Tuning When did you decide to start working on your springers?

[PEP3]

I remember the exact moment. I have been working on firearms for 40 years but was always hesitant to work on my springers because of the "danger" that a lot of people in the airgun world had me believing. Well one day back in 2017 I was having a simple issue with my Diana 240 classic so I called PA since that's where I got it from. Figured they would say "oh yeah this is what your problem is" WRONG, they transferred me to some lady at Umarex who was extremely rude and knew nothing about airguns. I ended up hanging up on her and said to myself "I have to learn to work on these things myself". So I started reading every article I could find, love Tom Gaylord's articles btw, and watched every video on youtube that I could. I ended up tuning all of my guns and a couple for friends, it was so much easier than I could have ever imagined and they all turned out spectacular. So if you're hesitant to work on your gun and you have any kind of mechanical background, don't be they are very simple. Usually whatever needs to be done there is a detailed video of it on youtube and everyone on here is always willing to help.
Peyton

 

[JamieUK]

Straight away (BSA Meteor), I've a bad habit of pulling things apart to work out what makes them tick, not great on the warranty front, but if you can fix things ya self.... you then don't need to worry

 

[Pellets&Pistons-(Razor62)]

I started a local airgun repair business back in the eighties. I don't take in work anymore, but I do lots of springer work on my youTube channel.
Love these things.

 

[Silver Ace]

I ordered the Beeman lazer kit and optional nickel plated piston back in the early 90’s. Once it arrived I was pretty excited. I admired the gleaming nickel plated piston, marveled at the lathe turned spring guide, and tried to imagine the power the “Swedish steel” main spring would deliver. So I knew I had to educate myself on how to install these parts.

A short while later I read Tom Gaylord’s R1 book, built a spring compressor and the rest is history.

Now all my springers have after market springs and piston seals. I find these guns immensely enjoyable to work on. Well, most of the time anyway.

 

[PEP3]

I started a local airgun repair business back in the eighties. I don't take in work anymore, but I do lots of springer work on my youTube channel.
Love these things.

OMG! Your channel is my favorite, I have seen everyone and always waiting for the next one. I have learned so much from your videos, thank you. You also look and sound just like my old friend Bob who passed away about 8 years ago, so I always think about him when I watch, he was a great man.

 

[Toxylon]

I did tear down the first airgun I ever had, a dangerously wretched B1, in my late teens, but I don't really count that, as I trashed the gun soon after.

Fast forward a couple decades, and I was strictly a springer shooter, not a tinkerer. I had one gun that I only shot a ton, got really accurate with it and didn't even think of doing anything more. Then my trusty weapon started to break down, and not just by needing a fresh mainspring and seals, either. I was forced to start tinkering.

Youtube airgun disassembly videos with irresponsible edits / omissions lead to dangerous situations (flying mainsprings), so I turned to airgun forums, GTA in particular, which provided superior, precision help and deep knowledge to a budding springer tinkerer.

I moved on to new spring guns, and realized no factory springers (outside the modern LGV) are really usable as is, no matter the country of origin or price tag. They all need to be opened up and made right, and double that when dealing with second-hand guns. This chore soon turned into a pleasure.

Now I consider each springer model a unique mechanical puzzle to solve, and the end result is something that I get to shoot! The tinkering part is easily one half of the enjoyment I get out of airguns.

 

[PEP3]

I did tear down the first airgun I ever had, a dangerously wretched B1, in my late teens, but I don't really count that, as I trashed the gun soon after.

Fast forward a couple decades, and I was strictly a springer shooter, not a tinkerer. I had one gun that I only shot a ton, got really accurate with it and didn't even think of doing anything more. Then my trusty weapon started to break down, and not just by needing a fresh mainspring and seals, either. I was forced to start tinkering.

Youtube airgun disassembly videos with irresponsible edits / omissions lead to dangerous situations (flying mainsprings), so I turned to airgun forums, GTA in particular, which provided superior, precision help and deep knowledge to a budding springer tinkerer.

I moved on to new spring guns, and realized no factory springers (outside the modern LGV) are really usable as is, no matter the country of origin or price tag. They all need to be opened up and made right, and double that when dealing with second-hand guns. This chore soon turned into a pleasure.

Now I consider each springer model a unique mechanical puzzle to solve, and the end result is something that I get to shoot! The tinkering part is easily one half of the enjoyment I get out of airguns.

That's kinda the way I feel, and I know what you mean about some of the videos. Sometimes it's just as important to learn what not to do than what to do.

 

[PEP3]

Straight away (BSA Meteor), I've a bad habit of pulling things apart to work out what makes them tick, not great on the warranty front, but if you can fix things ya self.... you then don't need to worry

That was before Youtube and the internet, I'm not sure if I would have been smart enough to work on them without all the information we have now.

 

[Rondo]

I fear the moment I remove the third screw, everything will fall on the floor like Raymond Babbitt’s toothpicks.
I’ll get there.

 

[Moog]

I started working on mine the first time I had a broken spring. I hate sending stuff back for repair and then worrying if they did the job right. Also eventually that spring along with the seals will have to be changed again so I might as well learn how to do it myself.
I also did research on how to do other things like a proper clean and lube since I'll already have the gun apart.

 

[Moog]

I fear the moment I remove the third screw, everything will fall on the floor like Raymond Babbitt’s toothpicks.
I’ll get there.

Don't sweat it. Do your research first and use an inexpensive gun to experiment with.
That's what I did and eventually I got brave enough to disassemble my HW air rifles.

 

[.20calguy]

I haven't started on my rifles yet as they're all a year or less old, and under warentee. I did however do an HW70 pistol that no one would touch. The service men that were recommended never even called me back! So I had nothing to loose except a wall hanger. There were no videos on this gun, I literally made it up as went.

I shot the repaired gun quite a bit before it failed again. This time I'll have to polish the chamber which I believe is scratched from the original damage.
The original damage happened when fellow workers at my old shop discovered my pistol in my desk drawer and thought, "let's have some fun".
Not finding any pellets they went in my Dremel drawer and grabbed a 106 bit. Dropped it down the barrel, and aimed it up. Naturally the bit fell into the chamber. The bits point is broken off in the chamber face. No one ever confessed to that BTW.

 

[Silver Ace]

Yikes. Looking on the bright side at least you got your dremel bit back.

 

[crowski]

Started springers 7 yrs. ago to eliminate squirrels. Tearing into a springer was not in my vocabulary. Once I started reading this forum, my mind was opened. Bought 2 Xisico’s as Guinea pigs to work on. Similar to Diana. Since then I have replaced at least 20 springs sets and am planning on buying 10 sets this week to beat 25% tax Feb. 15. Love working on the guns.
‘Have one disassembled now and one waiting. Crow

 

[PEP3]

I haven't started on my rifles yet as they're all a year or less old, and under warentee. I did however do an HW70 pistol that no one would touch. The service men that were recommended never even called me back! So I had nothing to loose except a wall hanger. There were no videos on this gun, I literally made it up as went.
View attachment 533286

I shot the repaired gun quite a bit before it failed again. This time I'll have to polish the chamber which I believe is scratched from the original damage.
The original damage happened when fellow workers at my old shop discovered my pistol in my desk drawer and thought, "let's have some fun".
Not finding any pellets they went in my Dremel drawer and grabbed a 106 bit. Dropped it down the barrel, and aimed it up. Naturally the bit fell into the chamber. The bits point is broken off in the chamber face. No one ever confessed to that BTW.

View attachment 533297

Ouch! I saw a post on here one time where someone tried to shoot nails out of a springer, looked very similar. I would have been pissed.

 

[Mycapt65]

Fall 2015 or 2016 when my Hw95 broke its first spring after one summer of heavy shooting. My OCD and passion for precision drove me to learn how to get the optimum balance of performance and reliability from my springers. Much the same philosophy I took up with drag racing, cycling and building custom fishing rods. Anything I take to. I take to the enth degree.

 

[Pellets&Pistons-(Razor62)]

OMG! Your channel is my favorite, I have seen everyone and always waiting for the next one. I have learned so much from your videos, thank you. You also look and sound just like my old friend Bob who passed away about 8 years ago, so I always think about him when I watch, he was a great man.

Thanks so much. I'm always thrilled to hear when folks are enjoying the channel.

 

[PEP3]

Fall 2015 or 2016 when my Hw95 broke its first spring after one summer of heavy shooting. My OCD and passion for precision drove me to learn how to get the optimum balance of performance and reliability from my springers. Much the same philosophy I took up with drag racing, cycling and building custom fishing rods. Anything I take to. I take to the enth degree.

Whenever someone here asks a question about working on a springer that I don't know, I always wait for your response. I've learned a lot from you too, ty.

 

[bustachip]

I remember the exact moment. I have been working on firearms for 40 years but was always hesitant to work on my springers because of the "danger" that a lot of people in the airgun world had me believing. Well one day back in 2017 I was having a simple issue with my Diana 240 classic so I called PA since that's where I got it from. Figured they would say "oh yeah this is what your problem is" WRONG, they transferred me to some lady at Umarex who was extremely rude and knew nothing about airguns. I ended up hanging up on her and said to myself "I have to learn to work on these things myself". So I started reading every article I could find, love Tom Gaylord's articles btw, and watched every video on youtube that I could. I ended up tuning all of my guns and a couple for friends, it was so much easier than I could have ever imagined and they all turned out spectacular. So if you're hesitant to work on your gun and you have any kind of mechanical background, don't be they are very simple. Usually whatever needs to be done there is a detailed video of it on youtube and everyone on here is always willing to help.
Peyton

2007 after the factory spring broke in my 97K and I knew I wasn't going to send it anywhere. So I dove in and started to learn. Over the years I've worked on several rifles. I also learned a lot from talking to and studying Ed Canoles methods.
He's my springer guru..lol. But I've picked up stuff from other people along the way. Having a machinist background helped out with modifications.

 

[Mycapt65]

Whenever someone here asks a question about working on a springer that I don't know, I always wait for your response. I've learned a lot from you too, ty.

thank you that means a lot to me. I've learned a lot on these forums so I try to give back when I can