American Airguns Blog
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Spring Loaded Target Holder
For years I have used paper target holders for home and club use that are made from 1/4" rod. The paper is secured to the target frame using black paper clips that are made from thin metal. Well, over time the clips shot and broken. Well, one night I woke up with an idea for a new way to hold the paper to the target frame.
It was kind of weird how it came to me, I was half awake / half asleep and thinking about a more robust and easy way to hold paper to the frame. I wanted something sprint loaded so it would be easy to install the paper. I was thinking of a spring loaded hinged of some sort when it came to me. If I used a spring loaded 1/4" bolt with a fender washer welded to the top it could hold the paper very securely.
I stopped the next day at our local Home Depot and bought some of their standard compression springs and the bolts and washers I needed. The fender washers are 1" in diameter so I made some 1" tabs with 1/4" holes drilled in them and welded them to the target frame. I used 1 1/2" x 1/4" bolts for the shaft and welded the fender washer to the head. Then all that had to be done was to slide the bolts through the tabs, slide on the spring, and secure the whole thing with some Nylon lock nuts.
When you push on the back of the lock washer the bolt and fender washer push out away from the tabs and the paper can be inserted in between. When the lock nut is release, the fender washer pinches the paper between it and the tabs. It is simple and really works great. If a bit more grip is needed, 1 1/4" x 1/4" bolts could be used so that the spring would be a bit more compressed.
The ground has been extremely hard this year due to the drought here so I mounted the whole target frame into an old coffee can and added some cement so now all I have to do is place it on the ground where I want to shoot and it is good to go.
I included a 4" handle placed in front of the target frame so that when I lift the whole assembly the target frame will fall back away from my body and not knock into me while I carry it around. The system works great and is easy to use anywhere.
It was kind of weird how it came to me, I was half awake / half asleep and thinking about a more robust and easy way to hold paper to the frame. I wanted something sprint loaded so it would be easy to install the paper. I was thinking of a spring loaded hinged of some sort when it came to me. If I used a spring loaded 1/4" bolt with a fender washer welded to the top it could hold the paper very securely.
I stopped the next day at our local Home Depot and bought some of their standard compression springs and the bolts and washers I needed. The fender washers are 1" in diameter so I made some 1" tabs with 1/4" holes drilled in them and welded them to the target frame. I used 1 1/2" x 1/4" bolts for the shaft and welded the fender washer to the head. Then all that had to be done was to slide the bolts through the tabs, slide on the spring, and secure the whole thing with some Nylon lock nuts.When you push on the back of the lock washer the bolt and fender washer push out away from the tabs and the paper can be inserted in between. When the lock nut is release, the fender washer pinches the paper between it and the tabs. It is simple and really works great. If a bit more grip is needed, 1 1/4" x 1/4" bolts could be used so that the spring would be a bit more compressed. The ground has been extremely hard this year due to the drought here so I mounted the whole target frame into an old coffee can and added some cement so now all I have to do is place it on the ground where I want to shoot and it is good to go. I included a 4" handle placed in front of the target frame so that when I lift the whole assembly the target frame will fall back away from my body and not knock into me while I carry it around. The system works great and is easy to use anywhere.
