I got my gun back from the smith Friday. It's a savage and I got an aftermarket barrel for it. The smith threaded the barrel for a brake, put the new barrel back on, and blasted it all down so I could paint it. Well, I spent 8 hours on Saturday prepping, painting, and baking the barreled action with Cerakote. I put it back in the stock today and went to chamber a round that I had loaded up when the old barrel was on and the fucking case got stuck in the chamber. I had to beat the bolt with a hammer to get it to eject the case. Undoubtedly the smith didn't headspace the thing when he put the barrel back on. I am going to call him first thing in the morning and talk to him but wanted to get yall's opinions first. When he puts the action wrench on the barrel, I know it's going to screw my perfect looking paint job up( that he charges 200 bucks to do). Should he be responsible for repainting the action and barrel when he fixes the headspacing problem? I'm so pissed I'm not even going to be able to sleep tonight. It's 120 miles round trip to take the gun back to him and I got to take time off work to get it there.
Gunsmithing Gunsmithing Question
- Thread starter jsthntn247
- Start date
Re: Gunsmithing Question
Hopefully when he hears about what happened he will try to compensate for his mistake and work with you through the problem. Definitely sucks man, good luck with it.
Hopefully when he hears about what happened he will try to compensate for his mistake and work with you through the problem. Definitely sucks man, good luck with it.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
It might not be his fault at all. I don't ever plan on running handloads from a factory headspaced rifle and then try running them in a better chamber. Your factory chamber was probably out of round and/or longer than you new chamber. Try some new brass before you chew the guys ass.
It might not be his fault at all. I don't ever plan on running handloads from a factory headspaced rifle and then try running them in a better chamber. Your factory chamber was probably out of round and/or longer than you new chamber. Try some new brass before you chew the guys ass.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jsthntn247</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Well, I spent 8 hours on Saturday prepping, painting, and baking the barreled action with Cerakote. I put it back in the stock today and went to chamber a round that I had loaded up when the old barrel was on and the fucking case got stuck in the chamber. I had to beat the bolt with a hammer to get it to eject the case. </div></div>
Did the round fit before you did all the work on the paint job?
Did everything work OK when you checked it for function before leaving his shop with it?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jsthntn247</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Well, I spent 8 hours on Saturday prepping, painting, and baking the barreled action with Cerakote. I put it back in the stock today and went to chamber a round that I had loaded up when the old barrel was on and the fucking case got stuck in the chamber. I had to beat the bolt with a hammer to get it to eject the case. </div></div>
Did the round fit before you did all the work on the paint job?
Did everything work OK when you checked it for function before leaving his shop with it?
Re: Gunsmithing Question
It could be that your reloads are not sized properly, will it chamber a factory ctg. O.K.
It could be that your reloads are not sized properly, will it chamber a factory ctg. O.K.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
It's probably not the smiths fault. He probably just cut a tighter chamber than you had previously. I'll bet it is headspaced correctly. Try putting a new piece of brass in the rifle and see if it still sticks. (one that has never been reloaded).
It's probably not the smiths fault. He probably just cut a tighter chamber than you had previously. I'll bet it is headspaced correctly. Try putting a new piece of brass in the rifle and see if it still sticks. (one that has never been reloaded).
Re: Gunsmithing Question
My reloads have been fully FL resized and trimmed and are loaded to sammi specs of 3.290. Here is a picture of the brass that came out. I don't have any factory ammo to try but they arn't going to work because I can push the brass in with my finger and it stops about half a finger with short of going in the chamber.
My reloads have been fully FL resized and trimmed and are loaded to sammi specs of 3.290. Here is a picture of the brass that came out. I don't have any factory ammo to try but they arn't going to work because I can push the brass in with my finger and it stops about half a finger with short of going in the chamber.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: beanland</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It's probably not the smiths fault. He probably just cut a tighter chamber than you had previously. I'll bet it is headspaced correctly. Try putting a new piece of brass in the rifle and see if it still sticks. (one that has never been reloaded). </div></div>
He didn't cut the chamber, I was a pre fit barrel. If it came from the factory out of whack, wouldn't he have known that when he put the go/no-go gauge in there?
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: beanland</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It's probably not the smiths fault. He probably just cut a tighter chamber than you had previously. I'll bet it is headspaced correctly. Try putting a new piece of brass in the rifle and see if it still sticks. (one that has never been reloaded). </div></div>
He didn't cut the chamber, I was a pre fit barrel. If it came from the factory out of whack, wouldn't he have known that when he put the go/no-go gauge in there?
Re: Gunsmithing Question
Try cleaning the Chamber and Barrel may have some residual Blasting grit/media in there.
Try cleaning the Chamber and Barrel may have some residual Blasting grit/media in there.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
Just cleaned the chamber and barrel thoroughly. I'm still .152 from my bolt closing.
Just cleaned the chamber and barrel thoroughly. I'm still .152 from my bolt closing.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jsthntn247</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: beanland</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It's probably not the smiths fault. He probably just cut a tighter chamber than you had previously. I'll bet it is headspaced correctly. Try putting a new piece of brass in the rifle and see if it still sticks. (one that has never been reloaded). </div></div>
He didn't cut the chamber, I was a pre fit barrel. If it came from the factory out of whack, wouldn't he have known that when he put the go/no-go gauge in there? </div></div>
not necessarily. headspace gauges gauge the distance between the bolt face and the shoulder. they don't gauge the diameter of the chamber.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jsthntn247</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: beanland</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It's probably not the smiths fault. He probably just cut a tighter chamber than you had previously. I'll bet it is headspaced correctly. Try putting a new piece of brass in the rifle and see if it still sticks. (one that has never been reloaded). </div></div>
He didn't cut the chamber, I was a pre fit barrel. If it came from the factory out of whack, wouldn't he have known that when he put the go/no-go gauge in there? </div></div>
not necessarily. headspace gauges gauge the distance between the bolt face and the shoulder. they don't gauge the diameter of the chamber.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
The best thing to do is keep a cool head, give your smith a call and just ask him what his thoughts are. There is no sense in jumping to conclusions before you even talk to him. If there is a problem that it could have been a problem on his part I'm sure he would be more than happy to take care of things. Going on a public forum and ranting with only 50% of the story is starting to become a problem on this website.
Mark
The best thing to do is keep a cool head, give your smith a call and just ask him what his thoughts are. There is no sense in jumping to conclusions before you even talk to him. If there is a problem that it could have been a problem on his part I'm sure he would be more than happy to take care of things. Going on a public forum and ranting with only 50% of the story is starting to become a problem on this website.
Mark
Re: Gunsmithing Question
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: M.Gordon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The best thing to do is keep a cool head, give your smith a call and just ask him what his thoughts are. There is no sense in jumping to conclusions before you even talk to him. If there is a problem that it could have been a problem on his part I'm sure he would be more than happy to take care of things. Going on a public forum and ranting with only 50% of the story is starting to become a problem on this website.
Mark </div></div>
Not trying to bust his balls on an open forum(havn't mentioned any names). Just trying to figure out if this is the case then what would be the appropriate measures to take. Granted I was a little hot last night after I worked on this thing all weekend, but I have calmed down now and am going to call him this morning and see what he thinks could have happened.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: M.Gordon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The best thing to do is keep a cool head, give your smith a call and just ask him what his thoughts are. There is no sense in jumping to conclusions before you even talk to him. If there is a problem that it could have been a problem on his part I'm sure he would be more than happy to take care of things. Going on a public forum and ranting with only 50% of the story is starting to become a problem on this website.
Mark </div></div>
Not trying to bust his balls on an open forum(havn't mentioned any names). Just trying to figure out if this is the case then what would be the appropriate measures to take. Granted I was a little hot last night after I worked on this thing all weekend, but I have calmed down now and am going to call him this morning and see what he thinks could have happened.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jsthntn247</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Granted I was a little hot last night after I <span style="font-weight: bold">worked on this thing all weekend</span>, but I have calmed down now and am going to call him this morning and see what he thinks could have happened. </div></div>
That was something that was mentioned many times by our instructors.
Make sure the gun shoot, feeds, etc. <span style="font-weight: bold">before you do anything</span> to make it pretty.
I hope it turns out to be something simple that can be touched up in the chamber with a hand reamer to avoid having to remove the barrel.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jsthntn247</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Granted I was a little hot last night after I <span style="font-weight: bold">worked on this thing all weekend</span>, but I have calmed down now and am going to call him this morning and see what he thinks could have happened. </div></div>
That was something that was mentioned many times by our instructors.
Make sure the gun shoot, feeds, etc. <span style="font-weight: bold">before you do anything</span> to make it pretty.
I hope it turns out to be something simple that can be touched up in the chamber with a hand reamer to avoid having to remove the barrel.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
That ctg. in the pic. looks like the chamber may have been cut with an axe.
That ctg. in the pic. looks like the chamber may have been cut with an axe.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
Those scratches on the brass more than likely are from residue media as mentioned before. Give the guy who did the work a chance to fix it. Everyone without exception makes mistakes some where along the line. I agree with Mark in that asking the guys on here who haven't even seen the rifle to tell you what's wrong with it based on an explanation is not the best way to get it fixed. Now looking at it from your side, I understand your frustration, because I've been there. If you don't mind, please share with us what the problem/fix is when you know. Good luck.
Those scratches on the brass more than likely are from residue media as mentioned before. Give the guy who did the work a chance to fix it. Everyone without exception makes mistakes some where along the line. I agree with Mark in that asking the guys on here who haven't even seen the rifle to tell you what's wrong with it based on an explanation is not the best way to get it fixed. Now looking at it from your side, I understand your frustration, because I've been there. If you don't mind, please share with us what the problem/fix is when you know. Good luck.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
Just a though after looking at the picture of your cartridge/brass.
From looking at the brass, it looks like there were chips in the chamber that scratched the brass on the way in and out.
Also, a chip or chip weld on the chamber reamer while reaming the chamber would leave a circular tear. Your brass looks like you scratched it from something in the chamber while pushing the case in and pulling it out based on the direction of the scratches or tears.
Again, just an observation from the pic.
Also, I just noticed that you still can't close after cleaning. Is this with a new case or the scratched case? The scratches or tears could be restricting your cartridge from chambering.
Just a though after looking at the picture of your cartridge/brass.
From looking at the brass, it looks like there were chips in the chamber that scratched the brass on the way in and out.
Also, a chip or chip weld on the chamber reamer while reaming the chamber would leave a circular tear. Your brass looks like you scratched it from something in the chamber while pushing the case in and pulling it out based on the direction of the scratches or tears.
Again, just an observation from the pic.
Also, I just noticed that you still can't close after cleaning. Is this with a new case or the scratched case? The scratches or tears could be restricting your cartridge from chambering.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
Turns out the chamber was full of blasting media. After that was cleaned out, it still wouldn't chamber my old reloads but would chamber factory ammo. Is there anything I can do to the reloads and 100 pieces of once fired brass I have. Would a collet or body die work or should I just scrap these and get new brass? I really appreciate all the replies to this post guys, yall are a big help.
Turns out the chamber was full of blasting media. After that was cleaned out, it still wouldn't chamber my old reloads but would chamber factory ammo. Is there anything I can do to the reloads and 100 pieces of once fired brass I have. Would a collet or body die work or should I just scrap these and get new brass? I really appreciate all the replies to this post guys, yall are a big help.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
Will your once-fired empty brass chamber? I'm guessing it won't if the loaded round brass was sized the same way.
Adjust your FL die as tight as it will go against your shell holder and size a piece of the once-fired empty brass, and then try it in the chamber. If it fits, just resize all your brass again.
On your loaded ammo, you could pull all the bullets, remove the decapping assembly from the FL die, and resize the loaded brass and re-seat the bullets.
No use to waste good brass if you don't have to. If you get it to fit and fire one time in the new chamber, you should be able to go back to your loading procedures you were using with the factory chamber.
Will your once-fired empty brass chamber? I'm guessing it won't if the loaded round brass was sized the same way.
Adjust your FL die as tight as it will go against your shell holder and size a piece of the once-fired empty brass, and then try it in the chamber. If it fits, just resize all your brass again.
On your loaded ammo, you could pull all the bullets, remove the decapping assembly from the FL die, and resize the loaded brass and re-seat the bullets.
No use to waste good brass if you don't have to. If you get it to fit and fire one time in the new chamber, you should be able to go back to your loading procedures you were using with the factory chamber.
Re: Gunsmithing Question
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jsthntn247</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: M.Gordon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The best thing to do is keep a cool head, give your smith a call and just ask him what his thoughts are. There is no sense in jumping to conclusions before you even talk to him. If there is a problem that it could have been a problem on his part I'm sure he would be more than happy to take care of things. Going on a public forum and ranting with only 50% of the story is starting to become a problem on this website.
Mark </div></div>
Not trying to bust his balls on an open forum(havn't mentioned any names). Just trying to figure out if this is the case then what would be the appropriate measures to take. Granted I was a little hot last night after I worked on this thing all weekend, but I have calmed down now and am going to call him this morning and see what he thinks could have happened. </div></div>
No worries, I just want to make sure this was not tuning into a witch hunt or anything.
That sucks about the media, the brass is softer than the media and hopefully would have absorbed the majority of the scratches.
Mark
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jsthntn247</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: M.Gordon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The best thing to do is keep a cool head, give your smith a call and just ask him what his thoughts are. There is no sense in jumping to conclusions before you even talk to him. If there is a problem that it could have been a problem on his part I'm sure he would be more than happy to take care of things. Going on a public forum and ranting with only 50% of the story is starting to become a problem on this website.
Mark </div></div>
Not trying to bust his balls on an open forum(havn't mentioned any names). Just trying to figure out if this is the case then what would be the appropriate measures to take. Granted I was a little hot last night after I worked on this thing all weekend, but I have calmed down now and am going to call him this morning and see what he thinks could have happened. </div></div>
No worries, I just want to make sure this was not tuning into a witch hunt or anything.
That sucks about the media, the brass is softer than the media and hopefully would have absorbed the majority of the scratches.
Mark
Re: Gunsmithing Question
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hdbiker1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't know if you'd want to, but I would just run the loaded ammo and then your brass through a body die. I had to do it to 400 rounds of .223 once. </div></div>
I thought about ordering one of those Larry Willis collet dies for magnum cases. That thing is 100 bucks though, I could get 60 pieces of Norma brass for that(if I could ever find it). I could always use the die for my 257 Wea cases though.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hdbiker1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I don't know if you'd want to, but I would just run the loaded ammo and then your brass through a body die. I had to do it to 400 rounds of .223 once. </div></div>
I thought about ordering one of those Larry Willis collet dies for magnum cases. That thing is 100 bucks though, I could get 60 pieces of Norma brass for that(if I could ever find it). I could always use the die for my 257 Wea cases though.
