Is this guy doing it right? Action truing

[jamesdmock]

Years ago, I had the pleasure of shooting next to Bob Brackney. He was one of the few shooting a blueprinted Remington action. He allowed me to work the action, and I was very impressed with the smoothness and tightness of it. I asked what he had done to the action and he said, "Everything that can be done to a Remington". He went on to say that for those who don't do their own work, it is not worth the effort. The next time I saw Mr. Brackney, he was using a Panda action.

 

[Ziabeam]

hey guys, not trying to bash / advertise this guy or anything, but I just want to know if his way to true up a receiver is "acceptable", if I can say that. i just feel it is not the correct way. don't know...

you can skip to 9:40

send me a PM if you dont want to write in here.

regards
MFG

While not completely haphazard, none of his methods are optimal. The results would be hit or miss at best, since the receiver’s outer surface is typically an abysmal reference point. The best method I’ve found for definitive results is a robust rigid hollow tube mounted directly to the lathe’s spindle nose, with no less than 8 bronze tipped 1/2-28 spider screws to secure the receiver inside the tube. Next a precision ground rod riding on bushings that snugly match the bolt’s raceway internal diameter, should extend outwards far enough to be dialed in to run true on two tenths-set indicators simultaneously, spaced at least six inches apart. Once that has been achieved, the face is trued, lugs only addressed if not true with face, and lastly the threads recut to be coaxial AND concentric to the achieved position. The last step requires very very careful execution in order to preserve the original thread-start location, thereby minimizing material removal. That step also results in a thread spec which is slightly larger. Usually just a few thousandths, which is a non issue, and still compatible with pre-threaded barrels. I personally prefer to thread, chamber and headspace a blank canvas after truing a receiver.