Inquiry: bolt rebush?

T

Toscano

Guest
Has anyone out there have knowledge of "rebushing" a bolt face? If so what is the procedure and wouldn't the bushing have to be of the same temper (strength) as the original? This term was presented to me by a friend and I couldn't answer him in any way, shape or form...any illumination on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
 
You asking about rebushing the firing pin hole? The best way is to pit the bolt in a box and send it to Greg Tannel at Gre-Tan Rifles in Rifle Colorado, or, any one of several gunsmiths who know how to safely and effectively do this. Don't send the bolt to a gunsmith who says "I think I can do that". Send it to a gunsmith who says "I have done several".

Or, if you have a lathe and a roller steadyrest or similar, use a class 8 bolt to rebush the hole after drilling and tapping the boldface to the desired depth, then redrill the firing pin hole to 0.001" larger than the end of the firing pin.

Some folks reduce the firing pin size at this time. This allows some higher chamber pressure before a primer blanks.

You should really be aware of complications that can develop in rebushing and reloading after a firing pin is reduced.
 
Don't mean to hi jack your thread.............but,

Jerry,

What method is most commonly used to reduce the firing pin diameter? I hear people say cold grind, but I have no idea what that is. Can a firing pin be turned down on a lathe?

Thanks,
Med.

P.S.
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!
 
Jerry,

What method is most commonly used to reduce the firing pin diameter? I hear people say cold grind, but I have no idea what that is. Can a firing pin be turned down on a lathe?

Thanks,
Med.

P.S.
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!

Doing the firing pin? I don't know. John Lewis uses a plastic thingy to hold the pin body and uses a belt sander. Any heat would soften the pin tip so I guess he uses a coarse grit belt.

I have done a couple of bolt faces before but left the pin tip the same size. Reducing the pin tip is why I sent this one to Greg Tannel. He has done a bunch of them.

Reducing the pin tip on a lathe might be done by running the end of the tip on an inverted center. It still would be tricky.
 
Jerry is right. Many people can bush the boltface and reduce the pin diameter, but it's just not practical for most when Greg Tannel does such a good job, fast turnaround and is very economical to boot. He is set up to do this as they come through the door, unlike most where set-up would be involved.
 
Has anyone out there have knowledge of "rebushing" a bolt face? If so what is the procedure and wouldn't the bushing have to be of the same temper (strength) as the original? This term was presented to me by a friend and I couldn't answer him in any way, shape or form...any illumination on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Specific makes of bolts may vary. A Remington 700 bolt face can be bushed easily with out any heat treating required and 700 firing pins can also be turned down in a lathe using a sharp HSS tool bit.

Here is one I did reducing the tip to about 60 thou.
bushed700boltface-0.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Most firing pins can be turned down with a fine file. Just put it in a collet and file the sucker down to what ever diameter you want.

Don
 
I turn remington firing pins quite often. The first one was done in a cincinati
grinder, Now I turn all of them in a lathe, Very sharp HSS and high rpms
got to have good bearings for this
 
What other bolts benefit from being bushed apart from Remington 700s, is it common to bush makers like Sako, Tikka, CZ, etc.
 
What other bolts benefit from being bushed apart from Remington 700s, is it common to bush makers like Sako, Tikka, CZ, etc.
In good quality custom actions the only reason I rebush a pin hole is if I am getting an unusual amount of "blanking" or excessive flow of metal from the primer cup around the hole.

Another reason to rebush is if you have an action that the pin hole is off center. Too much off center can give irregular ignition. Most Rem 700's are pretty close but I have seen a few that were way off. I don't know about Savage, Sako, etc.
 
Bilt Bushing

That's a nice looking job by Dennis.

I counterbore the bolt face about .125 deep to a diameter of 3/16. I then make a slug out of a grade 8 bolt, and press it in tight, making sure it bottoms out on the square surface inside the counterbore. I then set up the bolt using a roller rest, and face the pressed in slug dead even, (good time to make sure the bolt face is dead square), then drill it 1/16 inch. I then turn the firing pin to fit.

As was said, if you use a really sharp tool with no nose radius, lots of rpm, and a fine feed, you can "worry" the tip of the firing pin down to the correct size.

I give it exactly .001 clearance......jackie
 
As was said, if you use a really sharp tool with no nose radius, lots of rpm, and a fine feed, you can "worry" the tip of the firing pin down to the correct size.

I give it exactly .001 clearance......jackie


Jackie, when you lathe turn the firing pin, do you turn it shank to tip or vise versa for best quality, or does it matter?................Don
 
Good post...that was my recommendation. Some useful information in the post and informative (not just how to...but some history etc.).

Here is a photo from this site which will hopefully provide some additional information.


Rem700boltheadsectioned.JPG

That photo was one I posted quite some times ago courtesy of Ted Gaillard (Gaillard Barrels in Sask). He sent me a sectioned bolt to examine. He feels it is of a benefit to guide the firing pin tip all the way...
 
That photo was one I posted quite some times ago courtesy of Ted Gaillard (Gaillard Barrels in Sask). He sent me a sectioned bolt to examine. He feels it is of a benefit to guide the firing pin tip all the way...

Dennis, is the photo not of a factory Rem. 700 Bolt sectioned??

Thanks for posting it, and I hope you don't mind the copy/post.
 
Dennis, is the photo not of a factory Rem. 700 Bolt sectioned??

Thanks for posting it, and I hope you don't mind the copy/post.

Yes it is a factory 700 bolt sectioned... out there for all to see...:)
 
Great Photo

You can see exactly how Remington attaches the back half of the bolt to the head. I guess it is Sil-Brazed after it ia put together?? Interesting stuff.

A while back, there was a discussion about a Savage that had sheared the device that locks the bolt head into position, and the Rifle was able to fire with the luggs NOT in full battery, with disastrous results.

Has anybody ever seen a Remington become separated at that junction?? .....jackie
 
Jackie, Shearing the pin during normal bolt operation? That sounds very very strange!
 
You can see exactly how Remington attaches the back half of the bolt to the head. I guess it is Sil-Brazed after it ia put together?? Interesting stuff.

A while back, there was a discussion about a Savage that had sheared the device that locks the bolt head into position, and the Rifle was able to fire with the luggs NOT in full battery, with disastrous results.

Has anybody ever seen a Remington become separated at that junction?? .....jackie

Jackie
Are you thinking of this Mossberg incident.

http://www.benchrest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53429

James
 
Back
Top