The BAM B15 breakbarrel air rifle.
This report covers:
- Rebuild!
- Unsprung
- Piston seal
- A win!
- Came apart easily
- Summary
- Something new
Today I start a report on rebuilding the BAM B15 breakbarrel spring-piston air rifle. I was inspired to do this when I wrote the report on Little springers early last December. I discovered then that my little BAM B15 will not fire a pellet.
The B15 would not fire a pellet. Yes the breech seal looks bad, so I’m working on a replacement for it, too.
Rebuild!
I didn’t know why the powerplant was so weak so I needed to take a look. Well today, campers, I found my round tuit! We’re gonna take this thing apart and have a look inside! This report will mostly be photos of the work as it progressed.
With the stock off I can see the B15 is completely dry. So I need to lubricate it as I repair whatever is wrong.
The barreled action is in the mainspring compressor. I see two things are needed to take the action apart—the bushing that I have started to unscrew and one pin at the rear of the spring tube.
Unsprung
The mainspring is not under a lot of preload. The end cap backed out perhaps 1.5 inches/3.81 cm before all tension was off. The mainspring then came out and I saw that everything inside was dry as a bone.
The mainspring is fully relaxed in this photo.
To remove the piston the barrel has to be disconnected from the spring tube. That allows you to move the cocking lever to the place where it pops out of the spring tube, freeing the piston. The B15 has a single pivot bolt that’s held in place with a small screw on the periphery of its head.
The barrel pivot bolt is held in by a screw on the edge of its head. Notice the scalloped cuts that the second bolt head fits into. This is quality work!
Like an FWB 124 the BAM B15 has washers on both sides of the base block.
This rifle is made better than many spring-piston airguns made today. Everything is finely machined and the fit seems flawless. I’m quite impressed by the quality. Only the metal finish is less than that found on the top airguns.
Piston seal
And when the piston came out I saw the reason for the low power. The piston seal is toast!
The B15 piston seal is completely gone.
When I saw that seal I wondered how I would replace it. Would I make a leather piston seal they way I have in the past, or would I source a new seal from somewhere?
HOLD THE PHONE! Don’t I have a leather piston seal on the table next to my desk? As I recall it looks similar in size to this one. Could I make it fit? And first — can I even find it? If it’s like everything else in my messy office it was there right up to the time I needed it and then it went away. But not this time. It was still there and — glory hallelujah, it seems to have been made for a BAM B15!!!
The new leather piston seal that’s been laying around my office is one made for a BAM B15!
A win!
I don’t often win like this, but today I did. I will clean and lubricate the rifle in the next installment and then testing will begin.
Came apart easily
I have to admit, this little springer came apart quite easily today. No screw slots were mangled and all the screws came out right away. As dry as it was I didn’t expect that, but it did. It helped that I had that Vessel screwdriver with multiple bits.
Summary
Thanks to the high quality of the build, this BAM B15 breakbarrel springer will soon be ready to be tested. I don’t know if all B15s are as nice as this one, but if they are it’s an air rifle to watch for!
Something new
Readers, this will be the last week in which I publish five new reports. Starting next Monday I will post new reports on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Pyramyd AIR is giving me time to do more testing and research for this blog and for other articles I’ll be writing. I’ll also have more time to spend on my You Tube channel.
In discussions with Pyramyd AIR, we established that I can write about firearms as well as airguns, so look for that to happen.
With the reduced numbers of postings I will limit the guest blog spots to one per month, so I’m going to have to be very selective about what that content is.
I know this is sudden and I hope it doesn’t disturb you too much. Look at it this way—I will now have more time to do the things I have always wanted to do. It’s a blessing for me and I will try my hardest to bless all of you as well!
Tom,
Three reports a week is still a lot considering everything you do to make a single one. Then again you ain’t no spring chicken.
Honestly I believe there are some Chinese gems in the rough out there, especially those more recently manufactured. They just need some (or a lot of) finishing to bring out the best in them. Of course most have been destined to be door stops because one expects accuracy and power right out of the store which one will not get most of the time.
Siraniko
Look at all the great budget PCPs; most are SnowPeak products.
OhioPlinker,
So they are. PCPs are relatively easy to manufacture and shoot with accuracy. Spring pistons though simple and cheap are more difficult to handle accurately for a beginner.
Siraniko
Life certainly has its ways. Tom I wish you all the best with everything you do. Most of us will miss the Tuesday and Thursday meetings after all these years.
Anyway, I found it very interesting that this small and cheap airgun from China is so quality made. Even RR might looks at it with some sympathy…
Sounds perfect for you. I was wondering how long you could go on. I know working at something you love doing makes life really enjoyable, but we all need to slow down some eventually. I retired 15 years ago and now I wonder how I managed to find time to work for a living.
My QB-25 only needed to be cleaned and have all the loose stock screws tightened to transform it.