Leather Pistol Seal

[Cicero]

Having bought a very nice Webley Mk1 pistol with slanted grips from a guy on here, I found it needed much more doing to it than I bargained for.

So, I have just bought a load of replacement parts from John Knibbs, one of which is a leather piston head seal, and it says "needs fitting".

Now I seem to remember years ago that we used to soak them first and then trim. Could anyone enlighten me as to the the best way to go about it before fitting?

Thanks ...

[Phil Russell]

Not sure of the fine detail of your pistol but here is a generic 'do it' guide: Remove the old washer plus any central steel or leather spacer washer. Treat the new washer with leather stretcher to make it more supple ... assuming it is as tough as old boots ... and fit to the end of the piston. Get a jubilee clip that will fit around the piston body with space to spare and carefully fit it around the new washer. Tighten it to just nip the new washer into the desired cup shape ... I guess the new washer is preshaped anyway. Place this unit in neatsfoot oil overnight. Drain and dry a bit on rag. Tighten the jubillee clip over a period of time ... a few hours.... to bring the outside diameter down to the same as the piston body, soaking in the neatsfoot in between tightenings. When you are happy with the final diameter, remove jubilee and test washer for size in the cylinder. If it is a smooth sliding fit you have done well but you will most likely have to continue the jubilee and oil treatment a bit longer. If you find that there is no way you can get it to fit into the cylinder, now is the time to get drastic ... start reducing the outside diameter a little using abrasive paper. Go carefully until you can fit the washer into the cylinder. When you have done this I guess the rim of the washer will be slightly proud of the end of the piston. Don't panic... look at the piston - washer junction and I bet you see a slight gap all around the piston. When the new unit is fitted, the washer will be pushed back onto the piston head, the washer rim will disappear and the gap also go. Keep going until you get a smooth sliding fit and all should be OK. It is generally recommended to fit and let the spring preload shape the washer to the end of the cylinder before you start serious play. Webley originally recommended Webley oil No 1 for their pistols.
Hope this helps
Cheers, Phil

[Cicero]

Thanks Phil, that's really helpful.

My new bits and pieces should be arriving in a day or two and I will look forward to fitting as per your instructions; if it happens to go pearshaped, I will acquire and fit the modern equivalent but it would be nice to have it all original do to speak ... .