by B.B. Pelletier
Now, on to today’s blog.
This will be a difficult report to do, as there is a lot of worldwide support for the new Diana T06 trigger — from people who have never seen it but are ready to spring to its defense if necessary.
I’ve used the T05 trigger that comes on many of the current RWS Diana air rifles and find it to be a great airgun trigger. It’s certainly not as adjustable as Weihrauch’s Rekord trigger, but when something works right why does it need to be adjusted? I suppose I’m less critical of trigger adjustments because of all the different guns I shoot. I can understand why the owner of a single gun would want it to be exactly right. Since I never get that, I guess the importance is lost on me. What I mean is that I understand it in my head but not in my heart.
I selected an RWS Diana model 34P as my testbed. The reason is that the model 34 is very popular, and it’s evolved over the years into a pretty nice spring-piston rifle. I remember the 34s of the 1980s that were crude and rough by comparison to what you get today. The 34P is identical to all other RWS Diana 34 models, except that it has a black synthetic stock.
To test the triggers, I first shot the rifle with the T05 trigger that came standard until I got used to it. Next I will install the T06 trigger and piston that were generously supplied by Umarex USA.
The RWS Diana 34P breakbarrel rifle was used to test both triggers.
The T05 trigger came with the test rifle. The only adjustment screw is inside the trigger blade, and it adjusts only the length of the first stage.
There’s no reason to test the rifle for accuracy or velocity, because the trigger doesn’t affect either of these attributes. If the original trigger had been really bad, there could be an improvement in accuracy due to a more reliable sear release point, but such is not the case. The T05 trigger is crisp and positive in all respects. The T05 is already so nice that the T06 has a lot to live up to.
The RWS Diana model 34 has been in production since 1984, and it began life in a plain wooden stock with the T01 trigger. The trigger blade of the T01 was made of stamped metal. It worked, but it was hollow in the back so it looked cheap. However, the T01 trigger was very adjustable and someone familiar with it could adjust it to a remarkable release.
Sometime around the year 2000, Diana changed the trigger design to the new T05 that had a solid trigger blade that was even straighter than the T01 blade had been. Unfortunately for Diana, they made the new trigger blade — and a couple other obvious trigger parts like the new safety bar — from plastic. Apparently, no one at Diana remembers the hue and cry back in the 1970s when FWB sold their 124 and 127 sporting rifles with plastic trigger blades. Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.
Not plastic
The T05 TRIGGER is actually not plastic! The trigger BLADE is plastic, but the blade alone is not the entire trigger. The actual unitized mechanism that is the trigger contains many metal parts. The way the trigger unit is designed, the trigger blade does not touch the sear, though if you listen to all the wounded souls whose lives have been ruined by that “plastic trigger,” you might think that it does.
I remember as a kid our old 1940s Kelvinator refrigerator had a nickelplated metal locking handle on the door. My fridge today, which is three times larger and far more efficient, has a plastic handle and the door is held shut by a magnet. Should I stop eating in protest? What about those plastic bumpers on today’s cars? Should we all walk because we no longer have steel hanging out in front and behind?
The T05 trigger works just fine. The one on the test rifle releases crisply at 2 lbs., 10 ozs. and it’s good enough that I was able to shoot dime-sized 10-shot groups at 20 yards and sub-half-inch groups at 35 yards. Read about it in this four-part report.
There’s only one adjustment on the T05 trigger, and aside from the plastic trigger blade, it’s the focus of most of the criticism. The screw in front of the trigger blade controls how long the first stage is, and that’s all you can adjust. Fortunately, the pull weight and let-off are very nice as they come, but there’s no easy way to adjust them. When people feel they have no choices, they don’t like it.
T06 trigger
The T06 trigger, by way of contrast, has adjustments for the pull weight, the length of the first stage and the sear engagement. The T06 trigger has three adjustment screws. The one in front adjusts the length of the stage-one pull. The screw behind that, which is buried deep inside the aluminum trigger blade, is for adjusting the sear contact (I think) and a screw located behind the trigger blade is for adjusting the weight of the trigger-pull.
The front screw on the T06 trigger blade adjusts the length of the first stage pull. Deep inside the hole behind it is the screw that adjusts the sear contact, I believe, and the screw behind the trigger blade is for adjusting the pull weight.
Thankfully, Diana also replaced the old plastic safety bar with one that looks identical and made from aluminum. I think they got the message about plastic.
The T06 trigger requires a different piston to work. It looks the same as the one in the T05 guns, but the lockup surfaces on the piston rod are different and must be configured to mesh with a T06 trigger. Making the switch isn’t just a matter of replacing the modular trigger unit, but the piston, as well.
The T06 trigger and piston used in this test were provided by Umarex USA.
I haven’t seen an owner’s manual for this trigger, so everything I’ll tell you will come from trial and error. My next job is to tear down the 34P and swap in the T06 trigger and piston for the T05. Following that, I’ll shoot the gun extensively, adjusting the trigger as I go. Although I’ll give the weight of the T06 trigger-pull, most of this report will be subjective — my observations after shooting the rifle with both triggers.
Will be interested to see how this works. I have a DIana 34, which I use a lot, but I HATE plastic triggers and where possible use a trigger shoe. Plastic sights, plastic safety, fine, but the feel of plastic on the trigger makes me shudder. Stamoped metal may look cheap but plastic feels cheap too. I do wish manufacturers would really get the message and stop using it.
Oliver -i feel the same way about plastic triggers ,you have my support
Ok trigger blades ,sorry B.B. 🙂
Personally I find the plastic and poor or no option of quality open sights to be a bigger issue for me than a plastic trigger blade. I have several Diana guns with the T0-1 and T0-5 plastic trigger blades and have had no issues with it. The only thing I’ve done to a couple of them is to de-burr the plates inside that grab the piston rod. Diana’s are my favorite springers , and the best value in springer type air arms bar none, IMO.
Oliver,
I think there has been enough information about how people feel on this subject that no manufacturer, not even the Chinese who claim to not understand the American market, can fail to be aware of it. This blog is read by all the important manufacturers around the world, simply because of the things they can learn from you readers. So if they press on with something that’s clearly wrong, like plastic trigger blades, it’s clearly their own fault.
B.B.
When it comes to plastic trigger blades I don’t really want to get my guts in a knot. I prefer metal blades, but I also prefer less expensive guns so will put up with plastic blades. To me don’t matter functionally what the blades are made of so long as the gun shoots accurately. Except in the case of pure “fun guns” like to Ebos and such. There because they probably get more use/abuse they probably should be metal.
Sights are another matter though as they affect severely the accuracy of the gun if they are plastic with sloppy non-repeating settings. In all cases I want a solid, well made metal sight with tight tolerances that operates smoothly!
Yeah, those terrible plastic TO5 triggers……I hear about them breaking all the time, but never from someone who has actually broken one or knows someone who has broken one.
I have not broken the one on my 48. AlanL has not said that he has broken one…that should say something. I guess you could gorilla it with the safety on and break it if you tried hard enough. I fixed a CVA sidelock one time that had been gorillad when at half cock. The sear lever arm was bent. Deer hunting makes things like that happen. Love that buck fever.
It would be nice if the pull weight was adjustable, but mine is fine as long as I have not been shooting my HWs too much.
I don’t have a problem with the blade width of the TO5. The 2300’s metal blade is something that I DO have a problem with.
twotalon
Hi, folks. Speaking of gorillas and airguns, I find that it’s a VERY common problem for people to gorilla my Marauder safety way past the normal “safe” position. Sometimes, I think they’re trying to put the safety on “safe” and are expecting some sort of positive “clunk” into position. Sometimes, I think they’re trying to squeeze the trigger (which they already know durn well is nice and light) and gorilla the wrong blade.
They wind up moving the safety blade almost all the way back to the trigger blade. With well more than the usual effort, I can shove the thing back to its normal position, where it seems to behave normally again. Do you think this is messing up my trigger? I haven’t noticed any change in behavior, but I shudder each time somebody does it. My four- and seven-year-old boys never do this, but a huge percentage of adults do, even after I give them the primer on how to manipulate the safety with a _light_ touch!
-Jan
Even if you show the gorillas how to do it with just one finger, they will persist in using brute force. Don’t hand them the gun.
twotalon
GinghisJan
When this happens, despite your instruction, I would give them what I call ‘the look’, take the gun from them, and hand them an underlever B3 from Shanghai while shaking your head. They should get the message.
ROFLMAO!
Update on varmint elimination project…
Seems there was another coon showing up. The trail cam clearly showed that this is not the same one that I got the pics of the first time. The buggers don’t always show up every night or at the same time.
The easiest solution would seem to be to trap them, but there is a problem….what to use for bait. They like anything that cats like. That is a problem if you don’t want to catch cats too. They like miniature marshmallows and cats don’t, but they will pass up the marshmallows if there is cat food available.
I set out a plate with canned sweet corn and canned sweet potatoes next to the cat food to see if the varmint would like it. He licked the plate clean and apparently did not touch the cat food.
Now, I will feed him for a couple days and at the same time reduce the cats curiosity about the food before rigging up the trap. That should do the job. May work with possums too. Maybe canned mixed fruit will snag them too. Has to be something that cats don’t like.
This may all seem off topic completely, but there have been plenty of times that someone will want to know about bait for drawing in and eliminating pests, or what to use to wack them.
twotalon
First I must admit I don’t see much difference between a cat and a raccoon (when I was younger a friend found a baby and bottle fed him and he was staying in the house, nice little fellow) as long as he’s not tearing things up I don’t see a problem there and would leave the thing alone. The cat that used my garden as a litter box bothered me more than the raccoon that sometimes comes say hi at night.
Secondly even if you use something cats don’t like as bait in a killing trap the cats being cats, and therefore very curious, they may end up dead or injured in your trap, why not just use a “have a heart” type trap and relocate the furry beast?
J-F
The only trap I use is a live trap. It’s a wire box trap type.
I don’t want varmints that carry rabies and distemper hanging around. I also don’t want to transport and release a very upset critter that might not just run off when released.
You want to cohabitate with them, that is your problem. I don’t put up with it.
twotalon
I’ve had no problem relocating some rats, and there was no other option, I couldn’t use poison because my there was 3 small dogs living there and they could get to the baits, same thing with killing traps, shooting them was also out of the question because I didn’t want to spend the night freezing my butt there and there was too many of them, it would have taken me a few weeks and the neihbors were too close in case of a miss I would have shot at them and the rifles I had at the time would have been border line to get the job done cleanly. None of the rats even looked at me once I opened the cage, they’re just so happy to be free they don’t look twice, open the door, wait 2 or 3 seconds and goodbye, just point the cage in a direction where they can run away and find a place to hide.
Same thing when I rescued a skunk a few year ago, it had stuck it’s head in a jar and couldn’t get out.
Not many cases of rabbies around here so the raccoon(s) that sometimes visit our property isn’t a problem. He won’t come out until very late at night because earlier there’s still a chance that he comes face to face with one of my dogs. I always take a look (and a sniff) before letting the dogs out at night to make sure there is no skunk around. We also have a rabbit couple under one of our trees, the kids love them and the dogs don’t seem to mind. If the cat next door would stop pooping around my tomatoes we would all co-exist in peace.
J-F
J-F,
I agree with twotalon. Raccoons are rabies carriers. In fact, it’s pretty common. Same with skunks. While a hand-raised raccoon may seen tame, they’re still not totally domesticated. House cats have been domesticated for thousands of years. They may act wild every now & then, but they aren’t the same as raccoons.
In many states where raccoons and/or skunks are plentiful, rabies is a problem that is best treated by humanely dispatching the animal. I know that skunks cannot be vaccinated against rabies. That’s why the state of Colorado stopped allowing hand-raised skunks as pets. I don’t know if that’s the same with raccoons.
Tom told me that foxes are notorious rabies carriers, too. When he lived in Germany, he was told that all foxes were to be shot on sight. It was that bad. Many people feel the same way about raccoons & skunks.
Edith
Edith..
I have a favorite method for skunk removal without stinking up the neighborhood.
I have box trapped them, but it is difficult. My best is the garbage can trick.
Place a knocked over trash can by my TV antenna tower. Run a rope from the garbage can handle up and over a rung on the tower and into the back door. Set out a infrared detector to tell me when to look. Bait up with a trail if cat food that goes into the can.
When the bugger shows up, just yank the rope to set the can upright. Cover the top and haul it off.
To release, remove the lid and kick the can over. Run a few yards to make sure of some distance. Works fine.
twotalon
A British guy wants to smuggle a Skunk into the UK to keep as a pet.
He suggests to his wife they hide it in her dirty laundry bag to get through customs.
She says,
“Yeh but what about the smell?”
He replies,
“Well if it dies,it dies”
DaveUK
Thanks Dave!
UK Dave,
the version I heard was a “bit” more coarse. Kudos for cleaning this up!!!
Fred PRoNJ
The raccoon rabies epidemic here in the northeast has reached serious levels in recent years. Skunks also have the ability to carry the disease and not show any outward signs. Since I trap and handle many animals I would advise wearing nitrile gloves when handling any wild animals. The rabies problem and problems of animal disease in general can be controlled with responsible trapping. Folks have a distorted view of modern trapping due to the distorted anti-natural resource harvest slant of the liberal media. The only thing that saddens me when having to take out off season nusiance wildlife is the fact that they are wasted , and that their pelts which can provide me with extra income are not prime and valueless. I feel the same way when I see road killed wildlife.
TT , there are also raccoon specific traps, that are not cage traps , and are non-lethal ,( giving you an option to dispatch or not) that will not catch your cats. They will also hold the raccoon humanely without damage to it’s limbs. One of the ones I have used are the coon cuffs, and I have never caught a cat in one.
What about possums?
One thing about catching cats is that they will not go in a box trap the second time unless they are starving or retarded. You only catch them once.
Being bait specific for the species seems to be about the best solution to me.Except for skunks.
twotalon
TT: If you are asking about the coon specific traps I mentioned. I will say that I have never caught a cat, possum , or skunk , in one ,but I know other’s that have. Cats and the others don’t seem to work the trap like a coon ,and the coon has to grab and either pull or push the trigger to fire the trap. If you use sweet baits, and there is a specific lure just for coons called “Hard Core” which is a intensly sweet lure that I’ve found effective. Just avoid using cat food, or fish around pets. Also if you use a propane torch and melt a few of the minature marshmallows on the trigger plate of your trap it helps with the bait stealers. Keep in mind that a really big coon will also sometime trip the Havahart type box traps , and the door will fall on it’s back allowing it to wiggle out. Then they will often avoid it for good.
TT: There is also a box trap for skunks that is made of PVC and it is enclosed to prevent you being sprayed, but it can be too small for big raccoon. I have used a tarp and if you take your time and move dilberately, you can side it over the box trap and not have the skunk spray. Go to http://www.shopwcs.com for the tools I have mentioned ( Wildlife Control Supplies,WCS), regards ,Robert.
I have used an old blanket. Hold it up so the skunk can’t see any part of you, then drop it over the trap.
Too bad they are hazardous in a couple ways. They are cute and fun to watch, and they don’t eat much. Coons and possums will suck down as much food as 4 cats would.
twotalon
The trap I have has a spring loaded door with an automatic latch. They can turn it upside down and not get out unless they can tear the wire mesh loose. It does present a bit of a problem for a live release. Popping the door open and sliding an old arrow across through the mesh to prevent it from closing and latching again works. Must be done quickly to get out of the way.
One my father in law has is easy to release with. It has two sliding rings that hold the door down. All you have to do is roll the trap upside down, the rings fall back down to the door hinge, and the door falls open.
twotalon
I understand wanting to get rid of it, just not the way it’s done. I don’t see the advantage of killing the thing.
J-F
Buzzards got to eat too. And it will not prowl into another undesired location again.
twotalon
J-F: You might find it interesting to know that your country Canada ,has done extensive research on humane trapping methods and the stress on trapped animals, and whether the death of the animal is more or less natural than a death by the hands of nature, or by a properly trained trapper using modern equipment and humane methods. In fact, there has been standards developed ,with on going research to regulate and promote humane animal harvest . There are international standards and treaties pending to implement humane standards that were pioneered in Canada, where furbearers provide important income. There is a great deal of mis-conception in regards to animal harvest in North America. Some of this is do to the exploitation of our traditional populus hunting and trapping culture by European elitist standards which find our hunting/gun culture repugnant. They tend to exploit the bad things and hold them up as the status quo. This threatening our way of life and our sovereignty.
But I have nothing against the death of an animal as they are oh so delicious.
But I’d rather not kill the ones that don’t have to be. If some of the rats I caught helped feed some birds or a fox or two all the better. Killing them wasn’t a pratical option for me so…
J-F
My neighbor and I catch a few dozen coons each year. We use 3 have a heart live traps. I just use a can of cat food, and yes we do catch a cat now and then. The cats we just let go, the coons we take them on a little vacation and let them go. I have not yet but will start spray painting the coons butt bright orange, to see if we are catching the same ones.
Coons are pretty sharp. You won’t get the same one twice. You will get to see which road kills were in your traps.
twotalon
Twotalon,
I don’t have any problems with coons around my townhouse, but this year the squirrels chewed a base ball sized hole through my siding right under the guttering and used my attic for a nest to have young ones.
I obtained several haveahart traps and trapped around 10 of them to date and permanently eliminated them. I try to co-exist with the local wild life that has a field day in our town house community as there are no natural predators here to control them. No dogs or cats or any other animal is allowed out side unless leashed and accompanied by the owner. But when the wild critters start damaging my property it is time for them to go.
We caught squirrels, rabbits, and birds in the traps and the birds and rabbits were released till I caught a rabbit eating the last of one of my pepper plants. He died from a 7.4 gr gamo match pellet going over 1000 fps which broke his neck. I now have a policy regarding rabbits. If they stay on the other side of the street they are ok. If they are found in one of my traps or I see them eating my plants they do not get to live. All birds are released, even the sparrows and grackles. They done me no harm and I don’t have an issue with them.
B.B.,
At last! You are fulfilling a promise made way back in 2010. Only one question: Does it really make sense to swap trigger and piston assemblies in the same gun, rather than just testing two new 34’s side-by-side, with factory-installed T05 and T06 triggers? Are you going to be able to resist the temptation of tweaking and improving the gun when you disassemble it and put in the T06? Or are two “identical” guns, no matter how similar, too different to make for a valid comparison?
AlanL
Alan,
Yes I’m going to resist the temptation to tune the 34 because it’s already tuned. I installed an Air Venturi spring kit years ago that makes this rifle sing! I wouldn’t want to do anything different. It shoots as dead as a tuned R9 and almost as nice as a TX 200.
B.B.
BB
Is the gas spring that would fit in a Diana 34 still available from PA? I also see that PA insists on doing the installation.
SL,
If a gas spring is available for a gun, it would still be listed on the Pyramyd AIR website. I don’t see that it is:
/air-guns/accessories
Edith
SL,
Doesn’t look like it.
B.B.
OK thanks. I thought perhaps you used one of the ones in stock that happened to fit the Diana.
Gas springs seem to be gaining traction lately. It might serve Air Venturi well to widen their offerings somewhat where it would be economically feasible. Think of it, a Bronco with an air spring! That would be something. And don’t think people wouldn’t spend the money, take the Crosman 2240 or 1377c for example.
See the can of worms you opened? That’ll teach you to crow about your gas spring modifications.
SL,
Air Venturi no longer makes their own gas springs. They now buy them from Crosman. So whatever Crosman is willing to make is what they have to sell.
B.B.
I don’t beleive there ever was a gas spring available for any gun with a centrally located pistion rod. You have to have a hollow piston of the type you find in the Gamo and chinese break barrels that doesn’t have a rod inside the piston. That would rule out all Diana’s.
B.B.,
Does this mean you won’t be able to put the T06 trigger and piston assembly into your already-modified 34P? The piston you show in your picture above appears to have that central rod Robert is referring to…?
Alan
Alan: All Diana’s have that central rod. It is what the trigger plates grip and what is released to fire the gun when the trigger is pressed. I think BB was referring to the Air Venturi spring system which is a conventional spring with a two piece guide system that is a drop in replacement for the factory spring.
BTW, before the T0-1 ,Diana employed a 3 ball bearing trigger mechcanism ,where three captured ball bearings would grip the end of the piston rod. The TO-1 trigger unit eliminated that, and made the guns modular and easier to assemble. That ball bearing trigger deal was a bear to re-assemble at times. You need a different piston with the new TO-6 unit because the end of the piston rod is different than one used with the TO-5 unit.
Robert,
Ahh- that clarifies it. Good ole Slinging Lead confused me when he went on about a gas spring in his question to B.B. above. So I thought B.B.’s tune for the 34P had involved a gas spring. I confuse easy!
AlanL
Hi B.B., I know November and December are a long ways off, but I was figuring out some stuff last night and was wondering, on Black Friday, what are the popular sales that PA has? 15% off? Or just discounts on certain stuff? Are pellets on sale? And finally, does PA have any New Year’s Sales? If so, what?
Thanks,
Conor
Conor,
November? December? Are those months coming up again this year?
Right now we are concentrating on June.
Edith, can you shed any light on this?
B.B.
Conor,
I can barely wrap my head around the fact that it’s the middle of 2011 & you want advance info about a Xmas sale?
While Pyramyd AIR will certainly do some promotions for Xmas, we won’t even think about them til later in the year. Plus, no promo info will be released before the actual promo goes live. You’ll just have to wait and be surprised 🙂
Edith
Hello
Can any one point me to a CO2 pistol that can be filled from a CO2 tank or cylinder , like say in a Benjamin Discovery (We dont easily get CO2 powerlet here in India , nor can they be imported).
Off course it should be . 177 cal
Thanks
CO2 pistols that accept bulk fill are mostly match guns. And almost w/o exception they are no longer made having been supplanted by PCP compressed air guns. You might contact Scott Pilkington at Pilkington Competition [www.pilkguns.com] to see if he has any used ones. They very rarely come up on the Targettalk.org site. That said, I have a nice one that only needs a couple of new seals, and when I get the work done, I will be selling it.
I think that the Czech Tau-7 pistols have bulk fill accessories, and they may still be in production.
Thanks Pete,
When you are ready to sell please do give me a heads up on not.to.be.spamed@gmail.com
BTW can you give its model and make
Thanks
The TAU is way above my budget.
But thanks for your suggestion
Notwithstanding my conversion to wood and metal, I don’t generally have anything against plastic. For a trigger I wouldn’t be bothered unless it was so flimsy that the trigger bent. How hard do you have to pull a plastic trigger to break it? The stuff is very durable.
Wulfraed, no kidding, 50 years of actual playing time for the Stradivarius–even with the 10 hours a day regimen of the professionals who would own an instrument like this? If it takes so long, that implies that Stradivarius himself would never know how good his instruments would eventually sound. My understanding (and it may have come from the blog in an earlier conversation) is that the fine tone of Stradivarius violins comes from the particular kind of wood they were made from which was grown amidst very unique environmental conditions that are not likely to be repeated. So, could it be that the Stradivarius violins are a product of luck that combined fine workmanship (under Stradivarius’s control) and wood type and the long break in process that were not. Anyone know what kind of wood they were made from? Would it be the high quality walnut that looks so good on rifles?
Fred in ProNJ thanks for your kind offer about the motor. You are such a gentleman to the extent that I never imagined such a possibility and in an uncharacteristic fit of organization and neatness, dumped the motor the other day. In part, this was to clear space to set up my reloading equipment. Anyway, I’m afraid the motor is now among overripe pineapple and beyond recovery, but I will know to consult your expertise in the future.
The fact is that there is no shortage of handy problems coming my way. The latest one is that a good friend has rented a house and discovered after the fact that there is residue of animal remains trapped in the hardwood floors with an accompanying smell. Besides the annoyance, she is also concerned about the effect on guests and friends of her child. So, what to do. Now, I know this seems far afield, but I know that there are many animal owners who may know about this problem. And, it has to do with wood after all. I figure that finishing a wood stock from the elements outside is not unlike creating a seal to hold in noxious elements on the inside of the covering. Maybe you can all at least advise me on the way I have scoped out the problem. The options to me seem like (1) carpeting the floors (dubious since that might not take care of the odor); (2) some miracle chemical solution (any suggestions); (3) sanding the floors down and coating them with urethane. This last option sounds most labor intensive but also most promising. I’m thinking of the stock of my M1 Garand which had three coats of polyurethane applied. Clint Fowler tells me that the gun could sit underwater overnight without losing its zero, and judging by the rest of his work and my close up inspection of the rifle, I believe him. Any advice would be appreciated.
Win, lose, or draw on this one, I must say that the blog reminds me of an alien race called the Paladorians in a science fiction story by Arthur C. Clarke. The Paladorians look like humanoids walking around but each one serves as a single cell that interacts telepathically with other cells in a giant disembodied brain dispersed throughout the galaxy. By reason of the number of these cells and the amount of information each one can gain by walking around independently, the brain can solve just about any problem by combining the necessary number of cells in the right place–generally just a few. Pretty cool.
Matt61
On your friends floor problem. I own several rental units and have worked in the remodeling business for over 25 years. If the smell is actually in the material your option #3 would be the best bet ,as well as a through cleaning before final sanding. I have had to deal with this in carpet and wood floors in my units before and the worst are pet urine,especially cat, and ciggarette smoke being second. I have had to remove both carpet and the sub flooring from a room to get rid of cat urine smell. It depends on how bad it is and how sensitive your friend is to detecting the smell.
Matt,
I do not believe the 50 year maturing span for the Strad is entirely accurate. Full cure of glues and varnishes, and settlement of the wood ought not to take more than 5-10 years at most. I believe an extra ‘0’ slipped into B.B.’s comment about that. For instance, Cellist Amit Peled recently compared his two-year old Wolfgang Schnabl to his 1689 Guarneri. Hilary Hahn’s 1864 Vuillaume was renowned in its day for being as good or better than Paganini’s Guarneri Cannone (of which it is a copy) and is to this day the finest sounding violin I have ever heard. Of course, it helps that Hilary is the greatest violinist that I have ever heard as well.
-AlanL
Yes, Hilary Hahn is magnificent! Heard her a couple of months ago in DC.
I’ll confess the 50 years number does seem high, but that it takes active playing to open up the sound is a known fact. One company even sells a device that clamps onto guitar strings over the soundboard that you leave running for a few days. It apparently does some sort of variable humming vibration that is purported to reduce a decade of playing to a few days.
The most common soundboard woods were spruce and cedar (evergreens). Sides and backs might be other woods (mahogany and rosewood are popular for guitars).
I’d suspect Stradivarius was using european spruce. His varnish was also a contributing factor, and studies have been done trying to reproduce it.
Wulfraed,
You must also keep in mind the fact that Strads were made out of wood that grew in or near to the one of the peaks of a Little Ice Age period. That could affect the structure of the wood and give it some unique qualities – that could give them their specific sound characteristic.
I’ve heard from stockmakers that they prefer wood that grew in harsh but tolerable conditions on darker slopes – that way it grows slower, gets denser and gets better grain. Maybe this or that way it can be applied to the wood used for musical instruments.
duskwight
Talking to myself
The aforementioned device: http://tonerite.com/
Matt,
I guess Robert is right – deep and thorough sanding and then some coats of polyamide coating helped my friend to get his room free from unpleasant smell. Another story I know – owners had to remove all the parquetry and lay a new one to get rid of the smell – an old lady kept somewhat 30 cats in her apartments before she died.
duskwight
Hi MAtt. Just to answer your query about the woods used on a Stradivarius violin. I believe he used Englemann Spruce for the top ,which has a nice tight grain, and Maple for the back and sides. Some folks think it was his varnish that made the big difference. This included gum ,and egg white ,among other things. The thickness off the wood also comes into play. As does the amount of varnish. It is amazing that the pinnacle of violin making ,”peaked” three hundred years ago.
Titus Groan
A quick “Google” noted this, “Stradivari was born one year before the start of the Maunder Minimum. He produced violins from 1666 until his death in 1737. Other studies have shown that Stradivari used violins built from spruce wood contemporary to his lifetime, and Grissino-Mayer believes this would have been locally obtained.”
My daughter is currently in a Masters Degree program for violin. Her violin was hand built in Canada and cost $5000.00 when new. Today, with the maker more well known, it’s worth about $17000.00
I guess I should have bought several………but, who knew.
Mike
Mike,
Ha, so my theory was quite correct 🙂 Thank you for the proof!
duskwight
Matt61,
Before refinishing your friend’s floors, you might try one of the ozone scent eliminator systems. Hunter’s use them to remove odors (not mask, remove) from their clothes and to kill their scent when sitting on stand in the woods. They generate ozone, which apparently kills the bacteria that produces noxious odors you smell.
Here’s a bowhunter’s review of the technology in question that is very useful. Pay particular attention to the fourth paragraph 😉
http://imomags.com/bowhunter/2011/05/26/understanding-ozone-for-scent-elimination/
Edith,
First impression: I like the new Beta site for PA. It’s easier to navigate for sure. The product pages look nice. But I do have two small beefs: The product thumbnails (before choosing a specific gun) are too small. Once on the product page, I love the fact that I no longer have to click to see the specs, BUT, they’re way too far down on the page, so I have to scroll. That section should be brought up much higher, and move the Accessories/Ammo section down in its place. (The gun I looked at was the Weihrauch HW80 for the heck of it.)
Would you like more feedback here, or preferably elsewhere? Or perhaps not at all?
AlanL
AlanL,
Thanks for your observations! Your feedback is very useful. I’ve asked PA where you can supply feedback. I’ll let you know what they say.
Edith
The Beta site works pretty good on my iPhone too. One suggestion I have is on the search criteria on the left hand side. Great idea, but it makes no sense to sort by velocity without first sorting by caliber. Better yet, searching by fpe would be best.
Interesting… My T01 model 54 has a plastic trigger blade, not stamped steel (the Gamo NRA 1000 had that, until I swapped in a GRT unit). I know as I used a dremel cut-off wheel to add an extra 1/32-1/16 inch relief to the first stage screw… Though it seems I could have left that part alone — it was the second stage screw that needed major adjustment (the factory/importer [pre-Umarex] settings had both screws bottomed out, such that there was NO first stage, and a long creepy second stage. I now have a distinct first>second stage transition, but still need to fine tune the second stage to “breath and it will fire” edge.
YAY the Weihrauch HW30 is back in stock! I think I see one in my future (unless they’re all sold before I get to the US).
J-F
Here’s a rabies story you all my find interesting. From my local newspaper, Tuesday. An 8 year old girl who contracted rabies (a cat is the suspect) is a rare survivor of the infection without having recieved the life saving vaccine. She’s the third person in the U.S. known to have survived without having the antiviral innoculation immediately after being infected. The problem is they didn’t know when she was bitten. She was placed in intensive care, in a drug induced coma, for two weeks as she recieved the medication. The first such survivor was bitten by a bat. They didn’t mention anything about the second victim.
Edith,
I tried the new PA site. Well, I can’t use it to buy things (alas 🙁 ) so I can not judge its merits from this point of view, but it really became more modern-looking and easier to navigate – it became more “obvious” to me than the old one. “Tree” of model selection looks awesome to me.
However I would change some things like swapping “accessories” and info+specs on rifle’s page. Well, I would be looking for specs first and some bangs and whistles after that, but I’m more of a “technician”.
Maybe it would be nice to have some direct links from model’s page to this blog’s page on this model – Tom’s doing a lot of job testing them, so I, for example would like to see some groups and read something on its behavior from a trusted and skilled source before deciding to buy a rifle.
I don’t know if it’s a bug or a feature, but “Navigation” menu on the left sometimes changes font and background.
duskwight
I haven’t bought an airgun yet (still mulling all the advice I got a few posts ago), but I have some feedback on the new PyramydAir site.
It would be useful to have small icons next to every listed item, showing what type of ammunition it fires, because sometimes this is not immediately clear from the picture or short description on multi-item pages, such as the used item listing.
I would suggest small icons, for example:
A small image of a metal BB for BB guns
A larger plastic (red or blue maybe) BB for airsoft guns
A diabolo pellet (possibly with .177/.20/.22/.25 numbers) for standard pellet rifles
A bullet shape for large caliber pellet guns
Good high contrast icons with different colored backgrounds would make it easy to scan down pages and quickly skip past items that don’t interest you.
The new site looks good and works well, though, especially with the nice new options to narrow things down. Kudos to the site designer(s)!
Thank you to everyone for submitting your comments. I’m sending them to the people who are designing/refining the new site. We know it needs to be fine-tuned, and we truly appreciate your help in making it easy to use, easy to find things and a pleasure to visit.
Keep the comments coming!
Edith
I’ve had a little more time to surf the beta version and here are a few observations:
First the blog is too far down, it should be somewhere near the top like it is now, not in a bottom corner.
I LOVE how you can class the airguns but you should be able to choose everything above or bellow a certain mark. e.g. instead of picking from 24$ to 300$ or from 300$ to 600$ I should be able to pick everything under 600$ same thing with fps I should be able to choose all airguns above 950fps and not have to do it in two different searches, that would have given me 17 more guns.
I don’t like the pics/drawing used to illustrate the different powerplants, some are pics, some are drawings, they should all be drawings or pics not both and they should also be clearer.
The fpe would be a great addition but the fps without regard to the caliber is awesome for all of us with dumb airgun laws as PyramydAir isn’t only the best place to shop for airguns but also the greatest reference and source of information on the web for those who can’t order there.
I didn’t make note of the little bugs as they’ll probably be sorted by programmers.
But speaking of awesome tools… for those of you who have a smart phone, PA came out with the Airgun Wizard application for android phones a few weeks ago and it’s now out for the iPhone too 😀 great tool literally in the palm of your hand.
J-F
Forgot something, in the listing on the left manufacturers should come first then the different options.
The way we can browse listing on eBay motors is really well made. The way we can pick more or less options down to the color and it’s very easy to use. About listing the rifles that come with a scope or if the stock is made of wood or synthetic?
J-F
OK last one for the night… the way we scroll thru the manufacturer pics and the users submitted pics follow is great, it’s nice when you’re having hesitation on a certain gun to have LOTS of pictures.
OK I should be done for the night now.
If you need something specific checked out just tell me.
J-F
J-F,
Thanks for your suggestions! I forwarded all of them to Pyramyd AIR.
Edith
Edith,
When I move my cursor over the scales icon in a list of rifles I don’t get any description displayed like it does for the shopping cart and star.
Chuck,
Good catch! I forwarded your comments. This will be added to the to-do list 🙂
Thanks,
Edith
Of course I haven’t checked out every item on the new website but the newly stocked HW30 doesn’t show on the new website either.
Also the navigation bar on the mainpage seems pretty useless to me since you already have all the menu right under it…
J-F
J-F,
You’re right about the HW30S. I did a search of all the rifle & pistol listings and discovered that a number of guns are missing. Plus some of the button graphics are missing, too…like ADD TO CART ADD TO WISH LIST. The IT depart. is aware of these issues.
They’re working on it!
Thanks,
Edith
Edith,
Searching for pellets is a horror on the new site! I am looking for H&N Field Target Trophies in 22 with 5.55 head size and can’t find them on the new site but there are there on one page inthe old one. Is it possible that they have not populated all the inventory into the new site? Or am I not yet familiar with navigating this site?
Ton,
Ouch! Your comment made me investigate a bit further. I discovered that the pellet IS listed on the new site…but it’s showing up as discontinued, which is why it didn’t show up on your search list. Eek!
I’ve sent screenshots and comments (with lots of exclamation points!) to the design team. I have no idea what happened. That’s why this is called a beta site 🙂 There appear to be 2 things wrong with the pellet search for Field Target Trophy: (1) a full listing of all available pellets is not on the new site, and (2) the availability of items isn’t being updated so in-stock items can be sold.
I’m sure they’ll fix these issues asap.
Everyone–Please post your comments, findings and suggestions. The people at Pyramyd AIR all ears 🙂
Thanks,
Edith
Dear B.B. Pelletier
thanks for your information. i have bought a DIANA 54 AirKing T06 10 days ago. it product of 2010 (annonced by Diana group) but its trigger seems to be a plastic polymer not metal!!! is it any trouble with my gun?
I wait to hear about you
best regards
rahvar,
The plastic trigger is not a problem and will never break in normal use. It isn’t what holds the piston when it is cocked. It’s just a lever to move the real parts.
I hope you enjoy your new rifle.
B.B.
Thank you so much for your best and quick answer!
But my problem is that the manufacture (Diana) say that my gun (according to its S/N) should has a metal T06 trigger! but it has a plastic one! i want know is it possible someone change it before sell to me?! how can I examine the trigger? I do not know! maybe trigger is metal with a thin plastic coat? or may be aluminum alloy with black color!
here is its photos:
http://axgig.com/images/96698304860136787753.jpg
http://axgig.com/images/11501418408357839326.jpg
http://axgig.com/images/69116679173155803919.jpg
best regards
There had been rumors of problems with the plastic trigger blades on the T05 equipped guns for years. But, after owning and working several of them over the past years, all I can say is that this is nonsense. The trigger is so understressed that I can’t imagine it breaking unless someone actually tries to break it.
Thank you so much for your best and quick answer!
But my problem is that the manufacture (Diana) say that my gun (according to its S/N) should has a metal T06 trigger! but it has a plastic one! i want know is it possible someone change it before sell to me?! how can I examine the trigger? I do not know! maybe trigger is metal with a thin plastic coat? or may be aluminum alloy with black color!
here is its photos:
http://axgig.com/images/96698304860136787753.jpg
http://axgig.com/images/11501418408357839326.jpg
http://axgig.com/images/69116679173155803919.jpg
best regards
The TO5 on my 48 has a smooth and rounded trigger face and one adjustment screw at the front of the trigger blade. If this is what you have, then it is a TO5.
It is possible that Diana did not match the parts right, or the previous owner changed the piston and trigger assembly for some reason.
twotalon
Lacking information on just where in production your serial number falls, and what RWS Diana has done…
If they changed just the trigger blade from metal to plastic (or the other way around) without changing the rest of the trigger group, I doubt if they’d have shutdown the production line in order to remove all old components, record the serial numbers of the last unit off the line vs the number of the first unit after putting in a new component.
More likely (again, this assumes the only change is the trigger blade and the rest of the system is identical) they just recorded a serial number from the day in which the new component went into the parts bins… Assembled trigger units may have contained old or new trigger blades for a week or so (especially as some of the old type may have been in the bottom of a bin that didn’t get emptied until a week-end or so).
Since I doubt RWS is using milled or cast/forged metal trigger blades, a plastic blade probably looks better (I know my m54 T01 plastic blade sure looks better than any stamped sheet-metal Gamo blade I’ve seen [the GRT-III is a milled solid aluminum blade, but it costs nearly $30 alone — that’s a fifth of the cost of many Gamo models without it])
{I also suspect the owners manual has some fine-print about “specifications are subject to change”}
Addendum
In /blog/2007/6/rws-diana-34-panther-part-1/ it is commented that the T05 has a plastic blade compared to stamped metal for B.B.’s T01 guns.
But, as mentioned, my m54 has a T01 trigger — with a plastic blade. And one site on maintaining adjusting the m54 also shows a plastic trigger — including guidelines for cutting part of the plastic from under the first stage adjustment screw to obtain a longer adjustment range (I did follow that guide — but later discovered that the problem I was having was not lack of first stage engagement. Instead it turned out the trigger, as received, was configured for a LONG ALL second stage pull — no first stage at all).
So, apparently RWS does change manufacturing techniques within a series. (According to Quicken, my m54 is May of 2001 from Cabela’s — I thought it was a few years older… It IS a T01 since it has adjustment screws for each pull stage, not just one screw as the T05, and is, obviously, a decade too old for the T06)
thank you for your detailed information.
I realize this is an old Blog but thought I’d add my experience to the comments, I recently acquired a like new Diana 34 dated May of 1984. It had a T02 (I Believe) a Non-Adjustable Trigger in it, and it was horrid to shoot. Between the trigger and the spring vibration it’s probably the reason it’s in relatively new condition. I realize that T02 Trigger could have probably been worked over to had a nice pull. Anyhow I wasn’t looking for a Wall Hanger Collectable I just wanted a Diana made in Germany. So I ordered a Vortek Pg3 Kit, and a T06 Piston/Trigger Kit from Chambers. Now it’s one sweet Diana to shoot, at least it’s more than up to my standards. I could have certainly purchased a new 34 cheaper than modding this old one I realize, but that’s just me…….