bilurey

I originally posted the pic at the start of this thread, immediately emailed to see if I could disclose his addy, got the following response today. Turns out it's Weaver77 from our site, what a grand surprise! " i have no problem with you giving out my email address and once again i would like to thank you for your compliments on my stock since then i have completed several more but have not had time to post any pics since i have been hunting but now that hunting season has ended here in texas i am back at the mauser work again and am building a 25-06 for an friend and a 280 ackley for myself and hope to be able to post pics soon thanks again james ps sorry it has taken so long to get back to posting but ive been hunting and with my regular job that pretty much takes up all my time " Weaver77

Vlad's right on both counts. Z1r did three bolt handles for me, best I've seen, so far I've kept them hidden as they're too good for the usual Mauser actions I come across. Clemson has done some really fine work also, and, I know I'm overlooking at least two others from this site who have displayed their work. My short term memory is gone and I can't remember where I left it. Bill

If you haven't had any offers, I believe I have a replacement bolt handle identical to the one in your link, and, as shown in Z1r's pic. In fact, I may have a M98 bolt with one of these handles welded on by Z himself. I had him do up 3 for me as his work is superior to most and the equal of the really high priced pros. I'd sell the hollow based bolt blank for $10.00 + actual postage. Z has been charging $75 to weld one up (you supply the bolt and handle). So, if I have one of these left it would have to go for $100 to cover bolt, handle, and installation. I believe that these costs will be lower than buying the parts yourself. Bill

Did I notice a "Tally" type 3 position safety as well as a Dayton Traistor trigger? The safety may have caused your problem by being improperly altered when this fine safety was added. Try replacing just the bolt shroud and cocking piece. The right side of the face of the cocking piece barrel must be rounded back somewhat to allow the Tally's safety lever to cam the cocking piece back away from the rear face of the cocking piece. This requires quite a bit of skill, Tally safetys are great but should be fitted by a professional. Not the problem? Leave the substitute parts from above test alteration and replace the trigger with a military. Both the Bold and the Timney sears are designed to move further back in the unit when pressure is taken off them. If the fit of the D/T Trigger and the Tally safety really critical Not the problem? Some well intentioned soul may have ground back the rear face of the bolt, thus, not permitting the foot of the front face of the cocking piece to be withdrawn sufficiently to completely disengage from the sear so that it can be cocked. The wedged knife blade has the effect of increasing the distance of the entire bolt rearward, thus permitting the face of the cocking piece front face to clear the rear face of the sear and allowing them to re-engage in the cocked position. You may have two variables causing the problem. In this case it's usually easier to draw up a Probability Box listing unaltered military parts (cocking piece, shroud, safety, bolt body) across the top of the box, and altered replacment parts down the side of the box so that every possible combination is shown. It's almost impossible to keep all these possibilities in your head while working on them one at a time. Or with head hung low, carrying a cigar box full of loose parts, slink into your local gunsmith's shop at dawn or dusk and swallowing your pride ask that awful question, "Can you fix this for me?". Good Luck, Bill.

Extractor collars are very soft steel, removing them invairably bends and twists them. Squeeze a removed collar at the mid points of it's sides with a the curved inner jaws of slip pliers. Notice that the lugs will not match properly, either in height or width with one frequently at a downward angle. Begin by carefully cleaning the collar and it's slot. Try replacing the collar on the bolt and while squeezing the lugs togather with the pliers, try to turn the coller in it's slot and notice any binding which may occur. To correct, squeeze the collar around it's circumfrence with the pliers until the coller is once again a true circle. IMPORTANT, use the curved inner jaws of a slip-joint pliers to do any work on extractor collars, and, ensure that the width of the jaws is LESS than the width of the collar. Pliers with flat jaws will apply angular pressure causing a whole new set of problems. Now squeeze the collar at it's midpoints and see if lugs match up properly, you may find that one of the lugs is cocked or sits ahead of the other. To correct this, grasp the bolt body while pushing upwards on the bottom of the collar with one finger to allow some wiggle room where the lugs rise up slightly above the collar slot. Grasp the ends of both locking lugs with your pliers then twist out-of-alighment lug back into it's parallel position with the other. Check your work by grasping the collar at it's midpoints to see if the lugs now align properly, repeat the process as necessary. Now the trick. Snap the collar into its slot, positioning the collar lugs for attachment of the extractor, hold them in position and squeeze the collar tightly using the curved inside jaws of the pliers (this will apply a uniform pressure over a larger surface of the collar than will needle nose pliers). You should be able to press the extractor onto the collar lugs by hand, especially if you press downward FIRMLY on the top of the extractor about one inch behind the lug seat to remove the outward bow of the extractor. Sometimes only the tips of the lugs can be caught, just use a wooden mallet to tap on the face of the extractor to drive it completely onto the lugs. Roll the extractor into position so it's foot snaps into the groove in the head of the bolt. The extractor should now roll easily, but firmly, back and forth around the bolt. Now the final test. Examine the attached collar to ensure that it is flush, or, lies slightly below the surface of the bolt. Any point at which the collar bulges above the body of the bolt will leave a sharp edge sticking out to snag (especially the the bolt stop face) as the bolt moves back and forth in the receiver. A bulge in the extractor collar also indicates uneven pressure against the extractor slot which may cause excessive stiffness in the rolling motion of the extractor during functioning. Squeezing around the circumfrence of the collar (including the the extractor where it attaches to the collar) will usually correct this problem. Bottom line, removing and replacing extractors should only be done when absolutely necesary. The replacement of either or both parts will likely call for some very careful fitting. Always use the inner curved jaws of a slip-jaw pliers Dimensions of Mauser parts can vary condiserably as a result of the many years over which they were made and particularly because of the large numbers of manufacturors who made these parts. Very few Mauser parts are drop-ins. But that's much of the enjoyment of restoring or sporterizing milsurps. Bill Finally,

Clemson, that was about a perfect tutorial. Have you ever considered doing a series of these as loose leaf pages which could be added to a loose leaf notebook. By doing one at a time you could sell them one at a time to the other fellows who either couldn't afford the whole collection, or, were only interested in specific issues. I try to add tips on items I've dealt with but don't have a camera and writing this out is difficult and long if you want to get info which is clear and accurate. Congrats, you and Z have the experience, camera skills, and knowledge to really do it professionally. I know I'mleaving one or two other highly qualified fellows out, sometimes I think I have terminal Senior Moment Syndrome. Bill.

oops! hit enter twice. Bill

Remove the bolt from the action, catch the face of the cocking piece on a raised piece of wood, grasp body of bolt and pull back until cocking piece face completely clears rear of bolt shroud, insert a dime between the face of the cocking piece and the bolt shroud. This will keep the nose of the cocking piece completely clear of the of the end of the bolt and allow you to easily unscrew the firing pin assembly. If disassembly of the firing pin assembly is necessary, it will require the same trick when reassembling the firing pin assembly to the bolt. To reassemble the firing pin assembly, slide firing pin spring over firing pin, insert this unit into face of bolt shroud with tip of firing pin pressed into a soft piece of wood. Grasp bolt shroud firmly and press down until the rear end of the firing pin completely clears the rear end of the bolt shroud then slip cocking piece onto rear of firing pin and rotate until the foot of the cocking piece aligns with the slot in the bottom of the bolt shroud. Stop, slowly reduce downward pressure on bolt shroud allowing the shroud to rise upward until it stops. Shake out cramped hand, cussing helps. Get dime ready to insert. Grap bolt shroud with firing pin tip resting in soft wood, draw down bolt shroud until rear of bolt shroud completely clears the face of the cocking piece and insert the dime. Slowly allow bolt shroud to rise up and hold dime in place to maintain this clearance. Now the firing pin assembly can be screwed back into the rear of the bolt without the foot of the cocking piece jamming against the rear face of the bolt. When the bolt in reinserted into the receiver, carefully twist the dime out from between the rear of the bolt shroud and the cocking piece. A trick for removed Mauser bolts with military type bolt shrouds, when you accidentally bump the safety arm off and the cocking piece snaps back into the bolt shroud and the bolt can't be reinserted into the receiver. Grasp the bolt body upside down with one hand, with the other hand hold the shaft of a screwdriver blade against the face of the cocking piece foot and pull the cocking piece rearward until it completel clears the bolt shroud, gravity will cause the weight of the safety arm to drop straight down into the Safe position. Release the pressure on the screwdriver blade shaft, turn the bolt over and it's now recocked with the safety arm in the upright position and ready to reinsert into the receiver. Bill

Weaver77, beautiful stock shaping. I especially like the angle at the top of the comb nose for the flute, it's length, depth, and the blending in of the bottom edge of the flute into the wood beneath. On my first stock, a Fajen preturned semi-inlet Classic style, I cut the top line at too steep a downward angle and ran it back too far. I then cut out the flute in a reverse teardrop shape with a definate line defining the lower line of the flute. Looked like crap. I searched thru my small collection of Gun Digest Custom Stock pictures and found a pic of a stock taken from the rear, quartering away toward the fore end, and saw that the lower line of the flute was blended into the wood beneath it so that it formed a symetrical oval cross section from the bottom line of the stock into the depth of the flute. While still too deep and too long, it was still a great improvment. I started doing drawings of completed stocks showing cross sections, and measurments. I also began buying inexpensive used or injured stocks with particular pistol grip, cheekpiece, loading cutout, ejector box shelves, ways of blending action area into pistol grip and then into butt stock lines, forend stapes, and tips. Makes the work so much better and simpler. I'll never be a Rembrandt or Divinci, but, I'm getting better at copying great work. I have copied your pics and added them to my collection of "Stock How To's", hope this is OK with you. Don't know how long you've been doing stocks but you've really got it right for "Contemporary Classic". Any chance of getting you to do a photo-tutorial of rough shaping to final shaping a stock? My wife watched me do my last stock and was so taken by it's lines she asked that I not have it sold in an estate sale after she kills me, but leave it to her. Best complement I ever got on a stock, and one of only two or three from a woman. Bill

Don, I agree with Z about the comb rollover. I have an '03 Sprngfld stock I bought because I like the way it raised the comb line for a scope while maintaining the classic look of the stock by simply blending it into the curve of the stock on the offside of the cheekpiece, no curl or crashing wave effect. Jerry Fisher once did a freehand drawing of a stock which showed the shape of the forend as a series of circles all the way back to the rear face of the receiver ring. The top of the stock simply had a longitudinal slice remove to reveal the top half of the barreled action. A similar slice began at he front of the TG tang and ended at the rear tang. From the rear face of the rear receiver ring, thru the complete buttstock, the circles rapidly became ovals. This produces a smooth but somewhat thicker stock than the design used by Husqvarna which is about as slender as a stock can be reasonably made. Most classic stocks begin slenderising, at the point where the fore end meets a vertical line between the front end of the barrel reinforce down to the foorward tip of the magazine floorplate, by flattening the sides of the stock into elongated ovals. The ovals become more rounded from a verticle line behind the rear face of the rear receiver ring to the front face of the trigger guard bow. This ends the flatness of the stock thru the action area, where extra wood is necessary as it is the thinnest wood depth in the stock. The pistol grip is rounded gradually blend into the long slender oval cross sections of the butt stock. The beautiful pics above show several ways of running the lines blending the ovals of the action area into the more rounded and smaller ovals of the pistol grip and then blended gradually into the buttstock. The pistol grip area is the primary point at which a stock is judged from being ugly to beautiful. Most mass produced commercial stocks simply blend these curves into the stock while a real custom stock very clearly define the lines where the butt of the stock is reduced to a pistol grip and then enlarged to accomodate the action mortise. I used to study these lines, then draw them on the stock with a soft lead pencil, experimenting with different curves until I knew exactly where and how much wood to cut. I used swiss files to blend the lines into the cuts while keeping the lines distinct. I didn't begin by examining close up pics of beautiful stocks, I gradually learned to do things because it reduced the laughter of others when I showed my work. Much easier to study the pics and practice on an unfinished stock than to have your friends do a Mexican Hat Dance on your ego. Bill

I have one of the raised panel, schnauble nosed, 95 percent inlet M98 stocks you can have for $50 plus $12 S&H. I don't know if it's one of the older Fajens or a Guns of America. It appears almost completely inlet for a military barrel without rear sight, barrel channel could be opened up for a commercial barrel. I bought it from a reformed gun nut and stuffed a Gew98 Oberndorf into it, very little inletting left to do at least with my barreled action. I'll never finish this one up, hoping someone would, plain wood with no figure but a pretty good price. Barreled action not included, or I'd buy it from myself at that price. Bill

I had the rifle version in original 8x50R, using .323 bullets. Someone cut off the bolt handle and rewelded it onto the left side making it a lefty. I bought an original round at a gunshow and proceeded to make about 5 cases using some weird brass, parts of different 8x57JS dies, and Berdan primers . Fireformed the brass then made extrapolated service loadings. Swaped it as there were few options for stocking and sights, later swaped it back just because it was so well made. Using Baker's book I added a pistol grip, filled the finger grooves, slimmed down the bulky military stock, and checkered it. Got a good swap offer on a M98, so, off it went again as the Mausers are better, safer, simpler, more reliable, and ammo components in good supply. The 8x56 carbine is even more limited, I believe being married is easier to live with then one of these carbines. Bill PS Baker's book, The Amatuer Gunsmith, is the beginning gun nut bible. If you know someone who has a copy, shoot them and steal it. It will turn about two years of fiddling around into about 3 months of educated effort.

Your camera work is supurb! Really helps us see the great way the stock is developing. I like to remove the ejector box then insure that the top edges of the stock are of equal width from fore end tip back to the point where the ejector box is positioned. Many stocks simply ignore the extra width of wood if it is finished flush with the bottom of the ejector box, which leaves the left side of the stock much thicker than the right side. If the wood is thinned equally back to this point, then widened to cover the bottom of the ejector box, it leaves the ejector box sitting on a shelf which is then gracefully blended back into the left side beneath the ejector box. A little tricky the first time, but, very rewarding when properly done. Overall, I found the easiest way to get a nice stock is to keep a model of a particular stock you like on hand. I like some of the lines in the grip area of Husqvarna stocks, also original Mauser sporting stocks, G&H, and other professional designs. I collect catalogs, pictures, Gun Digest custom rifle features, ect. The beautiful pictures by 742wd are exceptional examples. I have little artistic ability, but, I learned to copy rather well. I actually use protractors on pics to get exact dimensions which are then blown up or down on 1/8th inch lined squared paper. The difference between beauty and mediocrity of line can be amazingly tiny. We can all easily distinguish the face of a beautiful woman from that of of an average woman's face. But, try to alter the average face to one of beauty and the difficulty becomes immediately appearent, so, copy beauty with very close attention to exacting detail. It's now getting difficult for me to pick up and hold a rifle any more, much less work on one. I finally began buying unfinished, or poorly finished project rifles, actions, stocks, ect. and trimmed them up as this really reduced the amount of work involved. But even that is getting beyond me. My beloved spouse, Spousasauris, recently asked why my mouth didn't get weaker like the rest of me. Such a caring person, noticing all the small details of my condition. Bill

Ever check out the face of the ejector box bolt stop lug in your M98, these sometimes show considerable setback due to having the left bolt lug smash into them during extraction. The only thing holding the ejector box in place is a long slender screw which is occassionly bent due to misfit of the ejector blade, leaving the screw shank to accept the force of the blow from the retracted bolt's left lug. The force of this blow is supposed to be transmitted by the ejector blade to the heavy flat spring dovetailed into the side of the ejector box. The spring is pushed to one side, disapating the the blow. Paul Mauser built in an oval hole in the ejector blade to allow for hammering of the bolt stop lug, which automatically allows the ejector blase to move further back without transmitting the blow to the ejector box screw.The primary reason I bring up all this detail is to illustrate not only the genius of the inventor, but also the incredible detail with which these rifles were designed and produced. And, if the ejection of your Mauser is weak, slowly unscrew the ejector box screw, watching to see if the ejector box moves slightly in or out as you turn the screw. If this happenes it means the ejector screw in bent, likely due to the ejector blade striking it to some degree rather than the blade striking it's full force against the flat spring. You could lengthen the front of the hole in the ejector blade, allowing more rearward movement, enlarging the hole (the Czech solution for acheiving the same result), or you may have a short extractor blade which needs replacing. In any case straighten the screw, easily done on a flat piece of hardwood using a hammer and brass punch to rebend the high spot in the screw shaft, easily seen when rolling the screw along the piece of hardwood. Bill

I once found myself hunting about seven miles from the nearest known sin when the magazine spring in my M98 broke! Suddenly I was hunting with a spear, which with a great deal of cussing would grudgingly accept a round in it's chamber. This was my first hunt with a single shot rifle. If you own a 98 Mauser I would strongly advise that you never go out shooting without a spare magazine spring, floorplate, and follower. Remember, the 98 is a controlled feed which, without alteration, must feed from the magazine to get the cartridge rim beneath the extractor face and chambered. This requires that a follower plate, spring, and floorplate are in place. Both German and American military records revealed that allowing soldiers to detatch the floorplates of their rifles during cleaning or to remove jams would occassionly result in one of these pieces being misplaced resulting in a disabled weapon. Ernest Hemingway's main character in For Whom The Bells Toll complains bitterly about trying to clean a Mauser in the dark due to the ease in misplacing one of these parts. Another shooting hunt turned into a spear throwing hunt when I tripped and shoved about two inches of ice and wet dirt into the barrel in minus 10 degree weather. Sure I sat in the car with the heater going until it melted, but, that didn't push it out, neither did the military issue Pull Thru bore cleaner I always carried while hunting. I guess Providence wanted me to learn my lessons the hard way so they would be well remembered. I now have a small pocket pouch I always carry with me, added a GI segmented cleaning rod and screwdriver to the lot. Have never had to use any of them, but, a couple of my friends who were sucking their thumb as they dabbed their tear stained eyes with the other hand were certainly glad I had these parts. Bill.

This is an auction in which I have no vested interes. This is the finest book for newby thru moderately advanced gun nuts like us. Written in the 1930s when much of the high priced electric/electronic equiptment was not available it shows how to do everything by hand (excepting rebarreling, which gives simple lathe intructions, and arc welding, again with instructions). This will reduce your intital learning period from a few years of slogging about to a few months of superior instruction. In addition, his absolute insistance on near perfection will instantly lift you above the Bubba class of otherwise well-intentioned beginners. If I had no other book, this would be my first, as I look back at 40 years of experience in playing with rifles. I ultimately learned to get my advise from the real experts: G&H, Fisher, Burgess, Jaeger, ect. These are a scarce item, this is second I have seen in the past 5 years. Good luck, Bill. http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=77322925

Gunshows have produced some of my best project rifles from poorly done Bubba sporters. I got a 1915 matching Oberndorf Gew98 BA as a swap against a Turked 1918 Gew98 because the seller liked the German style sporting stock I had put on my rifle, in spite of it's shot ot bore. His cut down 1915 had a great bore, Redfield full band front sight mounted, and a vintage Redfield peep mounted. I also got a few from the gun auctions by doing searches which produced 98s without any mention of M/K/Gew/Kar or Mauser. Last two were an S/42G (1935 Oberndorf) matching, including the magazine spring (never seen this before). Barrel cutback to 20" and POS stock didn't detrach from the value of the Lyman 48 first pattern peep with it's fold up/down backup apeture. The second is an ar41 K98 with sights, stock, bands, and triggerguard replaced. The complete bolt, receiver, barrel, trigger, guardscrews, ect. are all matching. Again the POS stock, but also, an almost new Lyman48 second pattern peep sight. Also got two high number Springfield 03s, both cut for Petterson semi-auto assembly (great gas blow-by, like the thumb cut in a 98 Mauser). One had a Lyman48 Peep, the other a type C stock with the forend cut back. Bores on all rifles above are good to excellent. The costs ran from $150-185 from least to most expensive (all purchased in 2006). None were restorable due to reblueing, D&Ting, or shortened barrels. So, I got great actions which don't need rebarreling, blueing, front sights, peep sights, and only two which need bolt handles modified. Guess where I got a bunch of unfinished, uninletted, or slightly injured stocks with nice wood and room to make into classics. Same two sources! I take a full day every week and search the gun auctions for "rifle", "rifle stock", "receiver sight", and then very specific types (Mauser, Springfield) and occasionaly models (M/K98, Vz24, 1903, ect.). Bores you almost blind until you begin to make some really interestng finds. Unfortunately, I'm unable to work on them now due to bad lungs, can barely smoke a cigerette anymore, in spite of being on Oxygen. Bill

Hodgie said it perfectly, best instruction, tutorials, and advice. Bill.

The two books which gave me the most help were Baker's book written in the 1930s. He hand make most of his own tools and the average person could do just about anything following his instructions. I think he had only 3 electric tools, a lathe, a high speed grinder used by dentists and surgeons, and an electrict light. He is especially helpful in polishing/blueing metal, and fitting/finishing a stock. Secondly, get the most detailed technical book on the history and evolution of whatever firearm you most favor. With these two books you will gain a basic understanding of your favorite firearms, and, great advice on how to work with them. My good friend Amos says, "Ya don't become a great lover by read'in a book about it." I agreed but reminded him that his father had forbidden him to get anywhere near the livestock during his high school years, and ultimately it may have been quicker to read a book. Bill

As early self-contained cartridges were developing it became clear that a heavy or harder primer cup prevented against piercing of cup faces by firing pin tips. Also, priming mixtures could be made less sensitive and their firing flame more sustained when ignited. To reduce misfires (duds) the cocking piece was made quite heavy to generate more momemtum for a heavier strike on the primer. Examples are early Mausers (including early M98s), 1903 Springfield, and 1894/6 Swed Mausers. These heavy cocking pieces were also designed to give the shooter a "second chance" to fire a dud without opening the breech to recock the firing pin and risking a delayed ignition explosion. Mauser used longer cocking pieces on: 1894/6 Swedes: M1903 Turks: 1909 Peruvians: and, some pre-1905 M98 sporting rifles along with other models. All other things being equal, it might be easier to fit a standard cocking piece and firing pin than use a standard cocking piece, and, grind off the excess firing pin base which would protrude outward beyond the shorter cocking piece. This allow you to preserve the original firing pin and cocking piece, collectors looking to restore or replace parts will pay a premuim for these variations. Mauser used longer cocking pieces on: 1894/6 Swedes: M1903 Turks: 1909 Peruvians: and, some pre-1905 M98 sporting rifles. A general note about replacing firing pins and cocking pieces. Early M98 firing pins were milled with square shoulders when cut to form the interupted lugs which attach to grooves in the cocking piece. Firing stress tended to crack these lugs off, so, a slight radius cut replaced the square cut shoulders of the early firing pins to prevent these stress cracks. Do not attempt to force earlier square shoulder cocking pieces, or their firing pins, with the later model which had a radius cut at the base of the connecting shoulders. Mixing straight and radiused parts may actually cause greater stress, if they fit togather at all. Disassemble a M98 bolt and reassemble it without the firing pin spring, or cocking piece. Next try several cocking pieces on the firing pin and note the difference in firing pin protrusion when the bolt is set in the Fired position. This is because the total forward movement of the firing pin is determined by the distance the face of the cylindrical portion of the cocking piece can travel until it hits the end of it's tunnel in the bolt shroud. You will find some interesting differences in firing tip protursion with as few as 3-4 cocking pieces. Finally, the nose of the cocking piece rests on the rear face of the bolt in the Cocked position. This determines the space available for the safety lever claw to cam the cocking piece backwards from the sear nose so that the foot of the cocking piece completely clears the sear, assuring that the sear will have risen up to engage the cocking piece when the safety lever is lowered to the Fire position. Unless the sear has risen up to engage the cocking piece foot, the rifle will fire when the safety lever in lowered into the Fire position. This is a real hazzard! And, this is why each piece of a factory assembled rifle was serially numbered after final assembly. Matching numbers ARE important. Bill

Oldest side mount I've seen was on a WWI Gew98 with the front ring mounted on action front ring and the rear ring attached to a right angle arm attached to the side of the action with a release lever. A lot of military sniper rifles used QD lever arm scopes: Gew98, M98, K98, K43, Swede M41, M1 Garand, Jap 99, ect. This was done to store scope while in transport, to remove damaged scope quickly, and to be able to use iron sights in rain/fog/snow where iron sights are better. Scopes were not as strong or reliable then as today. Griffin&Howe worked up to a two lever mount in 1932 and Akah (Germany's Brownell) had them available at the same time. Don't know who copied who but the German mount is simpler and all steel. Paul Jaeger developed a single lever QD side mount which was very light and maintained zero well but wasn't as strong (or heavy) as the others. Echo came up with a much simplefied QD about the time of WWII, one just sold on Ebay. The one pictured appears to be of a German type combining the Jaeger mount and EAW U clamp rings. NECs German parts supplier listed them in their catalog until a few years ago. As I mentioned in another post recently, no predrilled base plate will ever match a drilled action, unless the two parts were originally mated togather. These things are as different as snowflakes. I sent Z four different G&H base plates to have the holes welded shut as none was a match for any rifle I owned which used them. Z did a wonderful job of filling and grinding on those plates. Now I clamp the side plate to the receiver sidewall, drill thru the existing holes in the sidewall into the mounting plate then countersink the outside of the sideplate for the screw heads. These mounts are great for removing a scope for transport, if damaged, or in bad weather. They leave the top of the receiver uncluttered with scope bases which require higher iron sights which will stick up above the scope bases. They return to zero much more reliabily than the standard American mounts with the two big screws in the rear base which always have to be checked for windage zero when a scope is remounted in them. Also, side mounts are generally mounted slightly higher which gives more finger room when stuffing rounds in the magazine, a real problem with one piece bases and low mounted rings. In fact these side mounts can be raised high enough when being mated to the receiver to sight beneath them, enabling you to use your low iron sights without removing the scope. It's called a "shoot under/over" mounting. While side mounts are expensive, used mounts are available but makers such as G&H used at least 4 subcontractors to crank these things out. Thus, side plates vary in thickness enough that flat sided plates generally don't have enough metal to mill a convex curve to fit a round receiver without cutting into the screw head recesses and ruining them. Also, the two grooves in the side plate which hold the mount in place are not always uniform in diameter or location. Even the dovetail rail onto which the scope mount slides is sometime different. But, putting one togather is a great challange especially when the cost of buying a new one and having it mounted is $450, a new undrilled side plate is $125. Just remember to measure mating surfaces on your parts and ask for measurments on parts you may need to complete a set and you'll be OK. And if you sell the rifle, remove the whole unit, parting out the side plate and mount separately, they will likely bring more than you get for the rifle. Bill

One not so tricky trigger trick used to be filing or grinding off the bottom of the forward foot of the cocking piece, thus decreasing it's depth of engagement with the sear and producing a lighter trigger pull in the second stage. It works, but, there's no sharp stop at the end of the first stage pull, just a slippery slide to BANG. It also increases the trigger overtravel considerably. I have a M98 sporter with a 3 position Win. (Tally?) shroud safety, a G&H scope mount, and a club foot cocking piece. Great rifle with a really lousy trigger pull. If I swap the cocking piece, I'll have to have the right side of the cocking piece hand fitted to the Tally safety's cam arm by my millionaire gun smith. A decent adjustable trigger is the best answer, but, squaring and smoothing the faces of the cocking piece and sear nose work well. The trigger tension spring can be very carefully ground down and lighten the pull also. Don't try to grind down the forward hump on the top of the trigger, it never seems to work out well at all. Over the years I've become a fair authority on what not to do with a gun, the authority comes from having done just about every wrong thing possible and learning the hard way. Bill PS I lied about my gunsmith being a millionaire, but he's working at it.

The new spring you got back with the bolt may have been for the spring for the magazine lock stud which holds the floorplate in place, they're about the same diameter as the bolt shroud stud spring and can be very stiff. Donmarky's idea was a good one. The bolt shroud lock stud gets hammered every time the bolt is closed and it tends to wear down it's nose and /or pound a dent in the rear of the receiver ring where it touches. This has the effect of lengthening it's stroke and causing it's "stop" ring to stick out to far to permit the bolt body to turn properly. Did you use marking ink on the under side of the bolt handle, on it flat seat and the shaft of the handle, prior to trying to close a fully assembled bolt? I've got a strong feeling that z1r touched on the problem of the groove for the bolt handle needing to be relieved in the front, but, relieved very carefully. Try this, cut a 1/4x5 inch strip from a cigarette pack wrapper or potatoe chip bag, both are very thin but very strong and make great "feelers". With the assembled bolt fully seated in the receiver, slide this strip underneath the bolt handle and try to slide it all the way up to the bottom flat of the bolt root on which the bolt is resting. It should pass freely, if not, try sliding the strip up diagonally to see it's the front, back, or both sides of the bolt handle binding. Then go back to inking those surfaces of the bolt flat, handle, and groove then closing the inserted, assembled bolt. You may find that the binding is occuring in a place different than you thought. Go easy! I'd skip the Dremel at this point and use fine files or emery paper wrapped around pencils or dowels to avoid taking off too much. Also, as a double check, when you reassemble the bolt leave the safety off. Now seat the bolt fully into the receiver and see if the bolt shroud's safety tunnel still aligns with the cut in the rear of the bolt for the safety. Adding a firing pin spring really changes the tension on the bolt parts and may cause misalignment not appearent when the parts are loose and floppy. Bill

Perhaps you should continue working on the back face of the bolt root until the unassembled shroud/bolt assembly lines up perfectly when turned by hand between the open and closed position and the safety drops into place easily. as later when the spring is put back in, any lack of final polishing will show up Next, look for front and bottom bolt root face obstructions which may be binding the bolt on closure. Too much weld on the front face of the bolt root flat will stop the forward movement of the bolt prematurely, thus binding the lugs against their beveled cuts in the front receiver ring. Look at the top edge of the front face of the bolt root flat, this should not be at right angles with the top flat of the bolt root. There should be a bevel cut all the way across the point where these two flats meet. This angle coinsides with the diagonal cut in the top of the rear receiver ring, permitting the bolt root leading top edge to bear against the diagonal cut in the rear receiver ringto increase leverage on extraction of a fired cartridge. Also, proper receiver grooving for the bolt handle. So, how do we tell whether the bolt cut in the receiver in not deep enough to permit the bolt to close, or, the bolt cut in the receiver is cut too far back and is pulling the bolt back thus wedging the locking lugs, or whether the front bolt root face sticks out to far and needs to be carefully filed back to avoid wedging the locking lugs. I would try using a majic marker and inking up the front face of the bolt root flat, the underside of the bolt root flat (which determines how far the bolt can be turned down) and the portion of the bolt handle shaft which fits into the groove in the receiver, as well as the groove itself. Now gently insert the stripped bolt back into it's fully open position in the receiver. Next, push as hard as possible against the bolt knob and begin to lower it. As soon as the objectionable "binding" is felt, stop and reopen the bolt handle while pulling back as hard as possible on the knob until the bolt is in it's open position. Carefully remove the unassembled bolt from the receiver being careful that this operation doesn't leave marks on the inked surfaces. Inspect the inked surfaces carefully. The binding will have rubbed off the ink at the point(s) where it occures. Remember, the shaft of the bolt must NEVER touch any portion of it's groove under even the greatest pressure, otherwise it becomes a fourth locking lug which is most undesirable. The bright marks on the inked surfaces will tell you where the binding is. The most common cause is insufficient clearance for the bolt bolt handle, and, the lack of a bevel at the junction of the front and top bolt root flats. Remove a little metal, re-ink, try again. When the puddles of your persperation begin running into your shoe tops you're getting close. A good test is to screw in the stripped bolt shroud after a smooth fit of the stripped bolt is acheived. With the bolt closed, the Safety Tunnel in the bolt shroud should be in perfect alignment with the cut in the rear of the bolt face. This is a way of assuring the bolt has been rotated to it's proper "seated" position for it's locking lugs to bear against their seats, a very impartant point. You've really caught on quickly, keep going and you'll be writing these unpublished "How To" books very shortly. New torch bearers are not a luxery, they're a necessity. Bill

How about a process of elimination. First, eliminate any more grinding of the receiver, a ruined receiver and you may as well toss out the barreled action and start over as it's generally to expensive to restart. Completely strip both bolts. Using a micrometer or Vernier caliper measure the diameter of the rear bolt ring (it's larger than the main shaft). If warped out-of-round during updates it may rub against the underside of the safety when in the on position. Rear of bolt body may be heat warped or have excess weld added behind the bolt handle causing bolt shroud to bind when fully forward. Remove the bolt lock pin and string from the bolt shroud, then see if the shroud screws easily into the rear of the bolt. If not, out of round rear of bolt may be the problem, or excess weld on rear bolt root flat may be it. If no problem here, insert safety into shroud and see if bolt handle turns from closed to opened position easily, try again with safety in the on position. It may be that the cut in the rear bolt ring, for the safety shaft is slightly out of line with the tunnel in the bolt shroud which aligns them. Too little clearance on the bottom bolt root flat, or the rear blot root flat, would keep the bolt from rotating completely in line with the safety shaft tunnel in the bolt shroud, causing a wedging action between the safety shaft and it's cut in the rear face of the bolt. With the safety on, the wedge situation might be alieviated. With safety removed, align shroud in the closed position on the bolt and see if you can see a misalignment. Will the safety shaft slide easily all the way into its tunnel or does it stop short of full seating. Remove bolt shroud and insert completely stripped bolts in receiver, try raising and lowering bolts. If the welder did not trim back enough weld on the front face of the bolt root flat, it will bind. If not enough weld removed from the bottom bolt root flat, it will not close completely. Both will cause misalighment of safety, binding results. One of these tests will show the problem. Did you sent the barreled action along when you sent out the bolts out to be altered? If not welder may have been left to guess about final fit and function. If you did, he should correct the problem. Good luck, Bill