drgoose

Yes where the color didn't change there was no change in the temper. I see the cocking cam is still bright, I good indacation that it was done right.

Don

Does the cocking cam participate in absorbing energy from firing a round or is it just the two locking lugs?

Could be a couple things going on here. If your groups continue to deteriorate, check the barrel for copper build up in the muzzle area, and that build up can toss bullets all over the place. You didn't indicate what ammo you were using, but the fast twist milspec barrels do prefer the longer heavier bullets. If the barrel heats up, try spacing your 5 shot groups farther apart to allow some cooling.

I've never cared for Ramline stocks because they are very flexible in the forend, and if you support the rifle over bags, even with the barrel floated, the flex may allow the stock to touch the barrel at different points, depending on the hold. Swede barrels are coveted for their accuracy potential, but conditions need to be right for that accuracy.

 

 

Spiris

I was using winchester brass, federal match primers, 33.7 gr of varget and sierra match kings 142 grains with COAL 3.03. Which stocks do you like to use, trying to avoid the 400 dollar ones.

Again this is my first project and I am doing it with a local gunsmith that kind of lets me work in his shop and learn from what he is doing. So this is a M96 that got put on a Ram-Line Stock and the action has been bedded all the way up the beginning of the barrel, after that it is free floating. The barrel has dark groves but good rifling without obvious rust.

I have shot the rifle 2 times, both with 20 rounds each in 5 shot groups and both times the first group was about 3 inches, the second group was about 1 inch in diameter and then they got progressively larger until the last one looked like a shotgun pattern. The way I am reading this is that the barrel being so thin is very temperature sensitive and I am afraid that there will be no solution to this problem other than changing the barrel or not letting it get hot. My gunsmith has also the theory that because the barrel is so long and thin it is vibrating a lot and that it might be worth a try to bed the whole barrel. I am not conviced of that and I am kind of leaning towards just taking the barrel off and putting on a new one.

Any ideas? Thanks

OK, I recently just bent my first bolt. Actually it was not me, but a local gunsmith I found who did not mind me looking behind his shoulder while he did it, but anyway. Thanks to gun nutty I was reading in a chapter on metallurgy that polished steel will produce an oxide film after being heated and the color of the oxide film can be used to guestimate the temperature of the steel. Below is a magnified picture of the root of the bolt we bent and I am wondering if I am reading this right.

And if I am reading this right, I still don't know what to do with the information. I want to conclude that the temperature of the bolt did not rise significantly on the areas where no oxide film was deposited. Is this correct?

One book that is an automatic requirement for machining is Machinery's Handbook:

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=machinery%27s+handbook

 

I was a little surprised at the cost of current editions compared to my cost back in the '90s. An older version from the '70s or '80s would be just as relevant today as it was back then. What I mean is there's nothing wrong with older editions, if you can save some money. The Amazon link has the 22nd edition used starting at $15. Threading and millwork hasn't changed that much in the last 70 or so years.

Appreciate all your help. Just ordered the 22nd edition.

Both can do a successful job. But bolts are very sensitive to heat so either way you go you need to first learn proper welding skills and learn how to determine the if the bolt was compomised in hardeness. Learning the color spectrum for tempering is good for more than welding, it will help you reharden parts, along with tempering springs etc.

Don

What would be a good source to learn the spectrum of tempering. I have done a cursory search and found a bunch of color scales that are poorly seen on the screen. Is there a book that you would recommend?

If you are serious about learning to use a lathe, you might consider signing up at the local Jr. College or Tech School for courses in Machine Tool Technology. You will have the use of the shop equipment while you learn.

 

Clemson

I am looking into the local community college but my schedule might prohibit it (I travel 7 days in a row and then I am home 7. If the schedule is not workable are there any good machining books that you would recommend?

Hello, this is my 4th post on this forum. I have been lurking around for a while and I am about to start my first project, but eventually I would like to rebarrel my own rifles from blanks. Currently I have two problems that impede that. The first one is I don't know how to use a lathe, the second is I don't have one or a place to put it.

I would like to tackle the first problem by buying a mini-lathe and learning to do most of the machining in it so that when I have a place to put the big one i will already know what I am doing.

Is it possible to learn all the skills needed ona 7x 12 lathe. For example, can I learn how to thread and chamber a barrel in it by using small sections of barrel blanks (i.e 6-10 inches), they would obviously not be functioning barrels, I gues they would be "threaded chambers".

Would the tooling that I get for the mini-lathe work on the full sized brother later? I don't mind buying a 670 dll mini lathe, learning on it and then selling it for a 200-300 dls. Does this plan seem reasonable?

thanks.

Hello everyone, I am a new member and this is my third post. I would like to learn how to weld my own bolt handles after cutting them. The question is which welding technique can be used to do this. Can it be done with oxyacetylene and if so is it significantly inferior than using TIG welding. Which of these is easier to learn. I know oxyacetylene is probably cheaper to get into. Thanks.

I got my barrel from e bay. have you educated yourself about the mausers yet? have you decided on caliber? besides having a gunsmith do it, you will need a reamer for the caliber of barrel to set headspace, a go/no go guage... dont just use a bullet, some cutting oil and possible a lathe to turn down the chamber end of the barrel in case of too much head space. google barrel reamer rental. also get a barrel vice they are worth the money or make one. dont use a pipe wrench you will regret it. there is no majic barrel that just goes on lol. this gets expensive quick, to make exactly what you want you may spend the cost of 2 used guns or more. im trying to be frugal with my build and i allready have around 700 in it, with another 500 to go on parts i still need to buy.

Thanks everyone for your reply, I am aware that doing this is going to be MUCH more expensive than just going to the local sports store and buy an equivalent rifle, I am considering this entertainment and I am going to have to pay for it, probably a lot of money upfront as and investment. I ordered last night a barrel from brownells in 6.5x55. I was planning on getting a rental reamer and T-handle from 4-D reamer rentals. Hopefully once I am done with this first build, the second one will be significantly cheaper as most of the upfront purchasing of tools will be done.

I recently acquired a K98 action from gunbroker and I would like to check that I am doing things correctly.

This is the action.

Because it did not have a bolt or trigguer guard, this is what I ordered from Numrich.

I still need to order a barrel and a stock. I am thinking of a heavy barrel and a composite stock. Do you guys have suggestions on who makes reasonably priced short chambered barrels that do not have an 18 month delivery time?

Thanks

Hello everyone, I have recently discovered this forum and it has been a wealth of information. I have been collecting C and R rifles for a while, mostly shooters because that is what i like to do, shoot. My eye sight is not the best and I like to reload ammo for accuracy so iron sights, at least military iron sights are not very conducive for this, so I would like to scope some of these old rifles. Most have no collectors value because they are either import marked, mismatched or both. I am not a gunsmith, I am not even very mechanically inclined but I want to learn, and I am willing to put the money into it.

I currently have swedish mod 96 that a gunsmith is now bending the bolt and scoping for me but that is NOT MUCH FUN. I also just acquired a K98 action from gun broker and a K.Kale Turk. Please help me decide what to do next. I do not own a lathe and probably won't own one at least for the forseable future. I would like to rebarrel my rifles myself using short chambered barrels and finishing reamers with T handles.

I would like to eventually bend my own bolts but I do not know how steep the learning curve might be. I have been considering forging the bolts because the oxyacetilene torch process appears cheaper and easier to master than learning how to TIG weld. Then of course there is the option of buying a welding jig, cutting the bolt down myself and taking it to someone to weld it. I live in Miami so I guess it is a big enough place to find someone to do it.

I would like to learn how to do some basic stock inletting, glass bedding and pillar bedding. Lapping lugs I guess is easy enough to do with the correct fixtures. I don't know how the reciever can be trued without a lathe or if it is just better left alone, I keep hearing about "chasing the threads" until recently I did not understand ( and probably still don't) what that meant.

So in summary here is what I would like to do:

1)Learn some basic gunsmithing skills.

-Take off barrel

-Remove soft sodered sights from a barrel

-Grind down stripper clip hump

-Tap and drill reciever for scope.

-Lap lugs

-Rebarrel and headspace chaber with finishing reamer and T handle

2)Learn some basic stock working skills

-inlet stock blank

-Pillar bed action

End up with a rifle that and shoot 1 MOA at 100 yrds.

Do these sound like reasonable goals?

Thanks

JB