Early 80's HW35E .22 cal

[tjk]

Glad you left the 35 with the leather seal. Nice to see classic springer in all original form. As long as it shoots consistently, I wouldn’t be too overly concerned with velocity. You have other guns to fill that requirement.

[Toxylon]

I hear you, but a gun that shoots at barely 60% of the design spec AND is woefully inaccurate AND was quite expensive is something I can't justify to myself. It's the lack of accuracy more than anything, obviously. Every gun I get, unless it's a dedicated target gun like my LG55, or a really cheap (to me), junior size fun gun like my D24, needs to be a capable hunter - that's the yardstick.

That being said, I do enjoy tweaking and testing, so it's not ever a totally lost cause. Rarely is there no hope for improvement, either, at least if you're willing to bleed some more money.

I bought a synth seal piston for the HW, to see how the synth seal TP works with it. I'm in the process of moving, so I haven't installed the piston, but I will get there.

[MDriskill]

Thanks for the update!

As mentioned above, I have basically the exact same rifle, but with the regular-length barrel (19") in .177, so I'm anxious to see how this moves forward. The gun has belonged to a friend of mine for nearly 30 years but he barely ever used it, the innards are basically new.

Mine was made in 1980, also leather seal, also 3mm TP - and also low on power. I recently cleaned up and de-burred the innards, re-oiled the seal, and added a 1/8" spacer behind the spring (an old ARH "HW 35 soft spring" whose specs are pretty much identical to the OEM spring). Added about 40 FPS compared to when I got it...but the beast still barely ekes out 7 FPE with Hobbys (676 FPS)...my HW 30 from the 1960's will almost do that.

The piston seal attachment is also identical to yours, but with the head of that accursed staked-in attachment screw recessed nearly 1/4"...a chunk of "lost volume" likely equaling that of the transfer port.

For what it's worth, I have three old leather-sealed HW 35's. The oldest (1966) has a 4mm TP, the other two (1973 and 1980) are 3mm. Note that he German law restricting airgun power went into effect in 1970. I have some smaller leather-sealed HW's from the mid-70's that remained at 4mm, so the circumstantial evidence may be the 3mm TP was done on purpose to restrict the HW 35?

[Bayman]

Thanks for the update!

As mentioned above, I have basically the exact same rifle, but with the regular-length barrel (19") in .177, so I'm anxious to see how this moves forward. The gun has belonged to a friend of mine for nearly 30 years but he barely ever used it, the innards are basically new.

Mine was made in 1980, also leather seal, also 3mm TP - and also low on power. I recently cleaned up and de-burred the innards, re-oiled the seal, and added a 1/8" spacer behind the spring (an old ARH "HW 35 soft spring" whose specs are pretty much identical to the OEM spring). Added about 40 FPS compared to when I got it...but the beast still barely ekes out 7 FPE with Hobbys (676 FPS)...my HW 30 from the 1960's will almost do that.

The piston seal attachment is also identical to yours, but with the head of that accursed staked-in attachment screw recessed nearly 1/4"...a chunk of "lost volume" likely equaling that of the transfer port.

For what it's worth, I have three old leather-sealed HW 35's. The oldest (1966) has a 4mm TP, the other two (1973 and 1980) are 3mm. Note that he German law restricting airgun power went into effect in 1970. I have some smaller leather-sealed HW's from the mid-70's that remained at 4mm, so the circumstantial evidence may be the 3mm TP was done on purpose to restrict the HW 35?

Excellent post Mike. We need a like button on this antiquated forum for good posts like these. I was going to mention the the porous solder joints to Duke but its irrelevant since the barrel is no good.

Be well
Ron

[MDriskill]

(Oops, double post)

[MDriskill]

Thanks Ron!

I've been meaning to ask about the leaky brazing at the forks. Here's a pic of my rifle. Nothing looks obviously amiss to me, but I defer to you gents that have looked at more Weihrauch guts::




Just for reference, a deconstructed pic of this spot I snagged off a UK forum:




And here's a look at TP sizes, as I mentioned above:

[Bayman]

Thanks Ron!

I've been meaning to ask about the leaky brazing at the forks. Here's a pic of my rifle. Nothing looks obviously amiss to me, but I defer to you gents that have looked at more Weihrauch guts::




Just for reference, a deconstructed pic of this spot I snagged off a UK forum:




And here's a look at TP sizes, as I mentioned above:

I love the deconstruction photo. You can easily see how a porous braze could result in a lot of lost volume. And how long that TP has to be.

I have a damaged Hw99 tube  someone gifted me. When I get my shop built, I'll get a set of torches and deconstruct that one for S&Gs. I'd like to see if there's a way to replace the fixed detent with heat.

Be well
Ron

[MDriskill]

Just cuz I now have 35's on my mind, ha...here's some other notes on my three, that you guys fooling with old leather-sealed ones might find useful. (Numbers are averages of 15-shot strings in format: pellet name - weight in grains - velocity FPS/energy FPE - standard deviation as % of velocity).

The 1966 35E with 4mm TP is a fairly recent acquisition. Have no idea of internal condition and have just run one string:
+ RWS Superdome - 8.4 - 631/7.43 - 1.62

The 1973 35L with 3mm TP was a consignment buy many years ago, and these tests are old. Never had it apart but someone might have, it's a most pleasant shooter:
+ RWS Hobby - 6.9 - 767/9.06 - 0.54
+ BSA Excalibur - 7.3 - 762/9.42 - 1.06
+ RWS Superdome - 8.3 - 616/6.99 - 2.73
+ RWS R10 - 7.7 -  688/8.10 - 0.44
+ H&N Match Hi-Speed - 7.5 - 728/8.84 - 1.58

I've known the troublesome 1980 35EB above for literally half my life...helped a local friend buy it off a used gun list in 1988! I refinished the water damaged stock, but the action looks new to this day My friend never shot it much, and recently gifted me the gun due to health problems. So for entirely silly and sentimental reasons I want to get the best out of it. Over the years:
* 1988, OEM spring and factory grease:
+ RWS Meisterkugeln - 8.4 - 675/8.48 - 2.91
+ Eley Wasp - 7.3 - 762/9.30 - 0.42

* 2001, OEM spring and Maccari lubes:
+ RWS Hobby - 6.9 - 666/6.78 - 0.85
+ Eley Wasp - 7.3 - 641/6.64 - 1.13
+ Lapua Marksman - 7.3 - 664/7.16 - 0.67

* 2003, Maccari "HW 35 soft spring:"
+ RWS Hobby - 6.9 - 644/6.35 - 1.91
+ H&N Competition - 8.0 - 609/6.60 - 2.24

* 2024, no changes:
+ RWS Hobby - 6.9 - 634/6.20 - 1.93
+ RWS Superdome - 8.4 - 562/5.85 - 0.64

* 2025: Same setup, re-lubed and spacer added:
+ RWS Hobby - 6.9 - 676/7.01 - 1.23
+ RWS Superdome - 8.4 - 564/5.93 - 2.08
+ Merlin Match - 8.1 - 587/6.19 - 1.78

[tjk]

Just out of curiosity Duke, but does your HW35 have a feinmark stamped anywhere on it?. It will look like a 5 sided pentagon with a “F” stamped in the middle.

[MDriskill]

Just out of curiosity Duke, but does your HW35 have a feinmark stamped anywhere on it?. It will look like a 5 sided pentagon with a “F” stamped in the middle.

I beg Duke's forebearance for speaking in his place, but his .22 HW 35E does not appear to have the dreaded "F in pentagon" mark.

Just for reference, this is the typical location when it is present (photo from eGun auction site):

[Toxylon]

Guys, I've been immersed in the move for the past several weeks, with zero chance / energy to do airguns. Good to see the discussion flowing regardless!

Mike,

I'll have to digest your excellent posts before commenting on them.

tjk,

There is no Freimark in my 35. That was one of the first things I checked when examining the gun pre-purchase, and later checkings have not found one, either.