Any Way to Reduce Excessive Bolt Lift Effort???

[thomae]

I pried off the Savage logo, and using JB weld, epoxied a length of threaded rod that I had cut to an appropriate length. It isn't pretty, but everything gets covered up and you can't see it from the outside. Here is what it looked like looking at the hole where the Savage Logo was.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TeL1cAVNfgA/UT_Yr3gVJaI/AAAAAAAABjg/iSdTyz_uOhI/s912/2012_0923_194836AA.JPG


I also took some extra long drill bits and drilled lengthwise through the forearm and epoxied aluminum rods from the front all the way through to the area just in front of the DBM.

Here's what it looked like from the front:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-hY24bbCNk7o/UT_Zdmh7QzI/AAAAAAAABlE/WUG8EZDE3G0/s720/2012_0923_194931AA.JPG

Here's what it looked like by the magazine:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VPrw2bIGMak/UT_ZFxiI1qI/AAAAAAAABkE/6E_g5FS7CkM/s912/2012_0630_175311AA.JPG


I filled in the voids on the interior of the stock:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-odNcc-DvUT4/UT_ZGdFQYkI/AAAAAAAABkM/TufGf2nNTZs/s912/2012_0923_194727AA.JPG


I ended up using a dremel and sandpaper and sanding this area smooth:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PBngvI_j-10/UT_ZPA_pBPI/AAAAAAAABkc/UCmn1FDCvdQ/s912/2012_0923_194806AA.JPG


I filled in the gaps in the trigger area:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kH4kmTrb9DY/UT_ZZHOxdKI/AAAAAAAABk0/lpE8NWf_C8M/s912/2012_0923_210758AA.JPG


I smoothed the front and rear where the rods protruded:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_IaGEmy7ZpA/UT_Zb9TIAiI/AAAAAAAABk8/hwDdOR8GPVE/s912/2012_0923_210806AA.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-LaDk7y65X1s/UT_Zlzhe6xI/AAAAAAAABlM/PkB1f6kK7wY/s912/2012_0925_203409AA.JPG


Then I painted the outside of the stock with black undercoating paint:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FmHTvoj4ks4/UT_Z18VoRcI/AAAAAAAABls/HLC0BGoH75c/s720/2012_1001_142520AA.JPG


It looked like this:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yNK80EkPbFY/UT_Z2nMf8lI/AAAAAAAABl0/Zfb2mWNtOh8/s912/2012_1001_142629AA.JPG



I think I used two or three coats. Then I masked the stock and sprayed sand textured paint:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-yQYrT76YPVc/UT_aFwRjTkI/AAAAAAAABmM/zHpmp9Pi1ok/s720/2012_1004_104025AA.JPG


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-N3fZbFDIP7E/UT_aLTwbvHI/AAAAAAAABmU/2MWXNhi3Z0U/s720/2012_1004_104051AA.JPG



https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lTrrMZt8AFo/UT_aRVUmRBI/AAAAAAAABmk/mx6hdm11VsE/s720/2012_1004_104820AA.JPG

Since then, I have not shot the rifle, nor do I have any photos of the finished product. I'll get them up when I do.

[CA Turkey Huntsman]

WOW Thomae...nice work! Thanks so much. You take excellent pictures and explain very well. I read your pictorial instruction about how to take the bolt apart, and was very impressed at the clarity of instruction.

Couple of questions about the stock mod:

1) Did you sand the plastic surfaces before adding the JB Weld (I assume it was the fast-setting type)? I do have a concern that JB (or clear epoxy) will not adhere very well to that slick plastic stock material.

2) Is the entire wrist area completely filled up with JB after the threaded rod is set in place, or is that the total amount of epoxy that you finally used?

3) How much better is the stock now that all this work has been done? Are you satisfied with the rigidity?

Thanks,
-Dennis

[Tack]

That's exceptional Thomae, absolutely perfect for a newbie. Clear, precise and very informative. Now I'm set like jelly, ready for this bangin stick to turn up so I can go all medieval on it.
Tack

[thomae]

1) Did you sand the plastic surfaces before adding the JB Weld (I assume it was the fast-setting type)? I do have a concern that JB (or clear epoxy) will not adhere very well to that slick plastic stock material.It was not fast acting JB Weld, and, although I thought I had let it set up long enough, I had to be careful because it kept moving around. I don't recall if I roughed up the inside surfaces where I put the rod in. That is a good idea, however, even though the JB Weld appears to adhere to the plastic without any problems


2) Is the entire wrist area completely filled up with JB after the threaded rod is set in place, or is that the total amount of epoxy that you finally used? I did not fill up the entire wrist area. What you see is how much epoxy I used. If I were to fill up the wrist, I would consider using some type of expanding foam. Filling that whole area with epoxy would be rather heavy and would take about a full cup or two of epoxy.


3) How much better is the stock now that all this work has been done? Are you satisfied with the rigidity? The stock is more rigid, but not perfect. It still flexes some, due to other inherent problems with the stock, but it is better than before. I really have not shot it (it's been one heck of a winter) since then, but holding it and practicing, I think it will do well for casual shooting and hunting. I like the extra grip that the textured paint adds. Time will tell how durable the finish is.

[CA Turkey Huntsman]

Thomae, thanks for the clarifications. I'm trying to understand these procedures the best I can before I go hacking into my brand new stock.

Frank (fgw_in_fl) also put rods in his forend, but did not allow them to protrude out of the front. Since I'm not up for a custom paint job like you did, I'll probably follow Frank's method and cut the rod length to about the front sling swivel. There is one other detail worth discussion, and that is the holes you made back at the magazine end for the rods. Frank was only able to drill in 3/8" or so before hitting an obstruction, but I see you went totally through the thick plastic boss clean through to the mag well. I'm not sure if Frank hit the recoil lug as he was drilling, or some other metal part that has been moulded into the recoil lug seating boss.

You apparently drilled in very low from the front of the forend, allowing you to keep the drill bit parallel with the forend, and negating the requirement to remove the plastic "webs" to drop the rods down into the bottom. I like the fact that your method set the rod ends into the entire recoil lug boss, but am now wondering if it would be possible to drill in that far with the bit coming in at an angle, as Frank had done?

Did your two holes clear the recoil lug itself, or was it necessary for you to notch the lug to fit over the two rods?

[thomae]

My holes cleared the lug and I didn't have to do any modification to the lug itself.
IIRC, I used this 5/16 x 17" drill bit: http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202214121?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=202214121#.UUI25Bx9Pl5

I did not have to remove the interior webbing as I wanted to keep whatever internal structure I could. The sanding and finishing the ends was rather easy. I gooped over a bunch of partially hardened JB weld, let it harden for a few days and then sanded. You could simply paint the entire stock with black paint or bed liner or undercoating and leave it at that if you wished.

[CA Turkey Huntsman]

Thanks again, Thomae. I guess I could try to dye the epoxy black somehow, or find some that is already black in color. If I am careful, I wouldn't have to paint the stock at all, I'd just have the two filled in holes at the front of the foreend. Heck, its just a working gun anyway. The coyotes won't care much if one can see the rod holes in the front!

[65impala]

On the link I posted earlier you will find pigment to add to your epoxy ;)

[CA Turkey Huntsman]

On the link I posted earlier you will find pigment to add to your epoxy ;)

Thanks George...one stop shopping!

[thomae]

The coyotes won't care much if one can see the rod holes in the front!I shot mine for a while (including the Savage shoot last year) with the two rods sticking out the front end. Kinda looked like some kind of space gun. .

[CA Turkey Huntsman]

Thomae: You have just made the "Axis Star Trek Special Edition!" ;)

Yesterday I was looking at my unmodified plastic stock to size it up for the mods. I was trying to figure out how you managed to drill those two holes so accurately from the very front of that curved forend, coming out the other end exactly symmetrical in the radius where the magazine fits in! It just looks so darn perfect. Was that just luck, or did you pre-drill some tiny holes to determine locations before boring the big suckas out?

[thomae]

Thomae: You have just made the "Axis Star Trek Special Edition!" ;)

Yesterday I was looking at my unmodified plastic stock to size it up for the mods. I was trying to figure out how you managed to drill those two holes so accurately from the very front of that curved forend, coming out the other end exactly symmetrical in the radius where the magazine fits in! It just looks so darn perfect. Was that just luck, or did you pre-drill some tiny holes to determine locations before boring the big suckas out?IIRC, I used some masking tape to mark the end of the stock, and then may have started pilot holes, or used a center punch. While drilling, since I was going through plastic, I worked on keeping the drill bits as low in the barrel channel as possible, and closer to the outer walls. They came out the other end by the magazine reasonably well aligned, although you can see that I didn't stop the one side and so ended up with a gouge in the plastic (look closely at the 5th photo from the top). Since the bits are long, you can push on them to guide them as you drill through the plastic walls in the barrel channel.

If you really wanted to look cool, you could then insert aluminum rods into the holes that were about a foot longer than needed, and without shortening them, put little sliding weights on them. You could spend all day (and have a lot of fun) talking to curious folks at the range about harmonic frequency equalization, or how the Throckmorton effect of the gonculator bars is used to compensate for the inherent oscillations brought on due to the heat-induced stress waves of the expanding gas cloud interacting with the radial thrust of the spinning base of the projectile.

[fgw_in_fla]

harmonic frequency equalization[/I], or how the Throckmorton effect of the gonculator bars is used to compensate for the inherent oscillations brought on due to the heat-induced stress waves of the expanding gas cloud interacting with the radial thrust of the spinning base of the projectile.

The new & improved Thomae Reverse Bias Compound Frequency Johnson Rod Dampening System...
Pat. Pending....

[sixonetonoffun]

Mercury filled I presume? Military will be all over this patent!

[Tack]

Wouldn't you need added weight on one gonculator bar more than the other to compensate for the rotational thrust caused by the spinning base of the projectile prior to exitation of the barrel?


Thomas, if you can rhyme "door hinge" with orange I can use exitation.

[fgw_in_fla]

Wouldn't you need added weight on one gonculator bar more than the other to compensate for the rotational thrust caused by the spinning base of the projectile prior to exitation of the barrel?


Thomas, if you can rhyme "door hinge" with orange I can use exitation.

You're thinking of the Coreolis Effect. And it depends on which side of the equator you're on at the time, the tidal schedule, time of day or night & which shoe you tied first that morning.

[fgw_in_fla]

Exitation?....

[Tack]

Exitation?....

Exitation (eggs-It-taysh'n) : the departure of a projectile from the chamber toward the light at the end of the barrel.

[fgw_in_fla]

Exitation?....

Exitation (eggs-It-taysh'n) : the departure of a projectile from the chamber toward the light at the end of the barrel.


I gotta get a newer version of Webster's.....
So many new words out there. It's good to be well spoken & have a broad vocabulary.

[RRWC]

The least expensive uphold the reputation -- accuracy, pure and simple, right off the shelf.

Honestly, I don't see how folks like you buy a $325 Savage in the first place. Only a fool would believe a decent centerfire rifle could be had at such a price without cost-cutting measures in production; they key is in HOW the costs are cut, and Savage does a very smart, innovative job of it, still ending up with a wonderful-shooting gun. Maybe, if you wanted an adjustable trigger, stock suitable for bipod, or muzzle brake or whatever, you should have bought one with those features to start with. You will NOT find it for $325.

pisgah,
Check out my thread in the 110-based centerfire section regarding my first opinion on the LRP in 6.5 CM which is supposed to be one of the higher end Savage models. This is my first Savage rifle and not very impressed. Savage definitely does seem to have some quality control issues based on what I have read on this site. I was hoping to get lucky and get a shooter but not in my case. If I have to send it back, this will be my only Savage rifle. You get what you pay for I guess.