My Tuning Experience

First of all, I'm not sure the basic polish and lube really qualifies as tuning but it can do wonders.  Second, thanks to everyone on the board who has contributed along with the search feature and Google.  I'm pretty sure I've read every tuning post on this board.  Lastly, all you pro tuners out there - you will have no competition from me.  I think the price you guys charge is probably not enough.

I made a few mistakes, hehe.  On the first attempt, I under lubed and did not hone the compression chamber.  The seal may have been a little too tight to allow any lube to get by.  All fifty shots were squeakers.  On the second attempt I honed and relubed everything.  I believe a few thousandths had worn off the seal and the result was dieseling.  Go figure.  On the third attempt I degreased everything again and installed another seal.  I also cleaned the barrel to remove any residue from the dieseling.  Did I mention that I love my spring compressor?

The results are great, so far.  I've put about 50 pellets through it and they just keep getting better.  No squeaking or dieseling even on the first couple of pellets.  At 10 yards I'm getting better than clover leafs with high test caffeine and nicotine to boot.  The first five shots were in a dime.  The recoil seems to be straight back as opposed to the wild torque to the right before the tune.  Pellet impact is now louder than the action.  Just a thud.  Hold sensitivity has also gone way down.  The difference between resting on a gel pad or my palm is about a one inch vertical change to the POI.

This is a Gamo Viper with a CDT trigger that has about 1000 pellets through it total.  I was very confident about the barrel before I even started.  And Charlie's trigger gets even better when you drop it in a tub of Gene Sunday's Mystery Oil and let it drip dry for about 24 hours, by the way.  I also did a very light polishing of all contact surfaces.

To continue this craziness, I picked up a used 1377 at a gun show over the weekend.

Thanks again.

Rob

[Big_Bill]

Hey Rob,

Congratulations, it sounds like you have a successful tune on your hands.

After reading Gene's post on tuning, there is much more involved, and each rifle is a little different. I believe I will have to wait for Bob to write his memoirs before I understand tuning. And I hope he does writebook on tuning !!!

Sounds like you did quite a nice job there

You guys are gonna get me toying with my guns again! :0  

Fix, I agree.  This was an amateur polish and lube tune.  The real pros have experience, training, and equipment for serious work.  I was pretty confident that I could improve it based upon this particular air rifle.

Thanks for the other replies.  I had a chance to shoot at 20 yards today.  It was roughly zeroed at ten for an inch below zero.  Four clicks, done!  This is a new scope.  Wally's CenterPoint 4-16x40 with an Accushot mount.  It's very clear and the AO is relatively accurate.  Much nicer than what I had.  I hope it holds up.

I didn't shoot much, but it was a pleasure.  I was using Exacts and I had some vertical stringing of about an inch.  There was virtually no movement left and right.  I guess I'll have to figure out how it likes to be held again as I was just shooting off of a gel pad.  The gel pad is an experiment since many seem to like them.

Rob

[shadow]

We all have to start somewhere, when I started to tune the B3's myself it was a trial by fire. There was very little info out there on em so I researched as much info as possable and began taking them apart. Each time that I tune one now I think back to my first tune, here go's nothing but atleast I'll understand how it function's and hopefully not lose any part's in the process. I think your off to a good start and believe it or not I think understanding how they function help's when your shooting them, just my pellet's worth. Ed

[Gene_SC]

Everyspringer has it's build characteristics. Manufacturers of springers have three things in common but generally that is where it stops.(piston, seal, and spring)You will find that the lower end of the spectrum there are loose fitting cylinder's/pistons and over sized actions and in some case's the action is out of round. In my opinion, the seal is the main concern for good compression. Trying to get the piston completely true may not be the optimum factor, due to the fact that the cylinder is not always perfectly cylindrical. Preparation for a good fitting seal can vary. The different types of lubes also makes a significant difference in a well tuned springer as well. And as I have mentioned many times here, applying lubes in the proper places and proper order is very important. My short lived experience with tuning springers has been an exceptional one, just because I have had CDT to take me under his wing for the last year and a half. I have learned many things and the one thing for sure is tuning springers is not always cut and dry. It will probably take me years to become half the tuner that CDT is today. And with that said I can tune many springers but I cannot apply most of my past experience as a mechanic/machinist in the art of tuning springers. With the exception of being mechanically inclined,.. Gene

For all intents and purposes, I tuned it three times.  On the first go round I had an extra part that I had to figure out how it was oriented because I disassembled a little too quickly.  So, I agree 100% with your statements.  

It was a good learning experience.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It takes patience and the time to figure things out, but it's worth it.

I have always stripped my guns (powder burners) down to parts shortly after getting them for a good clean and lube.  Every single time I have doubts until that first successful discharge after re-assembly.  Then it's a piece of cake.

Intimacy with your guns inspires a different kind of confidence.

Rob