BSA Airsporter Mk5 - Power?

[Mattockswinga]

Hi

Just a couple of quick questions

when new (or fitted with a new standard spring) what power would you expect an Airsporter Mk5 .22 to put out?

With tuning will the airsporter run at 11.5 ft/lbs?

Cheers for help!

Chris

[Airsporter1st]

Can't speak from experience but I cannot see any reason why not.

However, you may find it runs smoother and lasts longer in the high 10's and the difference in velocity is practically negligible.

[Neil.]

You might get just over 10, but not much more, unless tons of mods are done.

[Hsing-ee]

The piston head is the main place to get power increases. Grind it down for increased swept volume or get a PTFE (T.R.Robb? maybe) piston head replacement. Bowkett used to get 12 ft/lbs with a severely cut down spring with the increased swept volume mod.

If you increase swept volume, spring power and add a piston sleeve, it should be able to destroy Moscow with an Eley Wasp pellet...

[Silent Sniper]

a big area of lost performance on the airsporter is the loading tap make sure that it is in line and not loosing any air

[Mattockswinga]

Thats great, cheers chaps

ok next lot of questions

how do i do all of this?

or

who wants to do all of this for me?

Also, the airsporter I have has been completely blacked. I know the stock on the airsporter is a notorious bi*ch (apparently), how easy is it going to be to take this back to the wood without snapping the thing?

As the metal work has been blacked what would people recommend here? taking it back to the shiny silver metal? reblueing (how much does that cost and who can do it?)

I know, lots of questions, sorry

all help appreciated though!

Chris

[Silent Sniper]

there is a method to check if the tap is leaking etc i am not sure but i think you have to cock the gun with the tap in the open position and see if air is sucking in around it i own a mercury so dont have one but i check breech seals by covering in talc before firing if you get a cloud of talc there is a leak regards the stock i soaked mine in nitramorse for 2 days then washed it all off and finished with fine sand paper as regards tuning it for max power i would strip it clean and polish the internalls google T.R.Robb and get his ptfe piston head and tuning kit if you want a bit more smoothness and slightly lower power get a bonnie and clyde kit off here not sure who is doing them there seems to be more than one person i would also ask the mods to move your thread to the collectors section where people have a lot more knowledge of the older springer it is a very easy gun to work on and should"nt take you more than half an hour to strip down i hope thats enough to get you started dont be afraid to ask if you need more good luck... paul

[Mattockswinga]

there is a method to check if the tap is leaking etc i am not sure but i think you have to cock the gun with the tap in the open position and see if air is sucking in around it i own a mercury so dont have one but i check breech seals by covering in talc before firing if you get a cloud of talc there is a leak regards the stock i soaked mine in nitramorse for 2 days then washed it all off and finished with fine sand paper as regards tuning it for max power i would strip it clean and polish the internalls google T.R.Robb and get his ptfe piston head and tuning kit if you want a bit more smoothness and slightly lower power get a bonnie and clyde kit off here not sure who is doing them there seems to be more than one person i would also ask the mods to move your thread to the collectors section where people have a lot more knowledge of the older springer it is a very easy gun to work on and should"nt take you more than half an hour to strip down i hope thats enough to get you started dont be afraid to ask if you need more good luck... paul

much much apreciated ta!!!

[uk litehammer]

If you increase swept volume, spring power and add a piston sleeve, it should be able to destroy Moscow with an Eley Wasp pellet...

Surely you need a Relum Tornado for this kind of thing.


Serious note:- Nitromors paint stripper for stripping the black off all of it. Reblueing would cost £50-60 by some one like Colin Molloy at Manchester Airguns.

[Airsporter1st]

Thats great, cheers chaps

ok next lot of questions

how do i do all of this?

or

who wants to do all of this for me?

Also, the airsporter I have has been completely blacked. I know the stock on the airsporter is a notorious bi*ch (apparently), how easy is it going to be to take this back to the wood without snapping the thing?

As the metal work has been blacked what would people recommend here? taking it back to the shiny silver metal? reblueing (how much does that cost and who can do it?)

I know, lots of questions, sorry

all help appreciated though!

Chris

Depends on what has been used to black the stock and whether it got into the grain. You may get away with scraping and then sanding or it may need bleaching. You won't snap it - they crack with use (often over-energetic cocking or simple passage of time). However, the big question is why has it been blacked? It may be that it has already cracked and been repaired and the black is to cover that up.

Metalwork also depends on what has been used and why. Could be it was pitted and the black is covering it up? I remove most coatings by beadblasting which leaves a good surface for re-coating. If yours is not pitted under the coating it can then be relatively easily polished for bluing. I would recommend Manchester Airguns for re-bluing although there are plenty of others.

Whatever you decide do I wish you the best of luck with it.

[Mattockswinga]

Cheers for the advice/help chaps.

The gun was blacked when I got it (a swap with Kingplinker) so I really dont know what state its in under there. I much prefer the wood look of a stock, even if it may be cracked. Bit worried about pitting of the metal under the black though. Oh well, I guess its sortable, either myself or MAG.

I wonder if I could take the black off, polish it up and just have it shiny silver? hmmmm

[Phil Russell]

I have heard of the talc method for checking for a leaky tap but was warned off it because of the risk of talc getting into the rifle mechanism and acting as a grinding paste.
My simple method now is to get a small bit of tissue, load the rifle and put the tissue into the top of the tap housing to form a loose plug. If there is a leak, you will find the tissue plug going skyward as you fire. This will not detect all leaks ... e.g. if the tap is leaking sideways it may not detect it.
Cheers, Phil

[mallyally]

AIRSPORTER and POWER dont go together lovely guns BUT if you want 12ish FTLBS get an 80/95/ 77/45/tx/sport or even a meteor as they are usually capable of more than the airsporter

[Mattockswinga]

AIRSPORTER and POWER dont go together lovely guns BUT if you want 12ish FTLBS get an 80/95/ 77/45/tx/sport or even a meteor as they are usually capable of more than the airsporter

I'm not too bothered about 12, ten would be fine. First of all though I just want to try and get it looking something like half decent

[mallyally]

I'm not too bothered about 12, ten would be fine. First of all though I just want to try and get it looking something like half decent

if i were you i would clean it all up and spray the metalwork black / BSA used to spray the later ones anyway
bleach the stock give it a nice walnut stain then oil it / will then start to look pretty cool
i myself have spent loads bringing guns back from the dead but you never get back what you spend on them
if you want a mint one then PX it for a mint one (cheaper that way )
you can have loads of fun doing it all yourself for very little cost / then it will be truely yours /hope that makes sense