DIY chrony diffusers

[Muddydogs]

I have a Shooting Chrony and one of the three piece diffusers cracked while I was putting it together last winter in the cold. I hate the 3 piece snap together deals and was looking for ideas on material to making my own one piece diffuser. I was thinking that I could thread the rod that holds the diffuser above the chrony and use a wing nut to hold the diffuser and rod together which would solve my problem of the diffuser always popping off one rod or the other. I'm just not sure what would be a good diffuser material, white bucket, plastic milk jug or other?

Thanks Jim

 

[Rule3]

I have heard of using a plastic milk jugs

Or go to Homer Depot and look in the light panel section there are many types. you want , opaque that you can cut.

 

[LoonWulf]

I used 1/8 plexi that i sand blasted. to make the screens i use indoors with lights prolly work fine outdoors as well

 

[22250Rem]

I have a Shooting Chrony and one of the three piece diffusers cracked while I was putting it together last winter in the cold. I hate the 3 piece snap together deals and was looking for ideas on material to making my own one piece diffuser. I was thinking that I could thread the rod that holds the diffuser above the chrony and use a wing nut to hold the diffuser and rod together which would solve my problem of the diffuser always popping off one rod or the other. I'm just not sure what would be a good diffuser material, white bucket, plastic milk jug or other?

Thanks Jim

Same thing recently happened to one of the diffusers on my circa 1997 Shooting Chrony; and it wasn't even cold. I'm currently re-doing it with threaded rods (forgot what size) but I had to grind off the threads on the lower end where they fit down into the unit itself. At the top end there will be a nut and washer on either side of the diffuser so it can't move up or down. Haven't decided on what to make new diffusers out of yet but there's no hurry because I put the old one back together with some clear tape about 3" wide and I can get by with that for now.

 

[CZ9shooter]

I lost one of my center pieces, and a rod too. That's the kind of thing that happens when shoot the rods I guess.

Anyhow, most of the time it works just fine without the shades. When I do need them I just use the two outer pieces of each set, and a hunk of wire hanger for the rod.

 

[hdwhit]

I'm just not sure what would be a good diffuser material, white bucket, plastic milk jug or other?

My chronograph is 24 years old. I became handicapped shortly after I bought it so it sat in a garage for 20+ years. When I took it back out, the plastic of the skyscreens had degraded and the paper labels used to ensure contrast fell off with the first shot. Shortly after that, the plastic itself disintegrated. Even without the screens, on a sunny day it will pick up 9mm rounds. It will not pick up .223 rounds, so it needed replacement skyscreens.

You can try a plastic milk jug, but you may need to glue a bright white piece of paper (or a self-adhesive label) to it to get sufficient contrast for reliable readings.

Of course, you could just skip the plastic part entirely and just cut a bunch of screens from 32 pound bond paper and then thread them on as needed. Since you can cut two from a sheet of paper, a 250 sheet ream should last a lifetime - for less than $10.

Or if you're concerned about the durability of the bond paper, use 65 pound cardstock - again, a lifetime supply for about $15.

So far, the paper ones have worked well enough for me.

 

[Cemetery21]

I use a thin piece of plastic sold as a temporary/flexible cutting board. My factory screens are still okay and I just use those little spring steel paper clips to attach the cutting board to the original screens for a full roof.

 

[jmorris]

I have used this at night. A sheet of cardboard rolled into a circle, set the chronograph on the seam and set 90 deg light beside it.

For day time go to lowes, homedepot or anywhere that sells roofing material and get one of the white panels that allows light to come through.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Suntuf-26-in-x-6-ft-White-Opal-Polycarbonate-Roof-Panel-159856/206395301?cm_mmc=Shopping|THD|G|0|G-BASE-PLA-D22-Roofing|&gclid=CL6luK_h9s8CFQ0DaQodzGwNYQ&gclsrc=aw.ds