Walther CP1

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Tank
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Walther CP1

Post by Tank » Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:08 pm

The Walther CP-1 a very interesting pistol, extremely rare and the forerunner of the Walther Carbon Pistol series. Carbon of course because it is C02 powered.
Some time back Bob gave me a box containing a jigsaw, his Walther CP1. Under very tradgic circumstances he had had it returned from Bill Welch's workshop soon after his passing by one of his sons. The problem was, Bills son did not know which bits were which so he just gathered everything on the bench up and sent that. The issue I had of course was some of the parts had no relationship whatsoever with Bob's pistol! Took some working out I can tell you :geek:
There are no drawings, instructions or any other information. All I had to go from was a parts list :shock:
The other very interesting thing about this series of pistols, the Walther CP1 the CP2 and CP3, is that no two appear to be the same. I have had two CP2's side by side and they have been completely different, one had the barrel full length and running right through the Breech Block and the other had the barrel fitted to the front of the Breech but stopping just forward of the loading bolt.
Not just a subtle difference then.

Today I began it's rebuild yet again, I picked the barrel up from Colin Malloy who does a terrific Bluing job as you all know and laid everything out on my bench. I have not progressed as far as I would have liked but I have most of the tricky bits back together.

Here we see the bare Breech with the Barrel fitted. This is quite tricky as there are two different axis to line up correctly:

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The cocking lever installed, again, not trivial, not only does it have to line up with the Breech and the cross bore in the barrel but it also determines the loading bolt linkage.

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Aaaahhhhhhh! Trigger components. You really do need eight hands (and arms) to get this lot back in the breech block:

Image

There are plenty of small springs in there too :shock:

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Here you go, all back together and the trigger functioning correctly, it will need to be adjusted to the individual shooter once the pistol is fully built up and working properly.

Image

The next stage is of course the actual firing bolt and the valve components. This is for another day when I have a little peace and quiet.
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

zooma
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Re: Walther CP1

Post by zooma » Fri Aug 09, 2013 8:13 am

I am very pleased that Graham took on the CP1 challenge after Bills very sad passing as the random collection of assorted Walther parts that were returned to me represented a puzzle with a high degree of difficulty to put together again.

The progress has been understandably slow and the results hard won, but when completed this will be a fully functioning and rare example of the first CO2 powered pistol to be manufactured by Carl Walther.

The CP1 had a very short production run before it was rapidly up-graded to the CP2 with a removable trigger block and other improvements to make production and repair a little easier for all concerned, so it is very easy to understand why repairing and rebuilding this rare beast has been so difficult.

Here is a link to some pictures of my CP1 before the failure that has led to this repair:-

http://bobsairguns.com/index.php?option ... Itemid=124" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note the equally rare Derek Gent custom gip that has been fitted to this CP1 and the fully authentic and complete set of original paperwork and documents along with the original case that still has the matching serial numbers on the delivery sticker.

And here are some pictures of the grip after I had cleaned it up and modified it slightly to make it a lot more comfortable:-

http://bobsairguns.com/index.php?option ... Itemid=126" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Feinwerkbau P40 Tricolour wanted.........still !
http://www.bobsairguns .com - proud to host the RMTC site since April 2011.

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Tank
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Re: Walther CP1

Post by Tank » Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:16 pm

Well, the terrific news is that most of the parts I need to finish this project are available from Walther. I did have my fingers crossed for a while there!
Sadly, the passing of Bill of Bills Wather Spares fame has had a massive, and I cannot emphasise this enough, massive impact on the availability of Walther spares in the UK. Kate Welch has been invaluable in my quest for spares and although the communication has taken several weeks I have now received word that the spares are in stock at Walther. Next of course I shall negotiate their transportation to my workshop.
Amongst my list of spare part requirements from Walther was the Breech Seal for the LPM1 Single Stroke Pneumatic. I have been told this is now NLA (no longer available) so I will just have to get my friend Nick top make me one - or two on his nice new CNC machine! I cannot say though that machining soft polyeurathane is an exact science :D Nick would disagree.

So still on hold while the spares arrive as I robbed a few bits to make good the CP2 Bob bought as a "donor".
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

zooma
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Re: Walther CP1

Post by zooma » Wed Aug 14, 2013 10:27 pm

My CP2 spare parts are still shooting very nicely thank you, so I am going to treat them all to a new blue Walther case just to keep them safe incase they are ever needed in the future :lol:
Feinwerkbau P40 Tricolour wanted.........still !
http://www.bobsairguns .com - proud to host the RMTC site since April 2011.

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Tank
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Re: Walther CP1

Post by Tank » Sun Sep 01, 2013 4:56 pm

So today I spent some time playing my new game/hobby - How many times can we get the CP1 apart in three hours? game.
The answer is two!
I had it together and you know when something just doesn't feel right?
Well it turns out my concerns were not without foundation.

The breech, viewed from the rear. The tiny hole you see is the actual "hammer" guide.

Image

I just wasn't happy with the "feel" of the gun as it was being cocked - so apart it came. And this was as the very bottom of the !hammer" gallery:

Image

No, it isn't a mark on the rule - it's a piece of swarf from when the gallery was reamed. Further inspection revealed another collection of swarf around the bottom of the gallery. In reality, you probably would not have noticed this during day to day use of the gun, but it would slowly be doing mischief to the internals.

Image
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

zooma
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Re: Walther CP1

Post by zooma » Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:43 pm

This very rare and excellent example of the Walther CP1 does indeed show why Walther dropped it so quickly and moved onto the CP2 as soon as they did after making so few of them.

The CP1 is a lovely pistol to look at and to shoot, but it is not so easy to service as the CP2 and CP3 that followed it.

I am not suggesting that the CP2 and CP3 are really easy to work on - just that some of the parts ( such as the removable trigger cartridge) are easier to get at.

My guess is that the CP1 was just as awkward to manufacture and assemble as it is to repair and service and is why it was replaced by models that were a little more "user-friendly".

Having now got a superb example of this rare pistol in such nice condition and working well (with no leaks) it presents us with a dilemma - should we shoot it and risk something failing that may not be possible to fix or replace in the future - or preserve it in perfect working order for posterity ?
Feinwerkbau P40 Tricolour wanted.........still !
http://www.bobsairguns .com - proud to host the RMTC site since April 2011.

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Tank
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Re: Walther CP1

Post by Tank » Fri Sep 06, 2013 5:49 pm

Well, on Tuesday last, a cheer went up in the workshop and the Flags went up! (to coin a phrase).
The CP1 was finally finished.

Image

So knowing it was Bob's birthday I thought I would give him his own Pistol as a "gift".
It all went swimmingly, the gun was quite lively and everything was going great. Then Bob decided we should adjust the trigger. I should have known better really. All downhill from there. There were a few notable moments though, I especially liked Glenn's acrobatics when I discharged the (confirmed empty) gun behind the range as he was getting ready to change a target :lol:
Anyhow, I have it apart again and the ONLY thing I didn't mess with when I was repairing it was the trigger. It turns out that the smallest spring in the gun has finally given up the ghost and it is in two parts.
Bob, you will please pay attention to what the gun is actually sitting on and you will also see there is a two pound lump hammer not too far away!

Preserving it for posterity may not be an option!
graham.
I’m going off to go find myself. If I’m not back by the time I return, keep me here.
https://tamesidepistol.club/

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