of pressure.

[cstru18]

It doesn't say anything about the wall thickness.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

inside/outside diameter?

[cstru18]

Od is 8mm id is 6.2mm is that a 2mm wall thickness

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

0.9mm wall thickness. should be good enough for your purposes.

[cstru18]

Thanks for the help jsr appreciate it.

[Zeus]

Something that should be considered is the orientation of the fibres. Assuming it's an arrow shaft (dimensions sound right) then it won't hold up that well, the fibres are purely axial, and have nearly no hoop strength. I doubt it'd blow up, but it won't be flash hot either. Also, the internal finish of the tubing may leave a lot to be desired.

[Rezonate]

Zeus has a good point. The way the fibre is oriented makes the difference.

[flashskate13]

I used carbon fibre tubing for a experimental barrel,

problems i found was the internal wall was very ruff and had a joint/ seam in it and when i polised this out left me with a undesirable id. so would be better if you can see the carbon before buying.

but other than that very strong and more flex than a aluminium barrel.

[Spudinator]

I've used carbon fiber arrow shafts as BB barrels for years now. You gotta buy the shafts that don't have nocks or heads on them, they are way cheaper and you can inspect the bores easily. During archery season Walmart carries them for about $6 a piece. And don't worry about pressure ratings, I've fired hundreds of shots through an oxy/acetylene pistol using an arrow shaft for a barrel (10 cubic inches. Farkin deadly thing, BTW lol) with no I'll effects. The brand of arrow I use is called terminator, its got a metal skull on it. The bore finish of these arrows is a mirror.

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Look who's lurking

I've fired hundreds of shots through an oxy/acetylene pistol

You can't mention it and not show it! Or is this something from the spudtech days I had missed?

[Spudinator]

Heh ya I poke my head in from time to time, probably more frequently now that I'm working in a CNC shop

I'll have to put it together since I've been working on it recently, but I believe a few pictures could be provided in the next couple days. Ghastly little thing though, blows your ears out with larger bores (.40 and .625) without ear protection, and airsoft BB's go really fast out of the arrow barrel. I'll have pics up soon...