what is the practicality of building your own action? if you have the blue prints ,then farming out the work to someone who owns all the machinery and getting it done a bit at time. i would one day like to build a large martini for a 4 guage rifle it seems the simplest action to build ,someone in england was building big actions for these calibres on a falling block

kos---

If you paid the machinist HALF his going rate I'd guess a 4 bore Martini would cost $5000 US.

Jack,

My smith, Dave Caboth, he said it isn't that big of deal to build the bolt action reciever, with the right tools, but he did say the little pieces and things are "what" is the pain in the ass....so he avoids it. I wonder if you'd agree with that or not?

Brent---

How easy a bolt action is to make is determined by IF it has protruding locking lugs or not.

A Shultz and Larsen or Weatherby Mk-V action is vastly easier to make than a M-70/700/98 type.

Some actions are so extremely difficult to make it staggers the imagination they were made at all. Yesterday I looked at a Mannlicher Schonauer 270 which certainly fits that descrption. To machine the carrier spindle assembly on a M-S would take more machines, jigs, fixturs and special tooling and time than it takes to build an entire Remington rifle.....they're simply amazing to see.

To be a machinist and to see the innards of a Browning A-5 (and several hundred more designs) and realize they were made starting in 1905 is to be totally flabergasted.

There doesn't seem to be enough time between then and now to figure out all the cuts and tolorences needed for many designs, the fact that they WERE made, and can still be bought for less money than it takes to set up a machine to make the FIRST cut is one of the marvels of the world.

Ask your friend how he's going to cut the advancing ramp on the locking lug recesses. That should show very soon if he can make an action or not.

It took me about 10-15 min. to cut the cam surfaces on the front lug abutments on my "homemade" receivers. It too me a lot of time to make the tooling and get it to working and the first idea that I tried was a flop. I consider the front cams clearance for the extraction cam. A friend that makes custom actions cuts his front cams on a CNC VMC that has rigid tapping. That is neat.

You can also do them with a recipricating broach, or if you really want to get fancy, you can use an EDM sinker. On the other hand, you can put the cams on the bolt lugs, and a chamfer on the receiver, thus accomplishing the same thing. If your bolt lugs are large enough, you won't have to worry about the loss of contact area on the locking abutments either. There's a dozen different ways of skinning that cat, but it warrants some thought, no doubt.

Dave has built some. He uses something to cut the raceways, not sure what. He just said with the actions out here today, why waste the time.

How he accomplishes the advancing ramp is beyond me, but I'll ask.

KOS,
FWIW, I started building my bolt actions a short time ago. Working in a full compliment shop really helps. One reason for building my own is the fact of being a left handed shooter. Another reason is because it's a challenge that will be gratifying when done. Not to mention, no one else will have anything like them.
The 1st 2 are based on the Rem 600 and the other on the Barnard action. They will be made of SS also.
If there is anything I can help with, drop me a line.