Rough guns--A hobby

[ggggr]

Even though this is the collectable section, I dont think I have many collectable guns. Ive been on here for about 16/17 months now and have bought guns off here on a regular basis. Ive had quite a few cheap guns that are rough and maybe not working. I like stuff with the original sights on but did have a small collection of telescopics and Bsa reflexes which I used on the stuff that didnt. As I only plink, I like open sights. I dont want to kill anything so I will reuse a spring if it is near original length and not bent. Thanks to a thread on here,I can make leather breech and piston washers. I have blued a few guns but as a lot of them are pitted quite badly, it is not a great job on a lot of them. I like the guns to look "used" in most cases but do like an oiled finish if the stock is up to it. I tend to only varnish the really rough or cracked stuff. Because of these things, I can usually keep costs down. Most of the guns I have done would not fetch any more than I paid for them( would probably lose out with postage) so I keep them or have given some to relatives and a couple of friends. I have been helped out by people on here with spares a bit and that is appreciated. My home circumstances are difficult still and I find tinkering with the old stuff helps take my mind off things. It really gives me a kick when you get a rough one up and running AND IN MY OPINION ITS BETTER THAN IT NOT WORKING OR BEING BROKEN FOR SPARES. Keep plinking

[Lakey]

Even though this is the collectable section, I dont think I have many collectable guns. Ive been on here for about 16/17 months now and have bought guns off here on a regular basis. Ive had quite a few cheap guns that are rough and maybe not working. I like stuff with the original sights on but did have a small collection of telescopics and Bsa reflexes which I used on the stuff that didnt. As I only plink, I like open sights. I dont want to kill anything so I will reuse a spring if it is near original length and not bent. Thanks to a thread on here,I can make leather breech and piston washers. I have blued a few guns but as a lot of them are pitted quite badly, it is not a great job on a lot of them. I like the guns to look "used" in most cases but do like an oiled finish if the stock is up to it. I tend to only varnish the really rough or cracked stuff. Because of these things, I can usually keep costs down. Most of the guns I have done would not fetch any more than I paid for them( would probably lose out with postage) so I keep them or have given some to relatives and a couple of friends. I have been helped out by people on here with spares a bit and that is appreciated. My home circumstances are difficult still and I find tinkering with the old stuff helps take my mind off things. It really gives me a kick when you get a rough one up and running AND IN MY OPINION ITS BETTER THAN IT NOT WORKING OR BEING BROKEN FOR SPARES. Keep plinking

I totally agree with what you say. Collectable airguns isn't always about minters. You can collect rough ones as well, and spend many hours doing them up, or just getting them back into shooting condition. That adds to the appeal of old airguns.
My passion are the old pre-WWII BSA underlevers (before the Airsporter range). Prices vary a lot on these, from rough examples at around £50-£60 right the way up to minters at £400-£500. My first gun was rough as hell ( in fact it was almost relic condition) however it did shoot and further more was all I could afford. From that gun I learned to shoot and appreciate these iconic guns, and in time added better and better guns to the collection, however I still have that same rough gun I started with all those years ago. I got it restored by John Knibbs some 10 years ago, and I keep it as a reminder of that early interest in these guns.
I too have got back to shooting/tinkering with these guns lately, and reminding myself of their accuracy and superb build quality. Quite simply these old guns are a life long passion and interest.

Good post !!


ATB

Lakey

PS, anyone know where I can get a few thousand 5.6 Old Eley Wasp

[red bob]

not quite sure how many examples of my refurbs there are in my loft/wardrobe/underbed/at work etc.like you mine are the best my budget can afford ,one of my fav games is hunting out say a diana 27 or stumbling upon as i did the otherday is my webley falcon;this one was so rusty that i had it put through a spray bake oven after a mate shotblasted it ,the result was surprisingly good shoots well and now looks reasonable main thing is she is bought back into operation,like guy if i sell a refurb its to clear the decks ready for a new one not really expecting a profit.although im a sheetmetalworker its moved me into the toolmaking and machining area which has expanded my skills somewhat;i think the best part is the chain of contacts i now have which enables me to source a photo an out of stock return spring or simply good old fashioned advise .another point which assembly and rebuild has taught me is the inherant strengths and weakness in each make the quirkyness of others.

[Hollowpoint]

Im the same, there is something really satisfying about bringing an old junker back to life.

[Prewar]

Sometimes old worn guns are worn for good reason, because they shoot so well The reverse is true of some minters!

[bluesman]

Totally agree-I get great satisfaction refurbishing old airsporters AND shooting them.I'm lucky enough to have aStutzen+Goldstar in very good condition but both are used and not kept to "look at"
Long back garden-open sights-bean cans,you know it makes sense!!
atb Glyn

[Garry]

I've got a couple of rough Webley pistols I've been working on.
The "unremovable" cylinder plug on the Senior has a locking screw, not a pin, so I was able to remove the plug and give the insides a proper clean.

The Mk1 has the hammered in pin. What's the viewpoint on drilling the pin out?
The cylinder needs a good cleanout, which I reckon should be done with the plug removed.
If I do drill it out, I'll be replacing it with a threaded grub screw.
Purists won't like this, but if it helps to get the pistol functional I have no qualms in doing it.

I can see the plug has been marked from the pistol being fired with a perished piston seal, so it needs tidying up anyway.
The seal screw on the piston is also jammed solid, so something drastic could be happening to that as well.

Would other people do what's neccessary, or keep it original, but unusable?

[ggggr]

Ive stated to pack away my guns ready for when I move. Ive a small cocked up gun rack downstairs and I looked what was in it----all the crap ones Ive done! There was the Relum breakbarrel that looked as though it had been in an acid bath,the Relum tornado mentioned in post above,the 1951 Diana 25 that cost a tenner and looked that rough I almost binned it,the jaguar with the cut down barrel,the Hawk mk1 that had the hole drilled in the barrel and the £5 Hawk mk3 that now has some oddball Bsa rifle rearsight fitted to it and an elastic band to stop it flipping over each time you cock it! (I intend to fit an adjuster and a small spring to hold it.) Almost forgot, the Bsa cadet that I ended up drilling the end of the barrel to get rid of some really bad pitting and then countersinking. It is now accurate. I must be mad.

[keith66]

I had a look on my bench today, oh dear the component parts of three clunker BSA imp model D's & a recently aquired Mk 1 airsporter. Next to them a stripped Crossman 1322 pistol & the guts of a worn out Innova. A Relum taurus .22 break barrel stands in the corner, that one came out of the bilge of a half sunken yacht and was a little rusty! It shoots great though!
But there is a reblued Webley premier that looks good so i do finish one now & then! And a case with a 90% finished scoped Webley Mk 3 special, finish that one this winter.
I think a bitsa Imp model Dongsporter is about to be morphed into existence

[Phil G]

Hi, seems like you're going through a tough time right now. Let time pass and things will sort out fine.

I agree with your collection/restro projects, we unlikely to restore them to museum quality, but that don't matter. It's the pleasure they give us is making them work again, it's definitely therapeutic. Enjoy your resto's.

In true TV tradition, here's one I did earlier

http://www.airgunbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185515



Good luck, Phil

[joe366]

PS, anyone know where I can get a few thousand 5.6 Old Eley Wasp

the old ones were the best pellets EVER the new ones are all horrible and poorly made

[white ferret]

I brought my little lad one when he was 8 auto safety yes but no anti bare trap real heavy trigger I had to do some work on it polished it, put a pin throw the trigger guard to stop the long travel and put a trigger shoe on. He was only didy at the time but he could cocked it and shot it easy he had hours of fun killing tin can, knock down rabbits and crows. Looking back on it was money well spent he leant allot from that little rifle not the most accurate gun in the would but had concordance in it. Hopefully that little girl will have a smile on her face as big as my little lad lots of happy memoirs he now shoots FN12, BSA ultra and his pride and joy his custom build BSA Metor k all in little .177 like him, He puts meat on the table and meat for the ferrets. Hope she enjoys it that’s what it’s for, childhood should last forever, just stay safe.

White ferret