Firing pin springs?

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Who makes/sells a "lighter" firing pin spring than the OEM? Any ideas? Mike.

[michael word]

I have been looking myself and have not been able to find any. Wolff makes extra power springs but have no plans on making a reduced power springs. Does anyone know if a spring from a Remington 700 or other rifle would be close enough in size to fit?

[keeki]

I guess you could always just kill a few coils at time with heat until you get the strength you desire.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

The springs are coiled then ground flat on both ends. Heat might be a bad way to go because you may not be able to control how far the heat travels?
Maybe chuck the spring in a lathe and "grind" it down a bit making sure it stays flat on the ends? Wouldn't take much?
All the "kits" require shortening the bolt handle screw? (not sure??) If so, we're only talking maybe 1/2 of a coil?

[keeki]

never tried heating a firing pin spring, but I used to work on a lot of instruments that had small belleville springs. I used a 9-volt battery and 2 wires to heat my springs so I could control the heat. Firing pin spring may be too large for a 9-volt.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Sounds like you've "been there, done that" so you would have a better understanding than I would. I'am think the spring would be too big for 9 volts?
Maybe a little 240 would do the trick? ;D
Grinding with a coolant flow might be better at controling the heat transfer?
Sooner or later we'll get it figured out. ;)

[82boy]

I know SSS has some springs they use in a T&T action, they may sell a few.

[gotcha]

Who makes/sells a "lighter" firing pin spring than the OEM? Any ideas? Mike.
Seems like an excellent idea for reducing cocking pressure as Savage seems to have much more spring pressure than necessary for consistent ignition. The flat ground spring poses a problem in shortening............ Maybe a guy like SSS could determine how much to lighten a F/P spring & get consistent ignition & make some accordingly for sale. HINT HINT :D

[82boy]

I will say I know of a guy that swears by factory Savage springs in his Bats. You think a Savage spring is bad a Bat is worse. Both guns (Savage and Bat) have to heavy of springs in them.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

I'am thinking, taking the spring, chuck it up in a lathe or a valve grinding machine or even a drill chuck, surface the ends like you would grind the face of a valve with coolant running while you grind, would remove some of the length without the heat being transfered to the rest of the spring? Trial and error till you get the spring shortened "just enough" to lessen the force to close the bolt and still have enough force to pop the primer?
Might take a few springs to get "exactily" the desired effect you're after? And my guess would be that all the OEM springs would all be the same length from the start? If not, maybe with a selection of springs, you might find one that's shorter than ther rest? Like I said, trial and error.
Sure would beat adding ball bearings,washers, and cut off shell casings to get the same results and no need to think about shortning the rear screw. 8)

[82boy]

You don't want to shorten the spring, it is the right length.

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Is it possible to find a spring with a lighter tension? If shortened, I'am only talking about a little off each end that would equal maybe 1/32"? All of mine seem to pretty stiff.
Anything to make the bolt close easier without adding anything "extra" to the assembly. Maybe I'am on the wrong track? ??? Not sure how far a T&T job would go in that direction. And the firing pin assemble is adjustable to compensate for any difference in length?
One of the Guys on BR central mentioned leaving the washer out (by mistake) between the bolt head and baffle and the bolt closed real easy and still fired the primer. That made me think about shortening the spring.

[sharpshooter]

A lighter firing pin spring is only a part of the equation. There is a balance between spring weight, firing pin weight and firing pin travel. A 3 have to be correct to get optimum ignition, while still maintaining a reasonable bolt lift. There is no simple fix without a trade off, that's why I spent years of study to improve the geometry and ignition.

[Aircraftmech76]

So Mr. Moreo, can you perform the necessary cuts in the bolt to make it a smoother, lighter lift without sending in the action?

[sharpshooter]

The proper cut in the bolt does no good unless the corresponding cut in the receiver is done. The "key" cut is the closing cams, and with out that, the rest is moot. This is the most difficult correction to make because it is not only internal, it's a helical cam that's based ahead of the centerline. Every bolt action centerfire has 3 helical cams incorporated in the action. The closing cams, the cocking ramp, and the extraction cam. These 3 helical cams have to be at the same rate.
Unfortunately because of an engineering flaw, all 3 of these components have a different rate of advancement in a Savage rifle. They are not out by a little, they're out a bunch... almost 10 x what the tolerance on the print says, if you go by the print. And with that said, the print is NOT optimum, even if everything was within tolerance.
Basically, I have re-engineered things the way they need to be.
There is no "simple fix", because it is a system and one thing affects the other.

[hcpyro13]

Thanks for the explanation Sharpshooter.

-Jake

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Very good explanation. Just what we needed to hear to get this conversation cleared up. Thanks Fred.

[Aircraftmech76]

+3