OK Tom. Did you do this? LOL

custom bolt handle by Rod Henrickson, on Flickr

Hey , that's my work ! The customer said he was blind and he needed it a hurry for a hunt of a lifetime .

quote:

Originally posted by Gary MacDonald:
Hey , that's my work ! The customer said he was blind and he needed it a hurry for a hunt of a lifetime .

I likes the way how you got around the fact that the gun wouldn't fire because the lugs were only half engaged, by enlarging the cocking piece slot to let the cocking piece fall all the way again. Remington makes them there lugs 3 times as strong as they needs to be anyway ! LMAO ROFF

I guess I shouldn't immediately just assume that Tom is always the innovative one on this forum. There's lots more other talented folks out there. LOL

Maybe I was blind and the customer was in a hurry ?
That's about the most bubbaized weld ? I've seen on a bolt .

Hey,, that don't look too bad; hand forged blacksmith bolt handle. Problem is, I can't even tell what it is/was/supposed to be. Maybe a wheelbarrow axle.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Hey,, that don't look too bad; hand forged blacksmith bolt handle. Problem is, I can't even tell what it is/was/supposed to be. Maybe a wheelbarrow axle.

Oh it's the original handle Tom. It just fell off one day when he was wiping it down with his cotton hanky and burnt crank case oil. That breaks off bolt handles as often as storage in gun safes. Safes are hard on guns. I've seen stocks broken in half, barrels bent and half the parts turned up missing after only 2 months of being stored in a safe!

Guns should NEVER be stored in safes! The wood shed is the best place. Or leave them in the Koplin case on the quad.

is there ANY penetration in that weld?

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
is there ANY penetration in that weld?

Well Jeff, in this case, the obvious lack of recovery potential precludes the need to X Ray. Some times yah just give up before you get started and that's exactly what I did when I simply installed a new bolt. Bubba doesn't always beat me. But this time I had to bow to a greater power. This time, Bubba kicked my ass ! LOL

When I was in CST my welding skills were poor .So I went the bending mode. A torch and hammer and I was right at home with my M98 .Skipping the filing , fear of the bolt falling off in the safe , etc. Worked fine on deer ! [ 6.5x55 ] And I was many years ahead of the 6.5 CD types !

Looks like he tried to weld it without disassembling the bolt.

quote:

Originally posted by drhall762:
Looks like he tried to weld it without disassembling the bolt.

to build on that, it looks like he took a 1/8 rod, and turned it ALL the way up on the miller --- closed his eyes, and rammed it in, spitting and sputtering

Ah yes Dave. But not only did he save a shitload of time by not taking it apart, but the firing pin, spring and shroud also acted as a heat sink to protect the hardness of the lugs. In fact, it worked SO GOOD, that he barely melted the plastic shroud at all! Except where the heat was. Of course.

We've got a whole box full of those Rem 710/715/770 bolt bodies and broken handles in the shop. Remington just replaces them and we use the original bolthead and fire control.

I've seen some fairly ugly bolt handles and have even done a couple ( welded a 3/8 bolt on a beat-up Mauser as a bit of a joke. Friend used it that way for years. I've seen some great brazing jobs. I have to admit; this takes the cake. What is the charge for a job like this. It is, after all, unique. regards, Bill

Not sure Billy. But I once saw a job where a guy had welded a horseshoe affair to his bolt that went over and around his scope that let him operate his right hand model 70 as a left hand. The bolt weighed about 4 pounds. He was pretty damned proud of it. Even though it took about 10 seconds to operate it.

A similar contrivance was made by Anschutz for left-handed shooters of match .22's but IIRC the bolt handle passed under the stock. I don't regard this sort of mod as serious bubba-work because, in match rifles, anything goes if it helps the score. I have actually contemplated a simlar modification (tastefully done, of course) for one of my prone rifles so I could maintain position better. The truth is though, my left hand works pretty well for pulling a trigger or throwing a fair jab but it's pretty awkward for anything else. There would be serious risk of putting my eye out with my thumb. Regards, Bill

Yeah I'm familiar with the Anschutz conversion Bill. He may have borrowed the idea from that. It was essentially a hoop pounded out of 3/8ths rod and welded on to the bolt knob that went up and over the scope to the other side. You pulled it down and pulled it back and then pushed it forward and up to load. He was quite proud of his creation. I didn't try to operate it. It took the appearance of something that was about to break off or bend at any moment and I didn't want to be responsible for having to fix it if I fucked it up. It sort of reminded me of some of the Mosin Nagant bolt handles that people have brought in to me that Bubba has created. LOL