Action differences between Axis and Model 12

Greetings all,
In my quest to build a new rifle, is there a difference between an Axis action and a model 12? Stainless or Blue does not matter much. Any information would be helpful.
thanks

They are extremely different. Action lengths are different.
Barrels and bolt heads are the same, magazine metal, spring and followers are the same and the plastic mag bottom ins the same as SOME of the Savage models.
Do a search on the forum and you will find more information.
If you can get to your Local Gun Shop and hold the two and compare them side by side that would be best.

Tons different. The 12 (which is the basic same as all the 10,11,12,14,16 and 110,111,112,114,116 rifles of current production, with the exceptions of the 12's that use the Target action) has the recoil lug attached to the action sandwiched in between the barrel nut and the action itself, the Axis has it located in the stock and fits into a slot in the action when installed into the stock.

The Axis has a smaller ejection port vs the 12. The Axis trigger is junk in stock form, but can be modified or changed.

The bolt spacings are totally diffent between the two.

There are tons of styles of stocks available in the aftermarket for the 12, as of now there are zero for the Axis.

Bolt handles are different between the two.

Really the only thing they share is barrels, as the barrels for the small shank 12's (and all the other numbers above) will fit into the action of the Axis.

The Axis are good shooters for the money and can be just as accurate as the 12's (assuming everything else is equal) but with no stock options available and the other aftermarket limitations I would opt for the 12 every time.

Those are just a few things off the top of my head, I am sure others will chime in and fill in the gaps that I have missed, but thats the basics.

EDIT: I see thomae posted while I was typing so sorry for the repeats in my post.

Thank you for the information, I am new to Savage guns, a long time T/C & Remington driver. I am finding out that the manufacturers are making "more economical" rifles based upon actions that are very different from the upper level offerings. I will narrow my search away from the axis actions and contine a search for a 2/3 digit model gun as my base to build.
Thanks again
Wombat

Also look for a Stevens 200. They can be had in Long or Short actions and are the exact same action as the 10-16/110-116 guns. The Stevens 200 just basically has a crappier stock and trigger, but both are easily upgraded and the Stevens are usually very close to the Axis in price, sometimes cheaper depending on where you live.