Bushing Bolt face?

[Dekker]

Is it possible to bushng a bolt face to a smaller size?
Example; Can you take a .308 Win bolt face and bushing it to a .223 Rem bolt face?

Thanks

 

[Kevin Cram]

Absolutely, Remove the original extractor and ejector. Set bolt up in the lathe with either a Labounty bolt fixture or a spud in the rear and a steady rest and dial it in true. Bore the bolt face out to .625" diameter but stay about .001" - .002" shy of the bolt face. Make yourself a bushing out of 12L14 steel that is .623" diameter and about .175" long with a .250" hole in the center. Clean the bushing and bolt face very well. I use STL 1205 Silver Braze from Brownells, it is a braze and flux paste. Put a little all the way around the outside of the bushing and set down in the bolt face. Heat with a propane torch until you see the paste turn to a lquid. It will bubble a little and then quit. Remove the heat and use a popsicle stick to hold the bushing down in place until the braze sets. Cool sowly under cold water. Re-set the bolt back up in the lathe and bore out for whatever bolt face diameter you need. You will then need to cut out for a sako or m16 style extractor. Sometimes the ejector hole will get semi covered by the bushing. Just set bolt up vertically in the sako extractor fixture and use a endmill to cut a small radius around the ejector for clearance. It's easier than it sounds once you've done a few.

 

[NesikaChad]

I've yet to use a lathe for this.

If you have a milling machine and it's square to the table, just clamp the bolt in a V block, sweep the face, and then bore to size. If you have CNC then its even less work (stored program. . .)

I know some will scoff at this but I've done a pile of bolts this way over the years and they all shot just fine. It's how Nesika bolts are manufactured in fact.

Just a thought. . .

 

[J E Custom]

Is it possible to bushng a bolt face to a smaller size?
Example; Can you take a .308 Win bolt face and bushing it to a .223 Rem bolt face?

Thanks

For people with access to all of the tools and the skills it is not a problem but to someone
that doesen't it can cost allmost as much as an after market bolt.

So if you can't do it your self then I would recomend a new bolt from someone like PTG.

Either way after the bolt is reinstalled it needs to be re headspaced to spec.

Just a thought

J E CUSTOM

 

[Kevin Cram]

Not totally true. I do Sako Extractor Convertions for $95 and I can increase, decrease or leave the same bolt face diameter with out changing the headspace. A new bolt from PTG is deffinately a good choice but not the least expensive way to go. $125 for a new PTG bolt and another $50 to have the handle installed plus another $50 for a PTG fire control. $225 vs $95 . I just put together a video of how I do a sako extractor installation. Look for it soon.

 

[Dekker]

Thanks for the very detailed replies, they were much appreciated.

David

 

[JayIdaho]

I made up a bunch of bushings from an old CrMo barrel. Tinned them on the o.d. with soft solder. Held the bolt in a home-made "LaBounty" fixture and bored the snout out on the lathe. Held bolt vertical in vise, put a small amount of acid on the freshly machined area, placed tinned bushing on the end of the bolt, heated until solder melted and gently pushed the bushing into place.
After machining the face and i.d. of the bushing and finishing the job, you can't see the joint line where the solder is on the bolt snout.
Whatever works.....