Kessler Air Rifle Disassembly, Part 3

On I go…

Like the Rochester I did, I had to desolder the valve from the pump tube.

Desoldered valve assembly.

The valve stem pushes that ball off of a rubber gasket inside the valve body.

There’s a thin copper washer for sealing and as I have read, “timing” the assembly position...

Inlet valve removed.

Looks just like the Rochester part.

Seals are shot. This is partly due to some overzealous heating on my part.

Nut inside that captures the valve washer.

Nut removed.

Washer dug out…

I have some Kessler seal kits that came with my Rochester purchase. The pump cup looks very different so I’ll have to make/hack a new pump rod probably. So I’ll clean everything up and try and reseal it soon.

Kessler Air Rifle Disassembly, Part 2

On I go…

The hammer unscrews.

It’s a nice hammer.

Rear sight.

This screw holds the bolt bushing/cam in place.

Removed.

The bolt.

The valve stem.

Unlike the 101/Rochester, it pulls out.

Valve stem.

Bolt sleeve.

Sleeve again.

Hammer spring and nut.

The sear/hammer tube. “Hammer Barrel”.

The barrel is removed.

Small dimple that locks it in place.

Setscrew hidden inside the takedown threads. It holds the valve assembly in.

Looks like a Bristol Spline head, but I was able to remove it with a hex driver.

The entire tube and valve assembly removed from the receiver.
More to come…

Kessler Air Rifle Disassembly, Part 1

I was offered this Kessler and couldn’t resist it.

Better looking than a 101/Rochester with essentially the same underlying power plant.


The receiver is an attractive casting.

Not sure which model of Kessler this is (and I suspect it’s a “frankengun”).

The front sight blade is broken off.

The rubber butt pad does not look original.

Knurled takedown screw.

The head is painted.

With the screw removed the action comes out of the stock.

Trigger spring and follower/guide.

It’s funny how a simple casting change can fundimentally alter the appearance.

Odd nut for the pump arm linkage.

Thankfully I didn’t have to make a spanner, it unscrewed easily.

Pivot pin & nut.

The barrel band/end cap just pushes out of the tube.

Spherical bolt seal. Setscrew above needs to be removed.

Screw removed.

End cap.

Pump assembly removed.

Pin removed.

Looks like the owner glued some felt in as it seems modern.

This doesn’t look like a Rochester/Kessler pump cup assembly, more like that found on a Crosman 140. I’ve asked those who may know and will edit as needed.

Another view.
More to come.