Anyone interested in having some paddles made? Talking to a local metal works company, seems to be a pretty easy laser job, not sure on cost yet though.

Figure it might be useful since M60Joe is no longer around and the inventory might shrink, would be good to have on hand

I just made mine out of Automotive feeler gauges. All my hosts usually ran different thicknesses anyways.

I would be in for some now that m60joe is done should have stocked up when I had the chance

Specifically .030 and cut for kns protector

Cool. I have a few from m60joe that I can provide as a template to this place if the price is right. I’ll keep you guys posted

Sounds good thanks!

What did you use to cut them with? My work bench is pretty basic in terms of tools

dremel with cutting disk.

PM me your address and I'll send some 0.032 paddles your way.

I have plenty of paddles to share with folks if they need any in 0.025, 0.032, 0.040, and 0.050 thicknesses.  They are all laser cut for the KNS protector and hardened.  FYI, before I got my RLL I assumed that the paddles were a highly consumable item.  If your hosts are set up properly you will rarely (if ever) need to replace a paddle.  While I don't shoot as much as I'd like to, I've yet to need a replacement.

v/r,
Esox

I Like Your Avatar!

Dudes the man

Esox is a wealth of knowledge on the subject of rll. I’ve had a hard time finding paddles also. I have a few that are hardened and have had no wear using them. I plasma cut a few out of stainless steel and they will bend as they are not hardened. It wouldn’t hurt to have a supply of them now that m60 Joe is done.

PM me what thickness you need and I'll send some your way.

Esox, hows your supply? I’m still talking to manufacturer. Depending on price I’ll do a run of maybe 200 with varying thickness. I need to confirm he can harden them first

About 100 pieces of each thickness.

Nice! Might not need to do the run then haha but I’ll still get a quote etc.

Was thinking like 100 of .042 and .050 each and then 40 of .032.

The one I got from m60 that mine is tuned with is .042

I was under the impression it was best to make them out of spring steel and not harden them?

Also Esox I got the paddles you sent, thanks your the man!

I am interested.

M60 joe used tempered spring steel

I couldn't find spring steel shim stock when I had mine laser cut, so I ended up using 4130 alloy.  I didn't realize that it was annealed, so my paddles bent at first after just a few mags.  Apparently most shim stock is annealed to make it very ductile for bending into other shapes.  Then I brought them to a heat treatment place and told them to try to "make them into springs" (I am no metallurgist)...they heat treated and tempered the paddles to Rockwell 38-42 hardness.  I have not had any problems (still on my original paddle), but I also don't shoot a ton either.

I don't know what alloy makes the best spring material.  Though, I'm not sure if the paddles really need to be that 'springy' anyhow.  As long as they don't bend or break they will probably work just fine and not damage anything.  From what the heat treatment people told me, I didn't want them any harder or they would possibly start to become brittle.  I let them decide what to do to balance modulus, toughness, and hardness based on the arbitrary alloy that I had made them out of.

I also did not parkerize or blue them, so some of them have a little flash rust on spots.  I didn't feel like that was necessary for what is supposed to be a consumable part.  If you got one shipped to you and want to make it look nice, I'd recommend taking a small file and debur the edges where there were tiny tabs holding them in place on the sheet, sand or emery cloth the surfaces, and then use some cold blue to finish it.

Esox

You the man

Thanks for the kind words, but I'm really no expert...everything I have learned is from some great folks here on ARFCOM (jbntex, Circuits, etc.), a few other sites (Quarterbore, Uzitalk, etc.), and just experimenting.  I am trying to document and share as much as I can because the 'RLL Owners Group' is pretty small and we all need to help each other out.

v/r,
Esox

Ya same boat. I’m trying to create a massive document that has everything in one place. Kinda got side tracked with some work stuff tho so haven’t done much with it lately

I had to do a fair amount of experimenting with mine. I found little bits and pieces of info in different places. I think a place that had it all gathered together would be great. Maybe we can get a rll thread stickied.

I will keep an eye out and and anything I have found if it’s pertinent.

Sending a pm at you esox

@esox

I received the paddles. Thanks again!

How do the longer paddles work for an ar10?  I didn’t know that was possible?

Exactly the same mechanics with a properly cut AR-10 carrier.

Is that not considered making a new machine gun in the eyes of the BATFE?

Has anyone used a RLL in one of those Mutant x39 that takes AK mags?

Pretty sure I’ve seen someone do that. There is the PSA KS47 that would be good for it tho. I “might” go that route someday