Panthera I Jumped In!

[Powermonger1]

Yeah, I know, replying to my own thread, but here is what happened: Utah Airguns for the Win! They had already contacted Saber Tactical to send me a new one before they emailed me back. That's class! I still don't know why FX didn't use them as their U.S, distributor, seemed like a no-brainer to me. Still does.

Wished FX had put a valve twice the size as the one in there now! Wouldn’t need the volume to push the 25 at a higher fps. I was getting it out of a Fast co with 1200 psi with the 1/2” valve with the power mods at 890 fps and 385 grainers for the first shot. But that’s dumping most the air. With a 650 follow up. So if they had gone a little bigger on theirs. The bigger slugs would go a little faster. Maybe 100-150 fps

 

[Pumacarl]

Wished FX had put a valve twice the size as the one in there now! Wouldn’t need the volume to push the 25 at a higher fps. I was getting it out of a Fast co with 1200 psi with the 1/2” valve with the power mods at 890 fps and 385 grainers for the first shot. But that’s dumping most the air. With a 650 follow up. So if they had gone a little bigger on theirs. The bigger slugs would go a little faster. Maybe 100-150 fps

You can always buy a spare valve seat and open it up yourself. I was watching an FX Masterclass video with E. Rowe of him breaking down the gun and when he got to the valve seat he did not remove it. He said that it took special tools (easily obtained, and I have them already) and you should send the gun back for that. Boy, was I p.o.ed when he said that! Why did he think I was watching the video in the first place? I'm not shipping anything, anywhere. If you do it, post pictures, I'd love to see that!

 

[Powermonger1]

I got extras of everything and talk to Mr Rowe about it. There’s not enough room to do it in the valve . I have extras to rebuild mine many times over and have modified mine to as much as it can possibly go

 

[Pumacarl]

Just ordered an FX D1 chronograph. HPP was the first retailer that I have seen them at. This will make slug testing go a lot faster, and safer, and way easier, for me. Hopefully this weekend I will get the work done of polishing the bore and swapping in the new port, hammer, slug probe, regulator, and carbon fiber barrel sleeve. I am going to vinyl wrap the barrel too, not with the funny looking rusted metal looking stuff, just some charcoal grey stuff for now.

 

[Pumacarl]

So, today I fired the FX today for the first time and I'm not sure what to make of it yet because I have no frame of reference. It was quiet. Too quiet. So I chronographed the next shot and the gun was shooting very slowly. About 500fps Macro turned up with the reg just over 150b shooting 40gr H&N slugs. I don't know what the hammer weight is yet, but I imagine it's got to be the small one. I was shooting it just to check out how much noise the hammer made before I swapped in my modded one. Deciding to polish the bore, I took the barrel liner out and found out the previous owner had already put on a carbon fiber sleeve. I thought the fit was a little loose, so instead of using my new cf sleeve, I ended up epoxying that sleeve onto the barrel. I figured the previous owner sold this gun for a reason, and such a loose fitting sleeve probably didn't help much, so I made it as stiff as it was going to get. This helps me to eliminate it as a/the weak link down the road. The other thing I did was to remove the Airmarksman fill extender. It stuck out below the Arca Swiss rail right where I wanted the gun to be mounted on my tripod. I have extended fillers on all my hoses already, so the nipple being recessed is an actual benefit to me and the extender is a complete loser. The only thing I don't like now is that the foster nipple base is so deep into the block that you have barely enough room to tighten it down with a wrench. I don't know what FX was thinking when they did that.

 

[Pumacarl]

I think that this gun was a problem child and that was why it was sold. I don't know if it was the owner or FX that went crazy with loctite, but this gun is practically glued together. Usually, really good guns are a joy to work on, this one is not. Right now it is looking 50/50 on whether or not this thing is going to be a lamp.

 

[Billm]

I think that this gun was a problem child and that was why it was sold. I don't know if it was the owner or FX that went crazy with loctite, but this gun is practically glued together. Usually, really good guns are a joy to work on, this one is not. Right now it is looking 50/50 on whether or not this thing is going to be a lamp.

You should’ve took me up on my offer and transferred the pain to me lol. Just kidding. Keep at it, it’ll be worth the effort.

 

[FL22]

Keep at it, it’ll be worth the effort.

That’s right . You got this @Pumacarl

 

[Pumacarl]

I am on hold until some new Wiha allen wrenches show up. I am going to have to heat a few of the loctited screws with a soldering iron to defeat the loctite and I want new wrenches to insure that I don't strip a head trying to remove them. They are the screws that connect the cocking arm and the probe retention screw. They are down in there and a fine tip soldering iron is all that I can think of to apply heat just where I need it. I have never tried this before, so fingers crossed on that.

I did work on the new Huma regulator's bellville washers, polishing them up a little with 2000 grit sandpaper. I didn't use reg butter to lube it because I don't have any yet, I just thinned out some ultimox with some silicone oil and used that. I think that Huma should change their installation design to allen heads like the FX regulator does, because I'm not a fan of flat bladed screwdrivers around guns, so it's a cop-out design feature to me. Still, watching all the head to head tests, Huma for the win performance wise. That's what counts.

The only documented photo of what's under the carbon fiber sleeve now.


I also took some sandpaper to the Huma transfer ports. They were super sharp and would have definately screwed up orings pulling out the barrel. Here you can see that the previous owner had a Huma transfer port installed also, just not the high flow one, which is what the top one is.


I was hoping to have all of this stuff installed by today because I get my D1 chrony tomorrow and wanted to start checking numbers, but no dice.


I had taken a video the other day of the sound of the hammer hitting the valve and the funny thing about that was, it sounded quieter in person than it does on video. Usually, on video, like when testing moderators, they all sound the same and it is mostly muted. Hammer ping is just the opposite, louder on video. I noticed that watching Gerhard's videos with the Dynamic that his really ping too. I don't think that my modified hammer will, we'll see, but I've got to figure out how to post video first too.

I'm still thinking about all the loctite they use on these guns. It really bugs me if they designed them to need it, and it bugs me even more if they just figured that out after the fact. Thinking on it, watching all of E. Rowe's masterclass videos, when he is taking these guns apart he struggles with them quite a bit too. The only difference between him and me is that he has a warehouse full of parts just off camera, if something goes South, and I don't. That's a pretty big difference. He even talks about needing to use a torch on the transfer port connection to the barrel tube, and says that you need to put loctite on it, yet he does all that stuff off camera. Everything that would give a prospective new customer pause, and a cause for concern, is done off camera. Like breaking out a torch, or having to put your block in a vise to remove the plenum tube, which he also says, but doesn't show on camera. That's really bad form in my opinion. Luckily for me, I didn't need to use a torch to take off the old transfer port, but maybe that was one of the contributing factors to the previous owner being unhappy enough with the gun to sell it. I don't know, but I don't see myself using that much loctite either, especially on the really small little screws that are easy to strip.

 

[BenjeneerJohn]

I have used soldering irons to soften Loctite. It works very well just don't overdo it.

I have also put an allen key into the screw and heated the allen key if I could not reach the screw with the iron.

John

 

[Pumacarl]

I have used soldering irons to soften Loctite. It works very well just don't overdo it.

I have also put an allen key into the screw and heated the allen key if I could not reach the screw with the iron.

John

Thanks for the confirmation. Learning all kinds of new tricks.

 

[Pumacarl]

Yeah, I know, replying to my own thread, but here is what happened: Utah Airguns for the Win! They had already contacted Saber Tactical to send me a new one before they emailed me back. That's class! I still don't know why FX didn't use them as their U.S, distributor, seemed like a no-brainer to me. Still does.

Here we go again! The saga continues... I forgot to post what actually ended up hapoening. UA and Saber Tactical had a mis-communication and sent me long set screws instead of the screw I needed. Having had enough of the back and forth I just contacted ST myself and ordered the screw from them. They just charged me shipping, which is nice because the lost screw wasn't their fault, and they didn't have to do that.

 

[Pumacarl]

How special is that screw? In such a situation I'd remove the other one, try it in place of the missing screw and verify it works. If it does, take it with to the nearest hardware store. Heck i'd replace both and get something black....but thats just me.
Also if you haven't, I'd rip the case apart looking for it....maybe it's between the foam and the case?

@Danman, I finally have an answer for you to "how special is that screw?" Pretty special. I wouldn't have been picking up one of these at any hardware store. It's nice that it is a product of probably the best aftermarket parts guy in the country. Quick excellent service.

 

[Pumacarl]

Well, I just found out again that I don't know a damn thing about FX airguns. I'm learning the hard way though, so I'm not likely to forget anytime soon. At least I know, now, where not to waste my time. I now understand how the hammer system works. I'm not in awe of it at all. Especially when you consider the tiny bb's and springs and approaches needed to get to it. Obviously it is as successful as anything else out there when it's working, hopefully it will stay that way. I'd rather stay away from it.

I still can't get the screws to loosen on the probe, or the cocking handle. My soldering iron can't reach that far down. I'm going to have to get a different one. The Macro wheel on the hammerspring adjustment was super tightned and loctited too. It was factory, it had not looked to be touched by anyone before, hence E. Rowe breaking free screws with a huff in all the Masterclass videos. I will say that I have only found one loose screw on this gun so far, and that is the one that screws in from the back to hold the hammerspring adjustment cup. I am a little bit concerned about leaving it broke down, there is a lot to remember and it is my first rodeo with this gun.

I'm not going to post further until I have some good news.

 

[Solo1]

@Pumacarl i have never resorted to this on an airgun but working as a mechanic ive done it many times on all sort of fasteners. Try an impact wrench, like the dewalt for driving screws it shouldn't have so much torque to strip the hex but the vibes might break things free. You can get 1/4” hex bits of many lengths on amazon

 

[Billm]

Put an Allen wrench down into the head and apply heat to the wrench, then turn the wrench with a pair of pliers. I’ve done it a lot of times. Personally I do it by applying heat heat to the wrench with a MAP gas torch or a micro torch. As a Navy 2M tech we were taught to go in quick with high heat and get out quick, rather than leaving a soldering iron on for a longer period of time. The high heat will soften the thread locker without transferring a lot of heat to the adjacent areas. If it’s a recessed screw I’d be careful with an electric impact driver. I’ve torqued the heads off of several M3 screws with mine. Not a big deal unless you can’t get to it.

 

[Pumacarl]

Put an Allen wrench down into the head and apply heat to the wrench, then turn the wrench with a pair of pliers. I’ve done it a lot of times. Personally I do it by applying heat heat to the wrench with a MAP gas torch or a micro torch. As a Navy 2M tech we were taught to go in quick with high heat and get out quick, rather than leaving a soldering iron on for a longer period of time. The high heat will soften the thread locker without transferring a lot of heat to the adjacent areas. If it’s a recessed screw I’d be careful with an electric impact driver. I’ve torqued the heads off of several M3 screws with mine. Not a big deal unless you can’t get to it.

I tried heating an allen red hot and putting it in and waiting 20 seconds, but it's tight. What I did that worked well enough to get the probe out was to use the soldering iron on the probe screw, from the side, after removing that plate. I don't really need to take off the the handle at this point. My Huma high flow pin probe was not going into place either (of course) so I spent quite a bit of time filing and sanding it, little by little, until it finally fit. That was the worst sized Huma part that I have ever seen. It would never have gone in. I used my spare carbon fiber tube to position the probe in and out to fit it, very handy. It's too late at this point to finish tonight. With any luck at all I should have this gun running this weekend though. It's got a lot of catching up to do if it wants to impress me, that's for sure.

 

[Pumacarl]

I've got too much to say about this gun. I have learned a lot more than I really wanted to the past couple of days. People have to figure out this stuff for themselves. Half of you wouldn't believe a word I said anyway, or you'd wonder what my agenda was, as if I actually had one. I know that people don't want to hear it. I got sick of hearing it too, that's why I decided to get one for myself, and come to my own conclusions. I'm still working on those, but ultimately they only matter to me anyway. I do, at least in principle, really like the barrel liner system, and I find it rather humorous that's what most people don't like. Oh well, we all like what we like. The plenum is huge and out of the way, and the ports are the biggest that I have ever seen, so there's that too. Like I've always said, if it ends up shooting great I'll forgive everything else anyway.

I did get everything back together today and now I'm just going to wait to see if I got any leaks overnight. I am hoping to figure out just how much power I can get out of the +40gr slugs tomorrow. I'm surprisingly very excited about that, mostly because I have absolutely no idea how it will go. It will be the first time I run the D1 chronograph too. Definately not boring.

 

[FL22]

Half of you wouldn't believe a word I said anyway, or you'd wonder what my agenda was

Only this statement, if I was a betting man.

 

[Solo1]

I've got too much to say about this gun. I have learned a lot more than I really wanted to the past couple of days. People have to figure out this stuff for themselves. Half of you wouldn't believe a word I said anyway, or you'd wonder what my agenda was, as if I actually had one. I know that people don't want to hear it. I got sick of hearing it too, that's why I decided to get one for myself, and come to my own conclusions. I'm still working on those, but ultimately they only matter to me anyway. I do, at least in principle, really like the barrel liner system, and I find it rather humorous that's what most people don't like. Oh well, we all like what we like. The plenum is huge and out of the way, and the ports are the biggest that I have ever seen, so there's that too. Like I've always said, if it ends up shooting great I'll forgive everything else anyway.

I did get everything back together today and now I'm just going to wait to see if I got any leaks overnight. I am hoping to figure out just how much power I can get out of the +40gr slugs tomorrow. I'm surprisingly very excited about that, mostly because I have absolutely no idea how it will go. It will be the first time I run the D1 chronograph too. Definately not boring.

What is a d1 crono?