I bought a second hand HW80 (.177) yesterday to play with, it has a number of problems, not least of which is it looks as though a previous owner has removed the screws with a tin opener !

He also hacked the end of the barrel off to remove the sight dovetails so he could glue a moderator on, present owner had managed to get it off but not all the glue. That's not a problmen, I can smooth it off and recrown.

However the barrel has some lateral play when closed, enough to be able to wiggle it a bit. Can I cure this by adding extra shim washers or is it more drastic?

The piston does not slide easily, the piston seal is a tight fit and takes quite a bit of force to move it in and out. It appears to be the correct size but I've ordered another one. Could the inside where the piston slides need polishing? It tried it on the chorno and it was running at about 9.5 ftlbs, possibly a combination of the piston seal and the breech seal.

It appears to had had an OX spring fitted, square section, maybe that's why it jumps like a frightened rabbit when fired !

Can anyone suggest decent components for the rebuild - spring, top hat, spring guide etc.?

The trigger is pretty crap as well, even the front adjuster screw is missing but I can fix that OK.

One good point, the wood is lovely !