Does anyone shoot ELR with a 284?
- Thread starter Dud
- Start date
I'm hoping that MDT has a good Black Friday deal this year, evidently 2018 had half price magazines.
I need 3.56" magazines for this 284 in the LSS chassis and also magazines for my next project which is going to be 338 RUM probably in a CIP length magazine. I think the MDT 3.85" 338 Lapua magazine should do the trick.
I also need an MDT vertical pistol grip which has a neat trigger reach adjustment. The MPA grip I used for mock-up is not a good fit, it bumps the trigger finger out and there is barely enough space to get my trigger finger between the grip and bolt knob (Glades). The MPA grip fits fine on my other chassis so I'm not going to modify it to create finger clearance. Hopefully the MDT grip does not bump out that much.
Unfortunately these things will be ordered after I break in the rifle develop a load and try to qualify for an ELR match.
I need 3.56" magazines for this 284 in the LSS chassis and also magazines for my next project which is going to be 338 RUM probably in a CIP length magazine. I think the MDT 3.85" 338 Lapua magazine should do the trick.
I also need an MDT vertical pistol grip which has a neat trigger reach adjustment. The MPA grip I used for mock-up is not a good fit, it bumps the trigger finger out and there is barely enough space to get my trigger finger between the grip and bolt knob (Glades). The MPA grip fits fine on my other chassis so I'm not going to modify it to create finger clearance. Hopefully the MDT grip does not bump out that much.
Unfortunately these things will be ordered after I break in the rifle develop a load and try to qualify for an ELR match.
Today I received my order from Grizzly which includes a Bald Eagle Big 50 windage rest, 3" bag, extended foot screws and F-class soft ground feet.
It's a beast. All together with the feet and bag it is around 40 lbs.
I also got some nice acrylic loading blocks. .40 Cal for 10mm, 357 Sig, 6.8 SPC and Tac6. Also .308 tall and Magnum tall to cover 6.5 Creedmoor, 284 Winchester and 338 Federal. I don't know if 338 RUM will fit any of them but that's a next year problem.
A little good news on the 338 RUM front, I was thinking I was going to have to buy a new bolt head but I managed to work out a trade so I'm that much closer on that project. I have a chassis ordered that should arrive early next year. After that, I'm pretty much a barrel, a brake and optics away.
It's a beast. All together with the feet and bag it is around 40 lbs.
I also got some nice acrylic loading blocks. .40 Cal for 10mm, 357 Sig, 6.8 SPC and Tac6. Also .308 tall and Magnum tall to cover 6.5 Creedmoor, 284 Winchester and 338 Federal. I don't know if 338 RUM will fit any of them but that's a next year problem.
A little good news on the 338 RUM front, I was thinking I was going to have to buy a new bolt head but I managed to work out a trade so I'm that much closer on that project. I have a chassis ordered that should arrive early next year. After that, I'm pretty much a barrel, a brake and optics away.
I was playing around with my new rest and I did the initial setup as in the instructions.
One thing I noticed is that the rest wobbles unless you lock the fine elevation adjustment and then tension against that with the mariner's wheel.
Another thing that I have to think about is what to fill the sandbag with?
The rest is already heavy, I don't need to add the weight of sand or aquarium gravel but I don't want something that will swell with water, rot or have any other biological or chemical issues.
What fill should I choose?
Should I buy a rear rest to go with it?
I like the look of the Protektor Model with a handle base and flat top. I'm not sure how to choose the ears.
On the other hand, are there decent low budget rear bags?
I saw one guy with a polished aluminum bag rider bolted to the bottom of a traditional shape benchrest stock but it was adjustable left and right so that it would track perfectly when set up in those bags.
I can make a polished aluminum bag rider so I would like to find a rear bag that will work with that.
One thing I noticed is that the rest wobbles unless you lock the fine elevation adjustment and then tension against that with the mariner's wheel.
Another thing that I have to think about is what to fill the sandbag with?
The rest is already heavy, I don't need to add the weight of sand or aquarium gravel but I don't want something that will swell with water, rot or have any other biological or chemical issues.
What fill should I choose?
Should I buy a rear rest to go with it?
I like the look of the Protektor Model with a handle base and flat top. I'm not sure how to choose the ears.
On the other hand, are there decent low budget rear bags?
I saw one guy with a polished aluminum bag rider bolted to the bottom of a traditional shape benchrest stock but it was adjustable left and right so that it would track perfectly when set up in those bags.
I can make a polished aluminum bag rider so I would like to find a rear bag that will work with that.
I thing the shop I was going to work in has kind of fallen through.
I mentioned the work several times, I was told I could do it and then when I had all the stuff and asked: crickets.
I have a backup but it is going to cost about $200 more for shop access.
That will hopefully lead to a receiver truing jig, a trued receiver, a modified scope rail, a custom forend, a custom spotting scope/LRF/Kestrel vane mount, a bench rest carry case, a recoil lug clamp, a bag rider for my stock and maybe even stitching a custom rear bag rest.
I think that will justify the added expense. Also buying shop access rather than borrowing is going to let me work on my schedule.
I mentioned the work several times, I was told I could do it and then when I had all the stuff and asked: crickets.
I have a backup but it is going to cost about $200 more for shop access.
That will hopefully lead to a receiver truing jig, a trued receiver, a modified scope rail, a custom forend, a custom spotting scope/LRF/Kestrel vane mount, a bench rest carry case, a recoil lug clamp, a bag rider for my stock and maybe even stitching a custom rear bag rest.
I think that will justify the added expense. Also buying shop access rather than borrowing is going to let me work on my schedule.
Well, my receiver is faced but not the right way.
I wanted to do it right but I needed to turn a mandrel and a spider type of jig to indicate from the mandrel. Short story: the shop I have access to does not have the tools required available for use before I need a complete rifle...
Luckily I am using an ARC Barloc barrel tensioner system. It uses toroidal geometry to self center and that should allow any misalignment of the receiver face to be negated.
I deburred the cut, slightly broke the corner with a needle file and cleaned up the cut thread. After confirming that a Savage small shank barrel threads on with no issue I applied cold blue to the raw steel surfaces. It looks like it could probably fool anyone that didn't know the Axis rifle doesn't come that way. Not perfect, but a pretty good match to factory Savage finish.
Next step, I have to loosely install my scope rail, boresight my scope, shim the rail for maximum elevation adjustment, then bed the rail to the receiver at that angle.
Actually, before that happens I have to notch the scope rail for the Nucleus style recoil lug and when I'm bedding the rail to the receiver, also bed the rail to the recoil lug. That will do the same thing as pinning a recoil lug to a receiver and add a recoil lug for the scope rail to remove recoil shear forces from the rail mounting screws.
Once that is all together, I will look at the chassis to see if it makes sense to bed the recoil lug to the chassis.
I have looked at the receiver mounting and it does not look like it needs bedding under the receiver because it is kind of like a V-block so the contact between the recoil lug and the slot in the chassis is the only thing I think I may be able to improve on.
The bad news is that I don't have machines available to make my extended forend.
It sucks but I may be able to get creative with a tablesaw, hacksaw and a file to pull it off.
The first thing to do is see if I can go back to plan A and the shop that fell through.
I wanted to do it right but I needed to turn a mandrel and a spider type of jig to indicate from the mandrel. Short story: the shop I have access to does not have the tools required available for use before I need a complete rifle...
Luckily I am using an ARC Barloc barrel tensioner system. It uses toroidal geometry to self center and that should allow any misalignment of the receiver face to be negated.
I deburred the cut, slightly broke the corner with a needle file and cleaned up the cut thread. After confirming that a Savage small shank barrel threads on with no issue I applied cold blue to the raw steel surfaces. It looks like it could probably fool anyone that didn't know the Axis rifle doesn't come that way. Not perfect, but a pretty good match to factory Savage finish.
Next step, I have to loosely install my scope rail, boresight my scope, shim the rail for maximum elevation adjustment, then bed the rail to the receiver at that angle.
Actually, before that happens I have to notch the scope rail for the Nucleus style recoil lug and when I'm bedding the rail to the receiver, also bed the rail to the recoil lug. That will do the same thing as pinning a recoil lug to a receiver and add a recoil lug for the scope rail to remove recoil shear forces from the rail mounting screws.
Once that is all together, I will look at the chassis to see if it makes sense to bed the recoil lug to the chassis.
I have looked at the receiver mounting and it does not look like it needs bedding under the receiver because it is kind of like a V-block so the contact between the recoil lug and the slot in the chassis is the only thing I think I may be able to improve on.
The bad news is that I don't have machines available to make my extended forend.
It sucks but I may be able to get creative with a tablesaw, hacksaw and a file to pull it off.
The first thing to do is see if I can go back to plan A and the shop that fell through.
I was hoping to do most of my work on a mill, now that probably won't happen.
I think there is a tablesaw I can use and I have cut lots of aluminum with a tablesaw so there may still be hope.
I was just thinking and the scope rail notch is probably a pretty easy tablesaw job using some sacrificial wood. The forend is a much more difficult task but not impossible.
While I'm doing one, I might as well attempt the other.
I think there is a tablesaw I can use and I have cut lots of aluminum with a tablesaw so there may still be hope.
I was just thinking and the scope rail notch is probably a pretty easy tablesaw job using some sacrificial wood. The forend is a much more difficult task but not impossible.
While I'm doing one, I might as well attempt the other.
I was initially planning to do an ELR shoot next Sunday. That's not going to happen.
Beside the basic work to get the action together, there are a lot of details that I wanted to add as time went on. Now that my schedule is changed and the shop I can use kind of sucks, I'm looking at how much I can do with a table saw, drill press and files. It's not the greatest way to work but draw filing and paint can cover a lot of sins.
Beside the basic work to get the action together, there are a lot of details that I wanted to add as time went on. Now that my schedule is changed and the shop I can use kind of sucks, I'm looking at how much I can do with a table saw, drill press and files. It's not the greatest way to work but draw filing and paint can cover a lot of sins.
A while ago I got my replacement package from Glades Armory. It was just a bolt handle from the newer batch.
Partial success. With the Savage bolt sleeve it is fine. With the Glades bolt sleeve it almost works. The bolt baffle is still really tight and the bolt lift is quite heavy if I fully tighten the handle retaining bolt. If I just barely loosen it, the lift is easier but I think the baffle drag is another issue. I have a spare baffle and will try swapping stuff and maybe filing to see if I can make it work together.
I am also interested to see if the bolt sleeve changes the firing pin drop.
Partial success. With the Savage bolt sleeve it is fine. With the Glades bolt sleeve it almost works. The bolt baffle is still really tight and the bolt lift is quite heavy if I fully tighten the handle retaining bolt. If I just barely loosen it, the lift is easier but I think the baffle drag is another issue. I have a spare baffle and will try swapping stuff and maybe filing to see if I can make it work together.
I am also interested to see if the bolt sleeve changes the firing pin drop.
I have been thinking about a solution to my bolt sleeve problem.
#1, I need to thin my new bolt head baffle so that I can install it with the wave washer and with a good stack, not completely compressing the wave washer.
#2, I'm going to ask Glades about peening the interior seat of the bolt handle so that it tightens maybe 0.002" sooner. Actually I should measure snug (which works) vs tight which has lots of drag, so I can determine exactly how much peening I need.
Peening might be the perfect solution instead of two " ( " shaped shims that would be difficult to get in position. Peening would be essentially permanent but also somewhat adjustable.
Here is a photo of the nearly complete action:
The scope rail needs to be bedded and notched for the locating tab on the recoil lug, the bolt head baffle needs to be thinned, the wave washer needs to be installed, the bolt handle needs to be peened (probably) and the rings need to be reamed.
Nothing too major.
Oh, I think the bolt knob needs to be notched too, for folding stock clearance. That should be easy because it is Delrin.
What you can't see in the photo is that the entire Accu-trigger assembly has been shimmed and spring swapped to give it a very nice 14 oz pull. I even shimmed the sear and the hanger pin. Most of the wiggle is gone. That's probably not going to make it shoot better but it is going to feel less like a budget action.
Oh, one more idea I had is that since my Leupold Backcountry one piece base is a 110/Axis model with six mounting holes while the Axis receiver only has four, I can drill and tap the last hole for a 1/4-20 set screw which will allow me to adjust my rail slope before I bed it. This will be easier than messing with feeler gauges to set the slope.
#1, I need to thin my new bolt head baffle so that I can install it with the wave washer and with a good stack, not completely compressing the wave washer.
#2, I'm going to ask Glades about peening the interior seat of the bolt handle so that it tightens maybe 0.002" sooner. Actually I should measure snug (which works) vs tight which has lots of drag, so I can determine exactly how much peening I need.
Peening might be the perfect solution instead of two " ( " shaped shims that would be difficult to get in position. Peening would be essentially permanent but also somewhat adjustable.
Here is a photo of the nearly complete action:
The scope rail needs to be bedded and notched for the locating tab on the recoil lug, the bolt head baffle needs to be thinned, the wave washer needs to be installed, the bolt handle needs to be peened (probably) and the rings need to be reamed.
Nothing too major.
Oh, I think the bolt knob needs to be notched too, for folding stock clearance. That should be easy because it is Delrin.
What you can't see in the photo is that the entire Accu-trigger assembly has been shimmed and spring swapped to give it a very nice 14 oz pull. I even shimmed the sear and the hanger pin. Most of the wiggle is gone. That's probably not going to make it shoot better but it is going to feel less like a budget action.
Oh, one more idea I had is that since my Leupold Backcountry one piece base is a 110/Axis model with six mounting holes while the Axis receiver only has four, I can drill and tap the last hole for a 1/4-20 set screw which will allow me to adjust my rail slope before I bed it. This will be easier than messing with feeler gauges to set the slope.
I think it looks nice. The fluted bolt sleeve with nitride coating gives it a custom look and the bolt handle/knob are big improvements also.
It's much better than the chrome/stainless factory bolt sleeve with the big logo and my new bolt head baffle is blue steel so it blends in with the receiver tube and bolt sleeve. After I thin it for wave washer clearance, I'll cold blue it to cover and protect the exposed steel.
If you didn't know what you were looking at, what would you think?
It's much better than the chrome/stainless factory bolt sleeve with the big logo and my new bolt head baffle is blue steel so it blends in with the receiver tube and bolt sleeve. After I thin it for wave washer clearance, I'll cold blue it to cover and protect the exposed steel.
If you didn't know what you were looking at, what would you think?
I found a small angle calculator online and it looks like the slope I need to add for 30 moa additional elevation is about 0.057" at the back screw hole (roughly 6.5" from the action face).
I don't know if 50 moa total slope is what I'm going to need but it tells me that 1 moa is about 0.002". That number will let me make much better adjustments than trial and error.
I think I want to give myself about 2 mils (7 moa) of up elevation above my boresight just in case I'm off a bit to make sure I can get to zero.
Now I need to confirm my LOP, scope position and eye relief so that I can ream my scope rings in the proper position.
I don't know if 50 moa total slope is what I'm going to need but it tells me that 1 moa is about 0.002". That number will let me make much better adjustments than trial and error.
I think I want to give myself about 2 mils (7 moa) of up elevation above my boresight just in case I'm off a bit to make sure I can get to zero.
Now I need to confirm my LOP, scope position and eye relief so that I can ream my scope rings in the proper position.
One more tweak I'm going to look at more closely since my schedule is blown is trying to eliminate the slight wobble in my folding stock adapter.
The adapter is very nice, it's just not their nature to lock up 100% solid unless it has a V-block type mechanism like a Para FAL.
I'm going to see if I can add bedding or a set screw to try and eliminate slop.
The adapter is very nice, it's just not their nature to lock up 100% solid unless it has a V-block type mechanism like a Para FAL.
I'm going to see if I can add bedding or a set screw to try and eliminate slop.
I started filing and sanding my bolt head baffle.
Original is 0.371", new started at 0.375". I'm using a caliper and changing filing/sanding direction to keep it flat and parallel.
They sure made those bolt head baffles pretty hard. Judging by the way the receiver cut with a hacksaw and file, the bolt head baffle seems much harder. I can't imagine why they would do that, it's pretty much just taking up space until you get a blown primer or something else that vents gas in to the receiver. Maybe they think hard steel resists flame cutting? I'm not sure how good that is because the gas will take the path of least resistance which means it might flame cut the softer receiver...
Any way, it is a pain in the butt to file/sand, after about 20 minutes my bolt head baffle is down to about 0.371" and to get back the 0.011" greater clearance I had with the old bolt sleeve, I have to go all the way to 0.360".
That's probably going to take another hour of filing and sanding.
I think I'm going to jump around a bit on different tasks so I don't get as bored grinding on that thing.
And an hour later: I got the bolt head baffle down to 0.366" and I did some file work on the front of my scope rail. Test fitting it, the drag on the baffle is acceptable so I'm leaving it at that unless it creates an issue.
The scope rail is now clearanced for the ARC Barloc tensioner. I still need to cut the notch for the recoil lug but I want to drill a few stress relief holes for the corner of the notch before I rough cut it. I will probably do that tomorrow along with reaming the rings.
I might be able to start bedding on Wednesday.
It is hard to tell exactly how heavy the bolt lift is when it's not in the chassis but it doesn't seem too bad, not a match rifle that you can run without disturbing your scope picture but I don't think it will be a problem with slow fire.
I think my ergonomics are going to be fine. It's not the most adjustable setup but pretty adjustable. That's the next project for today, get my position and the scope position sorted out so I can ream the rings, bed the base, mount the scope and finalize the action completely.
After that I have to get the forend sorted out, make an adjustable rear bag rider, bed the recoil lug and make a case for my rest.
Original is 0.371", new started at 0.375". I'm using a caliper and changing filing/sanding direction to keep it flat and parallel.
They sure made those bolt head baffles pretty hard. Judging by the way the receiver cut with a hacksaw and file, the bolt head baffle seems much harder. I can't imagine why they would do that, it's pretty much just taking up space until you get a blown primer or something else that vents gas in to the receiver. Maybe they think hard steel resists flame cutting? I'm not sure how good that is because the gas will take the path of least resistance which means it might flame cut the softer receiver...
Any way, it is a pain in the butt to file/sand, after about 20 minutes my bolt head baffle is down to about 0.371" and to get back the 0.011" greater clearance I had with the old bolt sleeve, I have to go all the way to 0.360".
That's probably going to take another hour of filing and sanding.
I think I'm going to jump around a bit on different tasks so I don't get as bored grinding on that thing.
And an hour later: I got the bolt head baffle down to 0.366" and I did some file work on the front of my scope rail. Test fitting it, the drag on the baffle is acceptable so I'm leaving it at that unless it creates an issue.
The scope rail is now clearanced for the ARC Barloc tensioner. I still need to cut the notch for the recoil lug but I want to drill a few stress relief holes for the corner of the notch before I rough cut it. I will probably do that tomorrow along with reaming the rings.
I might be able to start bedding on Wednesday.
It is hard to tell exactly how heavy the bolt lift is when it's not in the chassis but it doesn't seem too bad, not a match rifle that you can run without disturbing your scope picture but I don't think it will be a problem with slow fire.
I think my ergonomics are going to be fine. It's not the most adjustable setup but pretty adjustable. That's the next project for today, get my position and the scope position sorted out so I can ream the rings, bed the base, mount the scope and finalize the action completely.
After that I have to get the forend sorted out, make an adjustable rear bag rider, bed the recoil lug and make a case for my rest.
I have been watching several videos on scope rail bedding and action bedding. One consistent theme is "stress free" bedding.
I'm going to try that with my scope rail and ring reaming.
I noticed that if I tighten the front of my rail (lightly), a gap opened up under the rear of the rail. If I just tighten it down and then ream my rings, the rail will be sprung and when I take it apart to bed the rail at an angle, my reamed rings aren't going to be aligned any more.
My solution was to fill the gap with three layers of painters tape and lightly tighten my rear screws. Now the amount of spring is much less and I'll ream my rings in much better alignment with the "stress free" contour of the scope base.
After that, I'll mount up my scope and determine how much slope I want to add in the bedding process.
After bedding, I'll do a little clean up reaming to make sure I get good contact that isn't trying to bend my scope or scope rail.
I'm not sure how I want to handle bedding my recoil lug yet. Stress free is a good goal but I'm not sure I know how to achieve it when I'm just bedding one location and I'm not sure how important it is when both parts are rather stiff and unlikely to bend much (while bedding).
Hopefully I'll be ready to start bedding after tomorrow night.
I'm going to try that with my scope rail and ring reaming.
I noticed that if I tighten the front of my rail (lightly), a gap opened up under the rear of the rail. If I just tighten it down and then ream my rings, the rail will be sprung and when I take it apart to bed the rail at an angle, my reamed rings aren't going to be aligned any more.
My solution was to fill the gap with three layers of painters tape and lightly tighten my rear screws. Now the amount of spring is much less and I'll ream my rings in much better alignment with the "stress free" contour of the scope base.
After that, I'll mount up my scope and determine how much slope I want to add in the bedding process.
After bedding, I'll do a little clean up reaming to make sure I get good contact that isn't trying to bend my scope or scope rail.
I'm not sure how I want to handle bedding my recoil lug yet. Stress free is a good goal but I'm not sure I know how to achieve it when I'm just bedding one location and I'm not sure how important it is when both parts are rather stiff and unlikely to bend much (while bedding).
Hopefully I'll be ready to start bedding after tomorrow night.
One more little thing tonight. I took a piece of brass and tried it out in my acrylic loading blocks from Grizzly.
Tall .308 was not big enough to take a .284 case unless you drilled out all of the holes a little bit. Tall Magnum worked without too much wobble.
I am very pleased with the quality and the price is reasonable considering that they are machined rather than cast or injection molded.
It would have been nice if they had dimensions on their website because I was guessing about 284 when I ordered. Luckily I have a use for all of them even though I already had .308 size blocks.
Tall .308 was not big enough to take a .284 case unless you drilled out all of the holes a little bit. Tall Magnum worked without too much wobble.
I am very pleased with the quality and the price is reasonable considering that they are machined rather than cast or injection molded.
It would have been nice if they had dimensions on their website because I was guessing about 284 when I ordered. Luckily I have a use for all of them even though I already had .308 size blocks.
I tried to mess around with my bolt again. I used an automatic center punch to try and raise some metal on the mating surface inside the bolt handle. This helped somewhat but still I was unable to fully tighten the bolt handle screw without creating more drag when closing the bolt. I think the screw is just big enough to smash down most of the raised metal.
Glades told me to use a rat tail file on the bolt head pin hole. I think I misunderstood and thought they meant the hole in the bolt sleeve. I think I can file the hole in the bolt head which isn't nitrided.
I don't want to mess with either but I think it will be better to file the bolt head. If I can't get the bolt working by just trying to wear in the bolt lugs or the rear of the receiver/front of the bolt handle, I'm going to try to file the bolt head pin hole.
I wanted to get my scope base and recoil lug ready for bedding yesterday. I fell behind on that. Hopefully I'll get it ready by tonight and be bedding tomorrow or Saturday.
I did get my rings reamed.
Progress is being made but slowly. After my scope rail and recoil lug are bedded, I just need to do a clean up reaming to remove any alignment issues after bedding, then install and torque everything. I'll need to confirm my boresight but it should be ready for break-in at that point.
One more thing I want to do is add a set screw to my folder to adjust the wobble out of the lock-up. A pretty simple addition but hopefully it is one of the last changes I'll need to consider. The last things to do will be my forend and rear bag rider which I have been planning for a while.
Glades told me to use a rat tail file on the bolt head pin hole. I think I misunderstood and thought they meant the hole in the bolt sleeve. I think I can file the hole in the bolt head which isn't nitrided.
I don't want to mess with either but I think it will be better to file the bolt head. If I can't get the bolt working by just trying to wear in the bolt lugs or the rear of the receiver/front of the bolt handle, I'm going to try to file the bolt head pin hole.
I wanted to get my scope base and recoil lug ready for bedding yesterday. I fell behind on that. Hopefully I'll get it ready by tonight and be bedding tomorrow or Saturday.
I did get my rings reamed.
Progress is being made but slowly. After my scope rail and recoil lug are bedded, I just need to do a clean up reaming to remove any alignment issues after bedding, then install and torque everything. I'll need to confirm my boresight but it should be ready for break-in at that point.
One more thing I want to do is add a set screw to my folder to adjust the wobble out of the lock-up. A pretty simple addition but hopefully it is one of the last changes I'll need to consider. The last things to do will be my forend and rear bag rider which I have been planning for a while.
Fairly good progress today. I finished up the cut on my scope rail and threaded the unused (on an Axis) rear mounting hole for a 1/4-20 setscrew.
I will be ready to bed my scope rail as soon as I headspace and torque my barrel, then bore sight it and adjust the rail slope to maximize my scope elevation adjustment.
I also added an 8-32 setscrew to my folding stock adapter. Hopefully I'll be able to take the slack out of my lock-up without digging in to the aluminum surface too much.
If all goes well, I'll have my scope rail bedded tomorrow. If all goes perfect, I'll have the recoil lug bedded too.
Once the bedding is done I can focus on making a rear bag rider and my extended forend.
I will be ready to bed my scope rail as soon as I headspace and torque my barrel, then bore sight it and adjust the rail slope to maximize my scope elevation adjustment.
I also added an 8-32 setscrew to my folding stock adapter. Hopefully I'll be able to take the slack out of my lock-up without digging in to the aluminum surface too much.
If all goes well, I'll have my scope rail bedded tomorrow. If all goes perfect, I'll have the recoil lug bedded too.
Once the bedding is done I can focus on making a rear bag rider and my extended forend.
It's a rifle now.
I got it headspaced, torqued the Barloc, installed it in the chassis, put the stock back together, mounted the scope rail and put on the scope.
The scope rail has not been torqued properly but as of now it could fire (if I had ammo).
I am going to start bedding tonight.
The setscrew in the folder worked, I have dialed out the wobble. I'm going to tell ICD about it, they may like the idea.
My scope rail notch for the Nucleus style recoil lug fits pretty well. The lug has rounded corners going to the tab so it's not a plain square slot, I had to radius the bottom edges but by iterative filing and test fitting, I got it to the point where the gap is minimal.
The way I did the notch was scribe it on the rail, then I center punched the corners and drilled 1/16" holes at the corners. This avoids a sharp inside corner and also gives a feature to key the bedding in to the rail.
The notch is 0.200" wide so I used a hacksaw to cut three times between the lines, leaving only two thin remnants between the cuts. After I broke those out, I used a Nicholson hobby file to open the slot to 0.200" and smooth it. That file is single cut with one "safe" edge, pretty much perfect for the job. I cleaned up the edges and did the radiusing with a small needle file.
After I bed it, I'm going to color any exposed metal with an aluminum black pen.
This notch and recoil lug does a few things. It creates a recoil lug for the scope rail to take the shear forces off of the mounting screws and it does the same thing as pinning a recoil lug. The recoil lug is also a part of the Barloc system so it soaks up any misalignment between my receiver facing cut and the receiver threads and also lets me tension it with a hex key rather than a receiver wrench and barrel nut wrench.
Oh, one job I forgot, I think I have to modify the bolt knob to clear the stock in the folded position. It's Delrin so no big deal.
I think I want to use a mild thread locker on the bolt knob to maintain it's alignment, maybe blue Loktite or plumbers dope.
I got it headspaced, torqued the Barloc, installed it in the chassis, put the stock back together, mounted the scope rail and put on the scope.
The scope rail has not been torqued properly but as of now it could fire (if I had ammo).
I am going to start bedding tonight.
The setscrew in the folder worked, I have dialed out the wobble. I'm going to tell ICD about it, they may like the idea.
My scope rail notch for the Nucleus style recoil lug fits pretty well. The lug has rounded corners going to the tab so it's not a plain square slot, I had to radius the bottom edges but by iterative filing and test fitting, I got it to the point where the gap is minimal.
The way I did the notch was scribe it on the rail, then I center punched the corners and drilled 1/16" holes at the corners. This avoids a sharp inside corner and also gives a feature to key the bedding in to the rail.
The notch is 0.200" wide so I used a hacksaw to cut three times between the lines, leaving only two thin remnants between the cuts. After I broke those out, I used a Nicholson hobby file to open the slot to 0.200" and smooth it. That file is single cut with one "safe" edge, pretty much perfect for the job. I cleaned up the edges and did the radiusing with a small needle file.
After I bed it, I'm going to color any exposed metal with an aluminum black pen.
This notch and recoil lug does a few things. It creates a recoil lug for the scope rail to take the shear forces off of the mounting screws and it does the same thing as pinning a recoil lug. The recoil lug is also a part of the Barloc system so it soaks up any misalignment between my receiver facing cut and the receiver threads and also lets me tension it with a hex key rather than a receiver wrench and barrel nut wrench.
Oh, one job I forgot, I think I have to modify the bolt knob to clear the stock in the folded position. It's Delrin so no big deal.
I think I want to use a mild thread locker on the bolt knob to maintain it's alignment, maybe blue Loktite or plumbers dope.
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