Lathe Jig for Badger bolt handle?

[EXPRESS]

I saw a picture of a simple jig that held a rifle bolt for turning the existing knob down for threading to take the badger knob.
Can anyone direct me to it?
Thanks.

 

[EXPRESS]

I found the pic, but now, looking at it, it seems like it might be a bit harder to build than I thought.

How to you get it so that the bolt handle spins concentricly?

I am very new to machining, and this is one of the first projects I am looking at doing.
What rpm would you use with so much of the bolt flying around? That jig will have to take a lot of stress with the centrifigul force generated, even at a couple of hundred rpm? no?

Thanks.

By jomas at 2007-08-01

 

[James Jones]

That jig actualy woulden't be that hard to build if you have a mill that the vise will "pan" so that the angle will be cut correctly.

I have done a few bolts of my own and I use a couple small V-blocks placed on opposite sides so it makes a V-block vise per say and that is clamped in a vise that if filled to a rotorary index table , I then use a small carbide mill to cut the diameter down to the correct size , it all sounds very complicated but once your vice is centered to the table and the table is dialed in it just takes a little playing with the bolt in the vise to get it angled right.
That lathe setup would work ALOT faster though.

I talked to Chris Mathews about putting on badger bolt knobs and he used a hollow , or inside mill which is a very expensive tool.

If sombody has made several of these holders it may be worth the call to see if you can just buy one.

 

[James Jones]

OH YEA , and on the RPM deal in the lathe , yes at higer RPM you will probably get a good bit of vibration especialy if the lathe is small but you could get away with making the cuts at 100 RPM or so just slow your tool speed way down , it'll take longer but it'll be worth it in a quality job and hell once the jig is setup you can single point the threads for a realy nice job.

 

[Sighter]

I am not much help with the lathe jig but have done a bunch of these on my mill.

I built a jig from two pieces of oak with a diagonal slot milled in each to hold the bolt at the correct angle in my mill vice. I use a 5/16" hollow mill. I found the mills on ebay after a lot of looking, had to buy a lot of four assorted mills to get the 5/16, but they were not too expensive. I mount the hollow mill in one of my large end mill holders.

A high quality 5/16 x 24 die is also needed, those bolts are pretty hard. I use the mill to manually apply downward pressure on the manual die and holder to get the threads started and then work slowly with lubricant.

This method leaves the entire length of the bolt handle through the knob to attach the Badger. There is a little fudge room to angle the knob for and aft and also the end length of the final bolt knob position. The same jig can do short and long action Remingtons.

Here is one I did with a teardrop Holland knob:

http://www.wassdesign.com/bo/PSS/PSS 2.JPG

 

[specweldtom]

Express; either way you go, you will need a milling machine. James Jones' method would be quick to set up for a once-in-awhile installation. Sighter's would be better if you do very many of them, and once built, the lathe jig would be the best and quickest overall.

I've thought about the possibility of doing a one time job by hand. It would be possible to hog off most of the knob on a grinder and very very carefully finish up the major diameter with a belt grinder and a file, stopping a lot to caliper the diameter, concentricity, and to avoid tapering the tenon. Getting a true start on the threading die wouldn't be easy, either, but with a die stock and a lot of care, it could be done. No matter how careful you are though, it wouldn't be as good as doing it in a machine.

Good luck, Tom

 

[James Jones]

the bolt handels I have done were all very hard material and I'm sure that this Lathe jig would be the way to go , although I have never used ahollow mill for this type of job. The only thing I don't like about the job does on the mill is tapping the handle with a die , its very hard to get it started strait and get good results when done by hand , I made a jig to hold the die nut in the mill so that its all being held in the same axis and their is not much setup after the handle is turned down. I haven't use the mill to run the nut yet because my jig has a handle so that it can be turned by hand , kinda gives you a feel for it.

I'd like to talk to the guy that made that jig to either get his info so I can make my own or buy one from him, unfortunatly I don't have any factory Rem bolt here.