Want a suppressor or an amplifier for your airsoft gun? Don't want to spend £20+ on one?
Look no further!
Whilst a professionally manufactured silencer will probably look better, they're usually nothing but an expensive barrel extension - making your own custom built DIY obviously has it's benefits.

Exceptionally Inexpensive: This is a cheap build and you probably have some of what you need already.
Unparalleled Effectiveness: A homemade amplifier will outperform any you can buy.

In airsoft, it is widely acknowledged that a suppressor will in fact, do little to alleviate noise, especially on AEGs. However, the addition of foam will potentially improve their noise reduction capabilities, if only by a very small amount. In this Instructable, the PVC pipe used for the body of our barrel extension will act as an amplifier, as the sound energy produced by the replica's internal components can't dissipate immediately into the surrounding environment and forces the sound to be more directional.
The transformation from amplifier to makeshift suppressor can be achieved with the insertion of additional foam pipe insulation. This is useful because you can adapt it to suit different combat situations.

Click 'Next' and in the following step I'll show you the materials and tools needed.

DISCLAIMER / WARNING!
Please understand I will not take responsibility if you're fined or something for owning a suppressor. I know this is only a foam and it's designed for recreational (airsoft) use only, but you should check national and local laws (if applicable) before going ahead and making this yourself as it could be illegal.

Step 1: Requirements

You're going to need the following:

50mm PVC Pipe
Foam Pipe Insulation
Tape Measure / Ruler / Tri - Square
PVC Pipe Cutter / Hacksaw
Electrical Tape
X-ACTO Knife / Knifes / Scissors

Optional:
Krylon Camouflage Spray Paint
Krylon Clear Coat Spray
Pen or Marker

Step 2: Cutting PVC

Use the ruler or tape measure to find the desired length for your amplifier. I cut mine to approximately 15cm, or 6".
I'd recommend you use a PVC pipe cutter for the best results, but I don't have one myself, so I had to make do with a hacksaw. I believe this would be the best saw to use. A tri-square should help if you use a saw for this.

After I did this I moved onto painting it, but you can choose to do it at any stage, it really doesn't matter.
More on painting later in the guide.

Step 3: Foam Lining

Mark out 5cm onto the foam lining with your ruler and using a pen or marker. Push the insulation into the PVC pipe and you can mark around much the foam more accurately and easily. Then use an X-ACTO knife and follow the line. It doesn't matter if it isn't followed exactly so you don't need to be really precise with the cutting.

If you don't have any craft tools available then a pair of scissors should do the job although not as well as an X-ACTO knife! You should then wrap one layer of tape around, just enough to provide a tighter fit in the pipe.

To make the second piece for the suppressor, simply insert the rest of the foam into the amplifier so that it's touching with the 5cm piece and you can mark out where you need to cut so that the second piece will go the whole remaining length. This can be removed or added rapidly to accommodate for changing combat scenarios; i.e. when you need to be slightly stealthier.

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When I originally saw a tutorial on how to make an airsoft amplifier, almost a whole 20m roll of electrical tape was used to affix it to the flash hider.
Despite electrical tape being reasonably cheap, I couldn't see this being very sturdy. Another disadvantage is that it was more permanent and so you would want an extra flash hider should you choose to not use the amplifier.

To resolve this issue, I chose to use the pipe insulation. Fortunately it's also good value. Plus, I had a lot of it laying around anyway.

As you can see in the video I originally used one 2.5cm section of foam, but this wasn't enough for the amplifier to hold securely in place.
Therefore, I cut another 2.5cm piece. Then wrapped both parts with a strip of electrical tape for a better fit before proceeding to insert them.
It worked perfectly.

Step 4: Painting / Finishing

I painted my amplifier with Krylon Camouflage Khaki as it was previously an OD green.
I didn't like the look of it using the scrim net and instead decided I'd rather have it one solid colour.
Of course you can paint yours whatever colour you like.
Krylon Camouflage costs £6.99 a tin, but you can buy paints from any motor store or a pound / dollar store that are cheaper.

If you're going to paint yours, also consider buying a clear coat spray. This should give the paint an extra layer of protection so it lasts longer. Krylon Crystal Clear Coat is £7.99, although you can probably buy a cheaper alternative.
Just remember if you're going to do a camouflage it isn't always a good idea to mix different brands of paint, so try to stick with one company when painting patterns with multiple colours.

You'll also see I've included a photograph of the flash hider. You may want to add some tape, again to make a better fit.

I hope you have found this Instructable useful. Please leave comments and constructive criticism!
If you tried it yourself I'd love to see it!

P.S. I used to have some rubber cap things around somewhere that fitted perfectly over the PVC pipe and would have been great to add onto this project! I've looked online and there's nothing like them. I don't know what they really are / what they came off either.
Hopefully I will find them and if I do I will definitely be putting one on this.