For anyone who has ever launched a firing pin assembly from a 1917 Enfield across the room, while following the ridiculous instructions of using a piece of string and a coin to compress the spring and to unwind the threading, I have a little trick that might make this step a bit safer.

I took a Kleinendorst Remington 700 bolt disassembly tool ($25 bucks from Brownells) and milled out the lengthwise slot that accepts the cocking piece with a � inch end mill. I then ran a � ball end mill into the recess to enlarge that area for the Enfield bolt shroud.

You can now use that tool to disassemble both Enfield 1917 and Remington 700 bolts quickly, easily and far more safely!

The Kleinendorst tool operates exactly like the big bench mounted disassembly tools used by the armories for the Enfields.

Rick

Recently came into 2 1917s. Have to give it a try. That is if I can decide on the calibers I want to build.

Jag,

It works really nice and if you don't have a milling machine you could probably do it with a drill press since it's made from aluminum and is pretty easily cut.

Once you try to fit the Remington tool to the Enfield bolt you will see exactly where it needs to be relieved in order to fit.

Enfields are great actions (I have two of them restored to Military configuration) and the parts are easily obtained and fairly inexpensive. It's a good idea to have the receiver checked for small hairline cracks around the front receiver ring if the original barrel has been removed. If you have ever removed an original barrel it is easy to see how those cracks probably got there. They must have had gorillas putting them on at the factory...REALLY tight!!!

Numrich sells a great coil spring assisted ejector to replace the flimsy factory one that always breaks and I would really suggest buying a couple. They also sell magazine boxes to fit different calibers and even one with a shortened follower and spring if you want to go that direction.

Good luck,

Rick

JAG, which Enfields do you have? Eddy, Rem or Win? If you have the Rem you have the best of the 3 and should consider having it made into something real nice (not that the others won't work, the Rem. was just the best). They are the most expensive of the military actions to sporterize (from my experience) but can be made into great things. If I were able to go gunsmithing myself I would horde them. :-)

Red

Dago,

I realize this is off-thread but I was wondering why you consider the Rem. to be the best of the three. ( I have 3 Win.) Thanks.

pdhntr

( 9 days, 15 hours, 45 minutes)

I believe it is because of the tighter tolerances and the heat treating. This is not to say that the Winchesters aren't good too, my 458 is a Win. and is going to be a work of art when done. I had another one that I sold to a member on the board that I really wanted to use for something too, just decided that since I can't do the work myself I can't afford to play with them. And it was already partially sporterized, ears gone, drilled and tapped, cock on open kit, Dayton-Traister trigger (I think, it wasn't the military unit), and I think the bottom metal was straightened out.

something to look for on your winchester, when opening the bolt, does it come back smooth if you have any pressure on the bolt handle towards the left side of the action(not applying pressure directly to the rear)? My 458 had this problem and apparently this happened on the winchesters sometimes. In my case it will get a guide rib installed on the bolt and a slot cut for it in the bridge to solve the problem.

Red

Red,
I have a Eddystone that I posted pictures of here:
http://www.accuratereloading.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=664224&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=21&fpart=1

and a winchester. The markings on the win are in great shape and the ears are already milled off. I will get pictures of it tonight.

Still flirting with caliber choice.

http://www.e-gunparts.com/product.asp?chrProductSKU=412560-01

Rick,

Is this the ejector part to which you refer? If not, would you be so kind as to provide a part number? I don't get any results for a "coil spring Enfield ejector" using their search feature.

Thanks in advance,

Reed

The piece of string bit is the real rotten apple, but a coin can be used to advantage without a lot of trouble. Try it this way:
1. Open bolt
2. Engage safety
3. Close bolt (this will leave a gap between front edge of cocking piece & bolt sleeve)
4. Insert coin in gap mentioned in 3.
5. Disengage safety & remove bolt (may have to hold coin in place at first)
6. Unscrew bolt sleeve from bolt
7. Press tip of firing pin onto a block of soft wood, push down on bolt sleeve until it clears cocking piece
8. Turn cocking piece a quarter of a turn to disengage it with firing pin threads, and remove cocking piece from firing pin
9. Let up easy on bolt sleeve & remove it & spring from firing pin

My newest Numrich catalog #26 lists the part on page 1010 as their part number: #412570 Ejector, Coil Spring, Replacement..$6.50. The magazine boxes are on the same page.

It is nothing more than an original ejector with the thin, integral, flat spring snapped off (which they seem to do on their own most times anyway). They then make two small cuts near where the spring and ejector proper came together and those serve as a base for a small coil spring that sits over the piece of metal left between the cuts.

Very reliable, very simple, and just a wee-bit harder than the original to mount properly when installing the ejector.

If you are like me you will no doubt stab the hell out of your finger the first few times you install an ejector when you start that pointed bolt stop screw... but don't make the mistake of grinding it off because it is shaped like that for a very good reason. Under the tension of that big fat Bolt Stop spring it is almost impossible to get a normal screw started without messing up the threads on the tip. That long, sharp, tapered point on the screw will get it aligned way before any threads come into play. Mauser came up with the idea for the pointed, tapered screw on his bolt stops I believe, and the Enfield copies the same design.

Another good source for Enfield parts is Popperts. They don't normally have as much in stock as Numrich or Sarco but they ship faster and their stuff seems to be in better shape most times.

Good luck on these puppies they are great actions to play with.

Rick

Yeah, those are the exact same directions that I read in the books also...and it's a hell of allot easier to write than it is to do with oily hands and polished steel.

I even made up a special washer with a cut off portion that would slide right over the firing pin body and that worked allot better than a coin.

I came up with the idea for the tool I mentioned when I was disassembling the bolt on my Remington 700 and noticed that the process was exactly the same as the Enfield. Then I saw picture of the big bench top tool used by the armories and noticed that they operated just exactly like the Kleinendorst tool only they weighed about fifty pounds and had to be bolted to a bench!

The great thing with using the tool, as opposed to a coin, is that there is absolutely no chance of it slipping off and turning your bolt into a dart gun.

Rick