Tuning and Spring Surgery

[robs5230]

Thank you TonyL and Jenny for your response....I'll push some pellets through during next week or so, see where it's at, and adjust as required.

By the way, after cutting spring coils and compressing spring end, should one quench the end in water, oil or leave to cool naturally?

All the best....

If seal fit is good as you say, I'd suggest the problem is excess lube.
No need to lube an unsized seal and no reason to lube piston body. The only real area that may need lube is the rear bearing area (back 15mm or so). Any lube from seal or body of piston is likely being scraped forward by the piston seal and dieselling.
Before you make any further alterations to the spring I'd have alook at the lube. My guess is that there will be lube on the face of the seal.

If you do cut a spring, let it cool naturally.

[crowbar]

After cutting and finishing a spring I used to leave to cool in the air which in effect anneals the wire which was
red hot and softens it leaving it with no spring and I have had them snap .

I now quench in oil once the spring has cooled well into a visual blue state so as to retain a full spring and
not have a soft dead section .

[SRV1]

Many thanks robs5230 and crowbar.....interesting conflicting comments regarding the spring....

All the best to all....

[Rich]

There's no real conflict; so long as you don't quench from red heat and wait until the spring has gone dark, quenching will have little or no effect on the grain structure of the steel, and you'll be able to handle the spring a lot quicker if you haven't got to wait until it's cold.

[robs5230]

There's no real conflict; so long as you don't quench from red heat and wait until the spring has gone dark, quenching will have little or no effect on the grain structure of the steel, and you'll be able to handle the spring a lot quicker if you haven't got to wait until it's cold.

I have to agree with Rich here. I've quenched from dark and now don't quench. Never had a spring break ever.
Probably more issues arise from the finishing than the heating / cooling cycle.
I must do 20 springers a year (at least) , all with multiple cuts and refinishes on the springs.

[SRV1]

Just an update for members who replied with suggestions....

Eventually, testing after putting through 150/200 pellets through, it appears the grease/lubrication pattern have settled down. Nothing else done and is now a fairly consistent 11.11 to 11.46.....Thanks for your responses.

All the best to all boingers.....