Bowkett FWB piston

[LukeB]

Very interesting posts, and great photos too!!!!

Quick question for you all is who would you recomment to service / tune an FWB sport 124??? Mine could do with some TLC to get it working how it should as I have only started using it again for the first time in around 6 years and I think that it might be feeling a bit neglected....

I would prefer someone fairly local too as I am a bit wary of posting an air rifle as I have heard so many bad stories... Although if someone can reassure me then I would reconsider posting /courier it. Also when does the new law come into effect re: posting airguns??

[Garvin]

Very interesting posts, and great photos too!!!!

Quick question for you all is who would you recomment to service / tune an FWB sport 124??? Mine could do with some TLC to get it working how it should as I have only started using it again for the first time in around 6 years and I think that it might be feeling a bit neglected....

I would prefer someone fairly local too as I am a bit wary of posting an air rifle as I have heard so many bad stories... Although if someone can reassure me then I would reconsider posting /courier it. Also when does the new law come into effect re: posting airguns??

Luke I wouldn't worry too much about posting the gun. Also, you might be able to remove the stock and send off the action only if the person servicing it has one himself. DM80 on here does a lovely servicing job on the FWB and his charges are very reasonable. Or you could get Steve Pope at V-Mach to look at it (search the archive for contact details).

Having just taken the plunge and opened up my own FWBs I now realise how easy it is if you are careful to tie up the safety slide as you dismantle it, and use a spring compressor (see here). As Dave (jonnyone) so rightly says, I wouldn't have dared to interfere with the insides of a custom FWB in the past. But now the experts that did the tweaking 20 years ago don't work on springers any more I'd rather do the lubing myself than send it off for such a small job.

[LukeB]

Hmmm, not a happy bunny.....

Went shooting this morning at Mays Shooting Ground, all was going fine until I took a shot at a target and missed (so I thought), reloaded and took another shot and 'missed' again - sounded a bit strange. Looked down the barrell and couldn't see any daylight, not good!!!

One of the guys came to the rescue with a barrell cleaner and pushed (both) pellets out, gave it another try and same thing happened. Pushed that one through and tried a cleaning felt, that didn't even reach the end of the barrel

The spring is recoiling, so I am guessing that it might be one of the seals gone?? Has anyone else had this happen, or do you think it might be something else?? I've got home now and taken the action out of the stock and dried it down (bit wet this morning) and can't really see anything.

Have kind of decided that I want to do the work myself after building a spring compressor and following that strip down, and have been looking at the maccari kits as if I need new seals I might as well put a new spring in it as well. So a couple of questions;

1) Am I biting off more than I can chew?? (I have never tried stripping down an air rifle before).
2) Is there anything I need to look out for / be careful of (re: Garvin's comment about the safety - my gun does not have a safety thanks to the previous owner).
3) Am I barking up the wrong tree with assuming that it's one of the seals??
4) Am I right in thinking that the pistons seal is the same as the washer, as I have heard people talking about (leather) washers crumbling with age??

Anyway that's enough questions for now, I would appreciate any help that any of you can give. I'm off to sulk now.

[Garvin]

Hmmm, not a happy bunny.....

Went shooting this morning at Mays Shooting Ground, all was going fine until I took a shot at a target and missed (so I thought), reloaded and took another shot and 'missed' again - sounded a bit strange. Looked down the barrell and couldn't see any daylight, not good!!!

One of the guys came to the rescue with a barrell cleaner and pushed (both) pellets out, gave it another try and same thing happened. Pushed that one through and tried a cleaning felt, that didn't even reach the end of the barrel

The spring is recoiling, so I am guessing that it might be one of the seals gone?? Has anyone else had this happen, or do you think it might be something else?? I've got home now and taken the action out of the stock and dried it down (bit wet this morning) and can't really see anything.

Have kind of decided that I want to do the work myself after building a spring compressor and following that strip down, and have been looking at the maccari kits as if I need new seals I might as well put a new spring in it as well. So a couple of questions;

1) Am I biting off more than I can chew?? (I have never tried stripping down an air rifle before).
2) Is there anything I need to look out for / be careful of (re: Garvin's comment about the safety - my gun does not have a safety thanks to the previous owner).
3) Am I barking up the wrong tree with assuming that it's one of the seals??
4) Am I right in thinking that the pistons seal is the same as the washer, as I have heard people talking about (leather) washers crumbling with age??

Anyway that's enough questions for now, I would appreciate any help that any of you can give. I'm off to sulk now.

It's likely it is the piston head/washer/seal that has gone, giving almost zero compression. The seals were known to crumble eventually and if it has never been replaced then that'll be it. Apart from the safety slide (it's the little spring under it that you need to watch for but yours may have gone walkies already), you also have to be careful about the bolt that retains the trigger block because the bolt is hard but the female threads are soft - just don't force anything when retightening. Also, the original mainsprings were very long so make sure your spring compressor has enough travel to unwind it. Also..... the little cocking link shoe just drops out if you move the piston into position so pay attention when removing it so you remember how to put it back. Lastly, the 'wings' of the safety catch mustn't be squashed during compression so use a piece of wood with cut outs where the wings are.

This might sound complicated but really it's really quite simple. Use Nige's excellent illustrated guide and you won't go wrong. The Macarri kit is a great replacement for the original components. Good luck.

[LukeB]

It's likely it is the piston head/washer/seal that has gone, giving almost zero compression. The seals were known to crumble eventually and if it has never been replaced then that'll be it. Apart from the safety slide (it's the little spring under it that you need to watch for but yours may have gone walkies already), you also have to be careful about the bolt that retains the trigger block because the bolt is hard but the female threads are soft - just don't force anything when retightening. Also, the original mainsprings were very long so make sure your spring compressor has enough travel to unwind it. Also..... the little cocking link shoe just drops out if you move the piston into position so pay attention when removing it so you remember how to put it back. Lastly, the 'wings' of the safety catch mustn't be squashed during compression so use a piece of wood with cut outs where the wings are.

This might sound complicated but really it's really quite simple. Use Nige's excellent illustrated guide and you won't go wrong. The Macarri kit is a great replacement for the original components. Good luck.

Not much to be wary of then, eh??? Thanks for the heads up on the bolt that retains the trigger block though as I tend to think along the lines of having bolts and screws tighter the better...