BSA Scorpion cheese buffer.

[Minuteman]

Scorpions, I've had a few. Love them truth be told but what a stupid piece of design.

I bought a Scorpion a few years back and when it arrived it wouldn't cock, turned out the washer had turned to cheese.

I was a bit cheesed off with the seller as they claimed to have test fired it before sale, and given my experience of them, and my experience of the pig of a job it was getting the piston head out of it, I figured that to be that welded in there it can't have been shot for ages. I remember the miffed email I sent the seller.

Skip forward to yesterday when I thought - I'll dig my old scorpion out, my only one now, I can't remember the last time I shot it and I fancy a bash with it.

Fine to begin with; bang, bang, bang, then *clunk*.

Bugger, I thought, I know what's happened there! The bloody piston heads come off.

Yep sure had.

But the reason wasn't the naff fixing but the buffer washer cheesing. Not just cheese either, but a special cheese weld combo just like that other one.

Could I get the sodding thing out?

Nope. Took a complete disassemble and over night in oil (which I am convinced did bugger all) then a rod through the transfer port to knock it back up the chamber.

Mentally I've been apologising to that poor sod who sold me one years ago all day

Anyway - I've seen the alloy one with adjustable fixing nut and different washers.

Part of me says "It looks like a gimmick don't trust it", but that's only a little bit of me, the majority part says "Got to be better than the original botch"

So which is it? Stick with tried and true, or go with new and improved?

[flatrajectory]

Go with the new one,it's a no brainer. No other airgun maker fits a buffer washer under the piston head...it's not needed...... unless you like to dry fire it a lot....?!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pete.

[Benelli B76]

I have just repaired two BSA Mercury rifles with the same problem.Some types of Polyurethane can go like cheese after a number of years, it is caused by humidity and or bacteria. I saw this happen to polyurethane tyred wheels in South Africa that had been stored for years. I managed to remove the jammed pistons, clean off the goo and fit two new polyurethane buffers I had turned up on the lathe. The one Mercury had an aluminium piston head which I could not remove so I cut a slit in the buffer so it could open to go over the piston shaft. The nylon piston head on the other came off easily but I had to turn down the diameter as the nylon had expanded due to moisture absorbsion. Both shoot well now.If I had not fitted buffers the thin pin that holds the piston head on takes all the impact, the nylon one had already shattered.

Baz

[ggggr]

Scorpions, I've had a few. Love them truth be told but what a stupid piece of design.

I bought a Scorpion a few years back and when it arrived it wouldn't cock, turned out the washer had turned to cheese.

I was a bit cheesed off with the seller as they claimed to have test fired it before sale, and given my experience of them, and my experience of the pig of a job it was getting the piston head out of it, I figured that to be that welded in there it can't have been shot for ages. I remember the miffed email I sent the seller.

Skip forward to yesterday when I thought - I'll dig my old scorpion out, my only one now, I can't remember the last time I shot it and I fancy a bash with it.

Fine to begin with; bang, bang, bang, then *clunk*.

Bugger, I thought, I know what's happened there! The bloody piston heads come off.

Yep sure had.

But the reason wasn't the naff fixing but the buffer washer cheesing. Not just cheese either, but a special cheese weld combo just like that other one.

Could I get the sodding thing out?

Nope. Took a complete disassemble and over night in oil (which I am convinced did bugger all) then a rod through the transfer port to knock it back up the chamber.

Mentally I've been apologising to that poor sod who sold me one years ago all day

Anyway - I've seen the alloy one with adjustable fixing nut and different washers.

Part of me says "It looks like a gimmick don't trust it", but that's only a little bit of me, the majority part says "Got to be better than the original botch"

So which is it? Stick with tried and true, or go with new and improved?

I have a love/hate thing with Scorpions. They are a fun pistol but I dont like the way the safety works or like you say, the piston head fitting design. I don't like the plastic piston head either. I was thinking about asking one ofthe nice chaps on here to make me a piston head that was held by a screw, but those T.R. Robb ones look the thing. You could always make up a leather buffer washer.
I have had an Airsporter Nylon head stick in a cylinder ( bugger to get out) and seen many of the crumbled cheese Bsa Buffer washers.

[Benelli B76]

Just noticed a lot of info on Google microbial degradation of polyurethanes. On another tack the nylon used for the piston heads is chronic at absorbing moisture and expanding in the compression chambers.

Baz

[Minuteman]

Thanks chaps I shall order one of the afore mentioned piston heads then

Interesting to read of the moisture take up and degradation factors - these materials must have been originally selected from a position of knowledge, so it does really make you think what were BSA doing using them in the first place!

I don't mind the auto safety all that much - except when squeezing for the shot that never comes because you forgot to disengage the bloody thing, but obviously I try and see that as a lesson in avoiding detrimental shot anticipation awareness (honest )

[DCL_dave]

I've replaced the plastic cheese buffer on a few BSA Meteors with a custom made leather buffer, made from thick leather (around 7-8mm) punched out to size and then compressed to fit in a big vice...it seems to work quite well.

[Troubledshooter]

The later buffers supplied by BSA were smaller in diameter than the originals, so even if they did swell they shouldn't sieze the piston in the cylinder.
I've changed a few recently, and even though the circlip removal is a PITA, I still prefer to use the original style components if available.

[oliver13]

Look familiar?
I suppose all BSA's of that period with a buffer washer will end up like this sooner or later,

I've removed the washer in Airsporters & Mercury's etc. as a matter of course as it's easy to modify the head to work without them, but if anyone has a link for a no buffer Scorpion head I'd be interested please?

[Benelli B76]

I see no reason not to have a buffer. If you cannot make one from polyurethane there is a standard rubber plumbing washer that is exactly the right thickness I have used on other mercurys. You can even fit them without taking the cross pin out and removing the nylon piston head.

Baz

[harry mac]

I see no reason not to have a buffer. If you cannot make one from polyurethane there is a standard rubber plumbing washer that is exactly the right thickness I have used on other mercurys. You can even fit them without taking the cross pin out and removing the nylon piston head.

Baz

Baz, what do I ask for at the plumbing counter? I have a Centenial that could probably do with its buffer replacing; I've had the rifle since 1983 and it's still got the original one in there.

[Minuteman]

Baz, what do I ask for at the plumbing counter? I have a Centenial that could probably do with its buffer replacing; I've had the rifle since 1983 and it's still got the original one in there.

1983!!

The one I've just had go has lasted no longer than 10 years.

Actually when you write it down 10 years seems longer than it feels, and all of a sudden it almost seems reasonable to have to replace it. Almost.

[Benelli B76]

Baz, what do I ask for at the plumbing counter? I have a Centenial that could probably do with its buffer replacing; I've had the rifle since 1983 and it's still got the original one in there.

PM me your address and I will post you a couple.The ones I have fit the Mercury,

Baz

[harry mac]

Cheers Baz. Address to follow.
HM.

[sproat]

Hello all over the years i have aquired afew scorpions and the first thing i do is replace the buffer washer,the best thing i have found is foam of 5m/m thick of 90 shore [a measure of hardness in foam] that seems to be just the ticket.