Webley Mk3 Transfer Port

[Modski66]

I have been tinkering with my 0.177 Mk3 to smooth out the action and maybe get a slight improvement in performance, and wanted to share my findings.
When it was in bits, there was a discussion on here about transfer port size being too large on 0.22 models, so I decided to sleeve the port on my rifle; and here is the outcome...
When I first got it, I checked performance with 7 grain Gecos, and was getting just under 9ft/lb, so I was keen to compare it after my work. Hmmmm...
With Gecos I was getting 7.78, with Vmx 8.18 grains 7.27,and with H&N 9.57, 6.39. What had I done!
Quick strip-down, remove the sleeve and re-test.
Gecos = 8.76
VMX = 7.65
H&N = 7.74
Conclusion - Mk3 in 0.177 does not benefit from a smaller transfer port, well mine didn't!
Hope someone might find this information useful.
Cheers,
Mark.

[jirushi]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing.
How did you sleeve the tp, and what is the diameter now?
A friend made a brass tp sleeve for me, with an internal diameter of 3 mm.
Will test it soon.
Is there any change in the firing behaviour/recoil by the way?
Cheers

[Modski66]

I used some copper pipe with a 1/8 inch internal diameter. As I don't have a lathe, I just used a small file to reduce the outside diameter, then pushed it into the port to find the high spots, filed them off and kept doing this until I got a nice fit. I then trimmed it to length and bonded it in with Loctite thread locking compound.
It didn't take much to tap it out.

[thisisdonald]

I found a good resource for TP sleeving today, wonderland models on Lothian road in Edinburgh.
http://imgur.com/gallery/NZVIpyW

[andrewM]

I have been reading with some interest the 'sleeving' of tps but I seem to recall - and might well have recalled wrongly - that 177s and 22s have different preferences in terms of the diameter. Perhaps you missed the 'sweet spot'. I know Louis is on top of this, so it will be interesting to see what he discovers.

Rgds
A