Prewar machining excellence

[isobar]

One of my favorite machining touches - on a comparatively ordinary mid-range model, the pre-war Diana 27.

1. Top of the breech block is cylindrical, on a larger diameter concentric with the round barrel.

2. This contour makes a straight line where it meets the flat sides of the block.

3. The top of the breech forks have neat narrow horizontal flats that exactly meet the same line; a neat and lovely styling detail that continued onto the first generations of the post-war, ball-sear model 27.

nice finishing touch purely for aesthetic reasons.milbro continued this for a while,the breech on an air rifle can look quite ugly,not in this case.

[Muskett]

Some of the old machining was sublime. But then a machinist would be an apprentice for years and would be at that job all their working lives. The cost of labour so much lower. Guns and rifles were very expensive, even air rifles.
A lot more use of castings were done. And hand finishing.
Different world.

The Vulcan was made when UK manufacturing was going broke. Cost of labour through the roof, and investment in machinery was at an all time low. The growth sector was unemployment.

Modern CNC machining can now produce exceptional quality. Manufacturing high quality is now possible again, and give a wage at the living standards that are now demanded. With a profit! Further more, more people can afford to own some great stuff.

A well made set of open sights are a joy to shoot.

[MDriskill]

Danny, thanks for your comments - I certainly agree that even the later ball-sear model 27, simplified somewhat in the early 60's, continued the tradition of thoughtful detailing...even if the pre-war milled parts and precise fits were fading:

1. The underside of the breech block has the same radius as the receiver tube; another holdover pre-war touch.

2. The nifty flats on top of the breech jaws are gone...

3. ...but are not needed, as the top radius of the breech block now also matches the receiver tube. The former thus "reads" as a clean, flat-sided extension of the latter.

4. As you pointed out, the front of the breech block and cocking link are milled together in a unified curve, neatly echoing the curved front of the stock fore arm.



Beeman's classic catalogs boast that the Gary Goudy-inspired stocks of their Weihrauch-built "R" series rifles cover the breech area. I've always admired how Diana opted instead for a breech that doesn't need hiding!

[45flint]

Danny, thanks for your comments - I certainly agree that even the later ball-sear model 27, simplified somewhat in the early 60's, continued the tradition of thoughtful detailing...even if the pre-war milled parts and precise fits were fading:

1. The underside of the breech block has the same radius as the receiver tube; another holdover pre-war touch.

2. The nifty flats on top of the breech jaws are gone...

3. ...but are not needed, as the top radius of the breech block now also matches the receiver tube. The former thus "reads" as a clean, flat-sided extension of the latter.

4. As you pointed out, the front of the breech block and cocking link are milled together in a unified curve, neatly echoing the curved front of the stock fore arm.



Beeman's classic catalogs boast that the Gary Goudy-inspired stocks of their Weihrauch-built "R" series rifles cover the breech area. I've always admired how Diana opted instead for a breech that doesn't need hiding!

Polishing and bluing however isn’t quite there? Looks almost matte?

[Shed tuner]

So many really nice and time consuming touches on that diana 27

[Garvin]

Danny, thanks for your comments - I certainly agree that even the later ball-sear model 27, simplified somewhat in the early 60's, continued the tradition of thoughtful detailing...even if the pre-war milled parts and precise fits were fading:

1. The underside of the breech block has the same radius as the receiver tube; another holdover pre-war touch.

2. The nifty flats on top of the breech jaws are gone...

3. ...but are not needed, as the top radius of the breech block now also matches the receiver tube. The former thus "reads" as a clean, flat-sided extension of the latter.

4. As you pointed out, the front of the breech block and cocking link are milled together in a unified curve, neatly echoing the curved front of the stock fore arm.


Beeman's classic catalogs boast that the Gary Goudy-inspired stocks of their Weihrauch-built "R" series rifles cover the breech area. I've always admired how Diana opted instead for a breech that doesn't need hiding!

Wow, Mike, your observations are as sharp as ever.

You remind me of a TV ad that used to be shown to advertise a national newspaper. A youth barges into a well-dressed businessman walking along the pavement (sidewalk). At first you think this was random aggression. But then the camera zooms out and you see the whole picture - the youth has saved the businessman's life by knocking him out of the path of a falling pallet of bricks that were about to land on him...

https://youtu.be/_SsccRkLLzU

[harvey_s]

Look at the machining on the front sight, the little bevel on the post! Crazy detail that few would ever notice? Machining art.

From an era when there was pride in your product rather than built to a price.
Standards of living for the working man being much poorer giving cheap labour helped enormously

[MDriskill]

Wow, Mike, your observations are as sharp as ever.

You remind me of a TV ad that used to be shown to advertise a national newspaper.

https://youtu.be/_SsccRkLLzU

Thanks...great short video! I guess 40 years of practicing architecture served to warp my tiny brain in some unusual directions, LOL...🙄

[MDriskill]

Sights seem to be a magnet for nice details. Here are some Weihrauch ones from the 50's.

Front sight from an early HW 55. Before more efficient flat metal inserts came along, front sights had these nice turned steel posts, interchanged by a setscrew after sliding the hood off. These will also fit some other brands - and actually show up on That Auction Site fairly often.




These three diopters are also from HW 55's. The two on the left are older, and solid milled steel. This "turret" style must have been manufactured in small batches, as there seem to be endless variations. The third one on the right is a newer generation introduced about 1959. Points of interest:

1. Huge eye disk with textured anti-glare rear face on this early turret sub-variant.
2. The disk's front flange mates with the turret's flat rear face, to lock the elevation adjustment into place.
3. The only function of the huge thumbwheel underneath is to lock the windage setting (do Germans obsess over wandering settings?)
4. This later turret model has the top thumbwheel, which mates with the positioning holes in the rifle's receiver, recessed to fit flush with the base. The whole rear section is also dropped down a bit.
5. The revised design has changed to a more elaborate cast-metal adjuster module.
6. But the base is still solid steel. As far as I can tell, the small tapered radius down the top edges is purely for aesthetics; reminiscent of the FLZ's front post in the OP!

[45flint]

Sights seem to be a magnet for nice details. Here are some Weihrauch ones from the 50's.

Front sight from an early HW 55. Before more efficient flat metal inserts came along, front sights had these nice turned steel posts, interchanged by tapping the hood off and using a setscrew. These will also fit some other brands - and they actually show up on That Auction Site fairly often.




These three diopters are also from HW 55's. The two on the left are older, and solid milled steel; this "turret" style must have been manufactured in small batches, as there seem to be endless variations. The third one on the right is a newer generation introduced about 1959. Points of interest:

1. Huge eye disk with textured anti-glare rear face on this early turret sub-variant.
2. The disk's front flange mates with the turret's face to lock the elevation adjustment into place.
3. The huge thumbwheel underneath serves only to lock the windage setting (do Germans obsess over wandering settings?)
4. This later turret model has the top thumbwheel, which mates with the positioning holes in the rifle's receiver, recessed to fit flush with the base. The whole rear section is also dropped down a bit.
5. The revised design has changed to a more elaborate cast-metal adjuster module.
6. But the base is still solid steel. As far as I can tell, the small tapered radius down the top edges is purely for aesthetics; reminiscent of the FLZ's front post in the OP!

I have never seen the interchangeable posts in that first pic. Learn something every day as they say.

[MDriskill]

I have never seen the interchangeable posts in that first pic. Learn something every day as they say.

Take a look at the 1959 Weihrauch brochure scan here on Danny's Vintage Airguns Gallery site, especially its last page:

https://forum.vintageairgunsgallery....eous/#post-143

The new cast-block diopter was then being furnished on the top-of-the-line HW 55 match rifle. The older turret-style sights were still available, though "demoted" to being aftermarket accessories for the HW 35 and 50 sporters! The milled-post front sights were still current and several elements are seen (including a rather cool ring type, that would be an interesting little machining exercise).

[edbear2]

From an era when there was pride in your product rather than built to a price.
Standards of living for the working man being much poorer giving cheap labour helped enormously

It's Just a steel casting, like the prewar BSA units, or an old Williams /host of other makers .granted a nicely detailed one but not a machined part I would say personally, the skill would have been by the pattern / die maker.

The breech blocks on say militias and other older German stuff are also often forgings, giving various shapes which can't be got by machine tools in a sensible price / time, but hand finished in a time when time was cheaper to some extent.

In the 1920. a BSA Standard would be a weeks wages for a time served fitter / turner, so in todays money maybe £450-500 take home a week.

So looking at the bonkers prices of some top end PCP's and even TX's and Prosports, guns actually cost more now!

ATB, Ed

[45flint]

It's Just a steel casting, like the prewar BSA units, or an old Williams /host of other makers .granted a nicely detailed one but not a machined part I would say personally, the skill would have been by the pattern / die maker.

The breech blocks on say militias and other older German stuff are also often forgings, giving various shapes which can't be got by mahine tools in a sensible price time, but hand finished in a time when time was cheaper to some extent.

In the 1920. a BSA Standard would be a weeks wages for a time served fitter / turner, so in todays money maybe £450-500 take home a week.

So looking at the bonkers prices of some top end PCP's and even TX's and Prosports, guns actually cost more now!

ATB, Ed

“forgings usually require further processing (such as machining) to achieve a finished part.” Have to take a closer look when I get home.

[trajectory]

To my way of thinking there is undoubtedly skilfully machining evident on some of the older pre war air rifles/pistols & indeed some are very well finished with regards to polishing & blueing but isn't that just part of the story? I think that the design is in some way or another fundamental in bringing about the whole. If the design is not particularly good aesthetically or functionally then the other processes cannot retrieve the situation. It's this combination which in my opinion makes some of the older examples from various makers more interesting than others.

[edbear2]

“forgings usually require further processing (such as machining) to achieve a finished part.” Have to take a closer look when I get home.

BSA cast units for comparison, and a trigger guard.As you say further ops are done in some cases, ie. the spotface and tapping of the guard in the second picture, but honestly although old air rifles are often better made in respect of using castings and forgings, and aesthetic touches, most is very basic in terms of engineering and often just removing sharp edges and the like.

Older air rifles are just like anything else made say in the same period, be it tools or cars / motorbikes etc. before the bean counters took over.






ATB, Ed