Savage 99 restification project
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
Ian
Notorious member
Finally got a chance to work on the rifle again tonight. I gently lapped the last high spot out of the receiver face and got the barrel completely seated where I'm happy with it. Then I scribed the cutouts for bolt fin and extractor, and proceeded to file my merry butt off.
The barrel recess where the bolt fin goes is actually sculpted, so I did a lot of the cutting with diamond bits and a rotary tool. The extractor slot is just a straight file cut so I set the angle with an adjustable protractor and filed it down, still have a tiny bit left to go but the bolt closes now. I also very lightly touched the high spots on the bolt face, but only removed maybe half a thousandth from a few spots. Problem with the bolt face is I can't figure out how to remove the pin that holds the extractor in the bolt, so I can't dress across the bolt face fully with a flat stone. Anyone have ideas on that? The pin appears to pass all the way through the bolt, rather than into a blind hole, but it's so tight I can't get it to budge.
Checking headspace, the lever is 1/4" shy of of closing on the "go" gauge, measured at the back of the receiver. Go is .063" rim thickness. I stuck a dummy cartridge in there (.059" rim) and it goes...barely. So tomorrow or Saturday I'll work on the bolt face some more, and if there's any interference left I'll pull the barrel and see about lightly reaming the chamber by hand until the bolt will just barely close on the "go" gauge.
The barrel recess where the bolt fin goes is actually sculpted, so I did a lot of the cutting with diamond bits and a rotary tool. The extractor slot is just a straight file cut so I set the angle with an adjustable protractor and filed it down, still have a tiny bit left to go but the bolt closes now. I also very lightly touched the high spots on the bolt face, but only removed maybe half a thousandth from a few spots. Problem with the bolt face is I can't figure out how to remove the pin that holds the extractor in the bolt, so I can't dress across the bolt face fully with a flat stone. Anyone have ideas on that? The pin appears to pass all the way through the bolt, rather than into a blind hole, but it's so tight I can't get it to budge.
Checking headspace, the lever is 1/4" shy of of closing on the "go" gauge, measured at the back of the receiver. Go is .063" rim thickness. I stuck a dummy cartridge in there (.059" rim) and it goes...barely. So tomorrow or Saturday I'll work on the bolt face some more, and if there's any interference left I'll pull the barrel and see about lightly reaming the chamber by hand until the bolt will just barely close on the "go" gauge.
F
freebullet
Guest
I'm just proud that he's posting pics.
Ian
My sks bolt pins were omg tight. They were tapered & only went one way. I sanded & polished them for a more reasonable non punch breaking fit. Baring that I dunno, not to familiar with the 99. Heat & beat...the correct direction of course.
Glad to hear it's getting close.
Ian
My sks bolt pins were omg tight. They were tapered & only went one way. I sanded & polished them for a more reasonable non punch breaking fit. Baring that I dunno, not to familiar with the 99. Heat & beat...the correct direction of course.
Glad to hear it's getting close.
Ian
Notorious member
I'm resting on that part for now, will do more research before proceeding. I'd like to jewel the bolt and blue the extractor/loaded chamber indicator before putting it back together anyway, and I don't have any rust blue or a jeweling rod at the moment.
In the meantime, I spent the entire afternoon until dark hunting stock wood. There are six wild black cherry trees remaining standing on my property, all completely dead after the last year or before. We used to have dozens, but the cedar invasion and drought of '80-85 and the last bad one that finally broke a few years ago has killed them all. Some of them my dad cut down when I was little and we saved the pretty trunk wood. I made a few stocks from it already, but there's not much pretty stuff left, and it's riddled with worms, cracks, and rot. So I ended up felling three more trees, searching for something decent between the rotted heartwood and worm/ant infestations. Hauled several large chunks out of the canyon and back home, I'll have to do more cutting to see if any of it will work. That will have to wait until I can get some more chainsaw fuel, burned up two full quarts today.
In the meantime, I spent the entire afternoon until dark hunting stock wood. There are six wild black cherry trees remaining standing on my property, all completely dead after the last year or before. We used to have dozens, but the cedar invasion and drought of '80-85 and the last bad one that finally broke a few years ago has killed them all. Some of them my dad cut down when I was little and we saved the pretty trunk wood. I made a few stocks from it already, but there's not much pretty stuff left, and it's riddled with worms, cracks, and rot. So I ended up felling three more trees, searching for something decent between the rotted heartwood and worm/ant infestations. Hauled several large chunks out of the canyon and back home, I'll have to do more cutting to see if any of it will work. That will have to wait until I can get some more chainsaw fuel, burned up two full quarts today.
Ian
Notorious member
A shot of the new chamber and roughed-in extractor and bolt guide slots:
One of the three trees I felled and hacked on trying to find my new stock somewhere. Don't get excited, the only piece of this one that didn't have rot has some helical cracks through it, pretty sure it's a bust. There are several plain trunk pieces that might do, but nothing with any exciting grain patterns other than the usual iridescent micro-grain of cherry wood.
One of the three trees I felled and hacked on trying to find my new stock somewhere. Don't get excited, the only piece of this one that didn't have rot has some helical cracks through it, pretty sure it's a bust. There are several plain trunk pieces that might do, but nothing with any exciting grain patterns other than the usual iridescent micro-grain of cherry wood.
JonB
Halcyon member
My Stock maker friend, says the Best figured stock wood (at least from black walnut) is in the Stump, half under ground. Lots of work to get it out of the ground, even with a good sized backhoe...then the cleaning...then the talent to know where to cut.
Are you gonna carve this out by hand?
My friend has a mechanized stock duplicator...it is actually the stock duplicator that Herter's used 5 decades ago, He had me replace some of the wiring on it, If I recall correctly, it was made in Germany.
Are you gonna carve this out by hand?
My friend has a mechanized stock duplicator...it is actually the stock duplicator that Herter's used 5 decades ago, He had me replace some of the wiring on it, If I recall correctly, it was made in Germany.
Pistolero
Well-Known Member
I have some rough sawn walnut that has been drying in my barn for about 5 or 6 years, not sure any of it
is anything very fancy. I also have some pieces of log that were cut up by someone else for firewood,
and have been stacked for years. I made a real nice stock and forend out of a piece of that firewood years
ago for a Stevens Favorite that turned our real nice, but just plain nice walnut, no fancy grain. I could
see what I have and trim some down to your dimensions and send it if you want plain grain walnut.
Bill
is anything very fancy. I also have some pieces of log that were cut up by someone else for firewood,
and have been stacked for years. I made a real nice stock and forend out of a piece of that firewood years
ago for a Stevens Favorite that turned our real nice, but just plain nice walnut, no fancy grain. I could
see what I have and trim some down to your dimensions and send it if you want plain grain walnut.
Bill
Ian
Notorious member
Well, here was my thought sequence.
First I was just going to order a set of 95% inletted stocks from Macon, then I read lots of bad things about Macon.
Then I looked at some of the better duplicators, still I have to either buy or come up with the wood, then ship it, then pay the labor to do it, runs several hundred dollars minimum, and I wouldn't be able to choose the grain layout.
Then I realized that the comb height and width just isn't going to work for me, and the fore-end needs a little more "s" shape to the profile to suit me, and needs a swell in the width to fit my hand better, so duplicating is pretty much out of the question. This is a "restification", not a restoration, since I'm making the rifle to suit ME and not necessarily keeping it in original form.
Walnut is ok, but not my favorite. I much prefer cherry, maple, pecan, or mesquite.
So that leads me to sourcing my own blanks, and carving it myself.
Bill and Jon, your offers are generous and much appreciated, but I'm leaning a different way at the moment, subject to change as always!
Keith, I have a high opinion of properly-made, laminated wood stocks. They are light, very strong, very stable, very inexpensive....and look like a piece of vinyl-veneered Chinese office furniture IMO. They are best painted, or painted and hydro-dipped in a nice camo pattern. I wouldn't dream of putting one on an antique Savage levergun.....unless of course I put that quad-rail handguard, bipod, and folding red dot/laser sight combo on it too..
Here's one of my Swedish Mausers done in some of the more plain cherry some years ago, back before I figured out out to properly finish tight-grained hardwood Forgive the "apprentice marks" where I over-ran the checkering borders in a spot or two.
You wouldn't have believed a person could have made a full-sized rifle stock out of that particular tree, it was only about 10" in diameter a foot off the ground and only had one good half. By the time I got rid of most of the sapwood and the rotten core, the stock itself was just about all that was left.
First I was just going to order a set of 95% inletted stocks from Macon, then I read lots of bad things about Macon.
Then I looked at some of the better duplicators, still I have to either buy or come up with the wood, then ship it, then pay the labor to do it, runs several hundred dollars minimum, and I wouldn't be able to choose the grain layout.
Then I realized that the comb height and width just isn't going to work for me, and the fore-end needs a little more "s" shape to the profile to suit me, and needs a swell in the width to fit my hand better, so duplicating is pretty much out of the question. This is a "restification", not a restoration, since I'm making the rifle to suit ME and not necessarily keeping it in original form.
Walnut is ok, but not my favorite. I much prefer cherry, maple, pecan, or mesquite.
So that leads me to sourcing my own blanks, and carving it myself.
Bill and Jon, your offers are generous and much appreciated, but I'm leaning a different way at the moment, subject to change as always!
Keith, I have a high opinion of properly-made, laminated wood stocks. They are light, very strong, very stable, very inexpensive....and look like a piece of vinyl-veneered Chinese office furniture IMO. They are best painted, or painted and hydro-dipped in a nice camo pattern.
I wouldn't dream of putting one on an antique Savage levergun.....unless of course I put that quad-rail handguard, bipod, and folding red dot/laser sight combo on it too..Here's one of my Swedish Mausers done in some of the more plain cherry some years ago, back before I figured out out to properly finish tight-grained hardwood
Forgive the "apprentice marks" where I over-ran the checkering borders in a spot or two.You wouldn't have believed a person could have made a full-sized rifle stock out of that particular tree, it was only about 10" in diameter a foot off the ground and only had one good half. By the time I got rid of most of the sapwood and the rotten core, the stock itself was just about all that was left.
JonB
Halcyon member
I wouldn't have even noticed those, if you hadn't made me look for them with that casual remark.
Nice checkering !
That 'plain' cherry is nice looking, to say the least.
As to what you desire for this 99 restification stock, sounds like you'll have your hands full...that's a lot of details...my friend cuts traditional shaped stocks from templates, I don't think he has done any customy stuff, other than for his own guns.
fiver
Well-Known Member
that's how I like my wood, straight grained and tight with maybe a little swirl or something here and there.
if your gonna resto-mod the thing break out the fiberglass bondo and build things up how you like them.
sand it down and paint it.
your past the rat rod stage, put some muted bling in the mix and finish it off.
if your gonna resto-mod the thing break out the fiberglass bondo and build things up how you like them.
sand it down and paint it.
your past the rat rod stage, put some muted bling in the mix and finish it off.
Ian
Notorious member
Spent the last two evenings after work carving up sections of the various cherry trees cut on Sunday. Got it whittled down to four hopefuls and after going through them one by one to study cracks and wormholes, I'm back to square one. Almost thought I had it with a nice solid piece with good figure and grain flow that perfectly matched the gentle "s" shape of the bottom stock profile, but as got it roughed to shape, there were not one but five worm holes all converging in the wrist area. Of the others, critical cracks in one place or another or worm rot nixed them. This is about like screwbean mesquite, you might get one good stock out of every ten pieces big enough to make a stock.
So, back to get some more of the straight trunk sections and see what I can come up with other than a lifetime supply of knife and chisel handles.
So, back to get some more of the straight trunk sections and see what I can come up with other than a lifetime supply of knife and chisel handles.
KeithB
Resident Half Fast Machinist
Impressive machine work so far, and what a nice checkering job Ian. I would absolutely NOT have the patience or physical dexterity to do what you did.
I mostly agree with you about laminated stocks, but I thought the sentimental value of using your own wood might be greater than your utilitarian valuation of laminated stocks.
I mostly agree with you about laminated stocks, but I thought the sentimental value of using your own wood might be greater than your utilitarian valuation of laminated stocks.