I'm thinking about building a jig to hold bolts in my lathe for turning and threading to install the larger handles. I know there are commercial jigs available but wondering if anyone has made their own and maybe could share pics or any other info.
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Gunsmithing Bolt holding jig
- Thread starter CCW1911
- Start date
I don't have any pictures of my current fixture, but I found some of my original which is close to the same. It's just a piece of aluminum round stock, milled half-round, with a slot cut in it at 22.5°. My current is a larger diameter and I cut a V-slot instead of using a ball end-mill. There is also another bracket to hold the handle. There's a small set-screw under the handle that is not visible in this picture. It is used to fine-tune the position of the handle. It's scary as shit with that bolt whipping around at 1000 rpm so be careful! I don't thread stock handles anymore; I just replace them with PTG handles.
Here's the screw in back side:
Here's the screw in back side:
I think there's plenty to like about investing in a few hollow mills to take down the diameter of a bolt handle.
coaxial indicator just hit each side of the square part to get centered and cut . I stop when the knob peels off and tap . The vise part was one of the first thinks I made with the mill and the finish looks like it .
It really depends on what your doing for your customer and what their budget is ? Many just want a knob install and nothing else done to the bolt. I need to start soldering handles for timing purposes and to be ready when guys tear the handles off .
I do both. I use low temperature silver solder to attach bolt handles. Never had one come off. Handles that come off were operated with a hammer or a 2x4 or else the solder job was poor. Here is my concern: look up the temperatures associated with the colors on the bolt that Gene posted and then tell me how much you think the cocking ramp was annealed.
That said, threading the handle on a remington is quick and easy and quite worthwhile if you aren't looking to change the timing. I do a lot of them for local shooters.
If I'm going to put a new handle on, I generally go to a PTG 2 piece bolt, ream the boltway oversize, and end up with a very smooth and close fitting bolt, perfectly timed. Adjust the cock on close and install a side bolt release and there are some customs that I would not trade a properly rebolted R700 for.
--Jerry
That said, threading the handle on a remington is quick and easy and quite worthwhile if you aren't looking to change the timing. I do a lot of them for local shooters.
If I'm going to put a new handle on, I generally go to a PTG 2 piece bolt, ream the boltway oversize, and end up with a very smooth and close fitting bolt, perfectly timed. Adjust the cock on close and install a side bolt release and there are some customs that I would not trade a properly rebolted R700 for.
--Jerry
Lots of youtube videos on handle replacement. All get parts of it right. None that I know of get it all right. The key is knowing which is good info and which is bad.
This may help as well:
GUNSMITHING SERVICES: Time/TIG and Time advance/Tig Handle attachement for M700
Our Bolt handle fitting process for the M700 restores the Primary Extraction feature after the action has been blueprinted. Careful TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding aids in joint reliability by creating a stronger union at the shear point between the bolt handle and bolt body. The process we...
www.longriflesinc.com
Here is one that I build a few years ago out of a scrap of cold rolled I had laying around. There is a set screw under the front arm to fine tune the angle.
