Canadian Airgun Forum

Hello everyone,

I ordered my HW80 new a few years ago.
I live in Canada. Last year I did a chronograph test with the FX Radar. My HW80 seems to be shooting around 17.38 FT Lbs.
I’ve never taken apart or tampered with anything other then installing a scope (Discovery scope).

At Christmas I ordered a Soft R1-HW80 Tune Kit but have not touched it yet.
I’d like to now install it. Any advise ?
How do I go about it? I’ve read I need to build some sort of air rifle compressor kit cause the tension of the spring can be dangerous when undoing and installing ?
The tune kit I received is a spring with the white plastic end pieces already in the spring at each end and a small jar of grease. Should I remove the plastic end pieces and do anything like add grease? I tried twisting them out by hand but couldn’t. Should I be able too ?

Any and all advise is appreciated.
Love shooting, but have very little experience and knowledge.

Thanks !

Hi Jorg.
The plastic guides should come off. If you twist it backwards that might help. It doesn't seem right, but what it does is expand the spring a little so it will release the guide.

Lightly coat the guides with the grease. Lightly coat the spring.
You can do a full clean out and relube of the tube, check the holes for and burs and debur where needed. If the kit has instructions, use that to help you identify what's what.

Lots of YouTube vids on disassembly and lubing procedures.

It's a very good idea to have some sort of a spring compressor for disassembly and reassembly. If your rifle is currently shooting 17 foot pounds then you definitely have a full power spring and the spring will have pre compression on it.. could be as much as 2+ inches when you finally get the end cap off.

The end cap of the HW80 unscrews and can be a little difficult to get started to unscrew, because it screwed in very tightly to line up the scope dovetail. You may need to use a crescent wrench wrapped in a cloth and inserted into the end cap and then tap that with a hammer to loosen it so you can unscrew it.

Putting it back together could be a challenge to compress the spring and screw in the end cap again. You have to go very slow and make sure everything is lined up to avoid cross threading of the big steel end cap.

I have taken my HW80 apart a few times and it currently has maccari power kit in it which gives me around 20 ft lbs. However, due to spring pre tension, it's a challenge to reassemble even with my over built spring compressor built on a 2X 10 board as the bed with a bench vice as the pusher.

I'm not sure what reassembly will be like with the hw80 soft tune kit from macari, but I would bet the spring is shorter and you won't have as much difficulty reassembling it..

There are videos on YouTube on the tear down and reassembly of the HW80, you just have to be mindful that some of them will be for the low power Europe versions and the spring pretension inside will be lower than on your full power spring of your 17 foot pound rifle.

There's lots of other guys here with a lot more knowledge and skills than me, so if I missed something I'm sure someone on here can help you.
Almost 2 years ago, I was reassembling an older hw50 which has the same style construction as the hw80 and I nearly ruined it by cross threading the end cap. The guys on here helped me figure it out and I got it put back together. Which is why I sent this rambling message, just thought I could give back a little bit.

If you’re interested , I could do the job for you. I live about 20 minutes north of Sudbury. I’ve tuned many an air rifle and actually own the HW80 so I’m more than familiar with its workings.
If you’re so inclined to do the work yourself , you can use a long carpenters clamp from the local hardware store or CT . That’s what I’ve been using for years with no issue. There are a lot of disassembly videos on rebuilding the HW rifles on YouTube. Just make sure you’re real careful not to scratch the finish. Oh ya , you might want to pick up a new piston seal before you dive in. When they get removed from the rifle , they sometimes get cut on the slots in the receiver.

_________________
I like air guns , and they like me

I live in the Montreal, Quebec area.
Thank-you very much for the offer to do the work for me. Last year I probably would have taken the offer, but now I’m thinking I’d really like to learn more about the rifle and doing work myself.
Do you have any specific video links you can recommend, or any on tuning would be good?
Also, links for building a break barrel compressor kit.
Here’s a picture of the kit I received.
Can you elaborate on your piston seal comment ? If you look at the picture of my kit, does it come with a new seal ? I’d love to get the kit installed ASAP. Am I missing anything ? Is it a long or difficult process (I’m pretty handy, carpenter by trade).
Thank-you

Here’s what I use for a clamp. They do have some more affordable options if you shop around . https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/irwi ... p.html#srp

For the rebuild this video is pretty good . https://youtu.be/x_CzKN0AccE

And last , the seal . Depending on how careful you are during the removal of the piston , you might be able to reuse what you have . The kit you pictured doesn’t have the piston seal in it. If you want to order one before hand . https://www.airgunsource.ca/us/vortek-v ... -30mm.html

Hope this helps . If you have any questions during the install post them and I’m sure I or someone else here will be glad to help.

_________________
I like air guns , and they like me

Thank-you everyone.
I have one of those quick grip clamps already (36"). I'll try to look up video's how to use as a compressor and make sure I don't loose an eye or break my hand.
If anyone has a link to a video using one that would be helpfull too.

Thanks again everyone... very helpful.

That video that Hobbyman2007 linked is great. I haven't seen it before and it's better than the one I watched.

Here are couple more places to look for great info on the R1/HW80.

This website will link you to a series of articles on the R1/HW80
https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/?s=beeman+r1+&btnGo=

Here is a series of articles specifically on tuning an R1/HW80
https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2006/08 ... -we-tuned/

Something I don't understand and can't picture in my head...
The HW80 seems to 'unscrew' when disassembling to remove the spring, unlike other models where you simply knock out a pin.
If the rifle is in a clamp being used as a compressor, how do you turn the barrel to unscrew or rescrew the end to release or tension the spring?
See a lot of pictures of home made compressor kits, but haven't found a video showing how to use with the HW80 specifically.
(I must be dense or misunderstanding somehting)

Having an end cap that screws on is definitely something that makes the hw80 more challenging to reassemble. It helps to have a compressor that you can set up so that you can use your hand to turn the end cap in while fighting the tension of the spring. Which is why you need to go real slow and have a compressor that holds everything tight so it doesn't come loose.. it really is the most dangerous part of putting the hw80 back together as it is possible to cross thread the end cap threads as well as having it all pop loose and have a heavy projectile go flying.

Here's a website with some pictures of one compressor that allows pretty good access to the end cap to screw it in.

https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2006/08 ... continued/

Having said all that, it's entirely possible the soft tune kit you got from macari won't have very much of the spring sticking out and you might not even need a compressor to put the end cap in. I don't know as I've never used the soft tune kit from macari. But I do know he has one sentence in the description for the kit that says "easier to install" which tells me that it's possible the spring is shorter and doesn't require as much force to put the end cap back in.

Does anyone know if I would be able to safely 'unscrew' and open the barrel to remove the existing spring WITHOUT a home made compressor kit?
Would the original spring from manufacturer be under too much tension that it takes a compressor kit, or could it be safely done by hand with end facing downwards towards my work bench (as opposed to up towards my face - LOL).
As mentioned, the gun was ordered new from supplier and never tampered with. In my FX radar it's shooting around 17.38 FT Lbs.
If I can remove safely by hand, afterwards trying to install new tune kit, I'll find out if I can install by hand or need a compressor... but before that I need to know if the existing can be removed safely by hand.

I wouldn't try it without some sort of a clamp or compressor to restrain the end cap against the mainspring.
The spring has a lot of energy stored, and I'm a cautious person when it comes to mechanical devices.

UPDATE

Finally had enough confidence to try and take apart my HW80 yesterday to install the Soft R1-HW80 Tune Kit I purchased back in the fall. Followed the YouTube video's people had referred me too.
Wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be.
Gun is shooting so much better !!! I still have more testing to do and use my FX radar to see new strength, but wow! Already with the 5 different pellets I tested and maybe 50 shots it's grouping way better then it was before. A lot less kick / recoil... much steadier.

THANK-YOU EVERYONE for your help and advise !

Very glad to hear it!

Its amazing how much nicer tune kits make spring piston airguns. Its a shame they all didnt come from the factory with at least tighter fitting spring guides to cut down on buzz.

I know, some do have better fitted parts, such as the Air Arms springers.

i would also be curious what velocity you get with the soft tune kit.

I have considered putting one in my hw80 as well. Mine is .22 caliber.