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With all the flurry about LRBs that abounds lately I thought I'd pass on what I know and understand about the technology that I've researched in the last couple of years.
The pro's of the stystem.... If done correctly they will provide a fair amount of range, using heavier ammo for a given fps, making the weapon slightly more a accurate due to the heavier ammo you can now use.
The cons.... there is a law of diminishing returns, basically the more power you use the heavier the ammo you should be using in any case, for weapons over 450ish fps that should be using .36 bbs and above anyway the best you can hope to see is a slight increase in range, and I do mean slight, there will be no noticeable increase in accuracy and you may well find it actually decreases.
The first thing we must understand is that the LRB has been about for a very long time, infact it was the only real option at hop effect pre TM hop designs that we know and love today.
They are only really effective in lower power weapon systems, or rather the effects will be more noticeable in lower power systems.
The original LRB system Incorporated a fixed or stepped or off-set barrel at the point where we now find a modern day TM hop. These varied from .8mm to 1.7mm. This was done to provide an element of back spin to the bb to aid its lift to the top of the barrel. This varied from barrel to barrel, gun to gun dependent on barrel length and curve in the barrel.
Original LRBs where made from 10mm brass stock, as opposed to the 8 or 9mm barrels we're used to now which reduced vibration that we know makes a normal barrel less accurate.
The LRB is a very finicky system and is in no way a thing your average noob, and for that matter your not so average vet, can just plonk in and forget. The original barrels where mostly cast with the curve in them, along with the off-set, this then had to be matched to the fps being used and the bb being used, even to the point that it could be ammo brand and weight specific, if the manufacturer pulled that ammo you were screwed :-/
Now we shall move onto the systems we are trying to create within our modern weapons.
If you are interested in trying to fabricate an LRB system within your system, if indeed its at all possible, these are just some of the things to bare in mind as you go about it.
Consider the fps you are using, you may well end up cutting and shutting large parts of your gun and gain no benefit over your original hop, so where possible always keep in mind 'can I return it to how it was?'
The cylinder volume still matters to the barrel length, try and incorporate the 'ideal' length barrel for your cylinder.
Try to make your system adjustable, it will increase the ammo you can use no end and it'll be more user friendly.
Don't worry you can use your nub style hop unit, its used to hold the bb in place, and it stands in the place of the off-set in the original style barrels to provide lift(back-spin) to the bb. Then nub does add an amount of lateral as well as vertical stability, so you could use any style of nub combo, but results will vary and alot of experimentation is required to get the best results.
Consider the slippyness of the barrel, the system by its very nature relies on how 'grippy' your barrel is, teflon coatings and stainless steel are nicely slippy for you standard system but wont provide much grip for an LRB, un-polished brass on the other hand will grip very nicely and increase the amount of back-spin put on by the barrel.
Try to use coarse surfaced bbs for the same reason as above.
I think thats about it, if anyone has any other questions just pop'em up and I'll add the best answer I can give in here
The pro's of the stystem.... If done correctly they will provide a fair amount of range, using heavier ammo for a given fps, making the weapon slightly more a accurate due to the heavier ammo you can now use.
The cons.... there is a law of diminishing returns, basically the more power you use the heavier the ammo you should be using in any case, for weapons over 450ish fps that should be using .36 bbs and above anyway the best you can hope to see is a slight increase in range, and I do mean slight, there will be no noticeable increase in accuracy and you may well find it actually decreases.
The first thing we must understand is that the LRB has been about for a very long time, infact it was the only real option at hop effect pre TM hop designs that we know and love today.
They are only really effective in lower power weapon systems, or rather the effects will be more noticeable in lower power systems.
The original LRB system Incorporated a fixed or stepped or off-set barrel at the point where we now find a modern day TM hop. These varied from .8mm to 1.7mm. This was done to provide an element of back spin to the bb to aid its lift to the top of the barrel. This varied from barrel to barrel, gun to gun dependent on barrel length and curve in the barrel.
Original LRBs where made from 10mm brass stock, as opposed to the 8 or 9mm barrels we're used to now which reduced vibration that we know makes a normal barrel less accurate.
The LRB is a very finicky system and is in no way a thing your average noob, and for that matter your not so average vet, can just plonk in and forget. The original barrels where mostly cast with the curve in them, along with the off-set, this then had to be matched to the fps being used and the bb being used, even to the point that it could be ammo brand and weight specific, if the manufacturer pulled that ammo you were screwed :-/
Now we shall move onto the systems we are trying to create within our modern weapons.
If you are interested in trying to fabricate an LRB system within your system, if indeed its at all possible, these are just some of the things to bare in mind as you go about it.
Consider the fps you are using, you may well end up cutting and shutting large parts of your gun and gain no benefit over your original hop, so where possible always keep in mind 'can I return it to how it was?'
The cylinder volume still matters to the barrel length, try and incorporate the 'ideal' length barrel for your cylinder.
Try to make your system adjustable, it will increase the ammo you can use no end and it'll be more user friendly.
Don't worry you can use your nub style hop unit, its used to hold the bb in place, and it stands in the place of the off-set in the original style barrels to provide lift(back-spin) to the bb. Then nub does add an amount of lateral as well as vertical stability, so you could use any style of nub combo, but results will vary and alot of experimentation is required to get the best results.
Consider the slippyness of the barrel, the system by its very nature relies on how 'grippy' your barrel is, teflon coatings and stainless steel are nicely slippy for you standard system but wont provide much grip for an LRB, un-polished brass on the other hand will grip very nicely and increase the amount of back-spin put on by the barrel.
Try to use coarse surfaced bbs for the same reason as above.
I think thats about it, if anyone has any other questions just pop'em up and I'll add the best answer I can give in here
