Valve Stability Pt 2

We have already covered the removal of the Barreled-action in "Barreled-action Mod" and the removal of the trigger frame in "Valve Stability Pt 1". With both those portions of the pistol removed the receiver end cap, the hammer spring and hammer with pin can be removed and placed to the side. Then, if the 6-40 valve retaining screw is removed the valve will fall out of the receiver tube.

The valve fits loose in the tube and cannot help but move when struck by the hammer. This is a loose fit for production and assembly purposes and is an understandable design flaw. However, it would only take a few wraps of Teflon tape to have the fitting snugly in the receiver tube. I can only speculate that the snug fit might reduce overall gun vibration and make for more consistent striker hits as I have no measured results to share.

I can report a couple of documented drawbacks to this mod. After the wrap the valve must be pressed back into the tube and a careless or excessive wrap will push the tape into the port and screw holes. Another drawback is that the CO2 from a removed cartridge will all have to escape through the retaining cap threads as it will not pass the valve when the cap is backed off.

After I wrap the valve I usually allow the CO2 to bleed out of the threads prior to removing the retaining cap. Removing the retaining cap completely with a full punctured cart did not create a rocket in my hands but the cart sure was cold. I only mention this here as it was a stated concern of one airgunner.

As the expression goes: "Assemble in reverse order." I follow the sequence outlined in the Barreled-action Mod to avoid pellet loading problems. In a future post I will explain my entire assembly/disassembly sequence.

Shoot Smart. Shoot Safely.

Poorman Plinker