gun power output.[springers]

[red bob]

having ventured into a/g renovation as a sideline to the bell trgt building;i have found it quite interesting after the aesthetics have been delt with getting the best output without doing anything non standard [big springs]etc
.so far i have bought back to life several classics .web mk3,airsnorter,meteor,
mercury, caddy's,i have most fun with the gear as they can respond to a bit of extra work .to date the best confirmed output is from a .22 mercury at around 11.5ft lbs this got the usual fettling a total clean and then polishing the chamber and spring plus all the internal fittings in the direction of travel,i have made various tools to do this including the ends of the main spring even to inside the mainspring guide.all the above received the same treatment so there must be a detail other than my work ,mainspring performance? leather versus the man-made piston seal? the airsporter was my last effort and as colleagues predicted on the test day 10/10.5 ftlbs it came out at 10.3 and smooth as silk a little dieseling then back to 10.5. the meteor was high tens but twangy and was a disappointment considering the input so this one needs another go although the local crowd all said don't be surprised as they were always a bit that way umm... Incidentally my biggest success to date was and no surprise here the fwb124 new spring and piston washer and useual polish and oops a tad over the 12 then after 10 or so shots 11.8 .the length of the mainspring blimey got to be the longest ive seen and getting it back into the chamber was a kin to forcing an anaconda into a bakebean can all that tension with a sash clamp holding on for dear life "scarey". o well great fun and a great hobby .

[Silent Sniper]

am just doing a mercury myself and should have all the bits here to start re assembly by the middle of the week am hoping to take the power up to hi 11s was just wondering what yours is like for accuracy and noise at that power as i want a nice smooth hunting gun running at full legal power

[red bob]

pm sent mate.

[rodp]

Hi Redbob, be nice to read a detailed post of what you do to each model. Perhaps where you get parts from (and would you use them again), what parts, what lubes, a general detailed do this and do that sort of post.
If you have the time and inclination that is
Rod

[red bob]

hi rod ,yes i think this would be an idea and its no bother just the useual problem of time,the simplest approach to these rebuilds is gaining knowledge then confidence followed by practise makes an improved finish;blueing being a case inpoint.most materials to get a quality finish are readily available some think that being commercialy available means they are only suitable for patching things up but this is nearly always a case of not reading the instructions properly ,for some reason us men find this an insult to our intelligence.
for blueing the 3 part birchwood casey kit does a great job...but the prep and size of job are a vital consideration as few of us are set up for barrel length areas.removing old deposits getting down to smooth consistant metal colour,etching off old oxidation,degreasing no hand contamination;the tempreture of workpiece, speed of application of blue plus applicater suitability.the practise/experience/patience bit isnt in the instructions but an old bsa cadet about to be thrown in the bin solves this and has the added advantage of bringing back to life a great little gun.