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Yes SHS get around the issue by using copper for a certain size.  I've never had any issues with the copper shims in a gearbox so that's when I thought of using aluminium shims since they can be annodized pretty cheaply.  I have come across alum shims before but never used them.  Only real way to tell is get some made up and then run in a gearbox for a 500,000 pews

Yes SHS get around the issue by using copper for a certain size.  I've never had any issues with the copper shims in a gearbox so that's when I thought of using aluminium shims since they can be annodized pretty cheaply.  I have come across alum shims before but never used them.  Only real way to tell is get some made up and then run in a gearbox for a 500,000 pews

There is also more stress on the parts with pre-cocking, so you'll likely need to do maintenance and potentially replace parts more often.  It's not a massive thing and it's not like your gears and piston will be exploding every other game, but over time there will be increased wear on the gearbox parts.

tried it, sadly can pick it off super easily but something like that is ideal, just dip each spring in a different colour and then hang up to dry, very quick process and cheap to do.  

Yes, they probably are, but it is still an expensive process.

Yep batches of course but still expensive, even in China!  I've noticed a real hike in laser etching cost recently.  I asked one factory to do 500 nozzles and the cost was around 40p each, that's a huge addon to the end price and hard to justify.  

@Colin Allen from talking to the factory and my own test the zinc coating they put on those springs affected the performance of the spring in terms of power and reliability over time.  Another reason why some brands use zinc plating is to help mask the poor quality of the steel underneath.   Believe me when I say I would gladly have a zinc coating on these as packing them into bags you get covered in grease. 

I did try colour coding the piston end of my springs but could never find a paint which wouldn't flake off.  I imagine some sort of powder coating would work fairly well but have to keep costs low otherwise before you know it paying £14 for a spring.  If anyone has any ideas I'm open to suggestions ?

Cost!  That is a manual activity that would push the price up.  Even doing it for oneself would be tricky as it is such a small surface area.  I wonder how Begadi manage it at that price.

I'm keen on your springs for my future things once I use those I have.
Even keener on brushless motors, if you ever do some comparisons I'd love it.

Begadi etch or engrave the ground end of the spring.
Maybe add a plastic ring, similar to those birds have on Thier legs.
On shims...making them slightly different shapes for each thickness perhaps, tooling my be prohibitive there.
Honestly tho, I have calipers so if I really want to know the thickness I could measure them.
When shim tho, generally I'm not measuring the play, it's more trial and error and there's not really any reason to use one .3 over 3 .1s

I was thinking the other day what an arse it is for shims sizing identification.  Toying with the idea of getting some samples made up for testing as I'm not sure how the aluminium / anodized material would hold up to the grinding of gears.  Nothing complicated 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.3mm and 0.5mm all different colours.
 
Think it's worth a punt?  Would you be excited to use colour-coded shims?  Few other solutions like laser etching but so hard to see for those of us who need old man glasses 🙂 not to mention more expensive.

Your XT springs do seem very good; I have not had any issues with them yet.

I was thinking the other day what an arse it is for shims sizing identification.  Toying with the idea of getting some samples made up for testing as I'm not sure how the aluminium / anodized material would hold up to the grinding of gears.  Nothing complicated 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.3mm and 0.5mm all different colours.
 
Think it's worth a punt?  Would you be excited to use colour-coded shims?  Few other solutions like laser etching but so hard to see for those of us who need old man glasses 🙂 not to mention more expensive.

I find the etched shims that you sell perfectly adequate.  Having the size on each shim is very helpful. Given that I am very old and wear glasses that would not look out of place on a Japanese sniper, you young chaps should not be struggling to read the etching.
SHS shims; they are good.

Aaaah!  Bloomin' airsoft, it's a wonder that anything ever works.

Update:
You'll love this....
 
A shim. Little bit much diameter and it was holding off the cutoff lever ....😂😂😂😂😂😂😱

Maybe if products were coming from the EU but importation from China hasn't really changed.  Royal Mail prices have increased however.  They're seriously pushing all retailers to their Tracked solutions.  On October 1st they raised their Large Letter prices by nearly 30% in one go, this has really hit eBay sellers.
 
Back in 2015 1st class Large Letter was £0.80, today it's £1.95 😞

The reason I heard that it's so cheap to ship from China is they currently enjoy a massive discount on global shipping rates, mostly due to the fact they are crazily still classed as an "emerging economy" or something like that, their RMB is famously under valued as well apparently.
 
For Chinese Airsoft products it's can be difficult to export from China due to the product restrictions.  Few Chinese brands are allowed to ship directly from mainland China, generally have to ship from Hong Kong.  All adds to the cost, so fewer wholesalers, some brands only allow you to purchase 20ft containers so a wholesaler will wait till all stock is gone before reordering.  
 
On the note about UK stores not using cheaper shipping.  I sent Large Letter products 1st class for 8 years or so for only £1.50, eventually I gave up since I was getting a large amount of customers saying their item didn't arrive since there's no "official" tracking.  What customers didn't know tracking did indeed exist but only if you speak to Royal Mail business support directly.  I just got fed up with all the hassle from it, an being open to fraud so I moved over to Tracked 24 which is double the price - sucks but has to be the way forward.  

@Krisz for about 18 month EMS stopped shipping from HK, they're back now but it's around 40 bucks for 2kg

Maybe if products were coming from the EU but importation from China hasn't really changed.  Royal Mail prices have increased however.  They're seriously pushing all retailers to their Tracked solutions.  On October 1st they raised their Large Letter prices by nearly 30% in one go, this has really hit eBay sellers.
 
Back in 2015 1st class Large Letter was £0.80, today it's £1.95 😞

Despite Brexit, we still have an agreement with the EU where we don't charge each other customs duties for items produced or manufactured in the UK or EU.  But by and large that doesn't apply to airsoft toys and tat.
 
VAT is still chargeable, from anywhere in the world, and the old £16 minimum limit is long since gone.
 
Now, anything up to £135 should have 20% UK VAT added at source. The seller has to register with HMRC and pay over the VAT to them[*], then the item ought to come through without further VAT or duties.
 
Over £135, anything imported becomes liable for customs duties (from the list of ten kajillion types of goods), VAT, and then all the charges that get added on for working out and paying those charges.  I can see that getting complicated and risky, e.g. you've got an order containing a mix of items that attract different rates of duty, or if HMRC disagrees with the categorisation or value.

[*] I imagine there are ways to arrange things so that VAT and duties end up just resting in your account for longer than might be strictly necessary, or where the basket price that you're charging doesn't always match the value declared to HMRC.

Maybe if products were coming from the EU but importation from China hasn't really changed.  Royal Mail prices have increased however.  They're seriously pushing all retailers to their Tracked solutions.  On October 1st they raised their Large Letter prices by nearly 30% in one go, this has really hit eBay sellers.
 
Back in 2015 1st class Large Letter was £0.80, today it's £1.95 😞

Maybe it's the universes way of telling us that we've got too much Airsoft stuff already, much of which is unnecessary to just play, & every new unnecessary purchase is just a further waste of the planets resources. 
Namaste 🙏
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Yeah, I'll shut my filthy whore mouth now, clearly my thoughts are muddled by pain meds etc 🤯😜

Yes, I saw a video explaining about China's 'special' rates because it classes itself as an 'emerging economy'
 
I believe all the low stock is due to all the problems China has been having in the last few years.  Covid lockdown was an utter disaster for the economy and then the sudden 'back to normal' when it wasn't eradicated caused millions of deaths. (Their vaccine didn't work at all)
Then the floods this year.
And their economy is seriously tanking
 
I think it'll be a long while before stock goes back to previous levels.
 
 

The reason I heard that it's so cheap to ship from China is they currently enjoy a massive discount on global shipping rates, mostly due to the fact they are crazily still classed as an "emerging economy" or something like that, their RMB is famously under valued as well apparently.
 
For Chinese Airsoft products it's can be difficult to export from China due to the product restrictions.  Few Chinese brands are allowed to ship directly from mainland China, generally have to ship from Hong Kong.  All adds to the cost, so fewer wholesalers, some brands only allow you to purchase 20ft containers so a wholesaler will wait till all stock is gone before reordering.  
 
On the note about UK stores not using cheaper shipping.  I sent Large Letter products 1st class for 8 years or so for only £1.50, eventually I gave up since I was getting a large amount of customers saying their item didn't arrive since there's no "official" tracking.  What customers didn't know tracking did indeed exist but only if you speak to Royal Mail business support directly.  I just got fed up with all the hassle from it, an being open to fraud so I moved over to Tracked 24 which is double the price - sucks but has to be the way forward.