I suppose that you might say “here he goes again†and that’s fine with me. That said, my biggest concern is the safety and welfare of both members and guests that read the posts on our forum.
My two biggest safety concerns for our members are the subject of working on a springer without a spring compressor and the use of Slick 50 although Slick 50 has rarely been mentioned here. It was suggested to a person on another forum that advocated and promoted the use of Slick 50 that he refrain from doing so and was told by many of the dangers. He was banned for life after a person was very seriously injured using it. And if it were have happened while the GTA was in existance, he would be banned from here also.
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About the use of or not using a spring compressor. I suggest that you never ever disassemble a springer with few exceptions without using a spring compressor regardless of what other people might say. Many people have been hurt by not using one. It can be very dangerous even if the spring has been preset. You are just asking to get hurt and possibly very seriously. I just shudder every time I see someone post statements like “I never use a spring compressor†or “you can do it without using a spring compressor†or “A spring compressor isn’t really necessaryâ€. Then they might add a “disclaimer†to their statement. It’s like playing Russian Roulette and the first time could be it.
If it were up to me, I would delete every single post that contained comments or statements like that. In my mind, people that make statements like that have no respect or concern for their fellow airgunners safety or health. Its nuts. If they want to do it, let them but please don’t you do it. If you do decide to do it, figure in before you start the cost of eyes, teeth, getting stiched up, emergency services, hospital and doctor costs, possible loss of work to name a few possibilities......just in case.
Simple spring compressors are easy and cheap to make and it’s simply not worth the risk. Please….don’t listen to people that make those suggestions.
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The idea of using needle bearing thrust washers in airguns has been around since the dawn of the Springer so it certainly is not new. However, they are seldom or never used and for good reason. First, thrust needle bearings are not usually designed for high pressure impact and usually will not hold up. Needle thrust bearings are usually used where constant and/or consistent rotation is involved and a with a constant light predetermined adjustable preload. Not a constant smashing and crashing impact against it. I have had two guns in over the years where they broke up and literally destroyed the chambers, one in a very expensive gun. And if the bearing breaks up, you can just about bet that the small fragments will get between the piston and the cylinder wall and the tophat will not hold them in. And keep in mind that chances are that you will never even know when it breaks up until your gun begins to act up and fail or the piston is noisy when cocking the gun and the cylinder walls are being chewed up. Besides, if properly done, the difference between night and day can be accomplished not using needle thrust bearing.
Second, they usually are self defeating and although they may help just a bit in making a gun smoother cocking, they can at the same time also increase vibration and oscillation in the spring and have a reduced dampening effect when the gun is fired and cause over rotation as long as they last. In itself, the needle thrust bearing concept could actually be counter productive the guns behavior.
If you stop and think about it, if the needle thrust bearing application were that effective and that good, and with the competition such as it is, airgun manufacturers would use them to improve their products and the cost would be very little for them because of volume, but not so. I wonder why??? Also...I'm not aware of them used in any of the higher end guns. Ever wonder why???
Well known tuners and suppliers of tuning supplies and parts that have been around for years do not offer or suggest them and never use them. I wonder why??? It's pretty well known in the pro tuning industry that a simple grade #8 .25 cent washer that has been polished (that takes a little time) combined with the spring ends being polished is much more preferable, more effective at dampening, while at the same time, greatly reducing rotation and torque, and making for smoother cocking and yet far far less expensive. Makes sense to me!!
I'm sure there might be a couple of people that may argue the point but after I played with it years ago and from the results I've seen by others using them, it’s a very poor choice. I know of only one person selling them for that reason and no experienced pro-tuner that I know of even offers to use them as a part of a tune, and something that I certainly would never ever do as part of a customer tune.
Sorry if I seem to be rambling on or perhaps you get tired of my coming down on some of these things, but it's not for me, it's for you and I just care. I've nothing to gain and I've learned my lessons through out the years.
