Hatsan tearing down your gun for the first time

[airgunutty]

Well I finally conquered my anxiety about tearing my new Hatsan At44 177 down. I had been trying my best to ignore the crunchy grinding sound each time I pulled on the cocking lever. I thought it's new and just needs to be broken in. Well after about a thousand shots and still crunchy bunches of oats. But it's new still under warranty and I'm not very knowledgeable about the internals of pcp. I DON'T WANT TO RUIN MY GUN! Oh well here goes nothing. Did my online research and found other people doing similar projects but with different platforms but getting a feel for what I would find and then how to correct the issues. Should have taken photos and probably would have saved myself a lot of time. Any way I broke it down and cleaned polished and deburred it put it back together. Problem is that it is not working. %$@#* Break it down again look for the problem. Don't find anything. Study the schematic nothing stands out. Back together again but not as complete as the first time. Still not WORKING. AHHH I knew I should have just left well enough alone. Well that ship has sailed and I can't unring this bell. I'm going back in and I'm not going to let this mechanical dilemma conquer me. It has got to be something so dumb that I must be looking at it wrong. So I start seeing what exactly is going on with why it's not working. The cocking arm seems jammed up on something. No it's the hammer getting jammed. Why is the hammer getting jammed? Oh because I reinstalled the hammer upside down. It wasn't able to clear the cocking lever. Dumb dumb dumb dummy. Anyway 3rd time is the charm. Back together tested and it works. Praise the Lord.

And, drum roll please , no more crunchy. Smooth cocking and I think possibly more accurate. I'll have to do more testing after these torrential rains let up. I'm so happy to still have a shooting rifle instead of an 11lbs paper weight.

So I hope some of you that read this are getting a little chuckle on the misadventures of a newb. But I also hope that others will find this post to be the motivation that they need to tackle a problem that seems to difficult to do. Sometimes you may find that the things you think you can't do are things you can't do because you never tried to do them. One good thing about 3 break downs and 3 reassemblies I have loads of confidence for the next time I need to get down into it's guts.


Thanks for reading.

Airgunutty

 

[Motorhead]

The more one gets into mechanical devises, greater is the comfort level in doing so, greater is ones ability to understand how and what causes the less that ideal operation and miens in bettering it.

Good job !!!

 

[airgunutty]

Coincidentally the same thing happened to me when I attempted to rebuild an air venturi g7s hand pump that a super nice awesome member of this forum sent to me so that I could start my pcp journey. On that one I got the check valve upside down. But now I have the confidence to do the necessary maintenance on my and my pump without a couple of days procrastinating and feelings of dread.

Seems like someone said something about possibly taking photos of your work to make things easier.

 

[Ranchibi]

You persevered! Good on ya!

 

[Struckat]

Excellent!
That is the way to do it.
Now shoot!

 

[Gerry52]

Good on ya brother! 1st airgun I ever tore into was my AT44. Each time disassembling & reassembling got progressively easier & boosted my confidence level. Really glad you persevered & were successful. You learned stuff you're probably not even aware of yet. It'll be applicable to other guns should the need arise in the future.

 

[boscoebrea]

Fishing reels and air guns sometimes share the same boat.
I do not remember how many times I told myself to take pictures when taking something apart,only to forget to,then trying to find a parts diagram .
Springs are my achilles heel.
Right now I am in the same boat as you,my springer will not latch ,or cock,I read up on it and did what others did with the same problem,it is still not fixed.
I going to get it right,I goinG o work on it everyday until I do;But,I not going to give anymore of my Fun time,I going to train the damm thing,or it is going to train me....
We will prevail,you properly before me,just do not get frustrated.Good luck

 

[airgunutty]

Fishing reels and air guns sometimes share the same boat.
I do not remember how many times I told myself to take pictures when taking something apart,only to forget to,then trying to find a parts diagram .
Springs are my achilles heel.
Right now I am in the same boat as you,my springer will not latch ,or cock,I read up on it and did what others did with the same problem,it is still not fixed.
I going to get it right,I goinG o work on it everyday until I do;But,I not going to give anymore of my Fun time,I going to train the damm thing,or it is going to train me....
We will prevail,you properly before me,just do not get frustrated.Good luck

Thanks for reading and responding to my post. Sorry to hear that you also suffer from photo-phobia.
Go to the springer section of this forum and start asking the members. I promise that someone knowledgeable about the issues you're having has been in a similar situation and will be happy to work through it. I could have done that except that I am super stubborn and have the mentality that if I break it ,I have to do the fixing.

All the best and wish you well on your journey.

 

[airgunutty]

Good on ya brother! 1st airgun I ever tore into was my AT44. Each time disassembling & reassembling got progressively easier & boosted my confidence level. Really glad you persevered & were successful. You learned stuff you're probably not even aware of yet. It'll be applicable to other guns should the need arise in the future.

Could not agree more. My first tear down was a marksman 0035 . It was a simple seal replacement but the act of doing the work made me feel like I could also fix other problems that would undoubtedly arise. Not to say that I didn't whack my head on the wall several times but in the end to accomplish the repair and have all the nagging doubts in my mind wash away is absolutely refreshing.


Thanks for comments.

Airgunnutty

 

[Vana2]

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Been "fixing" things for decades. Can say from experience that it gets easier the more you do it.

Recommendations from things I've learned the hard way...
- yeah, take pictures,
- make notes,
- don't rush - allow (at least) twice the time you think you will need,
- work on a clean, uncluttered surface with no distractions,
- use the proper tools, (hammers and vice-grips have little use in repair work)
- scrutinize every part to determine how it interacts with the rest - before removing it!
- magnets and gobs of tackey grease can be useful to temporarily hold things together during assembly
- various tapered pins, nails, or drill bits are useful for aligning holes in parts
- use a muffin tin or egg carton (label the cavities to refer to in your notes) to store small loose parts
- make reference marks or add labels ( e.g. this side up) on larger parts with a Sharpie, the ink wipes off with alcohol
- be particularly careful removing parts (springs, C-clips, and bearings) that have a habit of leaving the work area without authorization

A magnets and flashlights are useful for finding escaped pieces. Hint, when searching, check your clothing and other unlikely hiding spots for sneaky parts.

Note that parts that are lost during disassembly usually return from their vacation in the 4th dimension a couple of days after the replacement parts have been purchased.

If you run into problems and think to solve them with brute force, fill a pail with cold water and stick your head in it, then walk away until you are calm again.

Don't get stubborn and fight the project, reach out for help!

When you win and all is good again, share your success with everyone and tell us what you learned and how you accomplished it. (Thank you!)

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

 

[airgunutty]

Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Been "fixing" things for decades. Can say from experience that it gets easier the more you do it.

Recommendations from things I've learned the hard way...
- yeah, take pictures,
- make notes,
- don't rush - allow (at least) twice the time you think you will need,
- work on a clean, uncluttered surface with no distractions,
- use the proper tools, (hammers and vice-grips have little use in repair work)
- scrutinize every part to determine how it interacts with the rest - before removing it!
- magnets and gobs of tackey grease can be useful to temporarily hold things together during assembly
- various tapered pins, nails, or drill bits are useful for aligning holes in parts
- use a muffin tin or egg carton (label the cavities to refer to in your notes) to store small loose parts
- make reference marks or add labels ( e.g. this side up) on larger parts with a Sharpie, the ink wipes off with alcohol
- be particularly careful removing parts (springs, C-clips, and bearings) that have a habit of leaving the work area without authorization

A magnets and flashlights are useful for finding escaped pieces. Hint, when searching, check your clothing and other unlikely hiding spots for sneaky parts.

Note that parts that are lost during disassembly usually return from their vacation in the 4th dimension a couple of days after the replacement parts have been purchased.

If you run into problems and think to solve them with brute force, fill a pail with cold water and stick your head in it, then walk away until you are calm again.

Don't get stubborn and fight the project, reach out for help!

When you win and all is good again, share your success with everyone and tell us what you learned and how you accomplished it. (Thank you!)

Hope this helps.

Cheers!

Well said and I know all of these suggestions do make any mechanical task less daunting. Unfortunately my particular problem is I suffer from lackapreparation and one of the side effects are impulse disassembly. Sure it's treatable with enough self induced headaches and a litany of profane words spoken loudly to the offensive mechanism at hand. Perhaps I'm arrogant and have the "I don't need to read the instructions. I've got this" mentality. But it's also, call me Looney, kinda of exciting to take on a obstacle with out the ideal conditions. To take a chance that you might screw up and then it's on you to fix. If you have pictures video notes of course that will make the fix at the very least quicker. But something about not having those aids and having to rely simply on my will and determination to solving the problems and then to have a successful ending to the project is made even more special. Daredevil mentality without the whole risk of bodily injury. Tightrope with no net.
But anyone reading this don't do like me. Do the things that vana2 suggested and avoid the stress.

I'm definitely airgunutty

 

[Vana2]

Well said and I know all of these suggestions do make any mechanical task less daunting. Unfortunately my particular problem is I suffer from lackapreparation and one of the side effects are impulse disassembly. Sure it's treatable with enough self induced headaches and a litany of profane words spoken loudly to the offensive mechanism at hand. Perhaps I'm arrogant and have the "I don't need to read the instructions. I've got this" mentality. But it's also, call me Looney, kinda of exciting to take on a obstacle with out the ideal conditions. To take a chance that you might screw up and then it's on you to fix. If you have pictures video notes of course that will make the fix at the very least quicker. But something about not having those aids and having to rely simply on my will and determination to solving the problems and then to have a successful ending to the project is made even more special. Daredevil mentality without the whole risk of bodily injury. Tightrope with no net.
But anyone reading this don't do like me. Do the things that vana2 suggested and avoid the stress.

I'm definitely airgunutty

Who am I to dampen you excitement eh?

There's nothing like the pucker-factor of disassembling something expensive and hearing: spriong, ping, tick, tick, tick and having no idea of what got launched.

As long as we have fun - right!

Cheers!

 

[airgunutty]

Who am I to dampen you excitement eh?

There's nothing like the pucker-factor of disassembling something expensive and hearing: spriong, ping, tick, tick, tick and having no idea of what got launched.

As long as we have fun - right!

Cheers!

That is so true. I love it. I do love to make life harder for myself it seems.

Thanks and no dampening here. I truly appreciate your taking the time to respond and give out good advice. I do limit my destructive tendencies to projects that I am fairly confident of successfully completing. I'll learn my lesson one of these days and you'll see me on here begging for someone to help me out of a situation that I put myself into. Hopefully it never comes to that.

Thanks again, airgunutty