for the sake of the n00bs...

the superiority of MAC 1 parts vs factory parts in the sheridan .20 cal/benji .22 cal...

in pictures...

by me..



top: stock benji parts. failed after 32 shots. Note cracked pin

lower: MAC 1 parts, still going strong. note the difference in size of pins etc...
also: stock benji parts are pot metal, mac1 parts are machined steel.



stock benji .22 parts after 32 shots... note pot metal construction and the nature of the failure... Good thing I brought a backup gun for squirrel hunting that day. otherwise..... Gun locked up completely after this failure and was completely inoperable. Keep this in mind when reading "survivalist" type posts about the most rugged airgun in a survival type situation.. factory issue sheri/benji's simply don't cut it. Steriods streaks/benjis have what it takes to survive.



left: mac1 billet lever. built to last a lifetime

right: benjamin factory lever. every pump past stroke #1 is a blessing. riding on a hope and a prayer.



solid billet lever. Strong enough to transfer pumping force in the intended direction, rather than taco'ing the pump arm linkage like the factory lever on the right... nuff said.


PS- these guns were not abused/overpumped. Both failed under the standard regime of 8 pumps + proper lubrication. .20 cal failed @ 20 shots the .22 failed @ 32 shots. Shame on benji/sheridan. The Chinese deserve to eat their lunch.
Lucky for us all there are shops like Mac 1 who are high-minded and do right by their customers.

Signed:

wertyq

to the older sheridan's (rocker safety) lever??

You made your case. It's not that surprising that Tim's parts are better but it is good to see from your pictures and testimony how much better Tim's parts are compared to the stock crap.

Thanks!

I have a couple of his QB22's & they are great. My brother shot them in the garage & was quite happy with his first shot...it was right on target, but he couldn't understand why he "missed" with his following 2 shots. When he saw me smiling it dawned on him, & he asked "Did I hit the same hole?" I answered "Yup!" & showed him his target. It had 1 hole from the first pellet, & that hole had 2 tiny nibbles at 2 o'clock & 4 o'clock from the next 2 pellets.

When you look at what Tim can do to so many makes & models, it's surprising to say the least. His & LD's Mac1 LD is approaching cult status for a reason...apparently it works as he says it does. I say apparently because I have not been able to afford one yet, but I have no reason to doubt so many different fellow forum members posts. I have a CR Mk II that will be sent in for credit on a long barrelled 20 or 22 cal LD someday, someway.

Another thing is his work seems quite affordable. I feel that the reason I can't afford the Mac1 LD is because demand is dictating the price, not because Tim is overpricing it, & demand is high because it flat out works as promised.

Then when you look at all he's done for airgunning like the articles, sponsoring, & building world class winning match airguns from scratch, it's easy to see that Tim at Mac1 rocks.

--------------------------


Diamondback

Truth is Stranger than Fiction.....

"Another thing is his work seems quite affordable. I feel that the reason I can't afford the Mac1 LD is because demand is dictating the price..."

Actually, I think demand is dictating the availability. They're not cheap, but I'd be willing to bet you're getting a bargain for the work involved.

"They're not cheap, but I'd be willing to bet you're getting a bargain for the work involved."

Several years ago I had the great fortune to have visited his shop and spent a few hours chatting with him and seeing first hand. Being cheap, I was saving on shipping on pellets by 'dropping by' when I was in LA on business. Good show I had the time, it was a treat for sure.

He was making up 3 LDs. What a show, what an education. All the time with Tim carrying on an animated conversation about history, the weather, folks in general and of course airguns.

He had plastic bins with parts from dozens of guns he'd stripped down. He cleans up the frames and sends them out to a bicycle shop for painting (done on the cheap, they paint frames when they have bike frames to paint black). Making LDs is a bit of an art as well as science and engineering. There are many little things to be done, like small internal frame mods to mount the new barrel, that take special tooling. He's developed the tooling long ago, each gun gets the benefit of that with a very fast and precise modification. Like the '3 angle mod' on the valve. It took 3 custom reamers but maybe 2 minutes a valve to do. Then he selected three sets of parts from the bins and quickly built up the guns (this is the art part). He'd look up and feel how some bits fit and worked with others and several times went back to the bins to select parts that 'worked right together'. At one point he needs more mounting 'meat' than Crosman has. He builds up the frame with a gob of 'Gorilla Glue' (the first time I saw it) in a casual manner that left all three frames looking exactly alike in the area.

This was in the days of the Venom Shop barrels. He had a box of them individually wrapped up. It sometimes took six months to get them from the UK he told me.

Somewhere along the line I asked the fatal question...'are these all spoken for?'. I guess you know what happened next. I selected barrel, sights, grips, piercing cap and so on as he built 'my gun'. I took it with me 'wet' (that is with the glue not set) so he couldn't test it. No firing for 24 hours. I took it back to the hotel with me (leaving it in the trunk so I wouldn't be tempted). The next day on the drive home we made it about half way until a side road happened along......

I've had the good fortune to visit a couple of times since and chat a bit and watch him work. For sure the guy is as special as the guns he builds. Modest in a funny sort of way. I'd be hard pressed to tell you about a guy that had a better job. He makes a modest living, as he puts it 'mechanics are rated in society just above truck drivers' (which he's done in lean times to pay the bills BTW) but he truly does what he loves.....and gets paid for it.

Unfortunately, the thing you notice that's missing from 'the Ideal Airgun Shop' is the apprentice. He's got some good years left, but the end of the guns will come. He maintains he cannot encourage a young guy to get into the trade. Ultimately the sport will suffer.

You can be sure next time I'm in the area I'm going by for a chat and to leave more of my money there.

Doug Owen

It will cost you about $230 for barrel, trigger, valve, seal, paint, scope rails.

Dont wait to long. None of us are getting any younger



Adam in SoCal
www.talonairgun.com



"Those who have no sense of humor run the risk of having jokes made at their expense"

Wow, that's crazy the stock parts gave up on you so quickly. Just the other day, I did some chrony testing with the 392 and must have pumped it over at least 300 times in one session, all the way up to 10 pumps for a few shots and it's still shooting strong as ever, (knocks on wood).

Would definitely keep MAC 1 in mind if it so ever fail. How difficult was it to get out the old pump lever out and put the new one in? And did you have to purchase the adjustable pump arm linkage?

did the work myself as a personal learning experience.. I'm just weird like that.
It's not that hard provided you have the desire and a few small punches and drill bits. Wouldn't hesitate for a second to have it done @ mac1, now that I have learned what I set out to learn in doing it myself. There is no real benefit to doing it yourself unless you just want to learn something new.

deleted

The Pivot end of the Benjy/Dan piston is made of a porous casting that soaks up lube and acts as a reservior. We do not manufacture a solid steel part to replace it.
We drill out the pin hole to 11/64ths,
Helicoil the hole the rod is pressed into
Thread the rod to 1/4"X28TPI
Polish the guide end to the finish you show
Set the length to Steroid specs
Align the guide end to minimize frictional drag
Install a hard pivot pin
We like it when people recognize the superiority of our products as the product speaks volumes about our attitude toward quality. Les McMurray was the one that would always say "Someone has to be the best".

To answer one of the questions posed. We don't need to replace the lever on the Rocker safety guns because it was an outstanding part. It was also the first part to be discontinued when Crosman purchased the Benjamin/Sheridan enterprise. That is what prompted us to start manufacturing Billet levers. It was a part that was overbuilt like our Billet lever.
We do add the bushing the new guns have between the sheet metal sides to add support if it isn't already fitted with one, install our hard pivot and hard rivet. This lever will go for decades without failure if lubed properly with our secret sauce.



"NO GUNS WOULD BE A RIOT"

Later

Tim

Mac1 Airgun