z1r

Another action that's not as inexpensive but is certainly nice, is the MRC 1999 action. I went with one for a customer for two reasons: 1) It's CRF and available left handed 2) It was available in SS. He wanted a SS lefty CRF action. The action is a hybrid Mauser/Model 70. Really nice for the money.

probably the two most abundant and inexpensive used actions worthy of building on are the Savage and Rem 700.

Nice Job Ken.

Yeah, I left mine as-is, the barrel was awesome. When you think about it, the 8x56R is about equal to that grand old classic, the .318 Westly Richards. Same bore diameter. I think it's an awesome brush gun.

The first thing you should be concentrating on is rim diameter. If the new cartridge's rim isn't similar in size to the 8x56R you will have difficulties.

Leupold makes one for an "unaltered 98" meaning, the charger hump has not been removed. An FN base will work, but the hump must first be removed.

The two most frequent complaints about old southbends is the spindle bore is too small and the length too long. Still, you can get a smaller chuck the will not be as deep. Three inches hanging out of the chuck to thread is a bit much, and the screws for the spider can be darn near at the edge of the spindle. All that will gain you a few extra inches. Now you know why so many preferred to thread between centers and chamber in a steady. I lived many years with my SB. I used to subscribe to the spider notion but nowdays, I primarily use it for crowning to keep the barrel from slipping back in the chuck. For threading and chambering I first make sure the barrel is straight by truing the area I will grip in the chuck between centers first. As long as the sides are parallel once chucked in the lathe I don't care where the muzzle is pointed. One day, I'll upgrade the chinese lathe I have for a newer one with an even larger spindle bore. I use it for metric threads and BIG barrels or barrels with integral or soldered on sights.

I don't know but it wasn't half bad. I've seen much worse. At least he kept his paws off the action.

That's pretty cool. I think it's great that Weaver's son wants that stock. Anything to get em interested. Besides, that bunny is kinda cute, lol. Somewhat related, I picked up a 1942 byf k98 that had been made into a .30-06, walnut sporter stock, Jaeger sidemount with OLD weaver K4, and a redfield peep for $200 on the 17th. Heck, the accessories are worth more than I paid. However, it is about the heaviest '06 I've ever felt and no bunnies.

Pretty cool, Well done bubba! Just kidding, at least about bubba. Funny thing, my parents still call me bubba, lol.

Gotta love it. Especially gotta love the Leupold warranty. So, what's yer favorite rabbit load?

Fit the sleeve to the inside. Headless set screws to hold it in place. I made one for my old SB which was really OLD. Often, on older lathes, to use a spider you must take off the gear cover. Be careful when running without it and clean up and chips and debris that may get on the gears. I've also done it on a lathe which like yours only allowed for about 1/4" purchase on the spindle. Make the sleeve a tight fit and you should be fine. Remember, you really aren't supporting any weight, just keeping things from flopping around or pushing back through teh spindle when you make a cut. Just be careful, you'll end up spending all your time in the shop really getting things done now, lol.

That's what I'm always saying. Some of my favorite rifles were once all matching.

The action is certainly suited to the cartridges' length. You'll infringe on case capacity less and free up some powder space due to the longer magazine. No reason not to proceed. Me. I'd just stick with the .260 or 6.5x55 but that's me.

Holly crap. Here is a quote from the first page of the "Article" : "The Lake City Army Ammunition plant in Missouri is the world's largest small caliber munitions plant in the world. In 2006, it will have made nearly 1.4 billion bullets." Sheesh, when did we as a nation become so poor in terms of writing ability. The world's largest plant in the world. Where else would it be?

Hell, you might get away with simply unscrewing the barrel then screwing it back on only not so tight. Most folks overtighten anyway.

Use super glue to smooth down the checkering.

Yup, WAS a swede.

Be advised that the neck on the .280 is a good deal smaller in diameter than the 7x57. The .280 reamer will not clean up the old neck. The result: a necked neck.

What are you planning on soldering? I use the lowest temp solder that doesn't contain lead. Why no lead? So caustic blue won't affect it.

As Brad says, ultimately we undertake this kind of work to please OURSELVES. Much of stockwork is toward functional ends. But just as much is for aethetics. A story about pitch. I have a real nice Ruger tang saftey 77 chambered in 9.3x62. I did some repair work on it for a client on it and in the meantime he came upon a rifle he HAD to have. Long story short, I picked it up for a good price. Now, I've shot plenty of 9.3's and given that this one weighs 8.5 lbs scoped and is about a lb heavier than my 9.3x62 Mauser which has a steel buttplate, I expected this to be relatively pleasant to shoot. Three shots at the bench and I passed it off to a friend who completed the sight in with three shots of his own. After three shots each we wanted nothing more to do with it. We were both scratching our heads because we knew the recoil shouldn't have been so bad. A few days later I was talking to a stockmaker friend of mine who asked if it had the factory recoil pad or a replacement. I answered, a replacement, a thicker pad. Then he asked if the the butt had been cut to accomodate the thicker pad and maintain the original LOP. I answered that it appeared to have been. So he tells me to check the pitch. I do, there's none. It was cut at 90 degrees to the bore. He says, there's your problem. The toe is digging into your muscle when you fire. he askled if I noticed the muzzle climbing after I fired. I told him my partner mentioned it did. Anyway, I correct the angle, and voila, the tiger has been tamed. So, while you may prefer a straight comb and little drop for scope use, you may want to incorporate some pitch into the stock. A lot depends on your build.

Congrats. Polishing method will depend to some extent on the condition of the bolt. many are stained and will polish out more readily with a felt wheel. Others have some pitting and will require more agressive methods to obtain a smooth surface finish. I'd avoid the dremel except in the tight spots. you are very likely to get a dished/wavy surface with those small dremel wheels. For bolts that have small pitting, I stone the bolt, this keeps teh surface straight and eliminates any dips. Don't work on any one spot too long, do the whole surface evenly.

My only concern is that the margin of safety is greatly diminished. Obviously it works. It's just that there is less room for error. Remember too that I have to play it REAL safe, it's the world we live in.

The problem I see with adding the bushing diamter to the shank is that implicitly you are assuming 100% thread contact which is not the case.

Savage is at least one manufacturer that changed their actions JUST for the WSM. The thread OD is large to leave more meat over the chamber. Without saying if your idea is a good one or not ponder this: Modern rifles use mostly 16 tpi threads which are very shallow compared to the mauser's 12 tpi which are deeper. And, most of those others have shanks of 1.060" or larger compared to the SR mauser at 0.980". I don't think that even with the longest 6mm bullets you need the extra magazine space that the K.Kale action offers.