TongDe M60 barrel recoil modification.

[Rubicon99]

Since I have been asked a number of times I though I would just go ahead and post this short "how to" modified the M60 mantle.

The TongDe M60 does not currently come with an option for barrel servo recoil or even a HL type BB system recoil as the tanks mantle is not designed to accommodate either. If you are interested in adding a servo recoil the following modification or one similar to it must be done.

The M60 mantle has a barrel "stop / support" molded in that needs to be removed. It is the smaller ring opening shown here in the first two photos.


A simple way to remove the "stop" is by use of a reaming tool as show below. This process takes only a few minutes.


This is how the mantle hole looks after the "stop" is removed. The barrel can now move deeper into the mantle during the recoil cycle.


Show here is a more accurate M68 150mm aftermarket barrel being installed, but the stock TD barrel can also be used.


Shown below with a correct more accurate scale aftermarket barrel and with the stock TD oversized barrel.


Barrels side by side in case you were interested in seeing the difference.


So as you can see the modification to the mantle is very simple and will allow you to easily install an aftermarket servo recoil system.

[keilau]

Rubicon99, thank you for sharing. It comes at the best time when I have my M60 open and just received the HL generic recoil BB shooting unit. No servo, HL CN6 connection.

[keilau]

Rubicon99, it is very clear on the need to remove the barrel "stop/support" molded in the M60 mantle and how to go about it. It is not clear is what aftermarket recoil BB unit may be available. I went to DKLMRC.com and found the servo recoil mentioned, but not listed.

I can see inside the Tongde BB unit wiring to a second motor and a large spring which may be meant for the barrel recoil. The Heng Long unit is not applicable because the TD configuration is quite different. The TD unit has a different BB entry point and no external link to the barrel. The barrel elevation is similar to the HL Sherman.

My plan is to use the stock TD barrel with an affordable recoil mechanism.

[Rubicon99]

Rubicon99, it is very clear on the need to remove the barrel "stop/support" molded in the M60 mantle and how to go about it. It is not clear is what aftermarket recoil BB unit may be available. I went to DKLMRC.com and found the servo recoil mentioned, but not listed.

I can see inside the Tongde BB unit wiring to a second motor and a large spring which may be meant for the barrel recoil. The Heng Long unit is not applicable because the TD configuration is quite different. The TD unit has a different BB entry point and no external link to the barrel. The barrel elevation is similar to the HL Sherman.

My plan is to use the stock TD barrel with an affordable recoil mechanism.

I wish I could help you, but I don't do BB recoils. I go straight to servo recoil units for flash and/or IR LED use.

I would suspect though if you are going to use the stock barrel all you should need to do is remove the mantle stop. This will allow the barrel the ability to move backwards during the recoil cycle.

[keilau]

I wish I could help you, but I don't do BB recoils. I go straight to servo recoil units for flash and/or IR LED use.

I would suspect though if you are going to use the stock barrel all you should need to do is remove the mantle stop. This will allow the barrel the ability to move backwards during the recoil cycle.

I will try that tomorrow. I am not hopeful because the aluminum tube of the barrel has no hard point attachment for it to be pull back during recoil.

[tank_me]

I typically drill and tap the barrel to use a set screw or small screw to hold it on. You can make the screw or set screw shallow enough not to interfere with the BB shooting.

[keilau]

I typically drill and tap the barrel to use a set screw or small screw to hold it on. You can make the screw or set screw shallow enough not to interfere with the BB shooting.

I have not opened the TD BB unit to see inside yet. It seems to have a 2nd motor for simple mechanical recoiling. But without looking inside, it is hard to tell what the barrel can be linked to and how. I tend to avoid opening the BB unit which may be difficult to put back together. If it were a HL, I would have done that because I have a few spare. But TD spare part is much more difficult to get if I mess up.

I have M3 drill and tap and the required set screw. The HL way of linking the barrel and recoil tab is much easier to do. Actually, I seldomly shoot BB with my HL tanks. I just want to keep all original HL functions as a matter of principle.

[keilau]

I chickened out. Put the M60A1 back to original state. I hope to get back to adding recoil when I have better understanding of the TD turret configuration. I hope to see more post from people who follow Rubicon99 on the recoil mod.

I used a step drill bit to remove the stop/support ring in the M60 per Rubicon99 shown in Post Home

[Rubicon99]

If someone wants servo recoil and flash it's not very complicated. Servo recoil and elevation are supported on the stock TongDe system. RichJohnson discovered this and I double checked it on the two TD systems I removed.

I understand there are those that want to retain the airsoft features and have barrel recoil, but honestly TDs airsoft mechanism although a copy of HL is not even as close to robust so using it for recoil is not something that will be a long term reliable function. I have been told that there will be some ungraded parts being added but not when that will happen.

Servo recoil and elevation such as the one shown below are available through Toucan Hobbies on EBay.

[keilau]

If someone wants servo recoil and flash it's not very complicated. Servo recoil and elevation are supported on the stock TongDe system. RichJohnson discovered this and I double checked it on the two TD systems I removed.

I understand there are those that want to retain the airsoft features and have barrel recoil, but honestly TDs airsoft mechanism although a copy of HL is not even as close to robust so using it for recoil is not something that will be a long term reliable function. I have been told that there will be some ungraded parts being added but not when that will happen.

Servo recoil and elevation such as the one shown below are available through Toucan Hobbies on EBay.

I have been looking at this unit for a while and wondered where the CN10 BB shooting connection is. I do not miss the BB on my tanks. I am seriously tempted to put this dual servo unit on the TD M60. The elevation pivot seems to be drop-in compatible. Anyone has a picture of the the other side of this unit? Does it need the same metal link as other HL recoil to pull the barrel?

[Rubicon99]

I have been looking at this unit for a while and wondered where the CN10 BB shooting connection is. I do not miss the BB on my tanks. I am seriously tempted to put this dual servo unit on the TD M60. The elevation pivot seems to be drop-in compatible. Anyone has a picture of the the other side of this unit? Does it need the same metal link as other HL recoil to pull the barrel?

This does not use the CN slots. It uses the servo slots on the 7.1 or other aftermarket systems. The TD system has two slots for servos which bypass the BB system. This unit does not fire BBS.

The recoil is gear driven by servo and mounted on the underside.

[keilau]

This does not use the CN slots. It uses the servo slots on the 7.1 or other aftermarket systems. The TD system has two slots for servos which bypass the BB system. This unit does not fire BBS.

The recoil is gear driven by servo and mounted on the underside.

I am perfectly fine with no BB shooting. How is the barrel linked to the recoil gear/motor? I understand that I will have to drill out the mantle stop ring. Do I need any other hardware to use this dual servo unit? What modification is needed to the TD turret?

I am keeping the TD main board which does have 3-pin servo connections.

[tank_me]

There is a "shuttle" inside the unit the barrel connects to. The shuttle is actuated by a servo connected to a linear gear the same way a Clark unit operates, but the whole thing is metal and not 3D printed. The barrel can be slide into the shuttle and secured using glue or a small screw/grub screw. You can see from the pics what the hole looks like in the front, what it looks like without the elevation servo in the way, how the elevation servo interacts with the unit, and how you can attach the included "feet" to mount it to any application.

The openings inside the shuttle may not fit your barrel diameter. In cases like that, I will cut the original barrel end shorter and insert a smaller tube either glued or secured with a grub screw inside the original to make the diameter smaller so it will fit inside the shuttle. The tail of my IS-2 barrel didn't reach the shuttle of the unit I installed in that so I used some brass tubing to extend the "tail" of the barrel to fit into the shuttle. This is the very reason I keep a dozen different sizes of brass tubing on hand in my hobby room.

[keilau]

tank_me , thank you for the details. What size brass tubing do you use to extend the barrel? I do not have an inventory of brass tubing on my workbench and will have to buy one for this purpose.

[keilau]

I wish I could help you, but I don't do BB recoils. I go straight to servo recoil units for flash and/or IR LED use.

I would suspect though if you are going to use the stock barrel all you should need to do is remove the mantle stop. This will allow the barrel the ability to move backwards during the recoil cycle.

I drilled out the mantle stop. I can manually push in the barrel in as during a recoil. I put the M60 back together and all old functions checked out.

I successfully disable the tank body shaking recoil.

I cycled through the BB on-off a few times. There is no sign of a simple motor recoil. TD may left the recoil motor in there and did not make it functional.

I am still pondering on the HL barrel recoil refit with 2 servo. The cost if high, but not overly so for a 2 servo unit. The real challenge is on finding the right size tubing for the barrel.

[keilau]

I have finished the metal upgrade and dressing up of the Heng Long Sherman M4A3. It is time to come back to the TongDe M60A1. I hope to utilize the TD built-in trigger motor to implement the simple barrel recoil. If you've already done that, any experience and picture is greatly appreciated.

[Rubicon99]

I have finished the metal upgrade and dressing up of the Heng Long Sherman M4A3. It is time to come back to the TongDe M60A1. I hope to utilize the TD built-in trigger motor to implement the simple barrel recoil. If you've already done that, any experience and picture is greatly appreciated.

I have not played around enough as I replaced the stock control system almost from day one. RichJohnson has played with it a bit and a few others. I am sure one of them can lend some input.

[keilau]

I have not played around enough as I replaced the stock control system almost from day one. RichJohnson has played with it a bit and a few others. I am sure one of them can lend some input.

I expect the TD trigger motor recoil mod to be simpler than the Heng Long. I will open up the TD BB shooting unit to find out later today. Figure crossed.

[keilau]

Well, the TongDe BB shooting unit have a trigger motor inside the housing. There is a connector with yellow-yellow wires. I couldn't figure out how the trigger motor moves the barrel in recoil. On the Heng Long, the yellow-yellow wire is the trigger motor to be connected to CN6 on the MFU.

It is not clear to me how the TD trigger motor drive the barrel in recoil. I will do more testing to figure it out.

Is there a TD barrel recoil unit designed to fit the M60 turret? I checked Rich Johnson's website, but his unit is for HL or Taigen/Torro only.

[keilau]

I test fit a " Heng Long Metal Barrel Recoil BB shooting unit upgrade kit" on the TD M60 and found a good fit to the TD turret mantle mounting bracket. The BB feeding housing is different, but should not be a major challenge. It will need a long linkage from the recoil shuttle to the barrel. I will post the process and result when finish. No change to the TD gun elevation or turret rotation motor is needed.

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