Perfect (almost) Hammershot Spring Spacer

These came in a while ago and I incorporated one of them into my Hammershot, but haven't had the time to post about it. Well without further delay, here they are:

• Nylon spacer for stock/upgrade Retaliator springs: McMaster
• Nylon spacer for stock Maverick springs: McMaster 

The McMaster spacer shown in Fig. E8.2 is the longer, 1/2 in. length one. These lengthier ones will work perfectly with stock Maverick springs (also shown in the same picture). Whether this spacer will work with the upgrade Maverick springs is untested and unknown. It may be possible to use these spacers with stock/upgrade Retaliator springs. But because the spacer is so long, it becomes very difficult to push the nested springs inside the inner shell spring housing. I seem to recall catch issues with this setup as well, or maybe it is because I thought the blaster will break with the setup that I refrained from this build. The stock/upgrade Retaliator spacer I linked above is 3/8 in. in length. I have not tested this spacer length myself but I am confident that this spacer, along with using a stock Retaliator spring as the outer nest spring will be the perfect build for most people. More specifically, this setup should still be very prime-able with one thumb/hand while maintaining a good balance of power, reliability and durability. If you want to experiment various spacer lengths with various springs, we recommend getting the longer spacers (the ones linked for stock Maverick springs) and shaving them down to the desired length for experimentation/modification.

The pre-made McMasters spacers are pretty much ready to install right out of the box. Here is an example of a completely unmodified McMaster spacer in the Hammershot:
 

Fig. E8.2 - McMaster spacer in Hammershot

Here is a picture of the spacer by itself:
 

Fig. E8.3 - McMaster spacer

The picture above shows the side of the spacer where there is a small lip from the normal face of the side to the inner cut-out cylinder. Although this is not specified in the product's datasheet, it is an advantageous feature for us because it is the perfect housing for the coned top of the stock spring. So place this side of the spacer towards the spring(s).

Although the spacer will work out of the box, you might want to modify it slightly for optimal performance in your Hammershot. The large outer diameter of the stock spacer will grind along the inner shell's seat-post housings during priming and releasing of the spring. Grind the spacer's sides to prevent this from degrading performance. Refer to Fig. E8.1 to see approximately how much to shave off.

The Works Guide: Zombie Strike Hammershot has been appropriately updated.