Spring Torque

[AirGunner]

I recently rebuilt a Xisico air rifle 177 caliber with an Air Rifle Headquarters spring. The gun is a Diana 34 clone. After the rebuild there is a lot of barrel flip and the gun turns left at the end of the shot cycle. Okay tuners, tell me how to fix the problem

[avator]

Make sure your spring spins freely in the guide and top hat. Polish them, remove burrs and apply a thin layer of moly paste.

[lefteyeshot]

What Bill said and a couple of washers that will fit around the center shaft  of the piston in front of the main spring with some molly should let the spring spin and unload easier. Also a good artillery hold. I guess the gun's an Air Hawk or XS25.

[mikeyb]

Sounds like it may be shooting HOT. Any chronograph numbers?

I have an Airhawk clone shooting around 12fpe and it is one of the smoothest shooting springers I own.

[Roadworthy]

Which ARH spring did you use?  As others said polish and lube spring ends, especially the end on the spring guide.  Put a bit of lube on the spring and guide to allow free movement.  If the gun lacks a piston sleeve you may wish to fabricate one.

[AirGunner]

Which ARH spring did you use?  As others said polish and lube spring ends, especially the end on the spring guide.  Put a bit of lube on the spring and guide to allow free movement.  If the gun lacks a piston sleeve you may wish to fabricate one.

No Chrony numbers . Too hot here to bother with that.

[AirGunner]

The spring is for the most power or highest fps.

[Toxylon]

I would suspect the piston seal more than anything. I've had custom seals that make a springer go up to a corkscrew motion through the cycle. Fit is important, as is lubing (quality & quantity), but some piston seal materials just don't cope with some guns / power levels.

Also, what pellets are you using, and have you kept shooting the same pellets before and after the tune?

Lately I've been amusing and educating myself on how drastically a springer's behavior is affected with a change of ammo. Some pellets (all quality, all mid-weightish) make the gun shake sideways at the end of the cycle, others create a straight back kind of push, others go for actual compound movements, all with the same gun, using the same hold.

[AirGunner]

Hey airgunners. Thanks for all the great advice and information. I will do a tear down this fall and put your suggestions to good use.

[Doug Wall]

I have one of the D34 clones, and with the OEM spring, I found it to be oversprung. Very harsh firing behavior. I ended up cutting a couple of coils off the spring, and it's much better. If the spring that you put in is as, or more powerful than the OEM spring, you could also expect harsh behavior. As others have said, the spring ends and contact surfaces must be smooth and polished. Did you yse any lubrication when you put it back together? High Moly content grease on the spring ends is important, and I always put a very thin smear of spring tar on the coils of the spring. Those lubes can make a world of difference.