HW99s imp / No Top Hat

[luckymjr]

Hi guys.

I have a question please regarding my 3 year old SFS HW99s imp. And my question Is, why doesn't the imp come fitted with a top hat? I only know this because I remember hearing Tony Wall giving this info to a customer at SFS when I collected the rifle from his shop.

And because I'm not handy with airguns or Indeed never actually stripped a springer down myself, I'm a bit confused. Why, because even I know that a spring air rifle needs a guide and a top hat to keep the spring stable during the firing cycle. So If that's the case, why hasn't the imp got a top hat fitted? My imp Is a joy to shoot, the cocking cycle Is as smooth as silk, the recoil Is minimal and the accuracy Is superb. But how can this be the case without a top hat? Why fit a top hat to any air rifle If such good results can be achieved without one?

Any info on this query guys will be greatly appreciated

[TonyL]

Mmmmmm.......like yourself, really not sure about this one. After all, any well-presented and refined gentlemanly spring seems underdressed to me without a top hat.

Are you sure that Tony wasn't pulling this other chap's todger?

[Mach 1.5]

Some of my early venom's don't have a top hat as they weren't about back then. With the right spring set up you don't need one. The 35 Vixen produce in 1978 doesn't use a top hat and shoots lovely. Mach 1.5

[harvey_s]

If the piston bore clearance between that and the outside diameter of the spring has been taken up with a correctly sized sleeve - what good does a top hat do anyway?

[Garry]

I thought a top hat was there as a form of bearing for the end of the spring. That's the impression I have from what's inside my TX HC. It's the only rifle I've ever had, so probably wrong in that assumption.

[Phil Russell]

If the Imp is so good, why worry? It is perfectly normal to add a slip washer between the end of the spring and the bottom of the piston. A top hat can keep the spring central to the piston but if the fit is good anyway, most likely helped by a piston sleeve then it is dubious if a top hat will add anything extra .. but I have come across quite firmly fitted top hats that have a slip washer on them. Note that you don't want a top hat to be a very tight fit in the piston and a very tight fit in the spring such that it restricts the spring from 'unwinding' as it expands during a shot.
Cheers, Phil

[Shed tuner]

two main functions.

1) centralise spring in piston. May not be needed if the spring OD is a tight fit in the piston ID, but there has to be some slack to allow for compression, so it'll not be 100%
2) front brearing for spring to rotate against (with a slip washer)

also two secondary functions
3) secure piston sleave in place
4) ensure spring is seated squarely on the inside face of the piston

I really think every gun should have one.

[luckymjr]

Thanks for the replies and Info guys