Well, I snuck a bit of time to tackle the project again. Remember kids - DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! :o The spring compressor did not do much at all, the bolt came out and the piston/compression tube were still stuck together in the action as the screw was backed off, freeing the inner parts for movement - of which there was none. I wrapped the end piece in a heavy rag and tapped the inside of the end piece until it slid out. Then the piston got the same treatment. Always being careful to keep the lighter parts surrounded with a heavy rag to slow down the projectile potential. Not a good solution, but the best I could come up with in the circumstances. If you ever do the same, you're nuts and are responsible for any injuries or damage caused! Some twisting and turning of the pieces (still wrapped) caused them to finally separate. Here's the main components, along with a main spring assembly from a friend's rifle that's there to show how much of a set the springs of this rifle took from being compressed for so long.
Here's a look as the compression bumper seal, and the piston with the majority of the bumper removed.
I get the feeling it's going to be tough to reconstruct that piston bumper... a bit of epoxy to hold all that together perhaps? :o ;D ;D ;D
Here's a look at the inside of the compression chamber. That's going to take some doing to get clean!
This rifle doesn't seem to have been shot all that much. Even though the compression ring shows a bit of a mark - there's no discernible gap, essentially no wear in the piece.
So she's now in her basic component parts - what there is of her. Next step is to see if my friend will loan me his rifle to make sure that what's here is functional with missing parts (major assemblies, not individual parts) replaced. If so, we'll then move on to making a list of assemblies/parts needed and see what FWB can help us with. Then we'll see about filling in gaps from the used market.
Some might wonder at the effort made to restore this rifle, but we've got a shortage of 10 meter rifles/pistols of any sort around here, and this is the first left hand rifle I've seen. So although it's "outdated", it should still help someone to get an idea if they want to go to the effort and jump through the hoops to get into 10 meter shooting. Besides, it's fun to get an abused/neglected piece of equipment back into functioning shape!
Does anyone have a lead on an original front sight assembly for this rifle?
I'm a peaceful man and prefer the pursuit of peaceful sports. The shooting sports tend to promote self control and are peaceably participated in by those who know that their greatest challenge is their need to continually hone their own abilities.
