Bolt Jewelling

It is simple to do with the right equipment....takes time though. And if you mess up you CAN just polish the jewels off and start over....functional jeweling however is another story. Functional jeweling leaves dents in the surface and is more permenent.
With a dividing head and tail stock it is realatively simple to zero a piece and line up in the mill. The devil is in the details and the time.
 
When I make the jig I'll incorporate a way so I can index the bolt equally all around. It shouldn't be too hard overall.
 
Back in the day a neighbourhood gunsmith showed me how he jeweled a bolt using a drill press, a cross slide press with lead pencils chucked in the drill with the eraser end out and used valve grinding compound as the abrasive agent. It did a respectable looking job.
 
A gear works good if making your own, pick one that will devide into 16 or 18 as this is common rotational spacing for jeweling bolts. A ready made spindex and tail-stock works good too. This is only half the battle as you also need to longdatudinally index exacting distances (half the diameter of the jewel is standard). Then you must mount the bolt on the index concentriclly and not allow it to turn durring the process. It can be done but it takes some know how.....or you could just pay Elwood Epps $75 to have your bolt jeweled
 
If its only $75.00 Epps may just get to do it. I love making stuff in the shop when it warms up a bit, but sometimes its just not worth the bother. Its something to think about for sure.
 
I made my own years ago using a 2" diameter 12 tooth gear for indexing. Steel flat bar frame with an adjustable center for the other end.

Beyond some test runs on scrap (worked great!) I never did use it, I saw no point in bolt jeweling other than if an action wasn't slick enough (mine were) or oil retention.

I think it's a blast from the past.
 
Functional jeweling traps oil and slicks the action. Visual jeweling not so much. The action is slicker because of the high degree of polishing but the scratches in the swirls are so minute and so shallow they don't really hold any appreciable amount of lubrication. What they do is confuse the eye a disguise any minute scratches that form when working a highly polished bolt in a receiver. A mirror finish shows scratches immediately! Just park both a new vehicle and an old clunker on either side of the cart depot at the mall and you will see what I mean.
 
Magellann said:
If its only $75.00 Epps may just get to do it. I love making stuff in the shop when it warms up a bit, but sometimes its just not worth the bother. Its something to think about for sure.
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+ taxes.....can not attest to how thouroughly they jewel the bolt. Manufactures typically only jewel what you see. The back and bottom of the bolt are often left naked. I would pressume Epps does better than manufactures specks...but I could be wrong. Ask as they are a site sponsor
 
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Bolt jeweling is not rocket science, merely marking metal in a uniform design.

Years ago I jeweled a few bolts just for my own enjoyment and now wish I had saved some of the guns I did...but didn't...

The first one I tried without an "indexable" jig... unsatisfactory results & ended up doing it over again. For the next ones I built an indexer, I used an old typewriter from a thrift store. I removed the main body and just used the carriage parts, worked perfect, it would index very precise movements, both radially and longitudinally. The pattern could be a very fine spacing with only one notch of movement or widened by multiple notch's.

The indexer was mounted on a very plain drill press that was used to turn the cutting tool. The type of tool and amount of drill press quill pressure could also be used to change the pattern shape/size. Even 1/2 swirl patters are a possibility by moving the indexer on the press table so the quill drops the tool to the 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock part of the bolt, only engaging 1/2 the cutter. With this cheap indexer & plain press, I found that dozens of pattern variations are possible.

The cutting tools I liked best have already been mentioned...the small stainless steel Dremmel tool brushes (again, quill pressure will flare the brush hairs out to increase size or regulate amount of center/outer edge cutting). The second best I found (although you go thru a lot of them if using much pressure) is the pencil with eraser on the end and dipped in valve grinding compound.

The secret to pleasing work is equal movements and pressures with every cut...no exceptions.
 
Feller said:
If a bolt comes from factory jeweled, is it for function or cosmetic?
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Cosmetic....unless the factory is H&H or someone similar
Functional jeweling can be felt as minute dimples through your finger tips. The function being similar to fluteing. My M70 had cosmetic jewels from winchester. Now it has 3x as meany functional ones
 
fingers284 said:
Bolt jeweling is not rocket science, merely marking metal in a uniform design.

Years ago I jeweled a few bolts just for my own enjoyment and now wish I had saved some of the guns I did...but didn't...

The first one I tried without an "indexable" jig... unsatisfactory results & ended up doing it over again. For the next ones I built an indexer, I used an old typewriter from a thrift store. I removed the main body and just used the carriage parts, worked perfect, it would index very precise movements, both radially and longitudinally. The pattern could be a very fine spacing with only one notch of movement or widened by multiple notch's.

The indexer was mounted on a very plain drill press that was used to turn the cutting tool. The type of tool and amount of drill press quill pressure could also be used to change the pattern shape/size. Even 1/2 swirl patters are a possibility by moving the indexer on the press table so the quill drops the tool to the 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock part of the bolt, only engaging 1/2 the cutter. With this cheap indexer & plain press, I found that dozens of pattern variations are possible.

The cutting tools I liked best have already been mentioned...the small stainless steel Dremmel tool brushes (again, quill pressure will flare the brush hairs out to increase size or regulate amount of center/outer edge cutting). The second best I found (although you go thru a lot of them if using much pressure) is the pencil with eraser on the end and dipped in valve grinding compound.

The secret to pleasing work is equal movements and pressures with every cut...no exceptions.
Click to expand...

A typewriter! what a novel idea.....and you could even stamp etching masks presumeably directly to the part with the right plasticized ink ribbon....if raised lettering was called for.....hmm you've given me an idea.
Immagine a makers name, calibur , and gun model...or some other inscription typed again and again and again on a piece then lightly etched arround the letters leaving them as a raised surface. It would work like functional jeweling but look very different........hmm....
 
ciphery said:
A typewriter! what a novel idea.....and you could even stamp etching masks presumeably directly to the part with the right plasticized ink ribbon....if raised lettering was called for.....hmm you've given me an idea.
Immagine a makers name, calibur , and gun model...or some other inscription typed again and again and again on a piece then lightly etched arround the letters leaving them as a raised surface. It would work like functional jeweling but look very different........hmm....
Click to expand...

Quite simple to use/build as it sound like you want the strikers left intact. I didn't want all that extra bulk to contend with on the press table so I removed everything that wasn't required for space bar/carriage movement from the base. The only thing that took any time was removing the paper roll and replacing with a centering pin for the firing pin end/hole and a clamp affair for the bolt handle end.

A couple of mods were planned for the machine at one time but were never done. I wanted to make it so I could move 1/2 increments. I would have had to make adjustable notch catches for the indexing notches with 1/2 the distance movements that were allowed by the original catches. I can remember thinking and studying what would be needed and it appeared to be very easily done on the machine I had.

I have had 3 shop moves since I built the thing and can't find it anymore... &^%$#
 
I simply don't have the skill / ability / patience to do this, and I know if i got the jig I would make a hash of it!

Is there anyone who would recommend a gunsmith who does this sort of work to a good standard? My two local smith's don't do this sort of work anymore.

Candocad.
 
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