Diana Has a Problem!

[airnutz]

Hello folks!

I recently brought your attention to a very nice experience I had with the Diana Factory here in Germany.  The problem was that a wrong sized O-Ring was delivered, and after a call to them directly, the Factory Technician said he will send me a new leather O-Ring at no extra charge.

Unfortunately the new ring is also too small.  I need an OD of 14mm, and all of them are 13mm!

They do not know at this time what to do.  I offered to quench my old leather ring in oil, use a new distance ring behind the ring, and in the meantime fabricate a new one from shoe leather (I visited a local shoemaker today for a piece of hard leather that has the correct thickness).

Further, my old Diana 35 is obviously one of the very first ones made.  The 14mm, according to Diana, is uncommon, and not made for any model today.  Also, the barrel has an OD of 15mm, and all of their info and charts show that 16mm is the norm for this model and others. 

So, the quest continues.  I will be in further contact with them, as they have shown a great interest in getting behind this dilemma.

I post this for general info, as I think it is interesting for the old vintage guns, and the new modern factories and their helpfulness in keeping the old guns in order.

Please, does anyone have an old Model 35 to compare pics?

Greetings.

[RedFeather]

I am directing you to the American Vintage forum.  There are a couple collectors of older Diana there who can answer your questions.  The 35 might have been made as far back as the mid-50's.  It's not uncommon for current employees not to know much about earlier products.  I once had a question about a Lyman receiver sight used on a circa 1918 Winchester 1885 Low Wall and the people at Lyman had to find a Xeroxed copy of their 100th anniversary catalog to understand what I was even talking about.  Sad but true.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/405945/

[airnutz]

Thanks once again.

Yes, the young man was helpful, but perplexed!  My info is the gun was introduced in 1953, and as the chief of the section was off for a long weekend, he was somewhat lost for words.

But the folks from the state where Diana resides is known throughout Germany as very industrious.  Mercedes and Porsche, for instance.  I also know, the fact that I "have him", drives him nuts, lol.  I am sure the further info will entertain.  I'll keep us posted.

[lizzie]

Mine is a late 70's model, and when I bought it, it had a rubber o-ring in it, so I doubt I can be of any help.

[RedFeather]

Actually, making your own leather breech seal might be the best option.  If you want to use the old, existing seal, here is a tip.  Carefully tease out the old seal if you have not done so.  Then take a short piece of wound copper electrical wire and take out a single strand.  Form it into a circle and hammer flat to make a shim.  After soaking your old seal in a bit of oil, place the shim into the breech seal cavity, turn the old seal over and replace it atop the shim.  That should give you a fairly flat, raised surface.  The shim and flipping the old seal are tricks I picked up from the AVA forum link, above.

[airnutz]

The copper wire is an excellent idea, and makes sense to me.  I added the first time around, the 0.2 mm thick (thin) spacer as the existing old leather seal was without.  Already the gun showed more precision (shots were formally too high), and the shooting action is quieter.  Seems to be more punch also.

I will work out the new leather seal in time, as now the old one, quenched and properly spaced works well for now.  I also "roughed" up the sealing side of the leather, as it was hard and overly smooth.  I am happy so far with the results.

Thanks.

PS:  lizzie, is it possible for you to measure the OD of the barrel of your 35?

[lizzie]

PS:  lizzie, is it possible for you to measure the OD of the barrel of your 35?

If I'm using my mic correctly, it looks like it's 16 mm.

[airnutz]

Thanks lizzie!

After speaking with Diana, I am starting to think my old 35 is older than 1953.  Diana has not yet found older info concerning the barrel thickness (15mm, not 16mm!). No measurements of the O-Ring thickness on my gun either.

I have info from an old Diana Collector's site, that the 35 was introduced in 1935.  The butt end of the compression tube is different with the real old models though, as it housed the trigger assembly, and to get at the innards, this end was screwed off.  Much different than the more modern types.

So I am thinking I have some kind of "transition model".  The front sight is also different than any I have yet seen.

Just some info here folks, as I am having fun trying to do a little detective work.

Should I post a pic of the front site?

[uncle paulie]

Of course! If we don't see some pix, we won't believe one word of your story!

pv

[RedFeather]

Does your gun look like those in the following link?

http://www.network54.com/Forum/662823/thread/1271959425/Diana+mod+35+%28Pre-War%29

[airnutz]

Does your gun look like those in the following link?

http://www.network54.com/Forum/662823/thread/1271959425/Diana+mod+35+%28Pre-War%29

Yes.
The front and rear sites have the same type of lateral mounting facility.
The breech is identical, big leather o-ring and the bar-type (not a ball-type) latch(?).
The rear site is identical.
The tube at the end, is different than on my gun.  Mine is more modern, being smooth and not stepped as shown.

Here is a pic of the breech, from the link, and mine.

[airnutz]

The front site is very similar to the one from the link.  The exception being, mine has a "tunnel" around the thorn.  The fitting, laterally inserted, is identical.  The rear site is 100% identical.  The rear site is also mounted laterally.

Here from the link;

[airnutz]

@uncle paulie;  you are right.  Nothing worse than talkers, who don't put up.   

More pics on the way, soon.

Greetings.

[RedFeather]

Looks like this might be a post-WWII gun.  One way to ID the earlier ones is to look for D.G.R.P. on the compression tube or barrel.  This was the patent marking in use back then.  Does your rear compression tube cap have a rounded bulge?  If so, that would also be the later gun with the "three ball" trigger.

[airnutz]

Yes, the tube cap is rounded.  Nowhere is a number or other insignia to be seen other than Diana 35 on the top.  Nothing.  Not even caliber designation.  i will soon unscrew the butt plate to see if anything is engraved in the wood.  The old screws have sometimes a different slot size than the newer screwdrivers, and I do not want to strip the screw slots unnecessarily.  I will dig into Grandads old tool box for some old screwdrivers that fit better. 

All of this is perhaps overkill, but I do not want to harm unnecessarily an old piece.

I like old mechanical things that still work well.

[RedFeather]

See you got hold of Mike over on the AVA.  He's a treasure trove of old Diana knowledge.

[airnutz]

See you got hold of Mike over on the AVA.  He's a treasure trove of old Diana knowledge.

Mike on the AVA?  Well I don't know what you mean, but after the previous posts, I think a wealth of knowledge is right here on this site.

I am not a member elsewhere.