don't let any one kid you they help the rifle shoot way better.
I had one done a few years ago for the 30br.
It was an old 600 laying around . It now is a fine shooting 30br.
I have the sleeve that looks like a panda action.
Sleeving the bolt. That was one way to take the slop out'
Usually a brass ring was soft or silver soldered to the bolt body
where it was needed. Then turned down and polished in a lathe.
If done properly the bolt will be really nice with little play.
I hope this helps
Well Its a help in knowing that won't solve the problem. A ring can't be fitted where it would need to go, the bolt has a long guide rib on the portion that goes back and forth in the bolt track when cycling.
I may be able to squeeze the split bridge in a vice, its open at the top.
The problem may be due to the bridge spreading under excessive pressure due to it being used with unsuitable MG fodder, or fired with a heavily fouled bore.
From sand I found in it, it was probably used in dessert heat which can raise chamber pressures.
Might be able to apply a thick nickel plating to the inside of the bolt track, maybe with a Texas Platers outfit.
Oldgunner,
Why did you change out to a completely new bolt. Enfields have removable bolt heads. That is the way headspace is adjusted. The shortest which is what most will have is a "O". Then you have "1", "2" and "3". Each progessively longer by about .004" if I remember correctly. Numrich arms have these for sale. Because of the guide rib on the Enfield bolt, I think it would be very difficult to bush the diameter to a larger size.
Donald
The old bolt was totally ruined, mainly by deep blood rusting of the underside of the bolt body, and wear to the inside of the front where the bolt head screws in. I'd already obtained a No.3 bolt head, headspace was within limits, but I figured sooner or later that badly corroded bolt body would give way, deepest rusting I've ever seen and the surface completely rusted away in an area the size of a thumb print.
Bolt handles was also deeply rusted and the butt stock had a rotten spot at the action strap where crusted blood had been.
I figure this was a battlefield pickup, the previous user bleeding out while reloading, getting bloody cartridges in the mag that later lay against the underside of the bolt for years, and getting off a last few shots before expiring. They hadn't cleaned the blood off very well before tossing it into storage.
Kind of smelled like a rotten corpse to.
I just picked this rifle on a whim, to see just how much it took to make it a good shooter, I can now get consistent sub MOA with it.
Fired cases look almost like unfired cases and I haven't lost a case yet to stretching or annular rings.
Had to polish away .0005 of the broad lands of the two groove bore to remove pitting, acroass the lands it now slugs as .304, but I use the .312 bullets from Hornady to take up the slack.
PS just examined the lower portion of the bolt way, I may be able to mount a removable shim there to prevent verical tilt.
The lower bolt way is wide open on these actions, depending on side to side fit to prevent tilt, which is not a problem with the earlier Enfield actions to begin with.
A more recent re engineered version of the action by AIA encloses the rear walls at the top of the guide rib track to prevent spreading, and uses a redesigned bolt head and track to prevent damage and reduce probablity of wear allowing tilt.
