Gunsmithing pitted bolt face

[jr81452]

my search fu is weak today and i can't seem to find an answer.

I got a crappy lot of FGGM primers that are springing a leak at the cup fold in ~1/200. as a result I now have 3 gas cut pits (not huge, but annoying) in my bolt face. what is the best way to go about repairing them? Can they be filled or do i need to replace the bolt head?

thanks

 

[gamma]

Re: pitted bolt face

It might seem like a very small job to correct and it is but only in terms of size. It wouldnt be a major issue for an average gunsmith but its a relatively big job and theres a lot involved in getting right.

 

[Hateca]

Re: pitted bolt face

Or you could just leave it alone, it won't hurt a thing. There are lots of bolt out there that are gas etched from primer blow by for more then a few reasons.

 

[jr81452]

Re: pitted bolt face

so my concerns that the pits leave a place for even good primers to expand into and weaken are unjustified? i'm not talking a primer blow-bye ring, i'm talking 3 distinct pits that are about .050" Dia. and .025" deep.

 

[hesco]

Re: pitted bolt face

Have a 700 with the same dz, got them from loose primer pockets in rem brass, doesnt hurt anything but looks like azz best way i can figure to fix it is get a new bolt body, or tig weld the spots and grind it back down.

 

[308sako]

Re: pitted bolt face

deleted in protest!

 

[DAVETOOLEY]

Re: pitted bolt face

There is no safety issue. You can have them tig welded and then machine the bolt face and it will look better than new.
I've had that done several times when bad lots of primers get out.

 

[19Scout77]

Re: pitted bolt face

Just an idea, but if the pits are close enough to the firing pin hole, send the bolt off to Gre-tan and have the firing pin turned down and the bolt bushed. It'll cost around $60--probably less than fixing the bolt face.

If the pitting is confined to the area drilled out and replaced with the bushing then you should be GTG.

 

[Clark]

Re: pitted bolt face

I have not been through this with Rem700s, but I have with 98 Mausers.

"The Mauser Bolt Actions: M91 Through M98, A Shop Manual" is a Book by Jerry Kuhnhausen.

There are too many things wrong with the book to list all of them, but a big one is advocating facing off the bolt face if it is pitted.

Don't do it.
There are no practical reasons to do it, only cosmetics.
There are lots of practical reasons not to do it, including changing the extractor to bolt face distance.