Want to clean Webley Tempest...

[soops 0]

Have blagged a Webley Tempest off a friend for £20. It looks in good cosmetic condition apart from a loss of bluing to the barrel/cocking arm.

 

When the barrel is pulled up it looks like there is some pretty thick grease in the workings. Should that be there and if not, how to I go about getting it out and what should I use instead?

 

Also it says on top that it is 5.56mm as opposed to a .22 being 5.55mm. The pellets that came with it seem to be a pretty loose fit in the barrel so that's not going to help accuracy.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

Soops

[RAMCAM 4]

Hi Soops

 

I found this service info on another forum.

 

To service, use a punch to push out the pins that hold the trigger parts in and the fore-end on. Take note of the position of the trigger parts, note how the trigger spring fits behind the trigger guard. Slide off the trigger guard and the plastic fore-end, push out the pin holding the metal plug in the fore-end of the cylinder. This will free the barrel, and as the pin comes all the way out, the plug and the spring will come free as well. There shouldn't be much preload on the spring but it will push the plug out as the pin comes out. Slide the barrel linkage out of the cocking slot, and the pistol is mostly stripped.

 

Clean the parts as best you can. If you can't wash them with solvent, a good clean with rags should do, but do make sure the inside of the cylinder is as clean as possible.

 

Check the piston head for wear... If you notice a split on the plastic piston head washer, don't worry, it's supposed to have that!

 

Lubes: rub Moly GN paste well into all the trigger parts, the inside of the cylinder, the inside and outside of the piston too. I find motorcycle Chain Wax aerosols good for spring lube, just spray it on quite liberally and you will find that it dampens out twang quite nicely. I put a little moly grease on the ends of the spring too. All the pivot points (like the pin at the fore-end that the barrel hinges on) will benefit from Moly GN paste rubbed in. Cocking will also be a lot smoother if you apply GN paste to the cocking slot and in the small t-shaped link that goes through the slot. Also, put some GN paste on the fulcrum, this is the bump near the barrel-hinge that the cocking link slides over as you cock it.

 

The trigger is pretty easy to strip and reassemble and does benefit a lot from being treated with moly paste, you just need to push out the pins in the trigger guard first, then the pins that the trigger parts turn on, then all the trigger parts come out through the slot in the underside of the trigger housing, but do pay attention to their orientation and the position of the small spring that is held in place by the front of the trigger guard, maybe draw a diagram, this will help when reassembling the trigger. Put Moly paste in the holes in the trigger parts and on the pins that they pivot on. The trigger may feel tight and heavy to start with but it will return to normal with a little use and will then improve still further!

 

These pistols really are improved a lot by modern lubricants. I know that Webley used to recommend just plain Webley Oil, but these pistols improve so much with GN paste, Chain Wax and a little grease too, I don't know why Webley never changed their lubrication instructions. I am sure that modern lubes like these will keep a Tempest running nicely for a much longer time than oil alone, it will be more pleasant to shoot and cock as well. I love my Tempest!

 

One final word about the roll-pins, it should be fairly obvious which side they were inserted from, you should try to remove and replace them from the same side that the original assembler of the pistol used, if you're lucky it will be obvious as on one side the holes around the pins will be flattened slightly, or the pins will be shiny where they have been tapped into place. pushing them out and replacing them from the same side saves wear on the holes and means that you don't have to peen the edges of the holes over to keep the pins secure. It's nothing to worry about as, serviced like this it should be years before you need to strip it again, it's about four years since I serviced my Tempest like this and it's still fine despite fairly regular use.

 

The only pellets I could find in 5.6 are the blue tin eley wasps. The quality has gone down since the company has changed hands, but you will not be getting good groups anyway in the tempest, 1.5" to 2" at 10 yards is considered normal.

 

http://www.pellpax.co.uk/acatalog/Eley_Wasp_5_6.html

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WASP-DOMED-22-5-6mm-Air-Rifle-Pistol-Gun-Pellets-500-/260694861250

 

If you need any spares.

 

http://www.proteksupplies.co.uk/webley-spares.html

http://www.gunspares.co.uk/

 

 

atb Alan

[Phantom 631]

Hey Soops

 

You would be quite suprised how a pellet skirt expands as the pellet gets the blast of air up its butt

Its this that enables the pellet to sit snugly into the rifling of the barrel.

 

I know a few people who shoot these pistols and have used them in competitions with pretty good results

 

For all pistol related stuff you need to pay a visit to the UBC forum. Get there via www.umarexboysclub.co.uk

 

Phantom

[soops 0]

Hi Alan,

 

wow that's a lot to take in at first glance, but I reckon I'll get the camera out and take pics as I disassmeble just in case something goes awry. You do make it sound so easy . Which way should I have it to open it, with the safety facing up or hav it underneath and is there anything liable to go 'ping' and disappear down a crack never to be seen again?(shudder at the memory of having a suzuki tsx 125 clutch pin shooting off into the shrubbery 20 years ago and the 5 hour search for it comes horribly to mind ).

 

is this the kind of grease that you mean? My link.

 

Could I use a thin smear of the moly along the coils of the spring? or would it be too heavy? Just asking as once everything is all cleaned and put back together it may not need doing for years and don't really want to buy a can just for one job. I do have some GT85 graphite based spray is that any good or would that react with the moly to produce some nasty sludge?

 

Thanks to for the link for the pellets. I wonder what the thinking was in making the bore that fraction larger and it only being on a certain number of Tempests? My dad always used to use Eley Wasps years ago, dunno if it was because they were better or knowing my dad, the cheapest(sos Dad ). I've read on reviews sites where folks aren't too enamoured with them and saying how they had gone down in quality. Having a tin of them would do just to get the Tempest run in again if I can successfully take it down and refit it.(it will be my first time, a stripdown virgin

 

As for my groupings, knowing how I shoot while setting it up I'll have to start by painting a five foot circle on my shed

 

Phantom,

ta [bANNED TEXT], I'd forgotten about the expansion factor of the skirt, reckon I'll have to see if I can get hold of one of those tester packs of pellets and see which it prefers once I've done it.

 

I bet some of those people using the WT can really upset those who have spent hundreds on some fancy pistol only to be whipped by someone using a Tempest

 

Thanks again for all the help.

 

Soops

Edited November 25, 2010 by soops