changing a older 110e .308 to .223

[Willoughby]

I'm in the prcess of changing a older 110e .308 to .223
I thought it was a S/A but it had a L/A bolt head -
luckily I had a friend make me a adapter for another project
so I used that here-
the original bolt head had a pin in it and a relief in the baffle
and the leading edge of lugs were tapered
dont know if this is from wear of actually made that way
the action lugs are also tapered

any way I put a small bevel on the new bolt
had to set firing pin protrusion several times to get a repeatable .035 in the action
I measured it with the bolt dissasembled -
then when I reassembled the bolt & checked it in the action- it seemed to change
noit sure why -but it took several try's to get a repeatable .035 in the action
on the original set up the pin protrusion was being limited by the cocking pin? I think thats the correct name for it
but I dont think it was set up correctly -last time someone had it apart
the as for spring compression it is neither 1.900 or 2.600
& Im not sure where to set it at
hopefully someone who knows will chime in
maybe even sharpshooter will help out with the correct answer
I've got all the peices now except a sf follower
which I'm trying to make whil looking for one
and the barrel which will be here in july august time frame
hopefully I"ll have the rest of this figured out by then & a follower made or found
thanks for any advise on spring compression data
and does any one know if the ramped lugs & bolt are factory
and the reieved baffle -pinned head is factory?
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb333/700rem/sp024_zpsc550d435.jpg (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/700rem/media/sp024_zpsc550d435.jpg.html)
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb333/700rem/sp020_zpsa400f559.jpg (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/700rem/media/sp020_zpsa400f559.jpg.html)
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb333/700rem/sp018_zpse2fcee84.jpg (http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/700rem/media/sp018_zpse2fcee84.jpg.html)

[thomae]

...had to set firing pin protrusion several times to get a repeatable .035 in the action
I measured it with the bolt dissasembled -
then when I reassembled the bolt & checked it in the action- it seemed to change
noit sure why -but it took several try's to get a repeatable .035 in the action
on the original set up the pin protrusion was being limited by the cocking pin? I think thats the correct name for it
but I dont think it was set up correctly -last time someone had it apart
the as for spring compression it is neither 1.900 or 2.600
& Im not sure where to set it at
hopefully someone who knows will chime in



First of all you one can't measure the firing pin protrusion with the bolt disassembled.
The bolt should be cleaned, lubed and reassembled. Then it should be cycled a few times to make sure everything has "set in." At that point if you accurately measure protrusion, it should be consistent from measurement to measurement.

If the pin protrusion is limited by the cocking piece pin, than it needs to be readjusted. The Firing pin stop/adjustment nut impacting the rear of the bolt head is what should stop the forward travel of the firing pin when the rifle is dry fired.

If you have not yet read these references, they may help clarify things: :
http://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?167-Savage-110-Bolt-Assembly-Parts
http://www.savageshooters.com/content.php?143-Firing-Pin-Protrusion-Data

[sharpshooter]

What you have is a 110 first generation short action. The FP compression length should be set at 2.050". The other problem you are going to run into is the short action bolt head you are using is shorter than the long action and you need an extended FP stop nut to correct the FP protrusion.
One other thing...there should NOT be a bevel on the lugs, only a small chamfer to break the sharp edge. Your original bolt head was beveled from the factory in an ill attempt to correct the timing and this proved to be worse than doing nothing. Savage did this in the 80's and discontinued the practice in the early 90's, when they found that the bolt wasn't the problem, it was the sears that was out of spec. If you cycle the bolt you will feel a hard spot upon closing.

[Willoughby]

the pin protrusion -WAS- limited by the cocking piece when I disassembled the bolt
-I knew that was incorrect-
I did not know you could not measure pin protrusion with bolt apart
thanks for the info
it is appreciated
thanks Sharpshooter for the compression info
and for the bevel info
I made a very small bevel on the leading edges of the replacement bolt head
not near as much as the old one -can be seen in 1st pic
do you think thats ok to run it that way - or should I replace it?

[thomae]

Willoughby: Point of clarification to your last post:
I would suggest that you have to take the bolt apart to SET firing pin protrusion, but you shouldn't (well, I suppose you could, under ideal circumstances, but let's not get into that) MEASURE firing pin protrusion without reassembling the bolt.

I'm sorry if this sounds nit-picky, but I am trying to be more precise. Does that make sense?

[Willoughby]

I iknow what you mean
I was appling upward pressure to the pin assy to measure dissasembled
evidently that wasnt enough pressure, because it changed quite a bit
when assembled & dry fired a few times to seat
so you Sir are correct in saying it cannot correctly be measured dissasembled
in my above post I said set - I meant to say measure-
of course you have to dissasemble to -set- adjust
I have modified above post to say -measure-
thank you for your input
it is greatly appreciated as I am here to learn

[thomae]

I am here to learn As am I. :rolleyes:

[Willoughby]

I have one more unanswered question about this rifle
it was a pawn shop rescue -a 110e varmit as far as I have been able to asertain
in 308 1moa @ 100 -.5 moa 200-500 -I credit this to the bt bullets I loaded for it
I kinda regret messing with it -but it was my only S/A & I wanted to build a .223
& I had an exstra L/A to move the .308 to & imo a .308 runs better in a L/A anyway
my question is was the bedding factory or not
it was bedded differntly than I have ever seen
the barrel was bedded full length
& perfect elongated -with round ends spot
on both sides of the recoil lug area
and just ahead of rear action screw
the bedding looked like clear epoxy or resin
with steel wool or other silver fiber in it
the tang area had also bedded with just the clear epoxy or resin
all this was hidden -brown as the stock
untill I was removing the contact material
in the barrel channel & reciever area to pillar bed it for the new barrel
had I known what I know now
-I would have left it as it was & found another S/A for my .223 build
too late now but I wonder if it was a factory bedding or done later
if it was done by an individual he was a very mitculous
and this is my favorite rifle because of the stock & 4 screw trigger
both are exceptional