Sheridan Model B Sporter

[45flint]

Yes it packs a punch and it's very accurate too. The sights are great, better than on the B actually (finer foresight).
I think that Lawrie uses polyurethane yes. Hope I will get this A valve apart! It was resealed in 2010 in the USA.

Cheers, Louis

Ps. I know it's sinful but I think I prefer this cheap Crosman 187, shooting wise. 40 shots per powerlet at 620 ft/s, and very accurate. Wish it had grooves for a scope.

My Sears 180 with the longer stock is one of my favorites. Backyard friendly with 2 powers and a little easy to reseal than a “A”.

[ratbuster2240]

Vintage airgun porn!

A 140 and 180 are definitely on my list to own one day. These are in splendid condition old boy.

[AllanM]

The Sears/J C Higgins with the longer stock is one of my CO2 favourites too -- the second version I have does have grooves for a scope but they are very shallow.

[Jerry Cornelius]

Vintage airgun porn!

A 140 and 180 are definitely on my list to own one day. These are in splendid condition old boy.

You will not be disappointed. The quality of the old crosmans has no connection to the nasty things they make today

[ratbuster2240]

I agree, JC I know a lot of their range are budget or starter guns but I think they take the mick and I'm sure Rudy Merz wouldn't be very impressed.

You will not be disappointed. The quality of the old crosmans has no connection to the nasty things they make today

[jirushi]

@45flint, lovely guns!

The only thing that can become a bit uncomfortable with the 180/7, is the cocking knob. After a lot of shots, my precious little hands start to ache a bit LOL.

This Taiyo Juki has a smooth bolt. And a scope rail. Crosman inspired for sure, and accurate, even though the rifling looks rough.

I think I am making my thread about lots of other things than the Sheridan B

[ratbuster2240]

Hijack away Louis

Those old Nikko scopes are very clear and not bulky like new scopes.

[mallyally]

I have a Crossman 1400 with no scope rails so I made my own

[ratbuster2240]

Nice multi stroke Mallyally you don't see many of those. The scope rail looks like a solid way to mount a scope and better than the wobbly barrel mounts.

I have a Crossman 1400 with no scope rails so I made my own

[jirushi]

The Sheridan Model B Sporter went back to its owner.
We both thought that leaving the valve closed would be better than trying to open it up.
After speaking to Lawrie, I now know a trick to try to open it; maybe in the future. It's doing 590 ft/s on 8 pumps; not bad.

Then I had to have a look at my leaking A.

The valve came apart relatively easy. Thanks to my BSA SuperTEN pcp regulator collets. It was serviced in 2010; ptfe tape was used to seal the threads, instead of Loctite, thank the Lord



The nylon inlet seal. Perhaps original. These are sit very tight; I think this is called a press fit? So that air cannot escape between the brass and nylon. To remove them, a screw must be turned in the opening, and then from the other side, the screw needs to be tapped out. According to some documents I found on a thread by the late DT Fletcher on the American Vintage Airguns forum



You can see some imperfections on the sealing surface of the nylon seal above.
I used 2000 and 2500 grit sanding paper to resurface the seal.

[jirushi]

The A works well again, although it has a slow leak (valve with 6 pumps in was empty the next morning). I have decided that this is not relevant; for shooting, the leak is not fast enough to cause inconsistency. I think it comes from the threads of the two valve halves. I used one layer of 1 mm ptfe tape. A tight fit, but perhaps I should have used a second layer. It is also possible that the inlet valve still leaks a bit, but I cannot hear it.

After adjusting the pump rod (increasing length), so that the pump arm cams over, I am now getting 699 ft/s with 13.73 gr JSB, at 8 pumps. That is quite a bit more than before. Luckily I live in Holland (no power restrictions here).

Cheers

Finding the right length of the pump rod; adjust, test, adjust, test. Until it cams over, but not too much. I used a pin punch instead of the original pin, for ease

[Lawrie Amatruda]

The A works well again, although it has a slow leak (valve with 6 pumps in was empty the next morning). I have decided that this is not relevant; for shooting, the leak is not fast enough to cause inconsistency. I think it comes from the threads of the two valve halves. I used one layer of 1 mm ptfe tape. A tight fit, but perhaps I should have used a second layer. It is also possible that the inlet valve still leaks a bit, but I cannot hear it.

After adjusting the pump rod (increasing length), so that the pump arm cams over, I am now getting 699 ft/s with 13.73 gr JSB, at 8 pumps. That is quite a bit more than before. Luckily I live in Holland (no power restrictions here).

Cheers

Finding the right length of the pump rod; adjust, test, adjust, test. Until it cams over, but not too much. I used a pin punch instead of the original pin, for ease

Hi Louis,

You should use an "O" ring instead of PTFE tape, In my opinion using PTFE is never a way to go when sealing air guns.

Cheers, Lawrie

[jirushi]

Hi Louis,

You should use an "O" ring instead of PTFE tape, In my opinion using PTFE is never a way to go when sealing air guns.

Cheers, Lawrie

Thank you Lawrie, that's good advice.

Would the o-ring just be squeezed tight between the two valve halves?

Many thanks, Louis

[ratbuster2240]

Great fix, fingers crossed it beds in and seals for longer. At least you can use it and enjoy it.

[jirushi]

Thank you James.
Unfortunately, I cheered too quickly.
After about 40 excellent shots, velocity dropped a bit.
A few shots later, I could hear a leak from the inlet valve again.
I should send the valve to a specialist (aka Lawrie or UJ Backus) but this is a bit scary;
if it gets lost...
Another option would be to ask my gunsmith if he can help.
He could probably resurface the nylon inlet seal in his lathe, or make a new seal (delrin, following Lawrie’s advice).
To be continued...