Beeman Beeman R1 rebuild

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woogie_man

woogie_man

Member
May 3, 2021
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North Dakota, United States
Hey guys,

After the success I had with rebuilding the FWB601 I wanted to look at rebuilding the Beeman R1 that I got in the sale as well. Was sitting at a local gun show with the rifle on the table with a price tag on it. Got a few looks and quite a few people talking about the FWB 601 and the R1. This got me to thinking about possibly rebuilding the R1 and seeing how it would be to actually shoot the rifle. Now mind you I am no spring shooter by any means but it would be fun to make sure everything is ok with the rifle. I have been shooting it off and on, and have been getting an average of just under 12 ftlb of power. To me that seems like plenty of power for a backyard spring gun, as well as a daily target shooter.

So my question to you guys..... how would one go about putting new internals in the rifle. And where would one even start to look at getting a quality kit for the rifle?


It shoots great as it is right now, and being the Santa Rosa rifle I guess it is a higher quality rifle?



Thanks in advance guys.


Thanks
 
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woogie_man said:
Hey guys,

After the success I had with rebuilding the FWB601 I wanted to look at rebuilding the Beeman R1 that I got in the sale as well. Was sitting at a local gun show with the rifle on the table with a price tag on it. Got a few looks and quite a few people talking about the FWB 601 and the R1. This got me to thinking about possibly rebuilding the R1 and seeing how it would be to actually shoot the rifle. Now mind you I am no spring shooter by any means but it would be fun to make sure everything is ok with the rifle. I have been shooting it off and on, and have been getting an average of just under 12 ftlb of power. To me that seems like plenty of power for a backyard spring gun, as well as a daily target shooter.

So my question to you guys..... how would one go about putting new internals in the rifle. And where would one even start to look at getting a quality kit for the rifle?


It shoots great as it is right now, and being the Santa Rosa rifle I guess it is a higher quality rifle?



Thanks in advance guys.


Thanks
Click to expand...

Unless de-tuned the R1 should make at least 16fpe in .177 and in .22 about 18fpe pending pellet. Several of the aftermarket kits can bring the R1 to 22fpe and beyond in .22 and ~18 in .177 You don't need to go that high and kits are offered to get sub factory level performance, just letting you know what the standards are and what aftermarket kits can provide. Check YouTube for how to videos.
 
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Hey Woogie,
ARH or Vortek have exactly what you need.
www.airrifleheadquarters.com

NEW- AT80 Magnum Kit For HW80-R1

Maccari Custom Airgun Shop. Airguns and related accessories. Springs,tune kits,gunstocks,Beeman, Rws, Webley and many others. Sales and service
www.airrifleheadquarters.com

New - Soft R1-HW80 Tune Kit

Maccari Custom Airgun Shop. Airguns and related accessories. Springs,tune kits,gunstocks,Beeman, Rws, Webley and many others. Sales and service
www.airrifleheadquarters.com
 
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Hello @woogie_man ,
From your description, it sounds like your R1 is already at the power level you desire and you say it is shooting great so I'm not so sure you really need any new parts. If it is shooting 12 FPE with US market factory parts (higher power), then something is probably amiss. You can try the tissue paper test over the breech seal to see if it is leaking and blowing by enough to lift the tissue during firing.

If it has a smooth shot cycle with no vibration, you might want to just leave it alone for now and find the best pellet for it. Perhaps clean the barrel.

However, if a former owner has put in a lighter spring or you happened to get a low power factory version, the original parts may be okay. In the latter case, you might want to just do a lube tune, where are you take everything apart, inspect, clean, polish and regrease. I would recommend going ahead and purchasing a new piston seal and breech seal to have on hand in case damage is revealed during your disassembly and inspection.

I rebuilt mine and did an old school lube tune, using a light coating of Maccari heavy tar on the spring and just a bit of moly grease (molybdenum disulfide) on the seal and burnished into the compression chamber walls. You also want to disassemble the barrel pivot and lubricate lightly with the moly grease here as well, and re-tension the pivot bolts to just barely hold the barrel in place while you're at it.

Be sure to lightly deburr and polish the cutouts in the receiver tube before reinstalling the piston. This is a common cause of cut and damaged piston seals. Use a small screwdriver to tuck the seal inward as you advance the piston during reassembly.

And finally, the R1 usually requires a spring compressor to get it apart and back together in a controlled manner otherwise you may have a rapid uncontrolled disassembly! I built one using a c-clamp, cutting off the base jaw of the c-clamp and retaining the jack screw and clamp jaw and screwing that to a piece of wood. Sorry I don't have any pictures but disassembling this without a spring compressor for controlled release can be very problematic if you've never done it before.

Good luck and have fun,
Feinwerk
 
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Feinwerk said:
Hello @woogie_man ,
From your description, it sounds like your R1 is already at the power level you desire and you say it is shooting great so I'm not so sure you really need any new parts. If it is shooting 12 FPE with US market factory parts (higher power), then something is probably amiss. You can try the tissue paper test over the breech seal to see if it is leaking and blowing by enough to lift the tissue during firing.

If it has a smooth shot cycle with no vibration, you might want to just leave it alone for now and find the best pellet for it. Perhaps clean the barrel.

However, if a former owner has put in a lighter spring or you happened to get a low power factory version, the original parts may be okay. In the latter case, you might want to just do a lube tune, where are you take everything apart, inspect, clean, polish and regrease. I would recommend going ahead and purchasing a new piston seal and breech seal to have on hand in case damage is revealed during your disassembly and inspection.

I rebuilt mine and did an old school lube tune, using a light coating of Maccari heavy tar on the spring and just a bit of moly grease (molybdenum disulfide) on the seal and burnished into the compression chamber walls. You also want to disassemble the barrel pivot and lubricate lightly with the moly grease here as well, and re-tension the pivot bolts to just barely hold the barrel in place while you're at it.

Be sure to lightly deburr and polish the cutouts in the receiver tube before reinstalling the piston. This is a common cause of cut and damaged piston seals. Use a small screwdriver to tuck the seal inward as you advance the piston during reassembly.

And finally, the R1 usually requires a spring compressor to get it apart and back together in a controlled manner otherwise you may have a rapid uncontrolled disassembly! I built one using a c-clamp, cutting off the base jaw of the c-clamp and retaining the jack screw and clamp jaw and screwing that to a piece of wood. Sorry I don't have any pictures but disassembling this without a spring compressor for controlled release can be very problematic if you've never done it before.

Good luck and have fun,
Feinwerk
Click to expand...
"you may have a rapid uncontrolled disassembly"

Ya, I had a butterfinger moment once ..lol.

If you set the spring for about 4-8 hrs or so it's not as bad a fight .. that one that got away on me was one I got in a hurry and did not set the spring / fresh new full length..

Make a scragging tool and set the spring ( I made a guide to keep the spring straight when compressing )😉
scraging sleeve guide.jpg

P.s...
ARH will preset a spring for like $2-4

Set Spring Not In A Tune Kit

Maccari Custom Airgun Shop. Airguns and related accessories. Springs,tune kits,gunstocks,Beeman, Rws, Webley and many others. Sales and service
www.airrifleheadquarters.com
 
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Yup from North Dakota :D and it is friggen COLD up here this week!

The original owner was from Idaho I believe. I am unsure of when he bought it or what was done with it. So I am in the dark with everything on it. All I have is the chronograph numbers for the rifle. Why I am thinking that the rifle was already detuned is the fact that the shots are so consistent. I would guess that if the piston seal was torn or bad that the velocities would be all over the place and not as consistent as it is. Though that is just my thinking, and again I don't do much with any spring guns.
 
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My hw's with a broken spring still shoots pretty good ... It's not hard to snatch the stock off and look or just pull the spring and then inspect the seal ..

This spring for example shoot spot on but maybe 760+/- fps .. lol

r9quailityspring.jpg

You'd be surprised how well a gun with a broken spring can still shoot and sometimes you may never know it ...lol
 
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there more than like only less than 10% of the members here and far less that are not member that have the tools or skills to replace a spring no less do the complete job
now some just what an idea or be able to read some others thoughts

i have always thought that helping people was a good thing and if you do not what to just walk by and that is what you should have done here
 
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