Original 35 resurrected

[lensman57]

Hi,

Just finished putting the old girl back together. All I can say is never again. I had to use my Myford Ml7 tail stock as a ram to take the compression out of the spring and then put it back. That trigger is a joke, whomever designed it must have had a sense of humour. Three small ball bearings vaguely loose inside of the mechanism and an arched spring that is held by its own friction in place. It fires and it is still as twangy as I remember it but it lives. Adjustments are sure to follow.

Regards,

A.G

[Mole trapper]

Braver man than me gungadin! sense of achievement though I'd imagine?

[Rickenbacker]

3 ball bearing trigger

Congrats!

[CapitalBee]

I had an Original mod 35. It twanged like a good 'un and so I stripped it down and relubed it. The trigger assembly is certainly a challenge and it didn't take too long to start twanging again. I sold it on here recently as it was well down the pecking order on my .177's.

[mrto]

I had an Original mod 35. It twanged like a good 'un and so I stripped it down and relubed it. The trigger assembly is certainly a challenge and it didn't take too long to start twanging again. I sold it on here recently as it was well down the pecking order on my .177's.

I bought it from you,Mark as you will remember.The thing with Original 35's is that they were a bit of a disappointment at the time power wise never living up to expectation.The Original 45 replaced the 35 and did what the 35 was supposed to do!

Because the 35 is only a medium powered gun people tend to have oversprung them looking for 12ftlbs.As a result they are harsh and twangy,but when fitted with the right spring etc they are a very pleasant and accurate gun to shoot.They are also exceptionally well made putting many HW's by comparison in the shade build wise and have a very good trigger when adjusted correctly,( which most aren't)!

Too much fuss is made about these triggers and with a bit of patience and common sense they are quite easy to deal with!

I have many Originals and am very fond of them they are great vintage rifles,but have to be kept tuned to within their original design limitations.

ATB,
Mark.

[CapitalBee]

I bought it from you,Mark as you will remember.The thing with Original 35's is that they were a bit of a disappointment at the time power wise never living up to expectation.The Original 45 replaced the 35 and did what the 35 was supposed to do!

Because the 35 is only a medium powered gun people tend to have oversprung them looking for 12ftlbs.As a result they are harsh and twangy,but when fitted with the right spring etc they are a very pleasant and accurate gun to shoot.They are also exceptionally well made putting many HW's by comparison in the shade build wise and have a very good trigger when adjusted correctly,( which most aren't)!

Too much fuss is made about these triggers and with a bit of patience and common sense they are quite easy to deal with!

I have many Originals and am very fond of them they are great vintage rifles,but have to be kept tuned to within their original design limitations.

ATB,
Mark.

Hope you enjoy it Mark. I just found I was shooting it so little as I have a couple of better .177's (in my opinion), I may as well let it go. Your comments ref' the power are correct, I think they got found out in the press at the time of their manufacture, which spelt the model's death knell, but apart from the twang, a pleasant rifle to shoot ( I have to admit the trigger on my old one probably needed adjusting)

[lensman57]

Hi,

This morning I put a chrono at the end of the barrel. The first reading well, please don't ask for the figure. I thought that I had to open it all out and cut off half the length of the spring. It was certainly dieseling. After about 20 shots it settled down to about 9.5 ft/lb or about 720 ft/s with JSB Exact 8.44gr. I think that this is the acceptable power level for this old girl. I am now just wondering how I can get the twang out of it. Something is not quite right with the design of this gun I think.

A.G

[air-tech]

Hi,

This morning I put a chrono at the end of the barrel. The first reading well, please don't ask for the figure. I thought that I had to open it all out and cut off half the length of the spring. It was certainly dieseling. After about 20 shots it settled down to about 9.5 ft/lb or about 720 ft/s with JSB Exact 8.44gr. I think that this is the acceptable power level for this old girl. I am now just wondering how I can get the twang out of it. Something is not quite right with the design of this gun I think.

A.G

It's OK at 9.5. Re the twang, a decent spring guide should sort it out but be prepared for a power loss. The cylinder is not very large hence he low power which can't easily/realistically be improved upon.

My very first airgun, and the (successful) shots I took with it meant that I never complained about the power, and mine was probably pushing out a lot less than 9.5.

The 3 ball trigger? No biggie. Just grease the balls in place while assembling.

[lensman57]

It's OK at 9.5. Re the twang, a decent spring guide should sort it out but be prepared for a power loss. The cylinder is not very large hence he low power which can't easily/realistically be improved upon.

My very first airgun, and the (successful) shots I took with it meant that I never complained about the power, and mine was probably pushing out a lot less than 9.5.

The 3 ball trigger? No biggie. Just grease the balls in place while assembling.

Hi,

I did put grease on the ball bearings, the only way that they would stay in. The ball bearings were not the main problem with the trigger placement, it was that stupid spring which seem to be there for no reason or any that I can detect as the cylindrical bit it mounts on is stationary. I have machined a spring guide out of Oilon and replaced the original one with it also machined a top hat out of the same material. I put the chrono on this morning again and it did 630 ft/s with JSB heavies which is just over 9.1 ft/lb so it maybe settling down a little. I may machine a spring guide and top hat out of Delrin for it as a fun project. I have also bought a replacement spring Titan I think but it is a lot longer than the standard.

A.G

[Geezer]

Hi,

I did put grease on the ball bearings, the only way that they would stay in. The ball bearings were not the main problem with the trigger placement, it was that stupid spring which seem to be there for no reason or any that I can detect as the cylindrical bit it mounts on is stationary. I have machined a spring guide out of Oilon and replaced the original one with it also machined a top hat out of the same material. I put the chrono on this morning again and it did 630 ft/s with JSB heavies which is just over 9.1 ft/lb so it maybe settling down a little. I may machine a spring guide and top hat out of Delrin for it as a fun project. I have also bought a replacement spring Titan I think but it is a lot longer than the standard.

A.G

A.G.

Well done in getting it back together! It seems that M&G at that time never imagined that their guns would be taken apart by anyone bar a Diana-trained gunsmith, using special Diana tools and know-how.

The 35's short stroke is an absolute limiting factor on power. They struggle to make 11 ft/lbs in .22", and are around 9ish ft/lbs in .177". Only a tiny bit more than the lighter, cheaper, easier-cocking 27. When they were sold in the US, M&G over-stated (that is a polite way of putting it) their power level. Which worked until people chrono'd them.

A bit like an Anschutz 335, a Diana 35 is a very solid, attractive, accurate and pleasing garden gun/plinker that will last forever if carefully maintained. But not an equivalent to an FWB Sport, HW35, HW80, etc. Which is why M&G brought out the very long stroke 45.

[lensman57]

A.G.

Well done in getting it back together! It seems that M&G at that time never imagined that their guns would be taken apart by anyone bar a Diana-trained gunsmith, using special Diana tools and know-how.

The 35's short stroke is an absolute limiting factor on power. They struggle to make 11 ft/lbs in .22", and are around 9ish ft/lbs in .177". Only a tiny bit more than the lighter, cheaper, easier-cocking 27. When they were sold in the US, M&G over-stated (that is a polite way of putting it) their power level. Which worked until people chrono'd them.

A bit like an Anschutz 335, a Diana 35 is a very solid, attractive, accurate and pleasing garden gun/plinker that will last forever if carefully maintained. But not an equivalent to an FWB Sport, HW35, HW80, etc. Which is why M&G brought out the very long stroke 45.

Thank you for your kind words. When I bought the rifle in 78~79 it was a real nice gun for me. You may not believe it but I once dropped a magpie shooting from a window at about 70 yards, it was more luck than anything else I think as there were a few of them making a right racket at the bottom of the playing field across and I just aimed about 4 feet higher just to shut them up but the pellet struck and the bird was dead after a few seconds of making horrible noises. I think that this was the last time that I shot a live bird and I am sure that it was early 79, probably in Feb. I soon added the Original 50 in 22 but a few years later my brother sold that gun for £50.00 back to the shop that I had bought it from. It was a nice unusual gun, quite heavy but well balanced as I remember. You are absolutely correct that this gun is not the easiest to cock but it is well built, and looks nice like a traditional air rifle. My newly acquired PCPs look more like proper guns in comparison. I may have to invest in a spring compressor if I were to open it up again. Just don't fancy ruining the old irreplaceable Myford and using it as a compressor.

Regards,

A.G

[rabbitwrecker]

You may not believe it but I once dropped a magpie shooting from a window at about 70 yards, it was more luck than anything else I think as there were a few of them making a right racket at the bottom of the playing field across and I just aimed about 4 feet higher just to shut them up but the pellet struck and the bird was dead after a few seconds of making horrible noises.

You just don't listen, do you - 100 yard rabbits, now a 70 yard magpie with a 9.5 ft/lb springer no less. You should be ashamed of yourself - you obviously have no respect for your quarry. How many magpies did you maim before you managed to kill one? Not exactly a clean kill either. I'd be too embarrassed to mention it, let alone brag about it in open forum. Do the local wildlife and the responsible shooting community a favour, sell your guns and take up stamp collecting.....

[mrto]

You just don't listen, do you - 100 yard rabbits, now a 70 yard magpie with a 9.5 ft/lb springer no less. You should be ashamed of yourself - you obviously have no respect for your quarry. How many magpies did you maim before you managed to kill one? Not exactly a clean kill either. Do the local wildlife and the responsible shooting community a favour, sell your guns and take up stamp collecting.....

I imagine your mutually self righteous chums will be along soon all the back slapping will be deafening!

[rabbitwrecker]

I imagine your mutually self righteous chums will be along soon all the back slapping will be deafening!

I do hope so - why, do you consider his actions to be acceptable? Should we just let it go so, that novice shooters - and anyone else for that matter - who reads it will think that sort of behaviour is ok?

[mrto]

I do hope so - why, do you consider his actions to be acceptable?

Get a life ,mate!