Machining out pitted Rem 700 bolt face.

R

rooshooter

New member
I have a Rem 700 bolt face for 223 which has some very bad pitting in the face which will need to be machined out. Is there any specification as to how much you can mill out of it to clean the face up totaly? What are the limits?
 
You might want to consider doing the operation some benchrest shooters do to reduce firing pin diameter only in your case, make the bushing large enough to take out the pitting. You would drill the firing pin hole the same as it is now.

Generally, you would drill and bore out about 1/4" of bolt face to about 1/4" deep then press in a bushing and machine it flush. Then redrill the firing pin hole. You might consider using a bushing you have made from a class 8 bolt available from most hardware stores.

If you try to clean up the existing bolt face you are 1) changing headspace and 2) lowering the bolt face too far below where the extractor ring is in your bolt.
 
I looked at the "Bad Primers-Etched Boltface" post and mine is much worse than that. I think I will have to go for bushing the bolt, the pitting is too deep for a quick skim. As mentioned, it will shrink the pin hole as well. Problem is, I take it the ejector hole will have to be drilled as well though.
 
rooshooter said:
I looked at the "Bad Primers-Etched Boltface" post and mine is much worse than that. I think I will have to go for bushing the bolt, the pitting is too deep for a quick skim. As mentioned, it will shrink the pin hole as well. Problem is, I take it the ejector hole will have to be drilled as well though.
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You can probably bush the bolt face without going all the way to the ejector pin hole. A 0.270" or so bushing would probably fix it. If it doesn't hurt functionality I'd leave it alone.

If I did bush it I'd stick to the original firing pin diameter.
 
Is that "pit" a circular one around........

the firing pin hole?? If not, why don't you TIG it, then trim it back when you bush it? If it is circular, that's where flame from loose primers have leaked. It only goes so deep, if you machine it or TIG it, it'll only reappear, just leave it alone. I've seen numerous .222s like that, and they never get any worse.:)
 
Brian, the pitting is so deep that it chews out the base of the case when I uncock it. I have sent the bolt away to have a tophat shaped insert put in and drilled out.
 
Wwwwwwooooooooooowwww........

I haven't seen one like that, are you the original owner??? If so, how'd that occur? Is this pitting circular in nature, as the other one referred to had irregularly placed "pits" in the photo. Good Luck. ;)
 
No, I,m the new owner. I would say it was caused by primers letting go. I have heard that there was a bad batch a few years ago in this area and the primers were failing regularly. If it was me, I would have done something about it after only a few blown primers, But????
 
I have already got the bolt back and the gunsmith ,Pete van Meurs from Pro-cal did a good job of turning dog poop into gold. He fitted a top hat shaped insert which took out all of the pitting and also made the oversized firing pin hole smaller. He did take .005" off the face of the bolt, but in this case it helped as the head space was a bit tight with factory ammo. I have fired a few shots with warmish loads and there was no major cratering or minced up case heads as with before.
 
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