doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com bolt handle replacement questions

Thanks for all the help on previous questions. I am making good progress on the rifle for my daughter and am
returning to work on the rifle for my son. It needs a much nicer bolt handle. I have an Oberndorf style handle from
Brownell's,



My questions are: What is the most efficient series of steps to get the new handle prepped? I've got a lathe and a milling machine.
Is it easier to try to do as much polishing while the bolt handle can be put on the lathe and then use the mill to mill flats on the end?
And finally, do you know of anyone currently welding bolt handles on that you would recommend?

Thanks

Matt Roberts (https://www.mnrcustom.com/) has done good work on my rifles. I don’t know if he welds bolt handles, but I expect he does. He’s responsive and his rates and turnaround times are reasonable.

Fred, it's been about 12 years since I last replaced a bolt handle, and I purchased mine from Brownell's. They had the machined version like you have, but the one I chose appeared to be investment cast.

I took mine to work and TIG welded it myself since I didn't own a TIG welder at the time. I contemplated doing it at home by Oxy-Acetylene welding, but chose the TIG to minimize heat transfer and scale formation. I made a bolt welding jig like Brownell's sells, to hold the bolt body and new handle in the correct position I desired. And that is why I'd advise either using a good local welder you can watch, or using someone experienced with this job who understands that it has to be positioned just the way you want it. That may be hard to convey to someone unfamiliar with this job by just sending them a couple pieces to stick together. I can also recall having a gun part welded by a guy who was supposed to be an expert certified to weld stuff on nuclear reactors. When I cleaned up his weld, I found enough porosity and defects that I cut it apart and rewelded it myself. That experience left me wondering about the safety of nuclear reactors.

You need to leave the correct amount of stub protrusion when you cut off the old handle. I cut the original handle off with a cut-off wheel in a die grinder. I then ground the correct angle at the end of the new handle, and deeply beveled that and the stub to get a good strong full penetration weld. There was no need to use a milling machine for this prep work. The die grinder and a bench grinder were all that is needed. As I recall, I used the 5% nickel steel welding rod that Brownell's sold. When welding a gun part that will be blued, you need to choose a filler rod that won't stick out like a sore thumb because of the way it takes the bluing compared to the parent metal due to being a different alloy. Of course, the bolt must be stripped by removing the shroud, firing pin assembly, and extractor. I used Certanium Heat Control Compound on the bolt body and locking lugs to minimize heat transfer, and also used an anti scale paste to keep scale from forming on the internal threads. The jig I made held things in the perfect position until they were securely tacked. All that remained was doing a nice strong and pretty weld, followed by a bit of grinding, filing, and final polishing with fine emery cloth.

There are a lot of tips on this subject in the Brownell's Gunsmith Kinks books. I'm not sure if the four volumes are still in print, but they can usually be found at reasonable prices on Ebay or other online book sellers. They are a wonderful source of information for any amateur doing gunsmithing work.

Thanks for the replies, I took Keith's advice and have started making a jig. I've got the base to hold the bolt body
done. Now I have to design an adjustable system for holding the handle. I've made it to be initially compatible with Mauser 98 and 1903 bolts.
The bolt that you see is an 03a3 bolt that has it's firing pin hole welded shut, I thought it would be good to have some of these to practice on.


Questions and comments are appreciated


]

When I weld a bolt handle, I just use to small vises to hold the parts.

Cheap, small (3" jaw or so size) bench style vises.
Neither mounted to a bench, I put the bolt body in one horizontal. The Bolt handle in the other by the knob.
No need to superman tighten the vises. A firm grip will do. The jaws are smooth on these and don't leave checkering marks on the parts anyway.

The vises both sit on a table in any position the seem to want to lay comfortably not rock or tip to one side.
I use a couple of old cookie sheets together to set the vises on. The sheets are elevated on some small steel blocks off of the table (wood) to avoid any smoke house issues.
I move the 2 vises around and adj usually just the bolt knob in it's vise jaws so the two pieces come together when they need to be.

I weld them with OA, so nothing but the flame touches anything, nothing moves out of position.
I fuse the handle and bolt body root together well.
I leave the assembly clamped together still as I start to add filler.
After some filler is built up I unclamp the bolt handle side and use just the one vise to hold the bolt body.

A heat control paste from Brownells works good on te bolt body and cam.]
I've used the nickel rod from them also. Works good as well. I always wonder if there is something else available that would work as well
an locally available. But I don't do enough of these anymore to worry about it.
It files and cleans up nice.

Fred, as I said, it has been awhile since I last welded on a replacement bolt handle. I wasn't sure of the filler rod I used, and it was Brownell's 3 -1/2% Nickel steel rod, not 5%.

I also recall that I took pains to not overheat the cocking lug as well as the bolt locking lugs. Working quickly with the TIG, and using the heat control paste worked out well. You might wish to check out some pics of the Brownell's Bolt Welding jig. It was very simple to make, and has a lot of adjustment for any conceivable bolt handle position.

But it was great to have Kutter's input, and he is right (as usual) that a jig isn't a necessity. I made one for the first job I did because I was into making some of my tools at the time. And it was also good to hear that he never had any problems with using the oxy-acetylene welding process when using the heat control compound.

If you go to Buckstix' current Thread about his latest addition to his Brevex Magnum Mauser Rifle collection, there is a composite photo of all 16 rifles he now has. It gives a convenient look at many different bolt handle lengths and configurations. How you position your new handle is partially dictated by the action, the stock you make, and the relationship to the trigger. And of course, it has to provide clearance for the ocular bell of the scope you choose to mount, and be pleasing to your eye. But I'm sure you knew that.

I may have another bolt welding job on the horizon, because I picked up a small unknown bolt action from a local guy who sells all sorts of industrial surplus tools and hardware for $3.00 a pound. I found it rooting through a box of tooling from a machine shop. It looks like a very small Mauser in some respects with a very Mauser-ish bolt release. A .30-06 size (.473") case head fits the bolt face and claw extractor perfectly. But the action opening is very short, much too short for 7 x 57 mm length. I thought it might be for 7.62 x 39, but the head diameter is wrong. The oblong bolt knob is similar in appearance to a 6.5 mm Jap action bolt, and someone has done some grinding on the knob, so it would need to be built up with weld or replaced entirely. Building a rifle would be contingent upon finding a trigger guard and magazine box, etc., which was unfortunately not found in the box of tooling. I'm not at home, and don't recall the receiver ring diameter or approximate barrel shank diameter.

I've checked every source I know trying to identify it, and haven't had any luck. I should post a couple pictures of it here, and play Stump the Band. But I thought it might have the potential to be a nice light small game rifle. Besides, how do you pass up a cute little centerfire bolt action for $3.00 a pound?

Hi Keith

Pictures of the new rifle would be great.

Likewise, it would be great to see a picture of Kutter’s setup.


Here, since I don’t weld, if I want it welded by a good local welder who isn’t a gun guy, I think I need a good robust setup.