Who remembers Gerald Cardew (Blue Nose)

[gunstock]

Can anybody tell me if his theory on the diesel engine phase of a spring airgun still holds true to-day

[douglas hatcher]

Can anybody tell me if his theory on the diesel engine phase of a spring airgun still holds true to-day

I believed it was, but I was informed on this thread that it had been dispelled, i would like to see the actuall findings on this as I read in depth GC,s research and findings in this and I believe he run the test in a oxygen free tank so there could be no combustion and the results from my memory were that the gun lost something like 2/3rd's of its power and Gerald said to have a spring rifle at full power without relying on any form of combustion/dieseling you would need something like a 3ft long action with a massive swept volume and spring to suit?
Just what I read through.
Doug

[gunstock]

that,s what I read but have not read anything else to say any different

[TonyL]

I would have to try and dig the articles out.......

They appeared in Airgun World within, I think, the last 18 months? They were in the excellent "Technical Airgun Section", written by Jim Tyler who is often ably and expertly assisted by Prof. Mike Wright.

Jim Tyler often frequents the BBS -his user name is BTDT on here. You never know, he may well drop in on this thread.

Many tuners in the modern era run their rifles dry, or with lubes that do not burn.

Much of this will be down to the fact that, by the late 70s / early 80s, many manufacturers had switched to synthetic piston seals as opposed to the leather ones. It has often been reported that the Feinwerkbau Sport was the first? Not sure how true this is. The synthetic seals are not dependant on lube to keep them supple, as a leather one is, usually by silicone or neatsfoot oil.

[greenwayjames]

Much of this will be down to the fact that, by the late 70s / early 80s, many manufacturers had switched to synthetic piston seals as opposed to the leather ones. It has often been reported that the Feinwerkbau Sport was the first? Not sure how true this is. The synthetic seals are not dependant on lube to keep them supple, as a leather one is, usually by silicone or neatsfoot oil.

I agree that the FWB Sport must have been one of the first to use a poly piston seal. They could not be run dry because of the high friction that occurs in the cylnder. I remember the horrible squealing sound that most new dry cylinder air rifles that used this type of seal made when they were cocked. We used to say that they were run in when the sound stopped but in truth, not much of that about nowadays, lubricant had got past the one way valve that was a parachute piston seal causing burnt lubricant, consistent velocity and all round good shooting. Nothing changes, although we may think it does

[greenwayjames]

P.S. Cardew wrote his regular technical and sometimes historical articles in Airgunner not Airgun World. Can anyone confirm that my memory is correct?

[BTDT]

P.S. Cardew wrote his regular technical and sometimes historical articles in Airgunner not Airgun World. Can anyone confirm that my memory is correct?

The diesel theory articles were published in November and December, 1983, in Airgun World, according to T20.

[Powderfinger]

Gerald Cardew was a pioneer and an inspiration to generations of tuners. I used to work at a factory just a few streets from where he lived and I always regret never making an appointment to visit him. Even better that it sounds like he was a Birmingham City fan!

[greenwayjames]

Gerald Cardew was a pioneer and an inspiration to generations of tuners. I used to work at a factory just a few streets from where he lived and I always regret never making an appointment to visit him. Even better that it sounds like he was a Birmingham City fan!

I think Bluenose was someone other than Mr Cardew.

[greenwayjames]

The diesel theory articles were published in November and December, 1983, in Airgun World, according to T20.

Ah. That explains it. He must have started with Airgun World but kicked them into touch when the new magazine Airgunner came along. Thanks for the correction

[gunstock]

a few of these are loosing pwr, because they are running out of lube

[landymick]

I would have to try and dig the articles out.......

They appeared in Airgun World within, I think, the last 18 months? They were in the excellent "Technical Airgun Section", written by Jim Tyler who is often ably and expertly assisted by Prof. Mike Wright.

Jim Tyler often frequents the BBS -his user name is BTDT on here. You never know, he may well drop in on this thread.

Many tuners in the modern era run their rifles dry, or with lubes that do not burn.

Much of this will be down to the fact that, by the late 70s / early 80s, many manufacturers had switched to synthetic piston seals as opposed to the leather ones. It has often been reported that the Feinwerkbau Sport was the first? Not sure how true this is. The synthetic seals are not dependant on lube to keep them supple, as a leather one is, usually by silicone or neatsfoot oil.

I read that around 1971 FWB introduced the synthetic seal to its first version of the Sport.

[BTDT]

Ah. That explains it. He must have started with Airgun World but kicked them into touch when the new magazine Airgunner came along. Thanks for the correction

Not quite 'kicked them into touch'.

A magazine writer's point of contact with the publishing company is usually the editor. If, as in this case, the editor leaves to start a new publication, the contributors' loyalties tend to be with the editor rather than the publishing company, and some will leave to contribute to the new publication.

I invited Gerald to write for Sporting Air Rifle at the time, but he declined because he had already committed elsewhere. Pity, because having Gerald and (the then) Dr. Mike Wright (who, like me, did not subscribe to the theory that combustion was essential for a springer) on the team, would have resulted in a superb technical section.

[lbl25a]

I missed this thread as haven't visited this forum for some time. Found it following a search.
No one mentioned that Gerald Cardew was the original inventor and designer of the Sportsmatch GC2. In this I believe that his contribution to airgun technology was greater than his experiments on Springers.
In its day the GC2 was regarded as the ultimate quality PCP and although it's design was revolutionary there is no equivalent airgun available on the market today.
Gerald took the Dump valve design used in the Sharp Innova and applied it to the PCP. The Webley Rebel has provided a modern equivalent of the Sharp Innova which was so popular because the action of the Dump valve was much nicer to shoot than the conventional hammer.
I wonder if a modern equivalent of the GC2 with some of its drawbacks designed out and made at a competitive price would be as popular.

[Lord Long]

I remember Gerald Cardew every time I shoot my Sportsmatch GC2 (No215)

Nearly 30 years old and it's still out shooting EV2's, Steyr's and FTP 900's......


Here's a bit of a write up thanks to Google..

"In its day, the GC2 was probably the most coveted rifle a shooter could own; it was akin to owning a Ferrari. Most were sold for use in UK field target competitions, but some were fitted with sporting stocks. The name was derived from 'Gerald Cardew', the famous airgun engineer who designed the GC2 air regulating mechanism. 'GC1' was a testbed for the regulator and not a production rifle. The GC2 was produced in three marks from 1986 to 1993. In all, around 350 guns were produced, some were sold as 'action only' and were married to custom-built stocks from the likes of John Welham. Weight varies accordingly, but these guns have alloy cylinders and are quite light for their size. The two-stage flat blade trigger is fully adjustable. The Lothar Walther barrel was fitted with a fluted muzzle brake to prevent barrel lift on firing. Most were .177 caliber, although any caliber was available. A bullpup version called the Scimitar was available, although only twelve were made.

Best gun I ever owned...was billed as the 'Rolls Royce of air rifles' was a waiting list when I got mine (a Mk2) in 1990.