Gunsmithing DIY Savage barrel swap

[AXEMAN]

so i used a neighbors vise and the wood blocks. see that little baggie between the blocks? it was filled with a powder, worst cocaine i ever saw, lol. it was wood powder as far as i could tell. for a rosin maybe? burned like hell to snort. ill have to call and ask what its for.

i got them from sharp shooter supply and i wont bore you with pictures cause it was raining and i didnt take any. the barrel goes in the cut out in the wood blocks, the blocks go in the vise. really look at this vid

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the second part is in the related vids section. after i got the action out, here is what the HS stock looks like. nice bedding system. i might try to glass bed it, but it wont take much compound

here is the recess for the recoil lug. its already wide enough for the new lug i got.

and the lug

i have a stainless barrel, so i ordered a stainless nut. i didnt want two dissimilar metals thouching so i lessened that with the nut, and someone suggested a little moly on the threads? its not done yet, so chime in if you have any ideas or thoughts.

its got really sharp edges. one note, the barrel wrench was very snug on the nut that came on the rifle. it has a coating of some type. it did go on and it did take off some finish. but not much. its already packed and ready to ship off.

i have a go gauge and a sized case. <span style="font-weight: bold">do i need to take my extractor out?</span> the midwayusa vid mentioned that for setting headspace properly. here is a different one showing better how to set it.

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i still need a few things like the moly and the taps to clean out the holes out. and to know if i need to take the extractor apart... but soon i will have these loaded and sailing down range

thats about it. i need to decide whether i am going to glass bed. but really all thats left is to chase the scope base holes and set the headspace and put it all back together. it all came apart easily. ill add more to this as i figure out where i am, and what im doing...and get a few answers



hey i was playing with the headspacing and i used a sized dummy round. got it to where it was tight. put tape over it, still tight but closes. then i pop in the go gauge and it wont close at all. weird. do i need to remove the extractor??

 

[mbrittan]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

I just use the go gage to headspace my Savage's. Run the barrel in until it stops on the gage, and tighten the nut up on it. Then check it with the gage again, it should close without resistence. Next put a thickness of Scotch tape on the base of the go gage (the tape is a couple of thousandths thick), and check the headspace again. The bolt should only turn part way and have definite resistence to closing now, don't force it closed. If it works out as described you should have it about as good as its going to get.

The sized case method allows for to many variables to me. The case is soft and will move if you try hard enough. And different people size their cases differntly. Some of my full length sized .223's would not chamber it my new barrel, so I ran them through the Redding bump die which did not feel like it had done much, but must have touched the shoulder just enough. They chamber just fine now.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

ill try that today. it was late and i just put it all away. you and i have the same rifle minus scopes. ill give it a go when i get back from the post office. did you ever remove the extractor when setting headspace?

 

[ryder198]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

great videos thanks for posting them up. good tip about the scoth tape mc.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

glad to help. that scotch tape trick in the video was a new one to me. i think when i did it, the tape i used was thinner than standard scotch tape. you can feel the difference in the two, but thats what i had. i have a scotch roll somewhere...

 

[geargrinder]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

The powder is rosin. It will help the barrel stick to the blocks.

I don't use headspace gauges. I prefer to use fired and sized gauges. I'll put tape on a fl sized piece of brass and set the headspace. Check it without the tape just to make sure it doesn't drag.

Doing it this way, when I FL size the brass it's just sizing the neck and bumping the shoulder.

If you want to remove anything from the bolthead, you might want to remove the ejector. It will give you a little better feel when setting the headspace. Even then, you can leave it in and still feel the brass/gauge bottom out on the bolt head. I don't think its worth the trouble to remove it in most instances.

Gauges are cut different between manufacturers and they'll all be longer than FL sized brass.

 

[Top Cat]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

Just keep in mind that when you close the bolt on the brass or HS guage, it's done with a very light touch using only one or two fingers. You want to be as gentle as possible to determine the resistance point accurately to obtain a proper measurement. The bolt has a lot of camming power that can affect the measuring process.

TC

 

[DBrace]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

Tag!!! Thanks for the great info on a project I will soon be tackling. Make sure to list any other problems you guys run into. Thanks again!!

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Top Cat</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Just keep in mind that when you close the bolt on the brass or HS guage, it's done with a very light touch using only one or two fingers. You want to be as gentle as possible to determine the resistance point accurately to obtain a proper measurement. The bolt has a lot of camming power that can affect the measuring process.

TC </div></div>

that really leaves a great deal of variance. but i see what you mean. like i said i was playing with it, i tried fl sized brass that i will be using, the dummy rounds i made to check my press and dies when i first started. it seemed weird to me that i could close it after i put tape on the fl sized round. but it was flimsy compared to scotch tape. it was off a roll of packing tape. i have some generic scotch tape and its not as flimsy. even so, i stuck the headspace gauge in and could not close the chamber. that made me think if i use that to set headspace ill have too much.

and if the specs are known for the case, how can each maker be different? im not attacking you ... i just mean come on, there are too many variables, lol

i will just edit the above stuff to include more work by me. i am waiting on torx screws for the base and a tap to clean the threads out. some have told me that they got their rifles with filler screws in the scope base holes. im guessing they didnt put them in my tactical because the finish would have sealed them in? my holes for my bases were totally gunked up with the black finish they put on the 10 tactical series. thats why i keep stripping out the heads on my hex screws. when i first got it i tried mounting the base, no dice. i ruined the heads on 2 then used the others to run in and out to try and clean them up. EGW sent new ones for free, good customer service. but they need torx.

so far i havent had any real issues. i was expecting more resistance in getting the barrel nut off. oh and i saw no trace of thread locker in the nut or on the old barrel. one sharp smack with the side of a 2 lb hammer and the barrel nut came off.

thanks for the extractor advise. the one in the vid was an old springfield bolt action i think.

 

[mbrittan]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

I did the headspacing with the bolt head completely assembled. It is very clear when the gage makes contact.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

bump. i added pics and made a little progress. still waiting on the screws. ill continue from here in this post.

ok just a short update. i got a 6-48 tap off ebay for $7 shipped. its an irwin. i called savage and expressed my dismay at the fact that i had ruined 3 sets of base screws and asked how hard it really would have been to protect the threads in the holes before coating the action with what ever they use. they will pass that along. so i grab my cheap unused since i bought it 10 years ago tap set from harbor freight and use that handle to spin my tap. worked fine. notice how the holes look black before and how shiney they are after i cleaned all that crap out of them. the torx should be here tomorrow and ill mount the base then. now i will set the headspace and see what i can do after that. here are a few pictures. anyone with a 10-LE series, you know how hard the screws are to get all the way in. someone said that they were using a torque wrench and stripped the heads in their screws.

here it is before. notice the holes are dark, the threads are loaded with the coating they use on the rifle

so i run the tap thru and as you can see, there is quite a bit of schmootz in there. very few if any metal flakes came thru

plenty of stuff still on the tap after taking it out.

notice the threads are now bright and shiney, all cleaned up

i could have skipped cleaning the threads and just forced the screws in. the stuff acted like loctite, they werent backing out on their own. but it would have bugged me. besides its the attention to the little details that makes the difference between a job well done and just half assed slapping it together.

here is the barreled action, i like the multi color and im thinking of gray for the new bolt handle azprecision is gonna do. either that or maybe grey.

 

[Halfnutz]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

I removed the cocking piece (the firing pin and spring assembly)as well as the extractor, they will add resistance to the bolt closing when setting headspace. The tape on the "go gage" works great.
Place the bolt in a plastic bag when removing the extractor, or be prepared to lie on the floor looking for the launched spring and ball bearing. When you re-install the firing pin assembly you can installl a bolt lift kit from Stockade Gunstocks. (Or make your own w/ a ball bearing in a cut down .38spl case, so I'm told).

Watch your screw length when installing the scope base, the screws can interfere with the bolt. A little cutting fliud doesn't hurt when tapping, crisco would work in a pinch, degrease it before loc-titing the screws in for the scope base irregardless.

I don't think that moly or antisieze on the barrel threads is needed for a barrel that will be left on, but thats just my opinion. Some might tell you to go the other way and loc-tite it, I don't think that's needed either.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

i just posted about the bolt lift. its a 5/32" and i think it goes in the cocking piece sleeve. then you trim the bolt assembly screw the amount that the case & bearing protrude. its that part i dont want to do myself. it needs to be a true cut done at a right angle. id do it with a mill or lathe if i had one.

heres pics... http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1656060#Post1656060

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

ok i set the headspace. put the barrel in the blocks in my neighbors vise. when i started to tighten the nut, the nut, recoil lug and receiver started to turn as well. so i went home, grabbed the go gauge and reset the headspace and while holding the action, i tightened the nut as much as i could. im thinking putting the action in the vise would be no better. i snugged it good, but wish i had used loctite in this instance. i wish i had an action wrench to stabilize/immobilize the action while the barrel is in the vise and allow me to get a full 50 ft-lbs on the nut. but i dont have that. ill watch it for the first 100 rounds and see whats up. now im just waiting on the mail for my base screws.

as for bedding, i want to shoot it with just the full length bedding block and see whats up. then i will decide if i need to bed it. it could use it around the recoil lug, but otherwise the receiver is supported fully by the bedding block. ill get some pics after i get it put back together. stay tuned as i texture the stock in a flame pattern. ill post pics of that too. im working on the masking and looking for suitable looking flames for my design. feel free to ask any questions, but using the videos i posted and links to the tools you should be able to do this easily.

one thing, the head of my torque wrench is too big to fit in the square drive hole in my nut wrench, but if you use an extension you can get to the 1/2" drive hole thats closest to the nut and your torque wrench values should be pretty close as your not adding that much leverage or mechanical advantage to the equasion. if i ever do it again, i will tape the barrel during this process for protection. thats about all i can think of. good luck, its pretty easy and straight forward

 

[mwroseberry]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

tag

 

[Crazy Dog ll]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

.

 

[shankster..]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

Great video. Thanks.

 

[gunman_7]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

tag

 

[Switchbarrel]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

Marked for near future reference.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

my bolt is getting a new handle and i am still waiting to see if i can get the barrel on with the receiver in a vise. im hoping that the barrel wont spin if i try that way. as soon as everything gets back, ill post pics and update this thread.

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

ok just an update... i got the barrel off with the wood blocks and a standard vise. but i didnt like not having one at home so i built one.

here is a link to that thread

one problem i had when i went to reinstall the new barrel was when i had it in the vise and i cranked on the barrel nut, the nut, lug and receiver turned also. i had to reset the head space. well i got two sets of blocks when i ordered them from SSS , one for a heavy contour barrel and one set for a smaller diameter barrel. well i took a rasp on a drill and opened up that set of blocks to accept the receiver. not sure if the receiver would spin still, i took an extra step. i picked up some 1/4" fine thread screws. these are what you would use to bed the stock and fit in the holes that the action screws fit in. i cut one down and put it in the receiver and drilled a hole in the block. now its locked in the blocks.

put the screw in the receiver. i marked the end of the screw and transfered that mark to the wood by rubbing the end on the block

the drilled a hole in the block

now just place it all in the vise and click-click, 50 ft-lbs is easy to hit...

now i was prepared to drill a hole on either side of the lug and put in another two 1/4" bolts to keep the spinning down, but i didnt have to go that far. if only i could get my stock to texture, lol. but thats another thread

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

self bump

 

[Dtarget]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

Nice thread Axeman

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

thanks, i did bed it. pictures are in the stickied bedding post at the top of the smithing section by wnroscoe. came out well. and in keeping with alternative approaches, i used JBweld to do it. cost was under $10 for the whole thing. thats not bad for a bedding job

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

bump

 

[D.A.T]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

Good Topic

 

[freeflight]

Re: so it has begun, savage barrel swap, maybe bedding

Tag for later.