A couple of poorly Airsporters!!

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johnbaz
Plinker
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Joined:Sun Dec 01, 2013 5:29 pm
A couple of poorly Airsporters!!

Post by johnbaz » Sun Dec 01, 2013 10:29 pm

Hi all

A few weeks ago I acquired a couple of early (Mk1 & Mk2) BSA Airsporters, both were in a very poor state..

The mk1 I paid £30 for! and the mk2 was a freebie from the bottom of the country so only cost me the postage!!

I had a go at refurbishing them, the mk1 being in the worst condition of the two :oops:

As I acquired it, the previous owner had 'repaired' the stock with interior wall filler, he cocked it and pulled the trigger (dry) before I could say anything but I think he did me a favour as his repair let go!!! :lol: :lol:

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The action was really badly rusted and upon stripping it the leather piston seal was in bits!!

After I stripped the rust AND black paint, this was the result, there's still some rust that was just too deep..

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After Reblueing with Ballistol Klever Blue (top action), it came out great with just one application but now some time has lapsed it's not so good i'm afraid, I think I can make more than one application for a deeper finish..

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For the stock I planed a piece of wood to the same dimensions of the gap where the underlever sits so that I could glue it without fear of the parts moving, I then applied some PVA, married the two bits together and lashed them tight with paracord..

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I then drilled two 7mm holes in the parts that overlapped and made two 7mm dowels of walnut, with hindsight I should have used beech as the endgrain has come up much darker then the parent wood, S'ppose I could drill them out and do it again!!

As I was rubbing the stock down I saved the wood dust and made a filler using it mixed to a stodgy consistency with the PVA glue then applied it to the cracks and damaged edges of the break..

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The Mk1 is still in bits as I still have to make a piston seal for it (Been too busy with other matters unfortunately)..

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The Mk2 looked as though it had been left against an outside wall for the last 30 years but shot surprisingly well!!

As I acquired it..

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I didn't reblue the action on this one as the rust was at the surface with no pitting as such!
I had a go at it with wire wool soaked in 3 in 1 oil..

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I was pleasantly surprised at how well it scrubbed up!! (bit like me really! :oops: )..

The stock I had to refinish as it really was sun bleached badly!!

I had to use Boiled Linseed oil for this which I don't really like since I once did a stock that stayed slightly 'tacky'! This one dried out lovely though!

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A few more 'rubs' of oil and reassembled!

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Cheers, John :P

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pmh
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Re: A couple of poorly Airsporters!!

Post by pmh » Sun Dec 01, 2013 11:16 pm

An excellent and interesting post, thanks for sharing.

Kind regards,



Phil
M0KPH
I now have so many airguns I've had to make a list, which is >>HERE<<
>>North Manchester Target Club<<

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