Resealing a Diana Model 10, Part 2

And on it goes...

The trigger.

I pushed the pin out, removed it and put the pin back in so I wouldn't lose track of the orientation of the spring.

The cocking link pin was knurled just as on the 6M.

I punched it out.

The pivot lock screw was removed, then the pivot screw.

There's a washer in there as well.

Heavy washer on the left side.

Thin washer on the right.

I removed this trigger component as well...

And the heavy spring.

At this point the sear clears the piston, so I played it safe and left the rest of the trigger group intact.

This piston cocking shoe would not slide out the front. So I just left it disengaged from the piston. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be able to come out this way, or if the entire trigger group needs to be removed and this inserted from the other end. But it doesn't matter.

Everything ready for piston removal...

Resealing a Diana Model 10, Part 1

As I said earlier, an exceedingly kind reader sold me a Diana Model 10 pistol.

As received, in the box, with manual, test target, pellet tin and screwdrivers. The only problem is that the seals are bad. So I ordered a set from Jim Maccari.

Just a beautiful pistol. The Diana 6M I resurrected shares some of the features, but lacks the styling, as well as the quality.

Grips removed.

The underside.

The barrel weight removed.

Using a ball end allen wrench to remove the spring setscrew.

Removing the shroud retaining screw.

The front sight.

The sight screws were removed, and I drifted it out.

The elevation screw on the rear sight was removed, which exposed the two mounting screws.

Removing the trigger guard screw.

The triggerguard lifts out, but there's a spring...

The spring stayed in place on the guard.

The housing around the trigger is pushed up and off.

The housing.

Still more to do...

Cleaning Up a Crosman 66, Part 2

Well, I didn't want to do a lot of work on the 66...

The transfer port is a somewhat restrictive .125" diameter, and the transfer port seal is .140"

So I drilled out the transfer port.

And the valve. I didn't bother smoothing, polishing, etc.

The cocking lever and spring goes in.

Then the rest of the trigger group.

I stuffed all the other bits in.

Then took it all apart as I forgot the plug that retains the shroud. It had fallen on the floor.

All back together. I put a cheap garage sale scope on it, as the rear sight is missing. The front bit of the handguard is missing as well. I checked out the velocities, with 7.9 gr. premiers it was shooting at 589 fps, 6 ft/lbs with 10 pumps, a bit slow from the advertised velocity of "up to" 645 fps. With 10.5 gr. premiers I got 521 fps, 6.33 ft/lbs, and with 15 pumps 567 fps, 7.5 ft/lbs.
Not that you're supposed to pump it up more than 10 times...

So now if one of my friends reveals that they are lacking a pellet gun, I have the perfect $6.00 gift to give them.

A Short Monday Ramble

Sorry for the lack of postings, things got a little busy here so airguns had to take a backseat to other work.
I hope to have the Crosman 66 reassembly up in a day or so. I have a long post or two from our Ohio correspondent as well, once I edit the pictures. A kind reader of the blog sold me a Diana model 10 pistol, which is beautiful but needs resealing. I'll get to work on it as soon as the seals arrive from Maccari.
So lots of stuff to come a little later in the week.

In other news the Crosman 167 is still holding gas a week after my homemade valve seal job, which is great news. The project taught me a lot about using razor blades for machining urethane rubber. I need to make some dedicated tooling and explore some ideas on that.

Cleaning Up a Crosman 66, Part 1

Well, I can't always work on lovely old vintage guns...The neighbor had a bunch of BB guns he had to sell for his daughter, so I bought several for $6.00 a pop. The Crosman 66 below had a few problems. The barrel shroud was missing the screws that hold it in place, the sight was missing and overall it was dirty. So I decided to take it apart and get it back into shape.

The Crosman 66

Notice the shroud is loose and rust freckled.

I used a square drive screwdriver to remove the three screws on the right side.

And one on the left.

I popped the cap off the pistol grip and unscrewed the buttstock.

The trigger assembly. This picture is important for reassembly. You can't really make it out but there are cobwebs in the trigger assembly.

The hammer assembly comes out when the tube is pulled and the trigger parts go all the pieces...

Punching out the pump pivot pin.

The pump arm removed. The pump seal was dirty.

The small rubber seal for the transfer port was removed.

The valve assembly was pushed out the front of the tube. The pump end was really dirty.

I chucked up one half in the lathe, locked the spindle and usncrewed the other half with a vise grip. The jaws were cushioned with a thick rubber band.

The valve, disassembled.
Everything in the gun is dirty. So I'll clean it all up and put it back together for the next post.

A Valve Stem Seal for the Crosman 167, Part 2

So, on to the valve.

The valve assembly was pushed out of the tube.

The valve assembly, disassembled.

I used a short dowel pin to press the valve stem out.

The disassembled valve.

Using the directions in Airgun Hobby Vol. 2, Number 3, on page 43, in an article titled "How To Make and Install Your Own Valve Seals" by Peter Ruut, I stamped out a 5/16" diameter disc from 1/8" thick 95 durometer urethane rubber sheet.

However I found that stamping the disc made the edge of the disc concave. This didn't seem ideal to me. I'm not sure why this happened, but will chalk it up to differences in material supply, ambient air temperature and possibly my use of an arbor press instead of a hammer...

So I turned down some 95 durometer rod to 5/16" diameter.

And drilled the hole for the stem.

I clamped a utility knife blade to the toolpost and cut the face off.

Then cut it to length. This worked well and gave a very smooth surface. I think I'll make a dedicated utility knife holder for the lathe.

The new seal on the right, old on the left.

I pressed the valve back together. Notice the bolt in the picture with the cutouts for the cocking pins.
I assembled the rifle and it held gas! Two days later and it's still holding fine, so I'm calling this repair good. I did replace the other o-rings as well, which certainly didn't hurt.