I hope this question has not been asked too many times. I have a Win Safari express-.375H&H. The bolt sliding without locking the cam is very rough. I have graphite and several grades of very fine polishing compound (600-8000). Not sure how to proceed. How course can I start with? How fine should I go? Correct me if I am wrong, but I should never cam the action while honing right?
Thanks,
Andy

Have you tried just working the action several hundred times with no abrasives at all, while watching TV? Works for me. Usually only takes 500-600 or so complete full opening/complete closing strokes. No big cleanup afterwards.

Be sure to grease the cocking cams and the backs of the locking lugs a minute amount first....

No gunsmith here but I usually put Tetra Gun grease on the bolt and work it a bit (a hundred cycles or so?), clean off the grease, reapply the grease and continue to work the bolt and continue the process until headway is made. I clean and lube the bolt when the lube goes gray.

Hope this helps!

John

What I have found works great for rough action is to take a small amount of polishing compound (a fine grit)adn mix it in with 4 times the amount of high pressure/hinge grease. I mix the concoctin in my palm (the heatmakes mixing it easier. Then I apply a small amount to the rails and contact surfaces and proceed to work the action. I do this with finer grits until it is silky smooth.

I am not a gunsmith but was shown told to do this by one.

quote:

Originally posted by bulbwerks:


I am not a gunsmith but was shown told to do this by one.

Not a very good one.

pepsodent toothpaste

drew,

If you apply a polishing compound to BOTH the rails AND the locking lugs; especially the back or rear area of the locking lugs and cycle the bolt completly (closing & opening it) you will; to whatever degree create headspace, even if only a minute amount.

Polishing compunds should therefore be avoided at all costs on the rear of the locking lugs unless you want the desired result.

For polishing the RAILS ONLY (simply sliding the bolt back & forth WITHOUT closing the bolt) on the few rifles that have required such treatment; I use a couple of drops (less is better) CLP with a touch of JB Bore Cleaner. This has acheived satisfactory results for me without getting anything into the chamber/locking lug area of the rifle. A few minutes of Alberta Canuck's procedure normally get everything pretty smooth.

Use toothpaste, but not the whitening kind, it'll take the bluing off! Seriously though, toothpaste is a slight abrasive and if you only need a little bit of lapping or smoothing then try the kind with baking soda in it. It works!

Thanks for the advice guys! I have some Slide products "SuperGrease" left over from my injection molding days, I'll apply sparingly and work the bolt a couple hundred times.
Andy