This report covers:
- Huh?
- Cost of labor
- CNC
- Still viable
- Robotics
- Additive manufacture
- Take the present into the past
- Your assignment
Today we turn the tables on time. We will attempt to make the present the past.
Huh?
Besides reviewing new airguns in this blog we also look at some of the treasured airguns of the past. Just recently we have looked at the Daisy 107 trombone-action BB gun, the Sheridan 190B Tranquillizer launcher and the BAM B15 breakbarrel rifle.
We look at the older stuff a lot and have even come up with sayings that reflect our interests. Sayings like, “real wood and steel” and “no fiberoptics anywhere!”. Those are just a couple of the things we say. I bet you can come up with a lot more.
The airguns of the past were made from different materials than the airguns of today. They were finished differently as well. The lower cost of both materials and labor in the times and places they were produced made their production possible.
I am old enough to remember when the phrase Made In Japan was a bad thing. Now it is a statement of pride! What about Made in China?
Cost of labor
The thing I find strange is how much people who want a good paycheck for themselves complain about the rising costs of the products they are interested in. They will say that it’s the greed of the companies making the items that make the costs so high and that can be the case, but competition in the marketplace tends to hold that in check most of the time.
But labor costs rise universally. It’s great for “us” when paychecks increase but not so good when they increase for “them.”
At any rate, nice things cost more because the better stuff they are made from costs more and the time it takes to make them more carefully also costs.
CNC
Yeah, BB, but they aren’t paying people to make most of these parts today. They are made on CNC machines!”
Okay, here are some arguments for that.
1. Sure the CNC machine makes parts with no human labor involved, but the programmer who sets up the machine to make those parts charges a lot more than a laborer on the shop floor!
2. The tolerances in manufacture can be so close that the tools sometimes crash and have to be replaced at extremely high costs.
3. If the tools do crash, the machines may also be damaged and their repairs are frightfully expensive.
4. The tools that make the parts wear out and have to either be replaced or sharpened. Sharpening may make it necessary to tweak (reprogram) the machine just a little.
5. The CNC machine that makes the parts is frightfully expensive to purchase and its time has to be amortized into the cost for each part.
6. After production on the CNC it’s still necessary to deburr each part. And there can be other operations that the CNC is not designed to do. Manual labor will be involved—even if just a little.
Still viable
All of the above doesn’t make the CNC process more expensive. When done correctly it can bring a huge savings in labor costs. But the person responsible for making those decisions of whether or not to use a CNC machine has a tremendous burden when making those decisions. Get a few wrong and the company can be put out of business.
Robotics
We all like the obsolete Sig ASP 20 air rifle. Among other things it was accurate. Its barrel was laser-welded to its breechblock by a robotic welder. That made each part as close to the others as it’s currently possible to make. It was a great use of robotics but that one machine cost a half million dollars!
Additive manufacture
We have recently looked at the benefits of 3D printing in the world of manufacturing. Just the report series on the Sheridan 190B has shown us some of the benefits. But even here there is a curtain to peek behind.
The less expensive 3D printers are affordable for home-based hobbyists like reader Ian McKee. But if a company wants to make parts that will last and they want to make them affordably they will need larger, more advanced printers. They will also need printers that can use the latest materials, because this is an area that’s expanding rapidly.
Take the present into the past
Given today’s discussion, what do you think airgunners 30 years from now will be saying? I’ll get you started with:
“It came with open sights!”
“It’s engineering plastic!”
“The pump effort never increased!”
Your assignment
Now it’s your turn. Please give some thought to what an airgunner of the future might say about the airguns of today. I will start you with this:
“There will never be another air rifle that’s finished as finely and shoots as smoothly as the TX 200!”
TX200.
“The HW30S was a delightful and accurate lightweight rifle that was all wood and steel, with a great trigger…what a shame that nothing like it is being made today!”
BB,
Actually, I hope that does NOT get said, as I hope that rifle is still being made “as it is today” 30 years from now. Yet I fear that it may go away; and that’s why I will hold on to mine. 😉
Blessings to you,
dave
The owners of the TX-300, will reminisce of the days of having to release the side lock, and then cock the action by hand for every shot.
While the actual manual of arms of the TX-300 will be that you release the side lock,that retracts the breech cover, allowing you to load a projectile.
It then “cocks” the electrically actuated piston to make the gun ready to fire.
It will be powered by a user replaceable power cell about the size of a current CR2032 button cell.
But the power source is rated for over 30,000 actuations of the mechanism.
Since it’s an electronically actuated, the power level is tuneable for velocity, and is rated for a margin of error of less than 0.002 mm per second from shot to shot…
The extreme spread and standard deviation is now dictated by the quality of the lead free pellets you use.
Or there is the alternate possibility.
A solar mass ejection damages all of the electronics of the world and we go back century….
And we are back to springers, and hand pumping AirForce TALONS, TEXANS, AND CONDORS.
They will survive anything…..
The Energizer Bunny of Airguns…
Ian
Your second scenario is far more likely (hoped for). The price of your first scenario will likely be over $5,000,000.00 by then. Just look at the cost of some of the European airguns now.
B.B.
There is a great American Clothing manufacturer of underwear and socks in Northern Minnesota. One set of underwear is $25, same as one pair of socks. Great stuff but very dear. Whatever happened to a 6 pack of Fruit of the Loom?
-Yogi
PS certainly the HW 35 has stood the test of time.
Yogi, the 6-pack Fruit of the Loom seemed pricey back in the Good Old Days, too.
An older gentleman was at a LGS looking at a new Colt Python. He said, “I remember seeing these for $3-400 in the 80s, but I had a family and was making $10 an hour.”
Heck, how often do you get “YOU PAID HOW MUCH FOR A BB GUN!” when you say what a decent breakbarrel or PCP cost?
OP and Yogi,
I wondered where that 6-pack had gone! Now I have to shop for my briefs!
BB
Take your bicycle over to Costco. Quality for less. If only they sold airguns. I can dream?
“Why didn’t more Walnut stocked guns get bought when they were cheap?”
“Why do .20 and .25 still exist?” (Since we occasionally hear that today.)
There will probably never be another multi-pump PCP like they had. Too bad, the concept was great, but the design failed to function for long.
They sure had some great replica pistols like the Colt SAA and PO8. Not to mention the outstanding 44 Magnum and other cartridge revolvers and rifles like the 1894 cowboy and lets not forget the M1 Carbine and M14.
A select fire PCP was the ultimate after a long list of automatic firing CO2 pistols and rifles. AR-15, M3, Uzi, PO8, Mauser broom handle and the German MP- 40 sub gun.
For a while California wanted to tax my water well. They couldn’t stand the thought of me getting free water. But they forget about the regular $4,000 well pump replacements and the initial $10,000 pressure pump, accumulator, pressure regulator and holding tank cost. Went right over their heads.
“They sure had some great replica pistols like the Colt SAA…”
Bob,
I concur; I just gifted my Umarex NRA 7-1/2″ Peacemaker to my grandson; being a big history buff, he is in love with it. 🙂
Blessings to you,
dave
Predicting the future is not something that I consider myself to be very good at. But here is a word that came to my mind:
“Craftsmanship”
I think that as time goes on that automation (CNC, robots, etc) will become even more prevalent in manufacturing. This tends to reduce more and more human factors (craftsmanship) from the processes. I think that, no matter what we are doing, it is a good thing that many of us humans tend to take pride in what we produce. I also think that we like to take pride in the material items that we own (cars, houses, musical instruments, guns, etc.).
I worked several years in a place manufacturing furniture, cabinets, etc.. CNC machines made it possible to increase production rates and consistencies. While those are good things for the manufacturer and the consumers due to lower costs & prices, I believe that a lot of craftsmanship is lost along the way. Speed of the workers (assembler) can become valued higher than quality of their workmanship.
The video BB posted a link to the other day showing the restoration of an old rusted BB gun was fascinating for me. I hope the skills needed to do that kind of work are not completely lost in the future. So, I hope future folks will look back at today’s guns and want to restore them when they need restoration. And that they still have the skills needed to do that kind of work. And that they will take pride in, and enjoy doing, that restoration work.
Elmer,
I like the way your mind works.
Its wabbit season.
“I wish the airguns of thirty years ago had been built like the airguns of one hundred years ago. Some of them might still be around.”
Today’s generations have been taught to “throw it away and buy a new one”. “You must have the latest and greatest.” They are being taught to live for the moment, do not think of the future.
Most items I see these days are made to be thrown away after a short lifespan. How do you think the manufacturers will continue to make money in the years ahead? The cost of repairing many things today far exceeds the original cost. I saw this many years ago when I repaired CBs for a very short period of time. How many ten-year-old cars do you still see on the road these days? Likely not many.
As Elmer points out, there is a lack of ‘craftsmanship’ with today’s products. Labor costs and time have become so great as to make CNCs and such profitable. Material costs also cause the things of the past to rise in costs. It is no longer ‘profitable’ to have things made as they used to be.
Back to the subject of airguns. Many of my airguns are pretty old. Some of them are over one hundred years old. Many are made of steel and walnut. With a modicum of care, my grandson will be able to pass them on to his grandchildren. Will today’s airguns see that span?
My mind has wandered around enough today.
The future…
In 50 years from now you will be able to buy same recovery set for the FWB300s as you are today. 🙂 Two springs, piston metal seal ring and green or blue seal for the barrel.
PS
Nobody will be looking for 2022 Toyota Prius in 50 years from now 😛
Remember when the Chinese trained bright young college grads in both airgun shooting and engineering design. Ten years later accurate and user adjustable regulated PCP’s were being sold en mass for $300-$400. Some like the Avenger series were able to compete with airguns costing 3 times more. Not only were they as accurate, the handling, cocking levers and optic rails were as good. Aesthetics were only slightly less appealing. Oh my, that was the time.
Deck