Forks on Webley breakbarrels

[evert]

Has anyone ever had the forks off 70's-80's-90's Webley breakbarrels?
With the recent successtory on resealing the problematic Mercury tube by screwing out the forks and re-gluing them, I'm wondering if anyone knows how Webley mounted the forks on their actions?
Some of my Vulcan actions dont give as much power as the others, and its seems like theres a thin line/gap visible on the outside where the forks meet the tube, so they don seem welded or brazed?

[junglie]

Has anyone ever had the forks off 70's-80's-90's Webley breakbarrels?
With the recent successtory on resealing the problematic Mercury tube by screwing out the forks and re-gluing them, I'm wondering if anyone knows how Webley mounted the forks on their actions?
Some of my Vulcan actions dont give as much power as the others, and its seems like theres a thin line/gap visible on the outside where the forks meet the tube, so they don seem welded or brazed?

I've no idea if they're welded or brazed evert but have you tried a light sprinkle of talc around the join while firing to see if any air is escaping?

[BTDT]

The cylinder ends are threaded and have thread lock compound, so heat and some force are needed to remove them.

[evert]

The cylinder ends are threaded and have thread lock compound, so heat and some force are needed to remove them.

Great, thats what I've been suspecting!

[evert]

I've no idea if they're welded or brazed evert but have you tried a light sprinkle of talc around the join while firing to see if any air is escaping?

That may be a good idea!
I've seen some oil seep out of the thin hairline gap between the cylinder and forks, which is what got me thinking

[TonyL]

Wow! Very interesting.

I suppose it's one of the things that I often wondered about a long time ago but then it just got relegated to the back of my mind. And not just on these rifles, but all break barrels. The main thing we seemed to worry about was sloppy breech jaws on rifles sporting a pivot pin as opposed to a more secure bolt. But then you join the BBS and, firstly, the breech void on HW35s came to the fore. And many 35s, fettled by enlightened tinkerers will now deliver the performance promised. And now the Mercury and these Wobblies are under the spotlight. I wonder how many rifles from many manufacturers are actually affected to one degree or another? And not just break barrels either. Even the mighty TX has sometimes been under the spotlight for a leaky comp tube end. Are we now entering a new era of leaky breech scrutiny?

[evert]

I wonder how many rifles from many manufacturers are actually affected to one degree or another? And not just break barrels either. Even the mighty TX has sometimes been under the spotlight for a leaky comp tube end. Are we now entering a new era of leaky breech scrutiny?

Perhaps more will pop up as the glue used back in the day probably deteriorates?

For me it started with the Milbro Diana series 70:
https://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread...ack-of-quality

[evert]

The cylinder ends are threaded and have thread lock compound, so heat and some force are needed to remove them.

By the way, do you know if its a left- or right hand thread?

[BTDT]

By the way, do you know if its a left- or right hand thread?

I can't say for certain, as it was 40 years ago that I did the repair, but had it been a left hand thread, I think would have remembered that.

So probably right hand.

[evert]

I can't say for certain, as it was 40 years ago that I did the repair, but had it been a left hand thread, I think would have remembered that.

So probably right hand.

Thanks! A member on here confirmed that his Hawk had right hand threads, and I found the same in my BSA Mercury and Milbro Diana series 70.

Two of my Vulcan tubes have been struggling to reach 10fpe...
I've tried several piston seals(Maccari uretane, OEM PTFE, OEM purple urethane and Australian custom seals) and different springs (Webley, Maccari, Hatsan 10 joule spaced up) and they dont respond well.

One of the tubes is quite rough cosmetically, so I don have much to loose. Sounds like a blowtorch job coming up!

[TonyL]

Sounds like a blowtorch job coming up!

Oooh, a little bit of a typo there could prove entertaining!

[rabbitman]

The Webley Osprey action tube was threaded
And threadlocked together.This could
Cause air leakage but if the piston was modified
With a parachute seal the threads
Of the action tube sometimes could
Be exposed enough to break the seal
I'm the last mm of compression
Robbing the strokes power.
Something for you to look out for.
Also webleys alloy tubes are prone to bending
Where the trigger casing is welded
To the action when the welds cool
They can bend the tube.This can easily
Retard the pistons movement and
Lose a couple of foot lbs.

[evert]

The Webley Osprey action tube was threaded
And threadlocked together.This could
Cause air leakage but if the piston was modified
With a parachute seal the threads
Of the action tube sometimes could
Be exposed enough to break the seal
I'm the last mm of compression
Robbing the strokes power.
Something for you to look out for.
Also webleys alloy tubes are prone to bending
Where the trigger casing is welded
To the action when the welds cool
They can bend the tube.This can easily
Retard the pistons movement and
Lose a couple of foot lbs.

Thanks, a lot of good info there!
I wonder, were the tubes blued after they were assembled?

[evert]

Oooh, a little bit of a typo there could prove entertaining!

[TonyL]

As regards power, mine has sat solidly at mid 11's since day 1. Vernal could well have a leaky breach but that would be the first LGV I've heard of with this problem.

Nooooooo! Not the LGV as well?