I made a couple of wind probes today.

jackie schmidt

jackie schmidt

New member
I had enough material laying around and some time to kill, so I made up a couple of wind bobbers.

I’m going to Tomball tomorrorw to see how they work.

The hub is mounted on 3/8 ball bearings, lightly pressed together. the rods are 3/8 x .030 wall with pressed in 1/4 20 inserts. The counterweights are barrel drops.

I may have to do some fine tuning, or start all over. Depends on how they work.

http://benchrest.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23009&stc=1&d=1571451588

http://benchrest.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23010&stc=1&d=1571451641
 

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I am impressed. And I have about 30 sets of skateboard bearings and various others from making barrel spinners etc.... Love my Gene Beggs Wind Probe and hadn't considered the "bobber" alone concept. Thanks for giving me another project ;)

How did you cut the holes in the cups?
 
I will be interested on how they will go especially without any dampening.
Did the original ones not have any?

I have two of the Beggs units with plastic dampers, so curious how the original Neilson ones were made.

Have used those without the scale attached before

Michael
 
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I have 2 Beggs

Probes. A large and a small. Both have the dampeners.

Balanced from the day I received them from Gene. I have not used them a lot as still not certain the proper way to read them.

I have heard they are better used as when Not to shoot versus when to shoot?????
 
alinwa said:
I am impressed. And I have about 30 sets of skateboard bearings and various others from making barrel spinners etc.... Love my Gene Beggs Wind Probe and hadn't considered the "bobber" alone concept. Thanks for giving me another project ;)

How did you cut the holes in the cups?
Click to expand...

The probes worked just fine today.

I made the cups adjustable up and down so I could fine tune the balance. There is a small 3/8 ID lock collar on the top and bottom, allowing me to adjust the height of the cups on the rod.

The non dampening was not an issue. John Jones had a original Beggs Probe just a few benches over, mine reacted identical to his.

I set up at 200 with a five flag set, with one probe at about 60 yards and the other at about 140, shooting my 6BR with Bart’s 80 grn Dominators and N530 powder. I got it shooting at about a .250 agg level with 31.9 grns at an average 3350 FPS, just off the lands.
 
alinwa said:
Ip Thanks for giving me another project ;)

How did you cut the holes in the cups?
Click to expand...

I do everything the machinist way. I took a piece of round bar and faced it the same length as the inside of the cup. I tuned one end down to fit the inside of the bottom of the cup. I drilled and tapped tapped the other end 3/8.

I then chucked the piece up and spotted it with a 3/8 drill. I the bolted the piece to one of our small drill press tables, adjusting the table until a 3/8 drill was dead center of the spot.

Put the cup on, hold it down firm, and it drills a nice clean 3/8 hole dead center.

http://benchrest.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23011&stc=1&d=1571533759
 

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jackie schmidt said:
I do everything the machinist way. I took a piece of round bar and faced it the same length as the inside of the cup. I tuned one end down to fit the inside of the bottom of the cup. I drilled and tapped tapped the other end 3/8.

I then chucked the piece up and spotted it with a 3/8 drill. I the bolted the piece to one of our small drill press tables, adjusting the table until a 3/8 drill was dead center of the spot.

Put the cup on, hold it down firm, and it drills a nice clean 3/8 hole dead center.

http://benchrest.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=23011&stc=1&d=1571533759
Click to expand...

Thank you.

nice sketch :)
 
Picture of the dampened probes

Enjoy

When I think about it, for the non machinist, the time and effort that must have gone in to making the dampened probes.

The price in the day, well worth it.

Calvin
 

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CYanchycki said:
Enjoy

When I think about it, for the non machinist, the time and effort that must have gone in to making the dampened probes.

The price in the day, well worth it.

Calvin
Click to expand...

Anyone who gets machine tools and learns to use them quickly changes his tune from "$40 for this?!!" to "How'd they make that for only $40??".

GsT
 
GeneT said:
Anyone who gets machine tools and learns to use them quickly changes his tune from "$40 for this?!!" to "How'd they make that for only $40??".

GsT
Click to expand...

The advent of CNC machining has revolutionized not only the quantity of products that are available, but also the cost. Many of the products we enjoy are indeed manufactured on CNC equipment. Think about actions. If it were not for CAD/CAM, can you imagine what a action would cost in today’s dollars.

The performance car industry is the same. It is amazing what is available to anybody with a JEGS catalogue and a credit card.

For someone like me, if I get a hankering to build something, I just look at what I have laying around the Shop and just carve away everything that doesn’t look like a wind probe, or about anything for that matter. Most of the time, I don’t even make a drawing. I just picture it in my head and do it.

But, if I were making pieces such as this to sell, I would have to make up some fixtures and run them at a production pace, not only for time, but for repeatability. It would be very labor intensive.

Or I could go purchase a small CNC machining center.
 
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CYanchycki said:
Probes. A large and a small. Both have the dampeners.

Balanced from the day I received them from Gene. I have not used them a lot as still not certain the proper way to read them.

I have heard they are better used as when Not to shoot versus when to shoot?????
Click to expand...

G'day from Australia.

I too am interested in making my own wind probes if I know that they will help with my target shooting and how to use/read them.
Any more info as there is very little online.

Regards * doggie *
 
I learned a lot about wind probes at the Nationals having had two in front of each bench between the flags.

As many have stated, when probes are used in conjunction with flags, they tell you more about when NOT to shoot than anything else.
 
Ok,

I can do that. I thought about a light press fit with some loc-tite also. I really like the option of taking them apart easy so the threads are probably the way to go.

Richard
 
Forgot to ask you Jackie,

how long did you make tubing for the cups and do you think there is a "ideal length?
I have never used probes so just not trying to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks again.
 
Richard said:
how long did you make tubing for the cups and do you think there is a "ideal length?
I have never used probes so just not trying to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I guessed at the length. The top has to be just a touch lighter on balance than the counterweights. I made the cups adjustable up and down so I could find the ideal weight bias at the range. A little goes a long way.

The tubing I used weighs just about nothing, as well as the cups.

I’m new at this wind probe thing too.
 
Exactly

steve stanley said:
Arrow shafts work well for tubes that hold the cups, at least that's what I used to make mine.
Click to expand...

That is what the original Beggs probes are with the inserts that are used for the broadheads...

I made spare shafts just in case the one in use happens to get damaged. Also have spare Red Solo cups glued together.

The dampener can also be made using arrow shafts.
 
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