Lapping/polishing compounds and methods

[Ramstud41]

The bolt on my savage 110 is very gritty and rough when opening and closing it. I know it just needs to be polished up and lubed, but I have never done polishing on gun parts. I hate having to do things multiple times because I did it wrong the first time, so I want to get advice from the brotherhood. I will have a dremel available to use if that helps. I have other guns that could use the work too once I figure out how to do it. I guess I'm wondering what type of compounds I need to be looking for and where the best place is to get them? Also, what advice do you have on how to do the polishing? All the help is very appreciated.

Anson

[Robinhood]

By any chance have you torn the bolt down and did a thorough clean and lube and reassemble? Make sure the cocking sleeve is clean and lubricated. A little lube on the primary extraction ramp and the bolt lugs won't hurt. The best results for polishing are achieved by polishing the cocking pin and ramp. A DIY Lambeth bolt lift kit can help as well.

[Ramstud41]

Haven't broke it down yet as we just got back from the hospital with our newborn yesterday. I need to break it down tho. I've heard mixed reviews about the lift kits

[Robinhood]

I used the word "can" for a reason. I have made several versions myself. On some it helps and some it does not. In theory it should help. There are several factors that will affect the lift effort. So far, Sharpshooter has proven to be the best at resolving this issue.

Congratulations on the baby. Just added to the grandbabby fold myself

[Ramstud41]

I've heard sending actions to SSS is the best, but I can't afford to get that done. I've thought about trying the home made lift kits. I like tinkering with my guns anyway. I've thought about just polishing anything and everything with the bolt to try and smooth everything

[Blitzfike]

Having worked on guns for the last forty something years, I would suggest that you leave the Dremel in its box. It is so easy to damage or destroy an action with improper use of a Dremel. polishing with some 600 or 800 grit sand paper by hand will get any really rough spots down to surface level if needed. The bolt lugs fitting into the receiver should not need any work unless there has been a rust issue or something like that. In that case, a very fine abrasive paste applied to the lugs and worked into the action by opening and closing the bolt will smooth any problems there, but the action should be separated from the barrel when doing that so you can clean the residue out after lapping. The trick is to polish the surface and not remove any measurable amount of metal. The sear and mating surfaces on the savage triggers are surface hardened and anything that removes metal there can also remove the hard surface. Polishing the trigger group mating surfaces should be done with an Arkansas hard stone or other extremely fine synthetic stone made for polishing surfaces. Be careful not to alter the angle or depth of the mating surfaces or you may make for a dangerous situation. Robinhood nailed it with his suggestions. Good luck and keep us posted on your results.

[Ramstud41]

I don't really plan on messing with the trigger since I replaced it with a SAV-1. What kind of abrasive paste would you recommend? I don't want to do too much

[Blitzfike]

Wheeler engineering makes a 600 grit paste that is available from Midway, I think its about $14 for a tin of it and it will go a long way. I have several different grades (rated in microns) of industrial diamond paste that I use in die making, but it isn't readily available or cheap. The abrasive paste used in the autobody world is a good really fine paste for lapping parts, it takes a while to remove much but that's what you want. Its really hard to put the metal back on after removing too much. Stay away from valve grinding compound unless you really want to cut the metal away.

[Russell D]

I may be way off, by I've seen a lot of guns come through the doors that needed work and it was simple issues caused by the owner, one instance comes to mind I dealt with once, the bolt had drag and wanted it repaired, it turned out the problem was one of the screws on the scope base was too long and was making contact with the bolt.

Long story short, have you looked at everything before assuming it's a more involved repair?

[Ramstud41]

I just took it out to check and I didn't notice any of the screws sticking into the action. I might not have really been clear in the original post, but I don't think it's really a repair as much as just a polish/smooth the new bolt parts. I'm thinking of even applying the lapping compound to everything and then just keep working the bolt so as to not remove too much. I don't want to be one of those guys that gunsmiths make fun of later after having to fix everything :)

[Blitzfike]

If you go slow and carefully, you will do fine. Russel D was on point on simple things that can cause problems, I have also seen action screws inserted too far in the stock (think no pillars) bind the bolt. In those cases, you can clearly see a scuff or scratch on the bottom of the bolt head. Mostly, analyze what is happening and then look for the cause. In this case, you feel the bolt is not smooth enough in operation and you may well be right, I've seen most anything come out of the Savage factory. Still probably the best rifle out of the box for the price. You can find tutorials on the site that cover most any operation. Don't be afraid to take the bolt apart and lap its mating surfaces. Just beware of the ejector spring if you take it out, its pretty small and easy to lose.

[pdog2062]

Do the disassembly in a large baggie,don't ask why I know this

[Ramstud41]

Yeah I've heard of that trick. I wish I would've known about it before when assembling/disassembling other gun parts. Nothing like crawling on the floor with a flashlight looking for springs or tiny screws :)

[Hallbilly]

I thought that spending more time looking for parts that disappear over your shoulder than actually working on rifles was natural ??

[Ramstud41]

Me too. I actually had a spring shoot out and hit me in the forehead today as I was replacing a hammer spring in my sig pistol. I had no idea which way it went but happened to see it about 4 feet away before I had to break out the flashlight