Daisy Model 26
Printed From: Daisy Museum
Category: Daisy Airguns
Forum Name: Questions
Forum Description: To help users communicate about Daisy Aiguns
URL: http://forum.daisymuseum.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9989
Printed Date: September-21-2023 at 12:25pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Daisy Model 26
Posted By: gkenny
Subject: Daisy Model 26
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 5:54am
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Hi, yesterday I found a Daisy model 26 in excellent condition except for the missing little rear sight elevator, and someone drilled two very small holes in the top of the receiver for what looks like a scope addition. I would love to fix this one up because I have never owned one and I am guessing they are rather uncommon. Does any other Daisy use the same elevator, and has anyone have any ideas on the two small holes. I was thinking of tapping them for two small screws. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you, regards, gkenny.
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Replies:
Posted By: MarvMar
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 10:00am
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gkenny, I have 2 of the model 26....one is listed on e-bay, without the rear elevator. The other has a simple "straight" shape...not like the ones with the oval shaped thumb cross hatched tab. ------------- Marv, NW OH |
Posted By: MarvMar
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 10:12am
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gkenny (again)...JG Airgun has several elevators listed. I think their # BEN34115 is the one on my model 26. Outrageous price of $12.95. They have several others that are very similiar but only in the $3-4 range. Interesting note about the Model 26. A very knowledgable Daisy collector here in NW Ohio told me "hang it on the wall and never fire it again". He said there are interior parts that are plastic...they break easily...and replacements do not exist. Would be interesting to hear what others say about that model. ------------- Marv, NW OH |
Posted By: cobalt327
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 11:25am
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Agree very prone to failure. I owned one back in the '70s and even though it was new and well cared for, it failed after about a year of casual use. This gun cocks by pushing the forearm forward then pulled rearwards. On my gun, the pump handle would go forward under spring pressure but would not "latch" when pulled rearward to allow the gun the be shot. These are some photos of the internals of the 26/572:     |
Posted By: gkenny
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 6:01pm
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MarvMar wrote:Posted By: gkenny
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 6:04pm
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Posted By: cobalt327
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 6:27pm
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Now, I do not know squat about working on these guns first hand, but the performance you describe is typical of a gun whose abutment seal has come loose and is no longer sealing the abutment. Another possibility is, if these guns have a tapered compression chamber like the model 1894, it could be that the piston has hardened to the smaller end of the chamber causing a loss of power like seen when this happens to a model 1894. But that's a total guess on my part because I don't know whether the chamber is actually tapered or not. I hope others can give more insight to the problem.
Good luck! Mark |
Posted By: gkenny
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 10:58pm
Thanks again Mark. Ken.
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Posted By: jackdog
Date Posted: July-24-2021 at 11:15pm
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I have two of these 26's. One was new in the box another I bought at a farm sale about 20 years ago. None of them shot the BB with any force. In taking the farm sale one apart the abutment was in place and the plunger head looked good. But not much compression was generated. Cobalt is correct in assuming this has a tapered chamber like the 1894.. I assumed the plunger was compressed from years of sitting around in the fired position. When I replaced the plunger head it worked much better. But these guns are weak shooters so do not expect much. They are also prone to plastic parts breaking like was previously noted. The gear mech that is used to cock this is the main area where you will run into breakage problems. With mine the teeth have broken off the one gear mech and have made it unusable for me, with no parts in sight to fix these... Be very careful on cocking this gun to avoid plastic damage. Just my experience with these. I will post the original instruction manual scans for the 26 next ..... Regards, Rick
------------- Aim Straight |
Posted By: jackdog
Date Posted: July-25-2021 at 12:33am
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Here is the Original manual from the 26. Actual manual is 7.5 inch by 11 inch unfolded ,Printed doubled sided on a single sheet of Newspaper type paper then... It was folded in quarters... Right click on the images below than select open in new tab.. then right click and select save image to your computer.. Than you can print or view. Please note parts list differs from Cobalt's listing above since that was the model 572 parts diagram. I do not know if there are any differences between the 26 and 572. I am not an expert on these guns, and do not have any 572's to compare. But I believe they were the same... Front  Back  Regards, Rick ------------- Aim Straight |
Posted By: gkenny
Date Posted: July-25-2021 at 6:28am
Thank you very much, Rick! This original manual is very helpful! I also appreciate your sharing your experience with these guns. Regards gkenny.
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Posted By: cobalt327
Date Posted: July-25-2021 at 4:35pm
Good thread, thanks Rick. I'll add the 26 diagram, it lacks some detail compared to the 572 drawing. The forearm return spring looks like it could be used to close a screen door! |
Posted By: jackdog
Date Posted: July-26-2021 at 1:00am
 Good one Mark! The forearm thig-a-ma-gig thing with the gear on the end looks like the tool I use to replace screens on a screened door also!! LOL Rick
BTW this 26 was not a pleasure to disassemble! I had my doubts about putting it back together... Good luck Ken with your project. I also remember somewhere you might be able to swell the plunger back to a usable size using acetone , but I wouldn't bet or rely on my memory. Anyone have any tips on restoring and swelling rubber out there??? ------------- Aim Straight |
Posted By: cobalt327
Date Posted: July-26-2021 at 1:33am
| ATF stop-leak was formulated to soften and slightly swell rubber seals, and Tom Gaylord swears by it, so it might be worth a try. I'd imagine it might take soaking in a container of it for a fairly long tome to make much difference, given the thickness of the piston. |
Posted By: gkenny
Date Posted: July-26-2021 at 1:44pm
Thank you, Jackdog. I have the gun filled with ATF and muzzle down to allow the ATF to work if it can. I will check it in a few days. Even though this gun has more than 95% original finish and a perfect stock, I don't intend to do much more with it because of the two small holes someone drilled in the top of the receiver for a scope, the missing sight elevator, and how delicate the mechanism has proven. It might as well be in my collection as the only example of a model 26 I have ever owned. gkenny.
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Posted By: gkenny
Date Posted: July-26-2021 at 1:46pm
Thanks again cobalt, the gun is filled with ATF and muzzle down for a few days, I will let you know the results. Regards, gkenny.
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Posted By: cobalt327
Date Posted: July-26-2021 at 2:54pm
| This discussion prompted me to finally get around to resealing an older Daisy 880 that uses the expensive cup seal. I did the reseal using a cup seal that came from a gun that would not pump at all. I have been soaking it in stop-leak for, well, probably 2 years by now. Bottom line is the gun shoots as good as new, so the stop-leak can work. I should mention the cup seal is much thinner than a Daisy rubber piston. If a piston was soaked long enough it might work, but stop-leak is probably better for thinner seals like a cup as opposed to a piston. |
Posted By: cobalt327
Date Posted: January-18-2022 at 7:02pm
| A friend has a model 26 that has stopped shooting. He wants to get inside of it, but wasn't sure about removing the forearm assembly. Rick, can you or Ken (or someone who has done this) remember anything about disassembling the gear train or even "just" removing the forearm assembly that might help him? |
Posted By: jackdog
Date Posted: January-19-2022 at 6:08pm
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mark.. wish i could help, but can not at the moment. cannot recall exactly what i did about 15 years ago to tear down my 26. would like to get down to my man cave to look at the 26 and jog my memory but cant make it there. i did not find it all that complicated as i recall. forearm comes off with a few screws , then the loading tube, and gear stuff. plunger like normal. i vaguely recall the larger screw on forward part of receiver cover acted like the large screw on the 25, and allowed the barrel to be pulled apart from receiver. i think. best i can do at moment.. rick
------------- Aim Straight |
Posted By: cobalt327
Date Posted: January-19-2022 at 7:33pm
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Thank you, Rick. I'll pass that along and in the meantime, you take care of yourself! Mark
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Posted By: jackdog
Date Posted: January-20-2022 at 10:41pm
 OK mark. will try to get my wife over the weekend and have her go down and retrieve the 26 so i can look at if your friend does not make any progress, on his issue. maybe i can figure it out quickly. the main thing i guess he needs to get to the power plant? plunger? right? of all the spittin image guns this was the most disappointing model and the worst performer.rick
------------- Aim Straight |
Posted By: cobalt327
Date Posted: January-21-2022 at 11:10am
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Rick, my friend seems to have sorted his problems out, so please hold off on sending your dear wife down to get it. You have always been a monumental help to me and this community as a whole, and I just hope you're back in top shape very soon!!
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Posted By: stevec
Date Posted: January-21-2022 at 3:07pm
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From what I remember the biggest problem with the 26 was when it would not cock because a part would break and it was not repairable as the part was not available and could not be repaired. I had one that worked and looked great but was scared to cock it and break it. These are rare to find that work Stevec
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Posted By: twocompassheads
Date Posted: January-22-2022 at 9:53pm
Mark, I believe the barrel is also tapered on these two guns, the feed block is very similar to the 1894 and the barrel looks close to the design from the block forward. They both suffer from abutment seals sticking to the plunger seal and also taking a set on the seal from sitting at the bottom of the taper. These two guns the model 26 and the model 572 I owned but sold years ago on eBay as a set because they were in very good condition and mechanically sound and shot good, one shot stronger than the other. I figured if someone was looking for one or both this would be a good set that would cover both models. The model 26 was from 1964 to 1966 and the model 572 was from 1967 to 1971. I had read that Daisy tried to beef it up with a change in material or something to correct the failure of the cocking mechanism, but I believe it also didn't hold up. The elevators for the rear sights are similar but not sure if they are the correct ones for these models. I thought they were a good concept of the style pump, but it didn't work out. A few people said don't shoot them too much, just look at them because no parts are available.            ------------- Keep On Plinking |
Posted By: RileyRadial
Date Posted: January-23-2022 at 10:27am
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The only problem I'm having is removing the gear from the rack and then reinstalling it in rack and in the correct timing position. Anyone know the procedure for doing this? ------------- Riley Radial |
Posted By: RileyRadial
Date Posted: February-02-2022 at 1:15pm
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I finally got the model 26 cocking and firing!! BUT, it has very little power, 85 FPS. I had pulled the plunger and noticed that the piston seal had two small indentations on the leading edge of seal. Looking at the outer diameter of barrel I saw two punch marks in barrel. I'd say they were put in barrel to hold the inner works from coming out of barrel. These two punch marks lined up perfectly with indentation of leading edge of piston seal. Once gun was shot, the piston seal rested at this point in barrel and after years or months the seal took a set at it leading edge from these punch marks. Firing the gun these indentations allowed most of the air being compressed to just leak past piston seal. I don't plan on using the gun but I'm very happy that at least now its working one. ------------- Riley Radial |