Mk 1 Airsporter .

[zooma]

Some time ago I bought a nice working Mk 1 Airsporter that had sight grooves on it.

I kept the rifle for years so anyone interested could see the patna of the groove cuts matched the patna of the original old blue finish as it did not look like these sight grooves had been added at a later date.

As time passed by I decided I no longer cared if the sight grooves had been cut in the factory (perhaps by a worker who wanted to add them to his own rifle) or not and started to appreciate that this addition had made this Mk1 rifle into a very "practical classic" that could be used by those of us that now find open sights not so easy to see!

Having decided that this rifle had no real interest to a collector I decide to strip it and to rebuild it to a "better than new" standard if possible.

The first job was to get the metalwork across to Manchester for polishing and and a new blue finish (including all of the screws). Whilst the metalwork was away I stripped the three piece wooden stock. It had no splits or signs of any delamination or damage and the wood was nice too so I gave it a new oiled finish that brought the wood colours and grain out beautifully and then finished this with a hard Briwax finish.

When everything was ready for reassembly it was checked and lubricated before being put back together again.

A nice new Hawk 4 x 32 sight was fitted and it is now an excellent (but unusual) example of a Mk 1 Airsporter that is also very nice to look at and practical to shoot.

If it was a .177 I could use it every week but as I can only shoot in our local clubs these days it seldom gets a .22 pellet put through it.

Has anyone else "abused" a nice collectors rifle to produce something they consider to be an "improvement" without loosing the lines and features of the original ?

[thisisdonald]

tease us with tales of unusual airsporters and no money shot???? cmon Zooma... give us a pic

I was installing an oven in a lads house last week.. whilst in the consumer unit cupboard I seen a gunslip.. asked if he was a shooter... he said he bought an old bsa for his kids to use at the caravan.. a bsa meteor of something.... upon opening of said case, out came a beautiful Mk1 airsporter with etching like it was brand new... a couple of rust spots here and there and a few scratches on the stock, but for the most part it was in very good original condition.. APART FROM the wobbly scope rail fitted right over the top of the etching, holding a nice wee silver antler 6x40.. there was no immediate visible indication how the rail was attached. I was gutted. the guy told me he paid 100.00 for it. I have a mk2.. I would have loved and cherished that mk1

[zooma]

tease us with tales of unusual airsporters and no money shot???? cmon Zooma... give us a pic

I was installing an oven in a lads house last week.. whilst in the consumer unit cupboard I seen a gunslip.. asked if he was a shooter... he said he bought an old bsa for his kids to use at the caravan.. a bsa meteor of something.... upon opening of said case, out came a beautiful Mk1 airsporter with etching like it was brand new... a couple of rust spots here and there and a few scratches on the stock, but for the most part it was in very good original condition.. APART FROM the wobbly scope rail fitted right over the top of the etching, holding a nice wee silver antler 6x40.. there was no immediate visible indication how the rail was attached. I was gutted. the guy told me he paid 100.00 for it. I have a mk2.. I would have loved and cherished that mk1

I will get the iPhone on the job tomorrow and send you a couple of pictures. I have no hosting service so I do not know how to get the pictures on here but if I get them on bobsairguns I can add the links.

I also have a nice Mk 2 that has not been restored but it shoots well and with some power - but that is also a.22 so I don't get to shoot that one either

It has the folding rear sight and the twin pairs of short scope mount grooves and I have also mounted another new 4 x 32 Hawk sight on that one too as these scopes are not too big for the age of rifle but are far more usable than the typical 4x20 type of the day.

[MarcDV]

Hi there,

Your question has been asked several times on this BBS. The definitive response for years has been that generally Rocol KILOPOISE Extremely high viscosity fluid and grease damping lubricant is the stuff. Kilopoise 0868GW is also used to prevent movement due to vibration.

Likely there are other greases which offer similar properties. The big negative for the Rocal goop is that last time I checked, you could only buy it in industrial (read huge) quantities.

MarcDV.

[zooma]

Hi there,

Your question has been asked several times on this BBS. The definitive response for years has been that generally Rocol KILOPOISE Extremely high viscosity fluid and grease damping lubricant is the stuff. Kilopoise 0868GW is also used to prevent movement due to vibration.

Likely there are other greases which offer similar properties. The big negative for the Rocal goop is that last time I checked, you could only buy it in industrial (read huge) quantities.

MarcDV.

Hi Marc,

I think you have put this answer on the wrong thread - there is no mention of lubrication or any questions about it on here. but it is interesting - is it a question about what to grease a mainspring with?

[Rickenbacker]

[...] Whilst the metalwork was away I stripped the three piece wooden stock. [...]

What is this 3 piece stock you speak of, Bob? The Airsporter doesn't have a 3 piece stock, unless its broken in two places.

[thisisdonald]

Rickenbacker... if you look closely at a mk1 or mk2 you will see thet there is a rear and 2 forends very very neatly joined

[Rickenbacker]

Rickenbacker... if you look closely at a mk1 or mk2 you will see thet there is a rear and 2 forends very very neatly joined

Well I never... Thanks Donald. I had a MK2 once, but it was a mucky old thing, so I suppose I didn't notice the joins...

[zooma]

Well I never... Thanks Donald. I had a MK2 once, but it was a mucky old thing, so I suppose I didn't notice the joins...

Ha

My Mk 1 Airsporter has one of these original three piece stocks and it looks very attractive as the three different pieces of wood all have their own shade and grain but when laminated together and with an oil finish stock it looks superb.

I mention that mine has not delaminated or split as several of the early stocks have been known to come apart or split along these joints.

As far as I am aware only some of the earliest Mk 1 Airsporter's had this type of stock - the later one's and the Mk 2 Airsporters onwards have a more normal one piece stock - these must have been much faster and cheaper to manufacture!

I am sure a more knowledgable Airsporter enthusiast could expand this subject further ... and in more detail.

[keith66]

Some of the early Mk 1's had a stock made from Beech, i have one of these, its still built up from 3 pieces though.

[Rickenbacker]

Sorry to hear that chaps. Probably due to a shortage of wood, after the war...

[zooma]

Sorry to hear that chaps. Probably due to a shortage of wood, after the war...

They must have had an excess of wood glue after the war too - maybe they did not need to build as many Mosquito twin engine fighters as they had planned to do so they made the Airsporter stocks in three pieces to use some of it up

[I. J.]

Sorry to hear that chaps. Probably due to a shortage of wood, after the war...

I had heard but perhaps its an old wives tale - and Ive been with a few of those - that BSA has a surplus of shotgun stocks so added a fore end so they could be used on the (then new) Airsporters.

I once read a very interesting book on The History Of Glue.
I couldn't put it down.

HTH
Ian

[johnbaz]

I had heard but perhaps its an old wives tale - and Ive been with a few of those - that BSA has a surplus of shotgun stocks so added a fore end so they could be used on the (then new) Airsporters.

I once read a very interesting book on The History Of Glue.
I couldn't put it down.

HTH
Ian

Ha ha ha!!! Barmy beggar!!

I have a few Airsporters and the mk1 is my fave

Here's some of them, The first three are mk1, second three are mk2..


This one is a Mk1 Airsporter (Not club) in .177, The chap I bought it from is a retired engineer with a machine shop on his back garden that puts my company's shop to shame!! He machined a seperate dovetail for it and drilled/tapped the cylinder to take five number 4BA screws so a scope can be added, He gave me two rails with it (Mk1 was thin and flexing, mk2 was chunkier and no movement!) I need to buy the countersunk screws and cut them down as he couldn't remember where he'd put them!..


John

[johnbaz]

By the way, Here's a scoped mk1 Airsporter that was done by the local blacksmith I reckon!!!

I bought the gun very cheaply and reckon the Walther 3-9x40ir scope is worth what I paid for the lot!!

I still have the brazed rail somewhere though I did remove it and buy a rearsight for it! (It was the rustiest rearsight I ever saw!! )



John