Marks on Bolt Face

Well the damage has been caused by a previous owner shooting cheap, poor quality Milsurp ammunition, as out American friends call it. Ex Military stuff and probably of third world origin. Bolt faces pitted like this are often encountered in ex military rifles that have seen extended use with corrosive priming.

Due to the recessed breech of the BSA's doing as suggested it a bit more involved plus that would weaken the bolt face. Yes it can be tig welded and re-machined another option is to have the face machined back and a hardened insert soldered in place to restore the proper dimention.

Now unless that pitted ring is really deep there is little danger of it giving way. The breech face in the end of the bolt is quite thick. I would guess, not being able to measure one I can only guess, it at least 1/8" (3.2mm) and probably more like 3/16" (4.75mm) or 1/4" (6.35mm) so the pitting would have to be very deep. Unless someone has tried to turn away the recessed bolt face then it's highly unlikely that the head space has been effected. Check the back of the bolt lugs for wear and galling and also bend a paper clip into a hook and feel the bolt lug seating face in the breech for any set back or indentation. if they is none then the head space should be fine but by all mind get it checked.

However one cannot judge the depth by looking at your photograph on the web so get it checked by a gunsmith or some one familar with rifles and machining techniques.
 
I'd happily keep using it as it is. Your promers are not leaking gas back with good quality factory. if the fix is cheap then go ahead, but may not be worth spending the dollars on a old rifle for sosmetic reasons. The at sort of boltface is really common here on cullers (.222/.223) rifles due to leaky primers from use of brass that has stretched pockets.
 
yes i can....

but to answer your question, your bolt is heat treated. inappropriate or badly done welding will change the structure of the steel. not clever.

i'd shoot the rifle with the bolt as it is.
 
You sure it's heat treated ?
Not sure I've ever noticed that any of mine are, certainly not particularly hard on the face.

Neil. :)
 
yes i can....

but to answer your question, your bolt is heat treated. inappropriate or badly done welding will change the structure of the steel. not clever.

i'd shoot the rifle with the bolt as it is.

A skilled tig weldor will be able to implement a repair without affecting any heat treatment of the bolt head, the heat from the arc is very localised with this method.

Ian
 
Anyone ever dropped a bolt on a hard surface like paving?,............... heat treated steel does not usually dent, it's more likely to chip, so if any heat treatment is imparted to rifle bolts it would be minimal, plus galling on lugs would also suggest a "softer" makeup.
 
Well let's put it this way the Bolt head, separate part on the bolt, on the Lee Enfield is hardened. Case hardened I seem to recall. The bolt on my Medwell & Perritt is hardened as well. I have not tried the BSA or Parker-Hale bolts so cannot comment on those.

However if you look into bolt welding for say replacign handles there are all sorts of jigs commercially available to hold them and many incorporate heat sinks to stop any welding effecting the bolts hardness and temper. The Locking lugs have to be hardened to withstand galling and set back and the cocking cams must be hardened as well for teh same protection against wear and galling.
 
This reminds me of an incident in the distant past when there was an inlux of cheap Finnish Lahti pistols which is a pistol with a similar look to a Luger (P08) except it has a slide accelerator system to compensate for arctic conditions. One idiot shot an excess of 2Z submachine gun ammunition through his until he cracked the back of the slide. He took it to be repaired but instead of taking it to a gunsmith took it to the local garage to get it welded. The next time he shot it the back of the slide came off as the weld had no penetration and no strength. He was lucky to ecape uninjured.
 
like anything the welds only as good as the person doing the job, if it hasnt been prepped properly you will get poor welds you cant expect a weld to hold something like the back of a slide if its been ground back flush which is probably what happened to look ok. the boltface is another matter though as all you are doing is filling the area to then machine back flush no big deal there at all. lots of bearing housings and the likes get this treatment all the time . If it is treated go to someone who does heat treating and have a talk to them it will be able to be treated. usually when something fails its usually down to incorrect procedures ,too much heat or not enough ,cold lap where the weld sits on top this wont be the case with tig and like the other poster you can localise the heat to the face only . Also it isnt down to a weld failing sometimes its the material before or after the weld but again this wont be the case in this instance as its not a structural weld,atb wayne
 
It's something that I would leave well alone myself it's not worth the risk in an old rifle that frankly isn't worth the effort. As to welding I leave that to those who know what they are talking about.
When I try to weld something I end up cutting and on the odd occasion that I've intentionally tried to cut thin steel with a an arc welder I've actually welded. However I used to be fairly good at cutting with oxy-propane and thermic lance work but that's something entirely different.
 
Seem to remember case hardening bits bobs in the school metalworking shops, and later on during apprenticeship, so a rifle bolt could be re treated easily enough.
 
It's something that I would leave well alone myself it's not worth the risk in an old rifle that frankly isn't worth the effort. As to welding I leave that to those who know what they are talking about.
When I try to weld something I end up cutting and on the odd occasion that I've intentionally tried to cut thin steel with a an arc welder I've actually welded. However I used to be fairly good at cutting with oxy-propane and thermic lance work but that's something entirely different.

to me i own one of these rifles ,not sure if it is a stutzen but mine is the point for me is i like these rifles i own a parker hale as well, looking at getting a new stock made for one to keep it original. i think that it is well worth saving to some it might be old but mine has gone all over with me hunting alot of memories and i want to use it years in advance and pass it on it started off as a cheap way to get into this sport but went beyond all that . some people might think im daft but hey ho . to the original poster have you got any further with this, also to 8x57 there is some great guys out there with amazing skills usually tig welders are quite good . i watched a guy once weld an aluminium fuel tank with gas and it was a work of art no deforming of ally and if anyone knows ally welding how hot things get with ally to a point of going transparent before it falls apart. that was proper old school skills and still is in buisness making specialist parts . hope you get things sorted,but if you have been put off and you are going to scrap it give us a pm, atb wayne ps i hope you dont though.
 
to me i own one of these rifles ,not sure if it is a stutzen but mine is the point for me is i like these rifles i own a parker hale as well, looking at getting a new stock made for one to keep it original. i think that it is well worth saving to some it might be old but mine has gone all over with me hunting alot of memories and i want to use it years in advance and pass it on it started off as a cheap way to get into this sport but went beyond all that . some people might think im daft but hey ho . to the original poster have you got any further with this, also to 8x57 there is some great guys out there with amazing skills usually tig welders are quite good . i watched a guy once weld an aluminium fuel tank with gas and it was a work of art no deforming of ally and if anyone knows ally welding how hot things get with ally to a point of going transparent before it falls apart. that was proper old school skills and still is in buisness making specialist parts . hope you get things sorted,but if you have been put off and you are going to scrap it give us a pm, atb wayne ps i hope you dont though.



Been there with the Ally repairs using Oxy/Acetylene, not sure I could produce the steady hand needed for it now though!:tiphat:
 
finnbear we used to do different gears for my race bike with bone meal years ago we made a six speed box for a cb350 , atb wayne
 
I often wonder how many different skills / artisans are hidden away on this site!:eek:
i think there are quite a few,
i have met some most keep hidden away doing there own thing but its nice to see people making proper qaulity gear from the back of there sheds , atb wayne
 
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