Problem with old Hammerli 280

Dear Friends,

Lack of information about Hammerli's 280 in Polish websites brought me to your forum. 

Yesterday, while cleaning the gun after training I have noticed small, but worrisome crack on the upper of my .22 system. It starts from edge of ejecting port and it goes to front sight. Its about 1/4 of an inch long, its visible only in very good light. 

Gun was produced in 1991, so it is the first version of H280 (single screw system). 32 caliber upper is in good condition, no cracking etc. I've heard something about cracking lower around the magwell, but at this point it looks good. Gun is accurate and it runs all brands of ammo with no issues.

Is it something to worry about? I'm waiting for your opinions

Best Regards

Michal

P.S Sorry for the photo, I'm really poor artist

Greetings,

I had one, 22lr, with a similar crack. I managed to get a new plastic upper from Walther, they bought Haemmerli. The process took several weeks to obtain the necessary export permits.

If memory serves me well, I removed the barrel, sights, and sent only the broken part to Germany.

This was before the ITAR nonsense. Check the rule book before sending parts out of the country.

I would write to Walther Customer Service and see what they offer to do.

Cheers,

Dave

Threads like this awaken my curiosity. So off I go searching.
http://barilin.com/hammerli/h280ex1.jpg
http://barilin.com/hammerli/h280ex2.jpg



The whole upper is plastic?

On many plastic parts and pot metal (not guns) I've drilled out the end of cracks with the smallest drill bit on hand. Decreases the highly concentrated stress at the end of the crack and stops the crack from spreading.

Of course I'd see what a gun smith had to say if I was looking at a crack on a firearm.

fc60 wrote:Greetings,

I had one, 22lr, with a similar crack. I managed to get a new plastic upper from Walther, they bought Haemmerli. The process took several weeks to obtain the necessary export permits.

If memory serves me well, I removed the barrel, sights, and sent only the broken part to Germany.

This was before the ITAR nonsense. Check the rule book before sending parts out of the country.

I would write to Walther Customer Service and see what they offer to do.

Cheers,

Dave

Thank you for good information. I will contact them today to get any details. Do you remember how much you paid for the plastic upper? Did you have a problems with gun, or it was just a visual defect?

Threads like this awaken my curiosity. So off I go searching.


The whole upper is plastic?

On many plastic parts and pot metal (not guns) I've drilled out the end of cracks with the smallest drill bit on hand. Decreases the highly concentrated stress at the end of the crack and stops the crack from spreading.

Of course I'd see what a gun smith had to say if I was looking at a crack on a firearm.

Hammerli describes  upper in 280, as a carbon fibre reinfoced composite, and yes, it's all made of this material.  The problem is gunsmiths (in my country) don't want to touch anything that isn't made of steel. 

At this point i'm looking for a response from Walther, if I can't get new upper in resonably price i will leave this (at this moment its only visual issue, my 60 years old father can't even see it). When crack become bigger I will try to drill end of crack and reinforce upper from the bottom using small pieces of glass fiber and epoxy.


Big thanks to all of You for such a quick help.

Best Regards

Michal



EDIT:


I have received message from walther. The upper is not available in single screw system   They can convert single screw to twin screw, but i have to send them a gun, and probably it will cost more than i've paid for the gun.....

Greetings,

Sad news that Walther no longer service the pistol. Pardini is the same way.

In this case, I would have a Precision Machinist drill a small hole as suggested to contain the stress crack. You could then fill the hole with black Epoxy to keep out dirt and make it look nice.

My pistol already had a severe crack in it when I bought it. The price was right and I intended to use it for parts. I was lucky and Walther sent me a new one for about $200.00 plus postage and duty.

My original 280 purchased in 1990 is still chugging along. However, I will be looking more closely for cracks in the future.

Cheers,

Dave

fc60 wrote:Greetings,

Sad news that Walther no longer service the pistol. Pardini is the same way.

In this case, I would have a Precision Machinist drill a small hole as suggested to contain the stress crack. You could then fill the hole with black Epoxy to keep out dirt and make it look nice.

My pistol already had a severe crack in it when I bought it. The price was right and I intended to use it for parts. I was lucky and Walther sent me a new one for about $200.00 plus postage and duty.

My original 280 purchased in 1990 is still chugging along. However, I will be looking more closely for cracks in the future.

Cheers,

Dave

Parts are still available, but its problem with upper whic has two pins on the front instead of screw.

k.kucharczyk(at)carl-walther .de - contact mail to person responsible for sport service team in walther company

I think Dave I will do what you suggest. Maybe I will think about reinforcing upper using carbon fibre epoxy (bottom of the upper)

Best Regards

Michal

Greetings,

Michal sent me these links for the Haemmerli 280.

www.carl-walther.de/public/downloads/manuals/Haemmerli_280_Ersatzteilliste.pdf

www.carl-walther.de/public/downloads/manuals/Laden_Preisliste_2016_EXTERN_2752859.pdf

Many thanks to a fellow shooter in Poland!!!

Cheers,

Dave