Broken bolt handle

[DANS40X]

Well i tigged the bolt and handle back together. I took some material off the bac to get better penitration and drilled 2 holes in the handle where it contacts the bolt for some more penitration. I kept the bolt face cool with a wet rag and made sure to cool it off between each weld.
It burnt the slightest bit of cerekote near the weld and thats it.
Over 500 rounds through it now and not a hiccough.

OP,
Filler TIG weld.
looks more like pigeon #### weld.

 

[stevesummit]

Since we installed that bolt knob, and there seem to be mixed reviews on what should be and shouldnt be done. Bolt knob installs are done ALOT buy literally hundreds of smiths without any issues. While the metal of the Remington bolt is certainly poorer quality, it is also identifiable when machining the handle down. You will also note how nicely the knobs are blended out to the existing bolt handle without a large transition like some other bolts shown on this forum. That being said, there is also economics to be considered. Most folks want to do a bolt knob for the increased ergonomics, leverage and just plain old cosmetics. We can certainly re-time a factory bolt, bush a bolt, replace a remington bolt, but the real question becomes why? Why spend the same amount of money on a Remington that you could put into a real custom action? If your going to put $700-1000 of labour and parts into a Remington, doesnt it make more sense to spend $1200-1700 and just get a superior action to begin with?

And of all the remingtons we have trued and handled, only two NEEDED to be re-timed. Some services are being SOLD to you. Some are necessary.

Cheers fellas

 

[gunrunner8]

While the metal of the Remington bolt is certainly poorer quality, it is also identifiable when machining the handle down. We can certainly re-time a factory bolt, bush a bolt, replace a remington bolt, but the real question becomes why? Why spend the same amount of money on a Remington that you could put into a real custom action? If your going to put $700-1000 of labour and parts into a Remington, doesnt it make more sense to spend $1200-1700 and just get a superior action to begin with?
And of all the remingtons we have trued and handled, only two NEEDED to be re-timed. Some services are being SOLD to you. Some are necessary.

Cheers fellas

Totally agree with you.
I wouldn't be surprised knowing bean counters at Remington that their ("ordinance") steel is sourced in China for the lowest cost possible.
Rebuilding Remington actions doesn't make sense at all, the end result is still going to be inferior compared to even cheapest custom action.

 

[DANS40X]

Since we installed that bolt knob, and there seem to be mixed reviews on what should be and shouldnt be done. Bolt knob installs are done ALOT buy literally hundreds of smiths without any issues. While the metal of the Remington bolt is certainly poorer quality, it is also identifiable when machining the handle down. You will also note how nicely the knobs are blended out to the existing bolt handle without a large transition like some other bolts shown on this forum. That being said, there is also economics to be considered. Most folks want to do a bolt knob for the increased ergonomics, leverage and just plain old cosmetics. We can certainly re-time a factory bolt, bush a bolt, replace a remington bolt, but the real question becomes why? Why spend the same amount of money on a Remington that you could put into a real custom action? If your going to put $700-1000 of labour and parts into a Remington, doesnt it make more sense to spend $1200-1700 and just get a superior action to begin with?

And of all the remingtons we have trued and handled, only two NEEDED to be re-timed. Some services are being SOLD to you. Some are necessary.

Cheers fellas

With more experience, you will find that any Remington is .060" to .180" OUT of TIME for primary extraction & NO baseball bat tactikool knob extension will compensate for that discrepancy.
Once an action has been trued/molested the clearances do not get reduced.
Positioning the bolt handle closer to the receiver is 1 part of the 5 part equation to TIME a bolt handle.

 

[guntech]

With more experience, you will find that any Remington is .060" to .180" OUT of TIME for primary extraction & NO baseball bat tactikool knob extension will compensate for that discrepancy.
Once an action has been trued/molested the clearances do not get reduced.
Positioning the bolt handle closer to the receiver is 1 part of the 5 part equation to TIME a bolt handle.

You can use wire feeler gauges and place them in the initial extraction cam area to see how much 'slop' there is. The bolt lift will bind when too large of a gauge is used ... it's too bad there isn't an easier fix than to move the bolt handle. (Yeah I know it is easy for you Dan)

 

[gunrunner8]

May oh may...
Where are the real guardians and propagators of Rem m 700 rifles go in this thread.
Usually it goes like this;

-Rem mod 700 action is the best invention since sliced bread....
-Rem mod 700 action is the safest in the World and three rings of steel will contain hydrogen bomb explosion....
-Rem mod 700 action is so precious that is worth its weight in gold and then some more....
-etc, etc, etc....

 

[tiriaq]

I made up a complete bitser of a M700ADL in .30-06. Barrel, walnut stock, receiver, bolt body all from different rifles. Bolt handle had been torn off. That is, the saddle was snapped. Absolute brute force, this wasn't a failed factory braze job. I retro fitted a Brownells universal handle - the one with the Ruger 77 styled profile. The saddle on these is blank, so it was necessary to do a bit of sawing and filing to create the cam. Fitted the thing closely. As soon as the locking lugs are able to move rearward ever so slightly, the camming surfaces are starting to engage. Close to 100% cam surface contact. Lapped the camming surfaces to fit. I used Brownells paste silver braze to attach the handle. Made a jig to clamp the handle in place while heating. The rifle shoots really well.

 

[Hitzy]

I made up a complete bitser of a M700ADL in .30-06. Barrel, walnut stock, receiver, bolt body all from different rifles. Bolt handle had been torn off. That is, the saddle was snapped. Absolute brute force, this wasn't a failed factory braze job. I retro fitted a Brownells universal handle - the one with the Ruger 77 styled profile. The saddle on these is blank, so it was necessary to do a bit of sawing and filing to create the cam. Fitted the thing closely. As soon as the locking lugs are able to move rearward ever so slightly, the camming surfaces are starting to engage. Close to 100% cam surface contact. Lapped the camming surfaces to fit. I used Brownells paste silver braze to attach the handle. Made a jig to clamp the handle in place while heating. The rifle shoots really well.

View attachment 255361
View attachment 255362

Now that looks like a finely done job.
On a side note, I had an HVA front sight fall off, local smith just clamped and heated it back on and no issues, as mentioned above, sometimes the solder isn't heated enough for a solid bond when installed at the factory.

 

[Meroh]

OP,
Filler TIG weld.
looks more like pigeon #### weld.

Haven't done much Tig Welding I take it. It is a real balancing act; bolt handle is thicker than the wall of the bolt. Looks to me like the heat was about right for the bolt body, and a bit low for the bolt handle. If you set the heat for the thicker bolt, there is the risk of undercutting too much of the bolt body. It's easier to work down a weld than to weld up a blow-out on the inside of a tube. Err on the side of caution reduces the need to throw the whole thing in the scrap-bin.

 

[Leeper]

Although Dan does posess a fairly abrasive online personality at times, he does know TIG welding and does a very nice job of it. His less than constructive criticism of a less experienced person's work is uncalled for but that's just his way.

 

[Shooter1971]

Dan did one for me many years ago. Best Id ever seen. Price was great too. Can we still ship em to Alaska?

 

[Buckmastr]

Nice work Tiriaq.
Way better than Accu-tig!