GTA

All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => PCP/CO2/HPA Air Gun Gates "The Darkside" => Topic started by: TimmyMac1 on August 10, 2012, 12:42:41 PM

Title: Schimel GP22 retrospect
Post by: TimmyMac1 on August 10, 2012, 12:42:41 PM
I've never done any service to the Schimels. Gramps refused to teach me what he knew about the guns. Reason being the Die Cast technology was in its infancy & the the castings have become enbrittled and will not have the integrity required to operate in the conventional fashion without risk of fracturing the back strap casting around the Pivot for the link rivet. This was apparent by the Mid 60's and Les politely told me no way I was ever going to work on it. He thought the the embriTtlement would eventually cause after chaMBER FRACTURES WHICH WOULD BE A DANGEROUS EVENT. He was probably being over cautious but the mans nature was typical of people working with high pressure. He wasn't willing to become the Test Dummy and did not want me doing that either. I have never heard of any main casting failures but for sure the Die Cast Technology wasn't good at first and most manufacturers had issues with die cast parts in the early days of Zinc castings.
There are guys like Greg Fuller that can fix the valving but they will tell you there is no guarantee on the factory original castings as they are not up to the task of a heavy user. This is a collectors item in so many ways but it isn't a user gun for that reason even tho they were absolutely awesome designs. They shot hard, were very innovative & efficient. If there ever was a early design that could benefit from current raw materials that is it.
I plan on using the centered barrel to the reservior concept in a action I will eventually make as a Barrel option for the TC Contender Pistol. The proper execution of the Schimel concept will live again once I get some time to work on it. It is design brilliance and public domain at this point in time.
It is always a shame to see the production engineering, concepts in their infancy and materials available compromise the potential of any project with so much potential. This represents a bit of all where the gun could benefit from modern seals done since the 50's, modern precision casting technology as well as a TimmyMac1 type production engineering to give it LD like bullet proof durability, efficiency, performance and accuracy. Not to mention a 12 gram capability. Nothing ever shot this hard in a pistol this size.
The design was off the chart cool and is basically what the GC2 did valve wise 40 years later but with air instead of CO2. That was another case of poor production engineering execution of a great design.
These guns shot over 500 fps in .22 with a 8.5 gram cartridge getting over 25 shots per charge. Awesome triggers and inspirational design but problematic execution is what holds this gun back from everyone enjoying them.
I don't know who designed this gun but he got a lot of help from Les during the development stage and he was a genius. So often geniuses are ahead of their time.
A lot of American Airgun designs came just following the Big War. Idle Production facilities and production capability tried to find products to make to keep machine shops busy in Burbank after the war.
This was a great time for SoCal Airgun makers but few made it and Schimel was one that faded away even though the design was incredible. It takes more than brilliance to pay the bills. You must choose the right path and 8.5 grams wasn't that. Crosman Trumped everyone who went the 8.5 gram route when they did the 12 gram.
Competition can be hard.
Americans are some of the most innovative individuals on earth as a group. It is a huge dissapointment to see the Patent Office become a Haven for Back stapping Corporations when it could have been a Haven for Geniuses. You can't reward the geniuses and the lawyers simultanouesly as the lawyers don't work for the innovators, they work to screw them. Innovators that have been screwed don't innovate, so the USA is stagnant on designs.
Greed has killed the Genius Golden Goose!