Problem After Lapping Rem700 Locking Lugs

[6mmbra Dan]

I lapped the locking lugs on a 700 Remington 700 sa prior to having the barrel replaced and rechambered to 6mbra.used 400, 600 then 1000 grit now I'm having trouble with hard closing and opening of the bolt. Lugs are now getting about 75% contact but opening and closing the bolt is stiff

 

[jackieschmidt]

Much of the force involved in opening the bolt, (with out a case), is in the cocking piece as it transverse the spiral ramp.i

But that doesn’t account for the hard closure. I assume you have bolt grease on the lugs. If you did pick up contact area after lapping, that means more friction. That added friction will manifest its self in the bolt being more difficult to open and close with the heavy spring pressures found in most Factory Remingtons.

Did you do anything to the firing pin/spring assembly? It could be binding, the more lug contact might be magnifying the force.

 

[Ggmac]

Hopefully you disassembled the bolt before lapping . If not disassemble the bolt , clean , lube and reassemble .

 

[Walt Krafft]

I would put blueing on the bolt nose and make sure it is not touching your new barrel.

 

[DaveTooley]

I've don't go finer than 320 grit. Usually just 240. It breaks down as you lap. I like them a little rough to hold grease. The smoother the finish the more friction. Ask any of us that polish barrels on a regular basis and we can tell something about the finish just by the friction involved in an area. Just my opinion but lapping mates two surfaces together. It does not, for lack of a better word machine the surfaces into proper alignment.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I would put blueing on the bolt nose and make sure it is not touching your new barrel.

That will not make for a happy barrel.

 

[urbanrifleman]

I've don't go finer than 320 grit. Usually just 240. It breaks down as you lap. I like them a little rough to hold grease. The smoother the finish the more friction. Ask any of us that polish barrels on a regular basis and we can tell something about the finish just by the friction involved in an area. Just my opinion but lapping mates two surfaces together. It does not, for lack of a better word machine the surfaces into proper alignment.

Another one of those things that has never shown to actually improve anything as far as I can tell. It can certainly screw up your primary extraction.

I vote that everyone just leave their Remington 700s alone. But that's just me.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Another one of those things that has never shown to actually improve anything as far as I can tell. It can certainly screw up your primary extraction.

I vote that everyone just leave their Remington 700s alone. But that's just me.

It’s that urge to fix non existing problems.

 

[urbanrifleman]

It’s that urge to fix non existing problems.

Boy, you said a mouthful there, brother.

I bet you that 50% of the conversations that I have with customers, that call me to ask me questions, start with the phrase "I was reading on the internet that I should..."

 

[AlNyhus]

On a 700 with the normal .006-.007 bolt-receiver clearance, I'm always interested to hear how those that lapped their lugs kept the bolt centered so the lugs/abuttments didn't end up 'lapped' at a slight angle.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[alf]

If/when I lap, I use a barrel stub, sans lug, screwed in to make contact with the bolt nose.

220 grit and just a few ups & downs with the bolt is sufficient.

I check clearances with soft lead.

 

[AlNyhus]

When forced to do it and when the mechanical camming is good my method is pretty similar to Alfs. A spring against the bolt face loads the bolt rearward. At the rear, I put Scotch tape on the bolt body where the rear bridge is to center it and a dabbish of Imperial on the tape. A couple swipes with valve grinding compound, remove and clean everything up and repeat with 320 Clover. Clean and call it good. Ridges hold lube and that's a good thing.

But the lugs would have to be pretty wonky to do this. In my day job, the motto was: "The enemy of good enough is perfect."

Good shootin' -Al

 

[Doug Casner]

Your saying, if it aint broke dont fix it. Good advice. Doug

 

[divingin]

Boy, you said a mouthful there, brother.

I bet you that 50% of the conversations that I have with customers, that call me to ask me questions, start with the phrase "I was reading on the internet that I should..."

To be fair, you hear that more because the Internet is now the major source of information aside from late breaking news (and for many, even for that.)

Sort of like prior to the 50's, you rarely heard anyone say "I was driving down the highway..." as there weren't any highways. Now that they're more ubiquitous, it's a common phrase.

Try finding a periodical relating to, oh, say, gun building, or reloading, or even accurate shooting (see what I did there?) Not like you can waltz into your local drug store and browse the magazine rack for the latest issue.

 

[urbanrifleman]

To be fair, you hear that more because the Internet is now the major source of information aside from late breaking news (and for many, even for that.)

Sort of like prior to the 50's, you rarely heard anyone say "I was driving down the highway..." as there weren't any highways. Now that they're more ubiquitous, it's a common phrase.

Try finding a periodical relating to, oh, say, gun building, or reloading, or even accurate shooting (see what I did there?) Not like you can waltz into your local drug store and browse the magazine rack for the latest issue.

It's the "supposed to do" that I have a problem with. Which are typically very complicated solutions to very simple problems.

Not to mention the fact that the internet is now filled with all kinds of marketing of products and techniques and companies

 

[Alex Wheeler]

On a 700 with the normal .006-.007 bolt-receiver clearance, I'm always interested to hear how those that lapped their lugs kept the bolt centered so the lugs/abuttments didn't end up 'lapped' at a slight angle.

Good shootin' -Al

You dont have to lap both at the same time. The goal is a bolt body that is centered in the rear of the action when the lugs are seated. It gets trickier on the tight actions!

 

[AlNyhus]

You dont have to lap both at the same time. The goal is a bolt body that is centered in the rear of the action when the lugs are seated. It gets trickier on the tight actions!

Stan Ware used to tell me: "That's why we cut 'em, not lap 'em, Nyhus."

 

[divingin]

Not to mention the fact that the internet is now filled with all kinds of marketing of products and techniques and companies

So were the magazines; we just ignored the ads in favor of the articles. The advantage of printed material was the editors who decided what articles were allowed to be printed; the Internet is largely a self-published medium (depending on where you go.)

I'm not saying the net is better or worse than the exchange of printed information; just that it is (largely) the standard for information gathering now.

 

[urbanrifleman]

So were the magazines; we just ignored the ads in favor of the articles. The advantage of printed material was the editors who decided what articles were allowed to be printed; the Internet is largely a self-published medium (depending on where you go.)

I'm not saying the net is better or worse than the exchange of printed information; just that it is (largely) the standard for information gathering now.

I'm sure it's the same. But the broadcasting power is much more powerful that's for sure. Same thing happens in golf they had to figure out a new way to get rid of your slices every month and it was never the same thing. Add 20 yards to your driver! Every single month they would guarantee you another 20 yards

 

[Dave in WI]

With the internet, everyone is a gunsmith........