by Tom Gaylord
Writing Eastern Samoa B.B. Pelletier

A history of airguns

This report covers:

  • Hot for everyone
  • Back to the LG55
  • Oiling the piston sealing wax
  • How to tell
  • How to inunct the Walter Piston seal
  • Past maintenance
  • Cleaning the barrel
  • What pellets?
  • Cleaning the after-school
  • That's it

I received this question on Tuesday.

"I just acceptable an LG cal 4.5 mod 55 Walther's patent air loot. It's a avid gift, and I would like to keep IT in solid shape. I lively in Common Market though, And like almost Europeans, I know almost nothing astir guns.

Could you write an clause about first airgun maintenance and important things to check when egg laying hands on an old gun?
Thanks ahead for some help, Dungaree"

Good for everyone

With the enormous act of readers we have, I imagine Jean is not unaccompanied with his doubt. I put the response Hera in the History section because his Walther LG 55 is a vintage breakbarrel spring-piston air rifle that's no longer made. It was made from 1955 to 1967, according to the Blue Book of Airguns. For approximately of those years (until 1963) it was Walther's top target airgun, and even today it has a fluency and healthy construction that cannot be overlooked. You don't birth to know airguns to recognize the prize of this go.

The LG (stands for Luft Gewehr, which is German for air gun) 55 rifle was followed by Walther's LGV — the pinch of their spring-piston target plunder line. It was factory-made from 1963 and remained in the line until 1972. By that time, engineering science was replacing spring-piston aviation rifles for target use, and Walther's LGR, a single cerebrovascular accident pneumatic that would come outgoing in 1974, was far and away a more prim fair game loot.

Back to the LG55

The rationality I put this report in the historical section is because these older leap out-piston airguns often have leather piston seals. Leather seals need lots of oil on the piston sealing wax. Information technology keeps the leather supple enough to do its job.

A spring-piston airgun works by means of a Piston being shoved forth by a leap when the gun fires. The piston compresses the melodic phrase in front of it and pushes it through an airwave transfer larboard at the end of the compression chamber. The amount of air compressed is very small, simply the pressures generated are quite steep. Like the cork from a plain bottle, the pellet is overcome by this intense burst of pressure and, when it can no more resist, IT goes speeding down the barrel.

Spring-piston airguns get no valves. The piston compresses the air out that travels through the transfer port to the back of the pellet. It's simple and reliable.

air transfer port
The air transfer port at the forepart of the compaction chamber conducts the air compressed by the piston to the rear of the pellet that's sitting in the barrel.

transfer port detail
Here is a nigher look at the channelis port.

Oiling the piston seal

The rationality I'm telling you this is because you need to anele the piston varnish from time to time. If the seal of approval is leather, oiling with 5 drops once a month is not too much or likewise oft. If it's synthetic, you can inunct it once every 6 months with regular use up or once every 1,000 shots.

The seal in the Walther LG 55 is synthetic, and the innovational ones have a trouble. The material the freehand piston seals are successful of thirsty rots o'er time. They all do, and wish eventually fai, regardless of whether the gun is fired. Jean, this is the first thing you need to follow for. If the pellet starts touring really tardily, to the point of not coming out of the bbl, the seal is bad. Sometimes you will go through chunks of a yellow OR brown waxy material in the barrel. Those are particles of the dry-rotted seal that have broken off. When you see them you know sure enough the rest of the seal is gone, too.

Diana target rifles (models 60, 61, 65, 66 and 75) also have this problem. So manage the original Walther LGVs — not the ones made today, but the ones made in the 1960s and '70s. The FWB models 121, 124 and 127 as wel have this problem.

Replacement seals for all these airguns are available nowadays and they are made from material that does not fail. They can buoy embody thought of as lifetime seals — particularly at the lower power levels of these rifles.

How to tell

Dismantling is the most positive fashio to know if your hit man has an archetype seal that's gone bad or a spic-and-span seal, but most new airgunners Don't want to do that. The goody-goody news is, it's pretty easy to find out without disassembly — by examining the rifle closely and by shooting it. Look in the barrel for chunks of a yellow operating room brown fabric. If you see them, don't shoot the gunman any longer until the seal is replaced. If you notice the pellet start coming out slower (it leave represent very slow) the cachet needs replacing. Stop shot until information technology is replaced. If the gunslinger vibrates fractious surgery has a sharp jerk when shot — especially if information technology jumps forward a bunch, the sealskin needs replacing. All spring piston rifles startle forward when they fervor — this would be an overstated effort. If you are thusly new that you can't tell if the progressive recoil is undue, better stop and have someone WHO knows airguns essay the reave.

How to oil colour the piston Navy SEAL

The pistol seals on these experient spring rifles need to be oiled a lot more than modern ones. One drop of silicone chamber oil every 6 months or all 1,000 shots is about decently for vintage guns with synthetic seals like the LG 55. Arrange not use home oil color operating room regular silicone polymer oil from a hardware store for this. The oil colour essential be silicone chamber oil because of the high heat the gas pedal generates when it fires.

To oil, cock the rifle merely don't close the barrel. Look at the flat ending of the spring subway system that is right away exposed and you will see a slender hole that aligns with the fanny of the barrel when it's closed. That is the air transfer port.

transfer port
This is what you are looking for. An beam transfer interface.

Drop one drop off of silicone chamber oil into this hole out, and so uncock the rifle away keeping the barrel at the muzzle, pulling the trigger and tardily letting the piston go forward. Let the gun for hire stand on its stub for a span hours before shooting.

Other direction to do this is to put u the rifle on its butt and drop ii drops of oil down the barrel. The supererogatory drop wish stay connected the inside of the barrel. Let the accelerator pedal stand for 12 hours before shooting.

Other maintenance

Oiling the piston Navy SEAL is the biggest maintenance step with this strip. You can also vegetable oil totally the flexible joint points of the cocking linkage with household oil colour or better gun oil. And it doesn't hurt to oil the mainspring with the same grease-gun oil. To do that the rifle comes out of the stock. Remove the two forearm screws and the front triggerguard screw to remove the stock. Past you will be competent to see a portion of the mainspring through the cocking slot in the rear of the spring tube. Drop 5-10 drops of anele direct this slot and so cock and uncock the rifle several multiplication to spread IT around.

Cleaning the gun barrel

I have one piece of advice on cleaning the bbl. Father't jazz! Information technology doesn't need it. If you shoot good lead pellets all the time your barrel should never get dirty. On that point is no residuum from gunpowder and lead pellets that displace at to a lesser degree 800 feet per second don't leave deposits in a well-rifled calibre. Your Walther's barrel is rifled identical well and the gun shoots a lot less than 800 f.p.s.

What pellets?

Your LG 55 is a target rifle. Information technology was ready-made to pullulate target pellets. Those are flat-nosed pellets called wadcutters. You can dart unusual shapes if you want, merely wadcutters are what your strip was designed for.

Shoot lead pellets, only. Your rifle was not designed for leadless pellets. They mightiness work very good, simply I haven't time-tested a vintage Walther with lead-free pellets, so I preceptor't know how it will perform.

Cleanup the outside

Ballistol! This is the anoint that's used entirely o'er the world past armies for their mechanical weapons. This is the embrocate that coated my friend Mac's gun collection that stood in water for a week and never rusted! This is the oil that dissolves rust-brown. Impregnate a soft rag with Ballistol and keep information technology in a plastic bag to wipe down your air gun after handling.

That's it

Jean, that's all that comes to my mind at the moment. Tell us how your rifle shoots. Is IT smooth? Does IT cock easily? Is it accurate?

What questions do you have?