I was sent a Farley Action that had the lugs shear off of the bolt body.

[JMA]

As it was explained to me by a metallurgist in the engineering department.
On a fractured surface the section that looks like a fine grain is where the crack started and grew slowly
the section where it looks like a coarse grain is where the the part had been weakened to the where it grew fast and suddenly failed.

 

[AlNyhus]

Hi, I am the person who sent the action to Jackie. I was really fortunate that I was not injured. I thanked the Lord for looking after me that day. I then did some research and found that Jackie had written some posts on the subject. I contacted him and he suggested I sent him the parts. The repairs would be more than I would like to invest in that gun so Jackie made me an offer. Jackie has the tools, time and talent to make this an interesting project. I will be anxious to find out what the finished product will be. I truly thank Jackie for taking the time to discuss what the causes were for the bolt failure. I hope our path's cross sometime during the benchrest match season! The beer's on me!

Bill

Bill...so glad you weren't injured, sir. I'm sure there is Benchrest in Heaven and this confirms that. There aren't many in this sport that would take on a project like this but Jackie is on the short list.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[JPB3]

Jim Farley was a hell of nice guy. Very smart and wanted to produce great actions.. Many, many world records were set with them.. Every major match was won with his actions and many times over.. I don't know if he's still around but I sure hope so.. After Jackie, Gene and I had our bolts tested, courtesy of Jackies acquaintances in the business, we continued to use them.. All this was in the '90's BTW..

PB

 

[rwj]

Bill...so glad you weren't injured, sir. I'm sure there is Benchrest in Heaven and this confirms that. There aren't many in this sport that would take on a project like this but Jackie is on the short list.

Good shootin' -Al

Yup… also has me considering buying another dye penetrant kit to inspect my bolt lugs. It’s cheap insurance!

 

[gme]

At the SWN few years ago a customer approached me with a broken bolt in his hand, he looked at me and said "your stock saved my life" he built the rifle from parts from several vendors, still not sure how but it seems while shooting, it failed to fire, when opening the bolt it went off, the lugs were not engaged enough to hold it closed and the bolt left the action but was contained inside the buttstock, thankfully he was unhurt

 

[Owens85]

Jackie did that bolt have any test marks on the lugs. I've got a Farley that's my vfs rifle and love it mine has as test mark on each lug and one on the bolt body. It's probably my favorite rifle actually came from Texas.

 

[jackieschmidt]

I just ordered a piece of 1 1/4 diameter premium aircraft quality VAR E4340 from one of our suppliers. They just happened to have a 10 inch long drop he let me have.
My plan is to rough it out, then have it normalized, hardenned, and tempered to 38 RC. Then finish It and install it on the bolt body.

I also put the bolt up in one of my mills and cut it 1/2 way down to see what the inside looked like inside so I can design the new bolt head. It also shows that the bolt face had been bushed.

Jackie did that bolt have any test marks on the lugs. I've got a Farley that's my vfs rifle and love it mine has as test mark on each lug and one on the bolt body. It's probably my favorite rifle actually came from Texas.

no it did not.
If yours has Rockwell C marks on it, somebody tested it. Here are two on one of my bolts

 

[Schippergreg]

Thank you guys for posting the pictures of the test marks on your bolts. I just checked the lugs on my black widow bolt and there are 2 dimples the one lug but they’re small. I had to use a loupe to see them clearly. I’ve been a little concerned since last year at the super shoot when a fellow competitor seen my Farley and told me about his lugs shearing off. It’s too pretty and accurate to sit in the safe.

 

[LVLAaron]

What's this area? It looks like a counterbore, but maybe it's just the photo?

 

[jackieschmidt]

What's this area? It looks like a counterbore, but maybe it's just the photo?


View attachment 1534871

The bolt had been bushed back to a .062 firing pin. The bushing came out when I cut the bolt down.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Here are the RC marks on my LV that I converted to a drop port. It’s the one that came in at 51.

 

[Silo1616]

I just ordered a piece of 1 1/4 diameter premium aircraft quality VAR E4340 from one of our suppliers. They just happened to have a 10 inch long drop he let me have.
My plan is to rough it out, then have it normalized, hardenned, and tempered to 38 RC. Then finish It and install it on the bolt body.

I also put the bolt up in one of my mills and cut it 1/2 way down to see what the inside looked like inside so I can design the new bolt head. It also shows that the bolt face had been bushed.

no it did not.
If yours has Rockwell C marks on it, somebody tested it. Here are two on one of my boltsView attachment 1534836View attachment 1534839

What stops the firing in this design? Looks like you would have way too much protrusion if it went to either shoulder.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Farley designed It so the cocking piece bottoms out in the cocking helix.

All of mine are like this.

 

[AICS308]

This type of discussion is really good. So much new information for me. I don’t know much about the fine points of what makes a rifle go bang so this is a leaning experience.

 

[jackieschmidt]

This type of discussion is really good. So much new information for me. I don’t know much about the fine points of what makes a rifle go bang so this is a leaning experience.

In this particular thread, you are learning what can happen if if some of necessary protocols are not followed, particularly in the realm of material selection and the requirements involved in working with it.

No Web Site is perfect, but AccurateShooter.com is one of the best.

 

[AlNyhus]

Farley designed It so the cocking piece bottoms out in the cocking helix.

All of mine are like this.View attachment 1534957

It would be interesting to check how far forward the cocking piece goes...relative to where the pin tip stops in the primer when firing. My guestimate is that would be .010-.015 clearance. Thoughts? -Al

 

[WSnyder]

Farley designed It so the cocking piece bottoms out in the cocking helix.

Is the cocking piece to pin held by a cross pin? If so not something you’d want to dry fire. I suspect Al is likely correct that when fired with a cartridge/primer the cocking piece doesn’t bottom out.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Al, I would think that at the very least the primer cushions the firing pin as it hits.

To answer @WSunder, the firing pin is basically mounted the same as a Remington. While I haver compared the Farley to a Remigton directly, it would not surprise me if Farley used Remington Parts.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

I wonder why they initially went with S7 tool steel for the bolt?

Didn't S7 get to be a little bit of a fad back in the eighties? I remember reading an article in an old Gun Digest that made it sound like the best thing ever.

 

[scasa]

I always make mine where the firing pin has a mechanical stop and uncocked the bolt handle has a little wiggle. I've always wondered which way is the best for rimfire and centerfire. any thoughts on this. I make my rimfires like this so they can be dry fired without damage I guess I do centerfires for the same reason. I'd like to hear others thoughts on this.