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Education / Training Spring gun tuning: Part 5 – Powerplant disassembly

Spring gun tuning: Part 5 – Powerplant disassembly

Spring gun tuning: Part 1
Spring gun tuning: Part 2 – Building a mainspring compressor
Spring gun tuning: Part 3 – Mainspring compressor continued
Spring gun tuning: Part 4 – Let’s disassemble a gun!

by B.B. Pelletier

First, the trigger comes out by drifting two crosspins from the left. The safety is spring-loaded and will be released when the trigger unit drops free.

r1-trigger-web
Two pins are drifted out and the Rekord trigger is free.
r1-trigger-pins-web
Here’s the trigger with the crosspins, the safety and its spring.
Unscrew the end cap
The end cap is the reason Weihrauch spring rifles are much easier to disassemble. It holds the mainspring in the gun under compression. It simply unscrews from the spring tube. The first time you take it off it may be hard to start, so insert a wrench handle in the slot where the Rekord trigger was and bump it from the side. Mine’s been off before so it simply unscrews.

r1-end-cap-web
The end cap simply unscrews! The action is not yet in the compressor because the end cap is still restraining the spring, however, at this point, it goes in!
This is where other spring guns cause problems. In a later posting, I’ll discuss several of the other common ways of holding the mainspring in the rifle.

r1-end-cap-loose-web
The end cap is out and the mainspring is coming out of the tube. This is where you really need to keep the gun under control, and the compressor does that for you.
With the end cap out, I simply back off tension until the mainspring relaxes and I can safely remove the action from the compressor. Now, the mainspring and spring guide will come out of the rifle, but not the piston! It’s held in by the cocking link that’s connected to the barrel (this is a breakbarrel, remember?).

r1-link-web
The end cap is off, and the mainspring is out, but the piston is still connected to the barrel by the barrel link, shown here.
Separate the barrel from the spring tube to release the piston.
This involves removing the pivot bolt that serves as the barrel’s axle when it breaks open. On Weihrauch rifles, there is a nut on the right side that’s removed first.

r1-pivot-nut-web
The pivot nut looks like a large screw head. It has been removed from the bolt in this photo.
I’ll finish disassembly in the next post.

author avatar
Tom Gaylord (B.B. Pelletier)
Tom Gaylord, also known as B.B. Pelletier, provides expert insights to airgunners all over the world on behalf of Pyramyd AIR. He has earned the title The Godfather of Airguns™ for his contributions to the industry, spending many years with AirForce Airguns and starting magazines dedicated to the sport such as Airgun Illustrated.

11 thoughts on “Spring gun tuning: Part 5 – Powerplant disassembly”

  1. Could you post a picture showing the tube mounted in the compressor? I’m still unsure about how the thing works, although I understand the concept. Also, are the last pictures in this blog duplicates?
    Thanks

  2. I have opened up some other airguns, where you have to apply pressure to the inner part of the end of the spring tube before the crosspin can be removed. With a direct trigger this is somewhat delicate.

    To remove the pivot bolt, you have to break the barrel a little, otherwise the detent puts pressure on the bolt.

    Do you recomment to disassemble this sophisticated trigger device? It looks a little complicated for me.

    Markus

  3. Markus, D.B. and everyone else,

    I will show more about this in later posts. I will show the rifle in the compressor in detail. I wondered about that yesterday, but I thought I’d let you tell me. And you have.

    I do not recommend disassembling the Rekord trigger. There are folks who do it, but I do not. It’s so adjustable as is, I see no reason to go inside.

    As far as other types of disassembly, I will try to address that, though I am not going to publish instructions for disassembling every air rifle there is.

    B.B.

  4. I’m considering a Drulov DU-10 semiautomatic pistol and would like some input from anyone out there who has had experience with this gun.

    Although this is a 5 shot repeater I was wondering how the accuracy and balance compare to the Drulov DU-10 semiautomatic pistol or a similar product.

    Thanks

  5. B.B.

    This is good stuff. Just got my R7 back from Beeman and fell in love with it again for the 5th time in 4 years. Such a sweet shooter but the springs just aren’t durable. Noticed JM has some R7 tune kits again and I’m going to give this a try myself as soon as I can absorb all the info. Thanks.

    Springer John

  6. BB and anyone who wishes to reply to this,

    Here’s my question: I own a Benjamin 392, and it’s a great airgun; already bagged two crows in my backyard from 20 to 25 yards. But now I got the bug. I want to buy just one more gun, a springer. I’m torn between the RWS 48/52 and the RWS 350. I’ll admit that I probably don’t need the power that is available from both guns for backyard plinking. But either one would be nice to have as a second gun when I go shooting with a buddy down in California or in Washington state.

    I’ve done a bit of research, and I’m wondering if the sidelever would be more susceptible to mechanical wear than the breakbarrel. (I also researched the B-21, and that’s out; not interested.) Both guns (RWS 48/52 and 350) are nice looking, and, I’m sure, are well made. So, I guess, I’m just torn between which one to get. I’m leaning toward the 48/52, but wondering if the 350 might be better wear-wise. As far as available power, I don’t think it matters one way or the other. They’re both powerful enough.

    Also, any opinions on the Webley Xocet and Stingray?

    Cheers,
    Steve

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