I just sent the following as part of a private post to a member. It dawned on me after editing that it might well serve to educate someone who visits this board on the proper care of the classic American multi-pump pnuematic airgun that many of us have hiding in closet or shop. So here it is---warts and all.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just in from the shop. Finally got the old Sheridan airgun I've been working on so long back together. I've never seen one so dirty on the INSIDE! I've scrubbed, brushed, polished and cussed the invisible to old eyes innards until I simply ran out of ideas. I decided just to put the SOB back together and see if it'll work. I sorta enjoy playing detective with old airguns, using their condition and specific illnesses to backtrack their history---sorta a pnuematic Sheerluck Holmes if you will. And this'un has had volumes to tell. A careful analysis of what I found leads me to believe that this one was bought to relieve a pest problem in barnyard or garden and, while it saw little actual use, it spent its' entire life in barn, shed or garage. Perhaps through a feeling of guilt the owner oiled it very regularly however. The outside was so grubby that it was immediately obvious that it had enjoyed little time spent in areas devoid of dirt. The almost total lack of any remaining vestiges of original stock finish backed up the exposure to weather, humidity and temperature extremes it has suffered over the past 39 years since August of 1969 when it was completed. But the extreme case of oil-soaked wood in the stock evidenced an owner who oiled it regularly---waaaaaaay TOO regularly! Disassembly and cleaning brought to light that a combination of very little use and lots of lubrication had at the very least preserved it internally except for a few high wear areas in the pump linkage. That one area is the Achilles heel of domestic multi-pump pnuematics. Through some combination of circumstances American airgun manufacturers failed to get across the point to the end user that lubing the pump pivot points was the ONLY critical factor in preserving their products. In truth if the 3 pivots in the pump system are kept well lubed that is the ONLY oiling needed since the rest of the gun will be more than adequately lubricated by oil migrating from the pivots to the rest of the gun. Yet owners of domestically built pnuematic arms almost to a man put what oil they used in the places where it would produce maximum harm while totally ignoring the 3 places it was absolutely critical. In short they oiled the guts, often with oils that destroy rubber seals, while ignoring the mechanical hinge points that must have lubrication. I've witnessed far more airguns ruined by too much oil than not enough. Or from the use of gun oils or household lubricants such as 3-in-1 or WD-40 (which is NOT a lubricant!). Just why people think oils other than those recommended by the manufacturers will work I'm mystified to understand. It seems relatively simple to me. They aren't firearms so why would anyone think firearms lubricants are better than the makers' specified lubes? A single drop of Crosman or Daisy oil or 30wt. NON-DETERGENT motor oil, if you can still find it, on each of the 3 pivot points in the pump linkage every 500-1000 shots is sufficient to keep them working well without significant wear into a graceful old age barring an accumulation of dirt to act as an abrasive.
OK---rant out of my system---does it pump and hold? You betcha! So far anyway. Only an overnight test will prove how well, but it was holding well enough that I just had to try it for accuracy since the cleaning process had revealed one of the best looking barrels it's ever been my good fortune to see. It still wears the inadequate set of open sights that it was cursed with from its' inception. Sights that even young eyes can only do so much with, and 68 year old eyes even less. After shooting and adjusting to get it hitting in the black of a regulation 10 meter Olympic target set at 15 yards I shot a 3 pellet group that was a classic cloverleaf. I quit then because all the things I'd done earlier in cleaning the shop plus the pumping (only 4 times at the distance I was shooting) had my old back grouching at me. With further testing it may get better or that group may have been an anomoly but I have a good Williams peepsight for Sheridans waiting in the wings. Just wish I'd thought to drill and tap the reciever before I reassembled the gun.
FWIW, I just checked and it was still holding after 3 hours. Tom
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just in from the shop. Finally got the old Sheridan airgun I've been working on so long back together. I've never seen one so dirty on the INSIDE! I've scrubbed, brushed, polished and cussed the invisible to old eyes innards until I simply ran out of ideas. I decided just to put the SOB back together and see if it'll work. I sorta enjoy playing detective with old airguns, using their condition and specific illnesses to backtrack their history---sorta a pnuematic Sheerluck Holmes if you will. And this'un has had volumes to tell. A careful analysis of what I found leads me to believe that this one was bought to relieve a pest problem in barnyard or garden and, while it saw little actual use, it spent its' entire life in barn, shed or garage. Perhaps through a feeling of guilt the owner oiled it very regularly however. The outside was so grubby that it was immediately obvious that it had enjoyed little time spent in areas devoid of dirt. The almost total lack of any remaining vestiges of original stock finish backed up the exposure to weather, humidity and temperature extremes it has suffered over the past 39 years since August of 1969 when it was completed. But the extreme case of oil-soaked wood in the stock evidenced an owner who oiled it regularly---waaaaaaay TOO regularly! Disassembly and cleaning brought to light that a combination of very little use and lots of lubrication had at the very least preserved it internally except for a few high wear areas in the pump linkage. That one area is the Achilles heel of domestic multi-pump pnuematics. Through some combination of circumstances American airgun manufacturers failed to get across the point to the end user that lubing the pump pivot points was the ONLY critical factor in preserving their products. In truth if the 3 pivots in the pump system are kept well lubed that is the ONLY oiling needed since the rest of the gun will be more than adequately lubricated by oil migrating from the pivots to the rest of the gun. Yet owners of domestically built pnuematic arms almost to a man put what oil they used in the places where it would produce maximum harm while totally ignoring the 3 places it was absolutely critical. In short they oiled the guts, often with oils that destroy rubber seals, while ignoring the mechanical hinge points that must have lubrication. I've witnessed far more airguns ruined by too much oil than not enough. Or from the use of gun oils or household lubricants such as 3-in-1 or WD-40 (which is NOT a lubricant!). Just why people think oils other than those recommended by the manufacturers will work I'm mystified to understand. It seems relatively simple to me. They aren't firearms so why would anyone think firearms lubricants are better than the makers' specified lubes? A single drop of Crosman or Daisy oil or 30wt. NON-DETERGENT motor oil, if you can still find it, on each of the 3 pivot points in the pump linkage every 500-1000 shots is sufficient to keep them working well without significant wear into a graceful old age barring an accumulation of dirt to act as an abrasive.
OK---rant out of my system---does it pump and hold? You betcha! So far anyway. Only an overnight test will prove how well, but it was holding well enough that I just had to try it for accuracy since the cleaning process had revealed one of the best looking barrels it's ever been my good fortune to see. It still wears the inadequate set of open sights that it was cursed with from its' inception. Sights that even young eyes can only do so much with, and 68 year old eyes even less. After shooting and adjusting to get it hitting in the black of a regulation 10 meter Olympic target set at 15 yards I shot a 3 pellet group that was a classic cloverleaf. I quit then because all the things I'd done earlier in cleaning the shop plus the pumping (only 4 times at the distance I was shooting) had my old back grouching at me. With further testing it may get better or that group may have been an anomoly but I have a good Williams peepsight for Sheridans waiting in the wings. Just wish I'd thought to drill and tap the reciever before I reassembled the gun.
FWIW, I just checked and it was still holding after 3 hours. Tom