When you can't afford a C1 make a C! Hey advice on stain removal...

[larspawn]

Hey all.  Looking for advice on Quest stock refinishing.  Has anyone taken one down to bare wood?  Will standard paint remover work?  If so any recommendations?  Or do I need to sand the whole stock?

Anyway, I have been looking for an inexpensive donor.  Well I picked one up a couple weeks ago from my new buddie Jerry Smith.  I always had this in mind for the project.  I gave it a 6 1/2" haircut.  Barrel now down to 12" and overall length is a tad over 38".  Cocking isn't too bad either.  

I used a Tarantula and left the stock seal in.  Deburred, honed and lubed.  Holy smokes!  It is shooting 1150 with CPHPs and 880 with CPHs!  Hope this sucker tames down a bit.

While I was at it I gave the pistol grip a haircut too.  I still have some fine tuning to go on the stock.  I think I can take down the wrist a little more without risking breaking.   I sanded the whole stock and this is how it looks.  Wondering if I need to sand bare or use stripper.  I'm worried I won't be able to match the stain.  Was thinking of getting it bare and then just using tung oil or true oil.  Any thoughts?

[SDale]

Lookin good!!! I'd pin that wrist area. You're right in the area of the infamous stock crack!

As far as stripping, a plain chemical stripper will do. Some cheap Jasco paint stripper or spray on Aircraft Remover from AutoZone and a little fine sanding after. Tru Oil will give it a NICE finish. It'll look similar to the original finish just shinier with more grain showing.

[shadow]

She's looking great Andy, how's the accuracy after the haircut?. Ed

[larspawn]

Ed,

Well it was a beautiful day Sunday huh?  Fall is my favorite season and I feel a bit cheated this year.  Seems it rushed right from a cool summer to a cold fall.  Anyway, after running around trying to take advantage of the weather I barely had time to finish up the stock. I did the tune early in the morning.  Guess my priorities were there rather than the extra hour of sleep!  Anyway, just got it buttoned up before it was too dark for the chrony.  I slapped the scope on for the picture so I really didn't get a feel for accuracy.   I'll have to run a hundred pellets or so down the barrel to see if it calms down.  1150 fps is way to fast for any hopes of accuracy I think.  I thought the crown looked prett good but guess I'll have to wait until this weekend to find out.

Andy Wong aka larspawn

[Timmyj1959@yahoo.com]

Hey Andy Buddy,,, I have had no luck with ALL kinds of strippers. (That did not sound right??) Strippers just dont get all the stain out. I think you will find like I have that in order to remove all the old finish you will have to sand it off.On a stock like your Quest with no checkering it is pretty simple & quick with an orbital sander. Just keep it moving so you dont create any uneven spots. Looking forward to your pics when complete,,,,, Tim. PS,,,,, My razor knife is prettyer than yours!! LOL!! (Inside joke)

[howie1a]

Hi Andy If it was mine I would drill a hole in the stock from the inside toward the pistol grip and epoxy a 1/2 inch dowel in their for added support this is the area where most stocks break it's the short grain in this part of the stock a weak place, Also it might be cheaper to call crossman and buy a new stock I looked into a Remington stock that fits the Quest it to is a B-19 like all quests, and it is checkered the cost for a new one was 26 bucks plus shipping but they didn't have them in stock at the time I checked. One thing about crosman they have a great parts dept. and the parts are cheap I bought a trigger assemb from them once and it was only 6 bucks. I agree with Timmy sanding off the stock is the best way a 4x4  sander and 100 grit paper doesn't take long. Howie   (PS if you go with paint remover ( very messy) we used to use oven cleaner in the boat yards to remove names off the boats spray cans not to bad and just a little paint trmuver and maybe your wife has onme laying around. )

[fatback]

Nice work Andy!! can't wait to see the finished product. I always was a fan of the C1 style stock. please keep us updated on your progress and keep up the good work.

[jake]

nice job

[larspawn]

I had my Mom and Dad over for Veteran's Dinner.  Dad and the rest of us are proud he was in the Army, WWII.   Today he was in the local papers because he has always been active in the local Chinese Americans Veteran Post.  Today his latest project, a memorial for the Chinese men and women who have and are serving in the military.  It was fun hearing him tell my 10 year old about being in the signal corps.  Still going strong at 85!

Well after they left and I got Spencer off to bed, I went back down to the basement to put together the C!.  I had the day off so between painting the porch and putting the plow on the tractor, I finished sanding the stock, fit a butt spacer (cut from an Ikea chopping board) and applied three coats of Tru Oil.  

Here's what she looks like.  Not bad and I really like the small size and power (1150 fps CPHP and 880 with CPH).  I'll have to re chrony this weekend!

Sorry for the bad pics.  I took them with my phone.  Hhere's the pics...

[larspawn]

Well I thought I'd resight and see what she can do.  I had two groups going at about .5" at 10 yards when the last shot was about 3" to the right.  Then the rifle wouldn't catch anymore.  I'm thinking the sear broke or the cocking shoe.  

I'll have to open her back up this weekend and see what parts I need to get.  I'm thinking of buying a .22 cal barrel when I order.  With this power a nice short .22 carbine would be an awesome rifle!

So question:  Do you think that the Tarantula spring caused this?  Anybody have experience with the Tarantula?  I know it is way more stout than the e3650 spring I used when I tuned my Big Cat.  Thoughts?

Andy Wong aka larspawn

[Jaymo]

What is a C1?
Don't know if the spring could have caused it. Good thing Crosman parts are so reasonably priced.
What I did to my B40 stock when I made it ambidextrous was to drill a hole in the wrist and epoxy in a LONG #12 brass wood screw from Lowe's. I drilled from the inside, down/back toward the butt. I ground down the portion of the head that protruded and filled in with epoxy putty. Then I shot the whole thing with bedliner.

I was thinking about putting a Tarantula spring in my $50.00 G1 Extreme. More power than the R1 I want, for about 1/10 the price.

[SDale]

I have a terrantula spring and tesla seal in my shortened quest 800. 4 tins of pellets so far and still goin strong.

It's possible that the last 3 coils could have snapped off and are blocking the piston movment. Could also be that the sear catch in the piston may have torn out or wore down to where the sear can't bite any more.

[larspawn]

The piston moves fine through the stroke.  It just doesn't catch at the bottom of the stroke.  I'm really thinking the sear broke.  Bummer because I think you have to buy the whole trigger assembly from Crosman.  

I'd like to see pics of your 800!

Also question for everybody:  when I get the new sear (if that is what is the problem) should I heat treat it?  Anybody do this?  If so how?

Andy

[yel01z06]

if it is the sear let me know as i have an extra trigger group laying around somewhere that i can send you no charge

[SDale]

There is a possibility of the sear being broken then. I wouldn't worry about getting a new one from crosman. The whole trigger group only costs something like 7 bucks.

I wouldn't heat treat the sear. I think it already is. Any more and it would make it more prone to chipping. Also check the sear catch in the piston. Make sure it isn't rounded off or oblonged.


There's also another thing it could be.... Really simple too. I tuned a Quest a while back and used too much tar. Somehow a little bit got into the trigger group causing the sear to stick. Once I cleaned the trigger group out, it worked fine.