Crosman 362 barrel band for wood stocks

[Van]

  I'm tearing down one of my Meijer Store sale 362s to figure out what to do about the big plastic front end barrel band when using a wood stock.  I have one of the 1389 style bands that will fit the hole position of the big plastic one.  I had to fill a small gap with a washer to take up some space as some plugs on the bands have different hole spacing. You can see it on the examples below the tube in the picture. The shorter one fits without the space gap there but is too short to slide around the pump joint which I think helps the alignment of the end in the tube.  Maybe the holes changed on some guns over time.
 This is a Birch Winchester stock from my collection, that had not been inlet, from Gun Parts Inc.  I think it has a nice flame figure for a Birch wood stock.  It's been laying around a few years so maybe now I have a use for it if I just can find the time to route the tube channel and drill the inlet for the trigger pack with a Forstner bit.  It seems to be about the right length. 

[Mzq284]

Wow, that's gonna be a beauty!
The band is a tough one. When I put mine in a wood stock I ground down the factory one. It looks terrible,  as you might imagine. I have an aluminum one for a 1322 with 1/2-20 threads out the front. I'll make a new aluminum plug like I made for my 362-25 and drill out the tube part of the band and fit the two together with JB Weld. I'm going back into the gun soon to finish the job. In the picture is the one I made for the 362-25 and later painted

[Mzq284]

I figured out the math to make a longer plug, I'll see if I can find my notes and post it here. I made longer plugs when my friend and I made up a couple 362-25s, but dipstick made them about a quarter inch too short. I ended up drilling the ends of my plug and loctiting a couple Allen screws in to act as piston stops. And you are correct, the plug helps a lot with stability of the linkage.

[Nukall856]

 A couple weeks ago I changed the 177x18" to 22x21". Last year on C362#430 I cut the original C362 barrel band to where it does not contact the barrel to free float the barrel using an Aluminum Breech and a polymer slip on Picatinny rail. But.. while pumping the airtube flexes downward,, not good. It did ok but did notice flyers while shooting groups in bothe barrels.
 To fix that I cut the front end of the 362 barrel band to where it would clear a 2289 barrel band. The 2289 barrel band fit perfectly also being able to tighten the band is a good plus.
 After reassembly and testing I no longer get flyers at 20+ yards.


NVak

[dmcmullen]

Looking forward to your progress Van.   Please include pictures, been a fan of your rebuilds for awhile now.

[Mzq284]

Van,
Here's my sketch of the plug dimensions. These are the dimensions to the end of the pump tube. This is a side view, all dimensions are in thousandths of an inch. All dimensions are to the center of the holes.
I hope they're of use to you

[Van]

  Thanks for the replies guys.  I have some black Delrin rod and sheet material I was going to turn into barrel bands, but I'll try the 2289 one first.  Here is a shot of how I route tube channels in the stocks.  I use a plunge router, cove bit and scrap wood all fastened sturdy to a workmate style stand.  The wood fixture is just three pieces of wood, clamps and wedges to form a straight surface for the adjustable router guide to slide along. It must be wedged and clamped in tight, level and straight.  After the channel is cut, I measure and locate where to drill the trigger pack pocket with a Forstner bit and drill mounting holes. I just use a 2260 stock to get the locations right.  I will use the 2260 trigger housing front mounting screw location. It is not so close to the trigger guard as the 362 triggers.  I have found some shaped walnut and hardwood stocks that are not inlet for actions by browsing the gun stock websites.  The pump lever is cut using the same angle as my 392 but I mount it to the pump lever by drilling holes in the bottom floor of the metal and small wood screws.  No pin mounts to show that way. The tricky part is the slot for the metal pump lever.  I measure the depth and use the fixture to route it too.  Route the shallow depth all the way first then cut to the deep end of the angled section of the lever pocket with the router and smooth with a small chisel as it slopes back. 

[Mzq284]

Nice work.  I'm watching this,  I'm anxious to see your end results.

[airgunner53]

This is amazing, can't wait to see the end result

[Van]

   Been too busy to inlet the stock and reshape it a bit.  I have got the brass trigger made and a Magnum Airpower sear and pins installed along with a TKO & Air Gun Mods breech.  I would like a steel breech as soon as I find one in stock at a reasonable price but this one works fine.  I hope to start the stock soon after all the spring yard work is done.  The forward 2260 stock mount lug fits right in the trigger housing which works better for a wood stock. This gun shot 670fps with 14.3g pellets at 8 pumps.  I am going to order an adjustable flattop pump rod for more air per pump to tinker with later. That's less than my other 362 which hits 689fps at 8 pumps.  I want to try for 700fps on this one. 

[bantam5s]

That stock is gonna look great.
Man I hope somebody can come up with a metal barrel band / plug for the 362 so I can finally jump on the bandwagon.
I bought a very nice aluminum band / plug for my " American boy " build, I think it was from Maverick Customs.
If they could make a longer version of it that would be awesome, but I'm not really sure what their manufacturing status currently is.
Some of their stuff has been out of stock for a long time.