How do I get my new bolt to run smooth and slick?

[ninner]

I have used pearl drops also but have not seen it in years. That stuff was pretty good at getting coffee stains off your teeth too.

It’s still available on Amazon


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[loveha]

Polished my action with Cratex tips that go on a Dremel. Also some compound on a fleece wheel works as well. The sky is the limit when it comes to polishing an action. Just don't be dumb about it and take your time.

[Texas10]

Haven't heard back from Savage yet, but decided to shoot it today. I disassembled everything and clamped the action in a vise (with MDF blocks to protect it). I then milled a bar out of Hickory which matches the lug profiles perfectly, but about .002 small to make room for sand paper. I wrapped it in 600 grit wet or dry paper, then used some WD-40 to lubricate it. I ran the bar back and forth across the race ways to polish them a bit (staying away from the lug surfaces near the chamber). Cleaned everything up, greased the bolt, and put it back together. Bolt runs smooth as silk now, and everything functions perfectly. The deeper of the tooling marks are still visible, but no longer can be felt. I shot the rifle this afternoon, and brand new with cheap Winchester 125 grain White box ammo it is shooting 1/2 MOA. So, now I must decide if I am better off with cosmetic defects on the inside of the action of a gun which shoots great, or if I want to take my chances with a replacement.

You did exactly the right thing by sanding. Now all you have to do is apply cold bluing and you'll never see the repair. The groove on the ejector side is also a problem. I suspect they sped up their EDM process to meet production goals. My BVSS is silky smooth, so they can indeed do a good job when they want to.

[ninner]

You did exactly the right thing by sanding. Now all you have to do is apply cold bluing and you'll never see the repair. The groove on the ejector side is also a problem. I suspect they sped up their EDM process to meet production goals. My BVSS is silky smooth, so they can indeed do a good job when they want to.

I’m sure they are cut on a cnc a dull tool and poor qc look exactly like that.


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[Robinhood]

It’s still available on Amazon


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cool

[tobnpr]

So, now I must decide if I am better off with cosmetic defects on the inside of the action of a gun which shoots great, or if I want to take my chances with a replacement.

Is this really something you actually need to think about?

That is not an EDM surface finish in the pictures. Way too rough, and linear- which is a dead giveaway to a machining (broaching) process.

[Steeltrap]

Accuracy always outweighs pretty.

[Dave Hoback]

If it helps any, I never give a thought to interior cosmetics. Function is the only main concern. Then outward appearance when first criteria is satisfied 100%. Anything on the inside comes if A: it doesn’t affect the other concerns, & B: I can easily take care of it. NO, I would not send a decent functioning rifle back because of interior cosmetics.

[Robinhood]

Is this really something you actually need to think about?

That is not an EDM surface finish in the pictures. Way too rough, and linear- which is a dead giveaway to a machining (broaching) process.

Bingo!

Cleaning up the rough machining in the raceway absolutely helps Savage's models that are machined with older tooling. I have loaned my diamond hones out so much I had to replace my red one with a coarser blue one due to the grit wearing off of the metal. A hint to help get the whole raceway done is to use the eraser end of a pencil to work the hone back and forth applying pressure more to the rear or the front as needed.

[bassnailer]

If it helps any, I never give a thought to interior cosmetics. Function is the only main concern. Then outward appearance when first criteria is satisfied 100%. Anything on the inside comes if A: it doesn’t affect the other concerns, & B: I can easily take care of it. NO, I would not send a decent functioning rifle back because of interior cosmetics.

Good enough, thanks for the advice. I'll do as suggested above and use some cold blue to blacken the polished parts so they aren't as apparent and focus on shooting. I can get a little too particular about small details sometimes, so it's nice to be able to bounce stuff off others here to make sure I am being reasonable. Thanks!

[Lefty Trigger]

Go start looking at the new rifles and you will find most actions will have that very same "roughness" to the inside walls, even the stainless. For the most part the bolt head dont really ride on those surfaces but polishing them up wont hurt. I have several and some are worse than others, my best looking ones are at least 15 years old or more.

[akgriffin]

i see using a dremil or toothpaste and sandpaper, but would something like lapping compound work by putting it on the bolt and rails and cycling the bolt for a while?

[GrenGuy]

I have used Jewelers Rouge

[Dave Hoback]

i see using a dremil or toothpaste and sandpaper, but would something like lapping compound work by putting it on the bolt and rails and cycling the bolt for a while?

Indeed. And the cool thing is compound is actually MADE for steel parts, not to clean teeth. Go to Amazon and search “Lapping Compound”. The choices will astound you.

[Robinhood]

i see using a dremil or toothpaste and sandpaper, but would something like lapping compound work by putting it on the bolt and rails and cycling the bolt for a while?


The idea is to keep things as flat as possible. The issue I see with lapping compound is that you can remove material from(wear) the bolt lugs. Due to the already wide open tolerences it is hard to concentrate on the exact issue. The bolt lugs are smooth so there is no need to use an abrasive there. The hone will just knock the tops of the rough edges of the raceway's burs. Because of the length, width and flatness of the MDT diamond hone you minimize high and low spots. You can focus on the bad spots and put more even pressure across the length. It is not perfect like an edm or a beter designed broaching tool. Been there many times before with t shirts and glossy color photos with writing on the back.

[Fuj']

Another way to look at is; if the striations/cuts are linear. all you need to do
is polish the high spots. It's just less surface area for friction. The low spots
just look ugly and serve no purpose other then maybe a fill area for Dri-Slide.

[Orezona]

maybe a fill area for Dri-Slide.

This intrigued me. I may order some.

[Fotheringill]

Accuracy always outweighs pretty.

The trick is to get a gorgeous wife who actually can cook great.