I tried to be a gunsmith for a day and a night. I won't quit my day job. I have two questions, 1) On a Savage bolt action when you lose the bushing that is inside the spring for the bolt release, What do you do? 2) How in the hell do you get the bolt release, spring and bushing put back on the gun with the trigger? Thanks

Welcome to the Band of Bubbas!

1. Order a replacement part from Brownell's.

2. Take a look at the exploded parts view in the Brownell's on-line catalog and play with the parts until they go back in. Have only done this once, but it is accomplishable.

quote:

Originally posted by chain:
I tried to be a gunsmith for a day and a night. I won't quit my day job.

I do my gunsmithing at night too.

quote:

Originally posted by chain:
I tried to be a gunsmith for a day and a night. I won't quit my day job. I have two questions, 1) On a Savage bolt action when you lose the bushing that is inside the spring for the bolt release, What do you do? 2) How in the hell do you get the bolt release, spring and bushing put back on the gun with the trigger? Thanks

A gunsmith would likely have a lathe and so making that little bushing would be a breeze. I use a fork shaped screw driver that straddles the spring so I can push it and the bushing into place without losing either.

A good trick is to use a pin punch slightly small than the trigger pin to hold all the pieces in place while you try to install the pin. It beats trying to hold a punch of parts, some spring loaded, in place with one hand, while hold the pin in a second hand and tapping on it with a third hand.

i use a broken sewing machine needle. has a stub on one end for holdin on to and you can gide the pin with ease

Thanks I had the spring compressed with the bushing inside and was about to attempt re-entry when POW everything came unglued and I lost the bushing. I had the trigger off to do a bedding job, we won't even go into that. But I did get it apart, the next a.m.

hivelosity,
Off topic question here. What's with the pic of Earl Scruggs?

Chain

A local "gunsmith" once paid me to assemble one of these for him. I charged him $15.00............. $5.00 for assembly and $10.00 to not tell any of his customers.

Find you a pin the same diameter as the original and slightly longer, chuck it up in a lathe or even a drill and use a file to put a long pointed taper on one end, then polish it with fine sand paper. You now have a "slave" pin. Start the slave pin point first on the spring/bushing side. You wont have to compress the spring, the taper will accomplish that for you. Drive it on in, then tap the original pin right behind it. Easy and simple.

I almost left it out, the slave pin needs to be relatively hard.

I am not following you. I think you have to compress the spring prior to shoving the pin in. Maybe I am like that gunsmith, DUMB. The way I see it you have to position the bolt releasy where it goes to line up the 4 holes 2 on the release and 2 on the action/receiver. Then you have to load the bushing in the spring, and compress it with some device. All the while not letting fly out of your hands so you lose the bushing. You then sneak it in the space provided in the bolt release ann shove the pin in. I am not following how you do it with a tapered pin. Can you run it by me again. thank you

Chain

You taper the end of the pin to a very long needle point. The point is so long and small that you are able to start it through the bushing and loop of the spring with out compressing the spring to any degree. You will be starting the pin at an approximate angle of 10 or 15 degrees to push it through the bushing and loop of the spring. As you straighten up the alignment of the pin enough to start it through the other holes it begins to compress the spring. At the same time the spring is captured by the long taper of the slave pin already going through the loop.

You are starting the slave pin on the bolt release side of the gun. Push the pin through the first bolt release hole, then tilt it enough to start it through the spring loop, then straighten it up enough to drive it through the whole assembly. The act of squaring up the pin will partly compress the spring, then driving it through the rest of the assembly will finish the compression.

Great idea. I get it now. I just have to go find a pin tonight. Thanks