GTA
Airguns by Make and Model => Vintage Air Gun Gate => Topic started by: Van on January 27, 2020, 12:12:27 AM
-
I stopped at a Trading Post today and noticed a wood crate of old garden tools. I saw an old BB gun sticking out so I poked around in the box. Here is what I found down inside, a Racine Sheridan Blue Streak with the rocker safety. Its a Jan. 1971 mfg. Outside is dirty and a bit rough but everything is there. The barrel is great, pump arm rivet and nose pins are tight. I disassembled it today and I am sure no one has messed with the valve. It just needs a clean, reseal and refinish. As expected the seals are hard as a rock. It was not priced so I offered $25. The lady said how about $35 which is what I paid. I plan to use the Mac 1 PTFE seal kit. I have been looking many years for a Sheridan to rebuild on the cheap. Finally found one. The rear sight has a rivet or something on each side. I was afraid to remove it like you do a 392 Benjamin. Anyone know if it is removable without damage to the barrel? (http://)
-
Should clean up good. I am pretty sure that those are Allen set screws holding the sight on.
-
Thanks Keith, I checked just now, cleaned out the crud and it looks like you are right.
-
That was a BARGAIN !
-
Nice score!!
-
:o wow $5 less than I paid for my dan find.
-
That’s a find congrats
-
OH MAN! that is a sweet deal indeed! Congrats!
-
Awesome....Great deals like that are getting scarcer these days.
About a week ago, a buddy of mine alerted me of an air pistol on the local Craigslist for 15.00. Turned out to be a Crosman Mark I in great shape. I bought it of course.
-
As I travel around the country I always look out for trading post junk shops to check out. Most of my tools and a few airguns have been found this way. I get better deals than at pawn shops. It was pure luck that I checked the junk pile box of tools and stuff. This gun appears not to have been shot much, just stored badly. No telling how long it was rattling around in that old box. I am thinking about using Brownells Aluma-Hyde black on the pump tube after cleaning it. I had great results on another brass tube gun using this stuff.
-
At least you found it before someone turned it into a tomato stake ;D
-
Excellent deal.
Likely one of the best airguns you'll ever have if you ask me, no matter what kind of airguns you have.
-
you could take the screw out of each side of the rear sight and then drift the leaf out from the base.
if you want to take the whole base off, you could try VERY carefully drilling out those dimples from either side of the base. the other thing would be to try to somehow pry the sides of the base away from the barrel without actually touching or prying against the barrel or tube - or putting pressure on the barrel which would separate it from the tube. Or you could VERY carefully and VERY slowly cut one side off the sight with a little cutting wheel on the dremel - just score it and slowly deepen the score until you can easily bend the little bit off the side and then the whole thing should fall right off.
I've never tried to remove one of the old style rear sights - I have one like that on my '51 sheridan and it will stay there.
if I were you, I would mail that gun to Tim MacMurray to have it drilled and tapped for the peep sight, and just ask him to remove the rear sight and he will make it happen. Though I know you are trying to do this on the cheap - but I know of no better way to get the peep sight on than to have Tim drill and tap it. He has a setup that puts the holes in exactly the right spot, not sure I would want to try it myself.
-
I received the Mac1 seal kit today, he sure ships fast. After installing it pumps and holds air all day. I don't have any .20 cal. yet so I have not shot it yet. I haver a question for anyone who has resealed one before. After pumping there is a small bit of air left in the compression tube, not the valve. Its enough to make the pump arm rise about a fourth of the way when you open to pump again. Is this normal until the inlet valve seats in? Its the hard white PTFE seal. I wonder if its leaking back a little into the compression tube in front of the cup seal. That bit of air is still there even after firing the gun.
-
OK.. I have never owned an "Old 'Dan" but I always thought if you loosened the side set screws, the sight would come right off.
No "wedges" like my later 'Streaks to need drifting out.
Am I wrong? ::)
-
Thanks guys, once I cleaned out the holes I found it was a set screw. they came right out.
-
I received the Mac1 seal kit today, he sure ships fast. After installing it pumps and holds air all day. I don't have any .20 cal. yet so I have not shot it yet. I haver a question for anyone who has resealed one before. After pumping there is a small bit of air left in the compression tube, not the valve. Its enough to make the pump arm rise about a fourth of the way when you open to pump again. Is this normal until the inlet valve seats in? Its the hard white PTFE seal. I wonder if its leaking back a little into the compression tube in front of the cup seal.
From you description that is a pump rod adjustment issue. Make it longer to provide tension to the pump arm so it doesn't droop.
-
The pump arm does not droop, it cams over fine. When you open the arm there is enough air behind the pump cup to push back on the linkage some. Its as if the air is not all getting into the inlet valve or leaking back some. Going to leave pumped up all night to see if the inlet seal sets in to the seat better. It has an adjustable pump piston and I tried max settings so that was not an issue.
-
I'll bet when you close the pump arm there is still a wee bit of head space between the face of the valve and the pump cup. This is highly compressed air and will cause the pump arm to spring out awasy when you first open it. Not a big deal and quite normal. If you have an adjustable piston you could lengthen it very slightly to take up the headspace but it's a lot of dinking around for little return.
-
I have a suspicion that may not be a head space issue. On the contrary, the new seal may be making too much contact with the valve. If it were head space and enough pressure was left in the tube to pop the arm open, the check valve would have opened and let that pressure into the valve after the shot. That is, if the check valve spring is not too heavy.
Does it dump all the air after the shot, can you just re rack the bolt and get another shot without pumping?
-
It dumps all the air, just has a bit of pressure left between the pump cup and valve after the shot. It will rise a bit when you open the pump arm like all the air did not get into the valve. Well it held air overnight and had a great blast of air this morning. Enough to blow a full roll of paper towels flying off the work bench. Going to order some .20cal. today and will know more when I can use the crony. Its my first Sheridan, but I resealed a Benjamin 312 a few years ago with the same Mac1 hard seals and they did not have the residual pressure. Mac1 site says hard check seals must have a perfect polished seat. Had to clean a lot of the old rubber seal off the seat, but I think it was good to go. The 312 did take a few days to stop leaking down and now holds air for months. Going to order a softer factory type check seal from JM just in case. Going to work on the old stock now, maybe duplicate it in some Calico Hardwood if it turns out to be a good shooter.
-
Thanks guys, once I cleaned out the holes I found it was a set screw. they came right out.
Good that you got those set screws loose since they are not traditional hex-head screws, they are.069 4-flute bristol head set screws. I bought a couple of spline wrenches to remove them on my Sheridans.
-
So that's what they are. I thought someone had messed them up. I used some WD 40 on them and a small flat precision screw driver tapped in across the holes. They came right out.
-
Glad you got it working again.
Hope you love it.
I have come to enjoy and appreciate some other vintage guns as much as my blue streak, but it will always be my favorite.
Probably sentimental reasons but there really is something special about these Sheridan rifles, the way they shoot feel and handle is just right.
-
Got some work done yesterday. Stripped the stock, fixed a few gouges, then cleaned and degreased the tube. I used Birchwood Casey Brass Black to touch up the many places the brass was showing through the black. It takes a lot of coats to get a real black finish. Stubborn spots take the finish better if you use a cotton ball soaked in the stuff on top of the spot . Leave the cotton ball on a few minutes but don't let it dry out. It looks more like the original finish than the gun coat stuff. Tips online say wax with pure Carnauba Wax and it will stay on the metal. Need to sand the stock, wet to raise the grain, finish sand it. I plan to use True Oil buffed with OOOO steal wood to a sheen,not high gloss.(http://)
-
Looking good!
True Oil buffed with OOOO steal wood to a sheen,not high gloss is one of my favorite finishes.
6-8 light coats rubbed in small sections until you feel the heat, then onto the next section while it is still wet.
Let each coat dry and buff with the steel wool before applying the next coat.
-
Sounds like a good plan....
Good move not taking the forearm off of the linkage.
-
Those pins in the forearm are in deep. You could do damage getting them out, not necessary if you are just refinishing. Trigger guard on this one was riveted on so I left it as is and worked around it.
-
gracious... wrong thread.
-
... pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...
-
Got some work done yesterday. Stripped the stock, fixed a few gouges, then cleaned and degreased the tube. I used Birchwood Casey Brass Black to touch up the many places the brass was showing through the black. It takes a lot of coats to get a real black finish. Stubborn spots take the finish better if you use a cotton ball soaked in the stuff on top of the spot . Leave the cotton ball on a few minutes but don't let it dry out. It looks more like the original finish than the gun coat stuff. Tips online say wax with pure Carnauba Wax and it will stay on the metal. Need to sand the stock, wet to raise the grain, finish sand it. I plan to use True Oil buffed with OOOO steal wood to a sheen,not high gloss.(http://)
Did you notice if that Brass Black stuff did any damage to the surrounding original black finish?
-
The brass black did no damage to original finish it only oxidizes the bare brass. The color blends in well and is fairly tough but thin. I used a bunch of coats as the first one starts slow to change the color to black. It is recommended to wax it or seal it to cut down wear. I could not rub it off while polishing the tube with a rag and wax. It pays to use a new bottle of the stuff if you have had it open a while. The old bottle I had opened for a year or two did nothing so I guess it was past its shelf life. I degreased it first with dish soap then 90% rubbing alcohol.
-
Those pins in the forearm are in deep. You could do damage getting them out, not necessary if you are just refinishing. Trigger guard on this one was riveted on so I left it as is and worked around it.
Here is a thread with suggestions on those trigger guard rivets.
https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=165203.msg155845195#msg155845195 (https://www.gatewaytoairguns.org/GTA/index.php?topic=165203.msg155845195#msg155845195)
-
Looking great so far.
Way to go.
-
Got one coat of True Oil rubbed in. Will keep it up until I think it looks best. It sure looks different than when I pulled it out of a junk pile. Does anyone know what size O ring will fit the .20 cal. bolt? The one on it works ok but is very hard from age. If I pull this one off it will most likely tear up. Well, I just found a Sheridan rebuild manual online. It said AS586-004 (http://)
-
Wow, that's looking great!
-
Beautiful!
-
Thanks for the compliments. The O ring for the bolt should be AS568-004, I transposed the 568 in my last post. Anyone know what the FPS should be on a new reseal with the Benjamin 14.3g pellets. Another Airgun Blog online, where I got the rebuild info, said he got 645fps on 8 pumps. I wondered if that's the norm. My .20 cal. pellets have not got here yet.
-
Your results after overhauling a Sheridan can fluctuate some. About 625-650 is typical from what I have seen in mine. Even if it is around 600fps, that is still a loss of less than 10% since NEW ! I don't get overly concerned unless it is below 600fps . NOTE: JSB Exact pellets are a better choice than Benjamin Sheridan. They are a tad lighter, so shoot faster , & are more accurate. The B.S. will penetrate a bit more for hunting.
-
Thanks Steve, I will try those next. I just ordered the Benjamins as I have never had a .20cal. before. Today I am making some tool steel round pins with C clips for the front end. I never liked split pins that come on these guns and the 392s.
-
I was right about the hard white PTFE check seals in the Mac1 kit. It can take a day or so, stored under pressure, to set to the seat. It suddenly stopped raising the pump arm so fast between strokes. It was trapping air between the pump cup and inlet. I think it was leaking out the check seal to the pump tube. Had to reset the adjustable piston to take up that head space. Found .20cal. Benjamin Pellets at Cabellas and it shoots 662fps on 8 pumps. That is more than my stock 392 shot with the same grain pellet, I am satisfied with that and will leave that part of it alone now. This gun is quickly becoming a favorite. Have not shot groups yet, but its very accurate so far.
-
You should be very happy with those results !
3 pumps for plinking & targets, 5 for small game hunting, up to 8 for larger game or longer distance shots. With a pumper, there is no reason to work yourself to death pumping it to the maximum. Store it with 1-2 pumps left in it to keep the seals moist.
-
Yep, and when accuracy wains.. give it couple drops of secret sauce. Remember... a little goes a long way. IIRC, brass barrels don't need alot of cleaning like others. Pull a few patches with WD.
-
I was right about the hard white PTFE check seals in the Mac1 kit. It can take a day or so, stored under pressure, to set to the seat. It suddenly stopped raising the pump arm so fast between strokes. It was trapping air between the pump cup and inlet. I think it was leaking out the check seal to the pump tube. Had to reset the adjustable piston to take up that head space. Found .20cal. Benjamin Pellets at Cabellas and it shoots 662fps on 8 pumps. That is more than my stock 392 shot with the same grain pellet, I am satisfied with that and will leave that part of it alone now. This gun is quickly becoming a favorite. Have not shot groups yet, but its very accurate so far.
Looks like you're in the ballpark regarding velocity. My Mac-1 Steroid 12 pump hits 687.4 fps with 10 pumps and 727.7 fps with 12 pumps using the standard 14.3 gr pellets.
Good job! dave
-
Thanks to all for the suggestions on restoring this old gun. I have a Mac1 billet pump arm on my 392 that I started to swap onto the Sheridan but was afraid to try to remove the almost 50 year old pins. I thought they may rip the wood when they come out. Instead I tried the Mellon Air bushings, not the pin, just the ring and bushing, on the original arm. Its for a 1377 so the pin is a little short. Made my own pins from tool steel. The bushings add a bit of strength and cut down side to side movement on the main pivot hole. They fit fine on the Sheridan. That with some Secret Sauce on it and the rivet should make them last a long time. You can order just the ring and pivot bushing. Works on the weaker 392 arm too. (http://)
-
Don’t worry yourself about wearing a Sheridan out. I have some that are original , still working, that are 50-60 years old !!
-
Yep. May be a bit of overkill on a Sheridan but I just had some left over from 1377 builds. They do more good on a 392 or 1377 which have the weaker pump arms.
-
Now that I got finished with everything, here is what I get with the Mac1 reseal kit: 4 pumps- 505fps, 6 pumps- 600fps, 8 pumps- 660fps, 10 pumps- 705fps using Benjamin 14.3 pellets. I think I will shoot 4 to 6 pumps most of the time unless hunting. Looks like from 4 to 6 pumps has the largest gain in FPS.
-
Well, as I'm sure you know by now.... they just don't build them like a good ole "Dan" anymore. A couple drops of 'sauce' every now and then and regular use and they will last virtually forever.
Like many, I don't really find the need to pump over 5. If the gun is not up to the task at hand, I simply go in the house and get one that is.