Beginner Guide to taking apart your gearbox

Having someone experienced over your shoulder is the best way to learn. The more common approach however, is online guides. Im glad someone put up that ASR guide. That should at least give you plenty of reference, with lots of pictures to boot.

There is, however, some very good techniques and practices that will help you avoid any catastrophes while operating on any airsoft gun. These are general, mostly common sense, good airsoft smithing tips:
I have listed them in the order that I find most important:



DESIGNATED WORKSPACE. Whenever possible, clear off as much space as you can and work on a flat, big table. Give yourself ample room for you, your replica, and all the tools you will need.

WORK IN LOTS OF LIGHT. Easier to find a part that jumps of the table.

ORGANIZE YOUR DISASSEMBLED PARTS.Especially if you are a first timer, use a container to place parts in. Locate these containers and have them ready before you begin. Furthermore, it isnt a bad idea to label parts. Here is a sub-list of quick, slick ways I have used and seen used to keep up with parts:



Draw it out. Your memory will fail you. Dont be afraid to make a quick jot down of what the inside of your gearbox looks like before you have a crack at it.

When you unscrew a screw from a part, and take the part out, put the screw back into the part when you set the part aside. This keeps the little screw attached to a much bigger part (less chance of loss) and prevents mixups of which screw went into the hole.

Sticky Note names, or a rough sketch of how the part is placed inside the gearbox.

Like screws can be wrapped in tape, and identified with a tiny piece of paper on the tap like a tag. Masking tape (painters tape) works best. Avoid duct tape as it can leave a residue on your parts.

When you remove the Torx screws from the outside of the gearbox, some will have tapered (the cone shaped) heads, and some will have round heads, and some will be phillips, and some will have lock-nuts under them, and some washers.... etc.
Two suggestions here: First is to follow the first advice about putting the screws back in when you set one of the two halves of the gearbox aside.
The second is to grab a piece of paper and do a quick outline of the gearbox on the paper, making little marks where there are screw holes. When you take out a screw, put it on the coressponding mark on the gearbox outline on the paper. Now you have a gearbox patterened onto a sheet of paper, and you can easily see which screw came from which hole.

Count how many parts you have. How many gears (well, duh). How many screws, how many how many how many...



WORK OVER THE TABLE!. Always, always always work over the table. If you find yourself leaning back in your chair with the part in you lap, stop. Think about what you are doing. Then say "Nosebleed said to work over the table.". Then move your work back to over the table. I guarantee you will lose 90% less parts if you work over the table than in your lap.

EVEN THE TINIEST SPRINGS CAN FLY PHENOMINAL DISTANCES. When dealing inside an unfamiliar gearbox, make mental notes of where there are springs. The v3 gearbox has how many springs? The answer is: 1 antireversal latch spring, 1 trigger spring, 1 safety latch spring, 1 selector plate spring (WATCH THIS ONE!), 1 tappet plate spring, 1 piston cylinder spring.... Have I missed any?

FOUR HANDS BETTER THAN TWO?. I found having a helping hand when reassembling the gearbox speeds things up. I have since my first days polished my technique and I have a very simple homemade jig I use to easily align everything in the gearbox. That is the topic of another post, but some people also find that a second person gets in the way. I would agree that a second person probably is a bad idea when working on the gun because in general you are the one who has been paying the most attention to the replica thus far, and you have done the pre-work setup and all that. In other words, everyone has their own idea of a workspace, and this can cause confusion if you switch workers.

SHIMS. Be wary of shims, as they tend to be hard to discern. They either stick to the bushings or get stuck on the gear. Keep an eye on where they go, and how many are on which side of which gear. Proper shimming tends to be a thing that requires experience and skill. In other words, its something that has to be shown or thoroughly practiced, not something that should be cookbooked. Beginners should just use the shim configuration the gun was in when they took it apart.

THAT NASTY ANTIREVERSAL LATCH.The anti-reversal latch tends to give the most problems when putting the gearbox back together. The spring on the latch tends to make the axle of the latch writhe around in the worst possible way, especially coupled against the bevel gear. Without a jig, there are two basic ways to conquere this part, and then a slick way I practice myself.
The two basic ways: The first is the easiest; put the two pieces together and jiggle the thing around, hoping it will stay in place, or fall in place. If you do this, be careful not to apply so muc pressure that you warp the outside of the gearbox.
The second is to use an awl, or the tiniest screwdriver you have. While hovering the top half of the gearbox over the second, slide the screwdrive through the latch's hole. Pin down the latch with the driver, and slide the gearbox down the length of the driver, using the driver to guide the latch's axle into the hole. This is a general technique and can also be applied to unruly gears.
The third way is what I do: Take a tiny strip of electrical tape (im talking like 1/4"). Cut a tiny slit inside the electrical tape. Now, with the latch in place inside the gearbox, you should be able to slide the tape (via the tiny slit you made) over the axle of the latch. Then you can adhere the tape around the latch. It is important that a decent amount of the tape stick out the side of the gearbox. Now the latch is subdued. Go ahead and put the top half of the gearbox on. Now the tape should be sticking out the gearbox like a tag. If your anti-reveral latch is in its seating in the gearbox proper, then you should be able to just yank on the tag of tape and pop the piece of tape out. Make sure you got all the tape by laying the tape out and noting if any looks like it is missing (Master and Commander style, if you have seen the movie). If there is any in, you will have to pop the gearbox open again. Dont leave any tape in the gearbox. This method is better illustrated by picture, but I dont have any.

Written By Nosebleed

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