Spring Compressor Build

I have a need to tear apart my break barrels now (velocity decreasing significantly, need to put in a kit at some point in the near future), and rather than send out the rifles for a tune, I decided to go ahead and learn how to do it myself.

I looked around at different designs, and decided on a combination of different designs. I wanted something that could work with different vertical heights, and was relatively easy to use. I liked Rick Eutsler's design using a scope mount, but didn't have the ability to weld, so I came up with my own version using hardware store materials (mostly home depot, the 1 inch tubing was from ace hardware).

I'm not finished with it yet, but I thought I'd post my progress. I hope it ends up working well, but even if it doesn't, this thread will hopefully be informative for others.

Here are the pictures of what I've done so far:

Here is the rough setup:


Here the pipe is attached, and I've added a bit of vertical height:


Here I've added the action from a Ruger Airhawk to check some measurements and make sure the attachment works:


Here is how I plan on making the clamp able to move vertically:


Some information about the build:
I am using steel square tubing to hold the clamp, and allow it to move vertically. The smaller square tubing will be able to float inside the larger square tubing. The larger square tubing will be clamped in place using bolts and horizontal steel bars (I haven't done this yet).

The base is pressure treated 2x6 (I had this on hand), and I've attached everything with 3" screws.

I attached the 1 inch aluminum tube to the 2x3s, and the screws went all the way into the 2x6 for additional support. I attached a scope mount to the tube, and that is what will hold the action of the rifle.

The base has two 2x6's on the right side, and just one 2x6 on the left for support. The two 2x6's on the right will have the bolts through them, which is why there are two, and I have the additional bracing on each side to handle the torque that will be applied when using the spring compressor.

Things left to do:
I still need to add the stop blocks on the left side to prevent the tube from moving. I also need to get the bolts to attach the steel bar to hold the square tubing vertically in place (I needed to get this far to measure how long the bolts would need to be). I also need to drill the holes for the bolts that hold the C clamp part to the two smaller square tubes.

So far I am pretty happy with the way it is turning out, and I hope it works well and last for a long time!

Please let me know what you think or if you think there is anything I've missed!

I have to agree with OLETOMCAT in that the scope rail is not intended to have that much force put on it. Also I do not see a barrel stop. With a barrel stop and another attachment point futher down toward the barrel it would make it alot stronger. Good luck with it and be safe.

I just watched the tuning vid and the scope mount is only used to hold the gun
so you can use to two hands to work, there is a still an end stop on that setup

I think that the dynamic forces on, in some cases, an almost 2lb scope produced by the double recoil would far exceed the almost static load seen in installing/reinstalling a spring/ram. My brother's RWS 48 .177 being exhibit #1 as an example. The front of the scope rail is loose yet the screw in that area is very tight. So tight that I partially stripped the head in trying to remove it & I still haven't removed it. Had to wait for an impact driver.