Alright guys, I just noticed something with pins for attaching the barrel. I know a lot of you just buy pin stock, but the Scots-Irish in me has me looking to alternatives. I work as a lumber sales man, and on every job I visit there's usually partial racks of framing nails lying about everywhere. I grabbed a few from several different jobs. What I realized is that the wire size listed on the box is slightly off, but if you switch your digital calipers to Metric you'll find that 3"x.131 nails are actually 3.2mm and the 3"x.120 nails are actually 2.8mm
I've found a 10 packs of 3.2 mm , and 2.8mm drill bits for sale for around $5 @delivered. Far less than what the hardware store charges for 1/8" stock. I had thought about using 1/8" or 3/32" welding rods, but my welder is in storage 40 miles away.