''grind to fit''bolt alteration

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ratherbefishin

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I am still trying to find a relatively simple solution to altering my Husky bolt[factory bent model] to accomodate a scope,without resorting to cutting/welding.
Checking out scopes,I find my Leopold compact scope is smaller in diameter than the regular full size ,and checking it against the bolt,it looks like grinding the bolt could make it fit-the military bolt is very substantial, and it looks like grinding a radius on the existing bend, and flattening out the top of the bolt handle would allow it to slip by a smaller diameter scope ,without unduely weakening the bolt,especially if mounted on medium high rings,without resorting to ''see through'' mounts.
Anybody else try this?
 
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grinding bolt

I did the same and ground a radius in my model 38 Husky bolt some years back. It cleared my Leupold 4x compact and was very usable without losing any strength. A little polish from the dremel with some compound and it looked really great too. Best advice is to go slowly, make even passes with the dremel and mark it out with a sharpie marker before you start. Best of luck.
 
I did mine with an 8' grinder, smoothed it up a bit with a dremel and sanding disc, and put a final polish on it with a polishing wheel. Much less trouble than fitting a new handle on it.
 
I did my Mauser bolt with the grinder. Just put the tool rest nice and level to the wheel and let the contour of the wheel make the indent in the bolt handle. With some patience and a little polishing it will look like a professional job.
 
what size rings did you go with?
I checked out the feasability of grinding the bolt with a gunsmith-and he said the military bolts are ''over engineered''anyway, so it looks to me I could remove enough metal to clear a smaller scope-either a compact or maybe an older fixed power .This is a Husky #96 chambered in 9.3x57-and the intention is to use it for moose and black bear-and I doubt if any of the shots will be over 100 yards.I got the rifle from Anthony at Tradex-it has an excellent bore,so far I have refinished the stock and maybe will put a crossbolt pin in it.But-it's just not worth spending $200 to cut/reweld the bolt so this has to be a home gunsmith job-and its kind of fun anyway.I like that idea of resting the bolt on the tool rest and let it cut in the radius on the bolt.Somewhere I saw an idea of polishing the bolt handle with a suction cup chucked into a drill and using valve grinding/polishing compound .

My other option was a holosight-but unless I went with a high end[meaning expensive] ecotech type -my concern would be being in the field and the fool thing malfunctioning just when I needed it
 
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did it-ground the bolt down to fit my other mauser with a compact scope on it,and once I finish filed it as well as flattening the bolt handle,then polished it with emery cloth,it looks good-too.
The only concern now is finding a scope with an eyepiece no greater diameter than 33 mm[the Leupold compact sized eyepiece]I need to check the older 2 1/2 x leupolds for eyepiece diameter-I think that would go nicely on this rifle[the compacts need an offset base to fit the longer reciever]
 
did it-ground the bolt down to fit my other mauser with a compact scope on it,and once I finish filed it as well as flattening the bolt handle,then polished it with emery cloth,it looks good-too.
The only concern now is finding a scope with an eyepiece no greater diameter than 33 mm[the Leupold compact sized eyepiece]I need to check the older 2 1/2 x leupolds for eyepiece diameter-I think that would go nicely on this rifle[the compacts need an offset base to fit the longer reciever]
 
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These Huskys are very nice rifles. I would rather have one of them then any new Remington, Winchester, Savage. They are an incredible value, but just because they are cheap doesn't mean you should not put a little money into them.

Any real gunsmith these days has a Tig welder. These enable very clean, minimum cleanup welds. A plain replacement bolt handle should not be $200.00 . A nice 3 panel checkered one will be $200.00 or more.

If you are cheap, have the original bolt handle reforged-bent. It looks much better than grinding a handle.
 
The bolt clears a compact scope now-I'd need another 1/8'' to enable it to clear a regular scope,and I'm not sure I want to take any more metal off-don't want to jeoprodise the strength.Got any links on reforging?
 
well its pretty well good to go-I ground and polished the bolt shank and flattened the ball both sides-rumaged around and found a set of medium rings and mounted my Leupold 2x7 scope-the bolt slides by with about 1/8'' to spare.No welding involved-just a couple of hours grinding,filing ,fitting and polishing.All I have to do now is grind the safety a bit to clear the underside of the scope.The stock was steamed and sanded and finished with watco oil and a good furniture polish.I'll need to use some cold blue to touch up the floor plate.Not too bad for a tradex Husqvarna-Anthony told me this was in''very good condition '' and the bore was ''excellent''-nice people to deal with
 
I spent yesterday afternoon with a file or two in hand and worked mine to where a K4 weaver with weaver high rings functions flawlessly, I know it doesnt look like much clearance but I've cycled it about a hundred times and it seems to work just fine.


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yeah, that looks pretty close to mine-except I rounded the sharp angle on the bend,then flattened both sides of the ball-finished it off with emery cloth.My 2x7 leupold is mounted on medium rings-the bolt slides by with clearance.The thing is, its just not worth spending $200 to get it altered,especialy when the bent bolt version can be ground to fit.Besides,I enjoyed messing around with it....
 
buckbrush said:
refordging requires fordging blocks. Brownells sells them
Click to expand...

It is not that hard to make a forging block up out of 3/4" plate if you can find a piece of scrap. Strip the bolt and fill the body with wet rags as well as wrapping the outside with wet rags. If the bolt is quite thick like on a swedish mauser, you can hacksaw down a short ways right where the bend starts then heat the bolt with a cutting torch and forge it to the new shape

cheers mooncoon
 
I can see that with a straight bolt,but having neither the equipment nor the skills,grinding a bolt is a viable option for those of us who don't have the confidence to tackle such a job-or are prepared to run the risk of ruining a bolt.I would try it if I had a spare parts bolt though.
 
I can see that with a straight bolt,but having neither the equipment nor the skills,grinding a bent bolt is a viable option for those of us who don't have the confidence to tackle such a job-or are prepared to run the risk of ruining a bolt.I would try it if I had a spare parts bolt though.
 
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