My new toy is on the way.

[Big Frank]

I was lying in bed last night when it occurred to me I might be able to tighten up my old X-Products upper if I dimpled the bottom of the lugs with a center punch. So I started working on it at midnight, AND IT WORKED! I put 3 dimples on each lug, but the first one in the center of each lug was a hair too deep on both of them. Then I put the 4 other dimples on the lugs. It fit my lower so tight I had to pound the pins in with a mallet, and use a punch to knock them back out. Then I spent maybe a half hour with a half-round Swiss-pattern (jeweler's) file, filing down the bumps in the bottom of both holes. I now have a hand-fitted upper, that I previously had no use for, because it was such a sloppy fit. You can see where the 6 dimples are, which I covered with a paint pen.

I chucked a piece of a bolt into a cordless drill, and stuck a used blank case on it. Then I used toothpaste with it to polish the chamber in the nozzle. The Armscor blanks still stick a little bit if I press them in as far as they'll go, but G.I. M200 blanks have a little wiggle room. I used blue Loctite to screw the nozzle into the X-Fore tube that's inside the aluminum free-float tube. Then I screwed the tube on really tight. I put a spare charging handle with an extended latch in, and when I get the other nozzle, I'll be putting it on the forged flattop upper. I just put a prototype 4th slot Hard Charger side cocking handle on the forged upper, to replace the 3rd slot tactical mount that was on it. The carry handle that I cut a space in the bottom of was mounted back 1 slot from where it's supposed to be. The back was hanging over just a little bit, and now the carry handle is mounted in the right place, up to the front of the rail.

I got a text from UPS at 6 am saying to expect my package from X-Products next Tuesday. After I get the new nozzle installed with the Can Cannon in this upper, I'll have one upper with the Can Cannon always mounted, and the other upper with the X-Fore always mounted. Now all I have to do is find my red-dot optic and Picatinny riser to put on it. Then when I switch uppers, all I have to do is swap out the bolt carrier group. I have an extra one so I don't have to take one out of my rifle uppers when I want to use the Can Cannon or X-Fore, and I'll use the same BCG for both of them. When I get these 2 uppers and attached launchers finished, I'll post pics of them.

Since I don't have the quadrant sight on the carry handle anymore, I didn't need the hex nut on it that I used to replace the front knob that was in the way. I decided to put the knob back on, but the threads don't go all the way to back of it. The back of the knobs are counter-bored and there wasn't enough left of the shaft on the carry handle to screw the knob onto. So I threaded a bolt to fit the knob and cut the head off, then chucked it in a drill. I ground the back of the knob off by spinning it perpendicular to the bench grinder until it was just about to the threaded part. It was enough to screw the knob on the previously shortened stud.


 

[Big Frank]

I still can't find the red dot and 1/2" Picatinny riser it's on. I found the other riser, but not the one with the red dot. I took photoes today of the X-Fore launcher on the old X-Products upper without the red dot. Imagine it like it is, but with the sight and risers from the 2nd pic back on it. I plan on putting a Hard Charger side charging handle on it too. The Can Cannon will look about the same as the 3rd pic, but without the quadrant sight, and without the X-Fore tube in it. You can see in this pic how the carry handle was 1 slot back from where it' supposed to go on the uppper.

[Big Frank]

I finally found my big, cheap, red dot optic and 2 Picatinny risers it's mounted on. It was on my VRF14 "not-a-shotty" firearm. I forgot I put it on there right after I put the flame-roasted VFG on, so I took it off and put it on the X-Products upper with X-Fore launcher. When I thought I found 1 of the 1/2" Picatinny risers, that was actually a 3rd one that used to be on my Carbine Conversion Unit before I got a 15.25" long Monorail, and 2 Mini Quad Rails for it. The charging handle was hitting the top of the Magpul ASAP QD - Ambidextrous Sling Attachment Point QD, so I ground it down and filed it flat. I took just a hair off the top of the lower receiver where the lower receiver extension screws in while filing the ASAP QD.

https://magpul.com/asap-qd-ambidextrous-sling-attachment-point.html?mp_global_color=118

Now all I need to put on it is a Hard Charger side charging handle. They work smoother than a rear charging handle. The charging handle with extended latch was binding up really bad until I realized I was pulling slightly upward as I pulled back on it. Once I made a conscious effort to pull down on the left side as I pulled the handle back, it worked okay, after the work I did on the top of the ASAP QD. But the Hard Chargers guide the handle straight back all the time, every time. I'll probably get an Original Hard Charger that mounts to the 13th rail slot at the front of the upper. With a Tactical handle on it to match my other 2 side charging handles. I'll have to move the red dot and risers back a couple of notches, but there's plenty of room on the upper. If anyone wants to buy a Hard Charger, I can get a commission if you use this link. I'll never buy another flattop upper and NOT put a Hard Charger on it. They make adjustable ones for billet uppers too, not just G.I. forged uppers.

https://devildogconcepts.com/?ref=BigFrank

I forgot to put rail covers on the upper before I took the pics but have since taken care of it. I put 1/3 of a black ERGO 18-SLOT LOW-PRO LADDER RAIL COVER on the back half of the upper to cover all 6 slots. Then I cut a piece 2 slots long to go on the front of the top riser. These are my favorite Pic rail covers so far, and a 3-pack is only $19.99. If there's anything else cheaper I don't know who makes it. They come in 15 different colors, but I've only bought black and OD green for my guns.

https://www.ergogrips.net/shop/ergo-18-slot-lowpro-ladder-rail-cover-3-pack/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Td3374SOQ8

[Big Frank]

The new nozzle from X-Products came today, so I used it to put the Can Cannon together. Here's the Can Cannon and X-Fore launchers, finally assembled with their own uppers. I ground the top off of a #8x32 screw until the screwdriver slot was gone, then filed and sanded it smooth. After polishing it up, I used some E6000 adhesive to goop it into place in the cable guides of 2 of the Strike industries bang bands. Now I have a front sight bead that's half visible through the rear aperture. I'll pick some of the excess adhesive off it tomorrow to clean it up a bit. I ordered a BUNCH of stuff from X-Products, and they threw in some free stuff for me. I'll post more about it later.

[Big Frank]

I showed some of my pics to the guys at X-Products. They liked what they saw and want to post my pics on their social media.

They had free shipping on orders over $300. I was already going to order a Can Cannon Threaded Port. I can never remember what it's called and kept calling it a nozzle. And I wanted to get some more blanks. On my first order, 5 years ago, I was shorted some blanks. I either got 93/100 I ordered and was missing 7, or I got 97/100 and was missing 3. It's been way to long to be sure which it was. I got all 100 I ordered the second time. I emailed them several times and never got a reply, but I finally did this month, and they said they didn't know anything about it. So they said they would give me an extra 50 blanks. I bought 300 and they gave me 50 free, so I'm all set for years. M200 Mil Spec 5.56 Blanks for the Can Cannon 100ct. On sale for $42.00, not $70.00. I ordered a dozen Gumdrop Button Projectiles for the X-Fore Golf Ball Launcher. And a dozen Launcher Balls for use with the Can Cannon. That got my order just over $300, so I didn't have to pay $70 or whatever it would have been to have FedEx ship it. They threw in 2 BR Rocket rubberized projectiles for use with the Can Cannon, and a half dozen tennis balls too! I'm paintinthe black rubber rockets with fluorescent orange Rust-oleum spray paint. As long as I don't lay it on too thick, they should still slip into the Can Cannon without any trouble. But I'm thinking about packing a length of broom handle in my kit to use as a ramrod.

https://xproducts.com/can-cannon-threaded-port/

https://xproducts.com/product/m200-mil-spec-556-blanks-can-cannon-1

https://xproducts.com/gumdrop-buttons/

https://xproducts.com/launcher-balls-for-the-can-cannon-1/

https://xproducts.com/br-rocket/

https://xproducts.com/br-rocket-3-pack/

The blanks they sent me didn't have the knurled ring at the base that M200 blanks normally have. It turns out they aren't U.S. M200 blanks, but Danish military blanks, made by AMA, Ammunitionsarsenalet (Ammunition Arsenal), Copenhagen, Denmark. They've been making ammo for 350 years, so they should know what they're doing. Instead of plastic bags of bulk ammo, this is all loaded on 10-round plastic stripper clips, similar to Thermold clips. And each clip is sealed in a plastic pouch. My ammo was in bundles of 50 rounds, with 5 of these pouches joined together, so they could be torn off at perforations into individual 10-round packets. The ammo is just like that pictured, NATO Stock Number is 1305-22-126-7516, except a different lot number. In the second pic, you can see the knurled ring of the Lake City M200 blanks I'm used to. These don't have it, but they fit the chamber the same way. The Armscor Philippines blanks I have without the knurl are oversized or something, and don't fit right.

[Sponsor]

[Big Frank]

How do you like them apples oranges?

I knew the big black rockets would be too easy to lose, especially since they can fly up to 1,000', so I decided to paint them fluorescent orange. But after a few coats of paint they still weren't bright orange. You're supposed to paint over white or another light color with fluorescent paint, not black. So I painted them Unmellow Yellow. They were thoroughly coated and looked really good. But when I shined a UV light on them they still looked black. So I painted them fluorescent orange again, while the yellow paint was still wet. It gave them this crackle finish that I think looks really cool. Technically speaking it's not orange peel finish, which is a paint defect you hope your car never has, but they sure look like oranges in the 2nd pic. The paint was layered on so thick at this point that I used the fine wheel of my bench grinder to thin them down a bit. Now, they're a snug fit in the Can Cannon, but not tight enough to raise the pressure and blow them apart when I shoot them.

I need to let them set a day for the paint to cure before I pack them away. But if they ever need a touch-up coat of fluorescent paint, they both have a good base for it to stick to. The last pair of pics don't do justice to just how bright they glow under UV, but you can see an orange glow on the wall they're setting against. You can also see how the yellow paint looks black, not yellow, under UV light. Like it's not even there, and you can see the black rubber. I'm not going to paint the black rubber balls, because they just barely drop into the tube freely until they hit the end of the threaded port, AND they drop back out if you don't shoot. The next most aerodynamic projectiles I have are the Gumdrop Buttons for the X-Fore Golf Ball Launcher. I don't know how far they go, but I have a dozen, so hopefully it takes me a long time to lose them all.

[Big Frank]

I made a ramrod for my launchers from an old snow brush/squeegee that used to have an ice scraper on the other end of the handle. I carried it in my truck for many years, but when I looked for a piece of broom handle in my basement this morning I found this instead of the plain broom handle I was trying to find. I cut the steel head off with a hacksaw and ground it down flush with the wooden part of the handle. That end with a steel collar on it is inside the motorcycle grip. And I cut the other end off where it had flats milled where the ice scraper used to be. It was painted or stained red a long time ago and still had some red color to it, but was patchy looking. So, after I rounded off the end and sanded it smooth, I colored the whole thing with a black permanent marker. Then I rubbed Johnson's paste wax on it, which looked like black shoe polish on the rag as some of the marker came off. I ended up with a translucent brown color, with some of the wood grain showing through. It looks kind of crappy in the picture, but better IRL. It's ~18 1/4" long, and 13 1/2" beyond the rubber grip. If I stick it in either launcher tube until it hits the end of the threaded port, it's still only halfway in. So even if the end broke off or wore away, it would likely last me the rest of my life as long as I don't lose it. And it can always serve as a lightweight billy club.