I've just repaired my B21, thanks to the advice from here, and so it has the recommended lubrication in the right places.
That made me think about my other springers, some of which may never have had any added. A little google yielded contradictory advice, all the way from never lube at all to dump silicone oil down the transfer port or muzzle. Basically I want to do whatever is needed to maintain their lifespan.
The IZH-61 and the Diana 24 get the most use, because they're perfect in the basement, but then there's the BSA Goldstar that will someday be passed on to a grandchild probably; I really want to keep that one in good shape. I've had all of them more than 15 years.
Any suggestions?
I've just repaired my B21, thanks to the advice from here, and so it has the recommended lubrication in the right places.
That made me think about my other springers, some of which may never have had any added. A little google yielded contradictory advice, all the way from never lube at all to dump silicone oil down the transfer port or muzzle. Basically I want to do whatever is needed to maintain their lifespan.
The IZH-61 and the Diana 24 get the most use, because they're perfect in the basement, but then there's the BSA Goldstar that will someday be passed on to a grandchild probably; I really want to keep that one in good shape. I've had all of them more than 15 years.
Any suggestions?
Let me not write a book here.
The Piston seal inside of Springer needs to have some sort of lubricant on it, but there's a lot of information out there that says you should be dumping oil down the transfer report and that will usually result in a broken spring after a big KAPOW! Most Springer seals probably already have enough oil on them from the factory when it comes to synthetic seals.
So, let me address springers with a synthetic piston seal first.
If your Springer's with a synthetic seal don't honk like a goose when you cock them, they've already got some lube on this piston seal. Just leave them alone. There's a way to add like one single drop from the rear of the Piston seal even in an assembled rifle, but I'll leave that for another post. No honking?? You're good to go. Just shoot and enjoy.
Now when it comes to a springer with a leather seal , you don't want to over lubricate those either . But they will need a little, a little oil from time to time 2 make sure the seal is pliable and remains large enough to give a good seal. A chronograph is your friend there. If the velocity stays the same you don't need to add any oil.
If you do add oil, it's better to do it from the rear of the seal and it can be done in an assembled rifle. I'll try to cover that later. Or someone else can do it.
Hope that gets you started.
I'll listen hard for the honking.
I found an old post from 2001 where I complained about my Goldstar dieseling a bit, so I think it's clear it wasn't dry back then.
I don't remember where I got the RWS 24 but it's pretty old. I'll look for a date stamp tonight. It might be old enough for a leather seal.
I also found an old post from Russ Best about disassembling Goldstars, and this one is clearly beyond me. Hope it never needs anything.
I got the chrony setup again, remembered which light bulb worked, checked these.
Compared to my data from 10 years ago:
The B21 was doing 450 fps, now it's 760-770. That's with standard .22 CPs. That's an impressive improvement from that Maccari tune kit. It's smoother too, noticeably even though it's been a while since I shot it.
The Diana 24 was doing about 500, now it's about 470. The date stamp is 09 96, could that be a leather seal?
The Goldstar was doing about 890 with .177 CPs, now I'm getting 815.
And lastly the IZH61 was doing 460 and now it's 440. I'm not sure that's enough difference to matter.
Due to vision problems I've hardly shot any for a couple of years, so maybe some of this is just not being used. I'm seeing better now after surgery and hope to do more.
