1979 HW35 help

[Daveo]

Ahhhhhh that makes sense I bet you are both correct with that
I’d not thought of it
I’ve had to cut the cocking link to get it out
Absolutely would not budge
I almost guessed it above
Like the piston has been slamming into the cocking lever!
I’ve cleaned and degreased the gun, managed to get a tbt kit that was bought in error
So I’ll order a cocking link but first I’ll check the barrel
Would a Straight edge off the top off the barrel block do it?

[T 20]

I normally go with a straight edge off the top of the barrel block and also from the bottom of the barrel block and measure the gaps with a vernier front and rear to determine if straight.

[Dirty Roach]

I've just fitted a Welsh Willy kit to my 1980 HW35 that it still running a leather seal.

It's running very nice at 10.5ftlb, I cut the spring as I wanted the power to be mid 10's. I would recommend Will's kits.

[Daveo]

Right time for an update.
Everything is done that I can do, the bent upwards barrel returned to straight
The nasty burr on the piston has been filed back and lightly polished.
A new style cocking lever has arrived along with a bottle of neatsfoot oil.
I soaked the piston seal for 24 hours.
The cocking lever slot has been smoothed out and de-burred.
I managed to acquire a TbT kit for the gun, I was told it’s for a HW35 and had been bought for the new style ‘35 but it wouldn’t fit.
So I’ve got a spring, a top hat and a guide plus some power washers all nicely fitting together.
It seems to be the right dimensions apart from the spring is way too long, I haven’t measured, just compared it to the original
What’s the best way to get a start point for chopping the spring down?
How much preload should I try on a .22 leathered sealed 35?
I could Cut it to the same number of coils as the original or measure the space in the piston and work out how many coils will physically fit in there?
Lot of questions but I don’t want to chop it short!
Any advice welcome thanks Dave

[Daveo]

I've just fitted a Welsh Willy kit to my 1980 HW35 that it still running a leather seal.

It's running very nice at 10.5ftlb, I cut the spring as I wanted the power to be mid 10's. I would recommend Will's kits.

Thanks for the input mate.
Fortunately I managed to find a useable kit, I think

[TonyL]

Double check that the top hat and guide will fit in the piston, or it won't cock. Start with about an inch of spring protruding from the cylinder and shorten accordingly if required. Mine is flush with the end of the cylinder (but runs an 'O' ring head).

[Nikkormat]

I agree with TonyL's advice above. I have a modern 35, and after a bit of experimenting with the TBT kit, ended up with the spring cut down to a mm or two below the end of the cylinder.

[Daveo]

Success
Two coils off and it’s back together and shooting.
Smooth as silk at 10.9 ftlb
I stuffed the over size spring in a few days ago
It sat in the gun under a fair amount of compression, I was surprised to see an obvious shortening when I stripped the gun today
I’m going to take it to the range and put a few 100 through it, then my mate can have it back.
Thank you all for the fantastic advice.

[TonyL]

Excellent stuff!

Enjoy starting the running-in process for your friend. It might be worth checking the power output again once you've put those few hundred shots through.