I have a Portuguese Vergueiro that I re-barrelled to 7.65x53 Arg. with a take off 1909 barrel. The gap in the split bridge that the bolt handle travels through should be .440" wide but on mine it is .485" wide and makes the bolt very loose and it catches when feeding a round, other than this the gun works perfectly.
Is there a way to get this gap back to where it should be ?

Roger

Using the bolt body as a mandrel, you could insert the bolt with the rib in the receiver channel. Then compress the rear bridge together with softened vise jaws. This would prevent over-compressing the bridge and might tighten it up a bit.

That will either fix it or crack it in half. They are probably soft enough to do that.....
Do you have a TIG welder?

I'm curious how you came up with the .440 measurement as being "correct"?

If the bolt body itself is a reasonably good fit in it's round hole through the rear of the recv'r, you're not going to be able to close up the slot on top by collapsing the rear half of the action.

You might be able to solder a shim onto one side of the split bridge to take up the extra space,,or a thinner one on each side of the slot.

Or the same shim idea to the root flat of the bolt handle. That adds width to the bolt handle root that is guided thru the slot and removes the looseness.
Maybe a weld job there or hard solder a shim onto both upper and lower surface to take up the wobble as it passes through the recv'r slot.

Tom....yes
Nathaniel...from an Aussie gunsmith who has one.

Roger

I don't know what the correct dimensions are, I was just curious. .045" seems enormous for what it is and makes me think there are/were other issues.

If this was an 04/39 (not sure that's the correct nomenclature) then I suppose it could have been reworked, but why widen/open that area?

I suspect something else happened.

I received the unit as an action only and it was pretty rough. The wide gap could be the result of inappropriate removal of the barrel...

Roger

I need to measure my two. Got one in original reworked 8mm and another Sporter in 7x57. I’ll try to get them measured today.

quote:

Originally posted by yumastepside:
I received the unit as an action only and it was pretty rough. The wide gap could be the result of inappropriate removal of the barrel...

Roger

I would suspect that one side of the split is bent out more then.

I think I would give that action a close inspection. I pulled my near new original 1904 and the gap is about .435.

....back to the original question....can the gap be safely brought back to spec ?

Roger

Well, I once saw a 'smith in Lakeland, FL straighten out a 1917 Enfield receiver where someone had inserted a bar through the magazine well in an attempt to unscrew the barrel. The rear bridge had been turned 90 degrees. He had to heat the rails due to the large amount of uncoiling needed.

It sounds like you just need to close it a tad to get it back right. The rear bridge is likely fairly soft compared to the front ring and relatively resistant to cracking by moving it a few thou. Whatever you decide as a method, you need to have the bolt body or substitute in the raceway to prevent over adjustment. I'd lean towards a safened heavy vise. Alternately a hydraulic press.

quote:

Originally posted by yumastepside:
....back to the original question....can the gap be safely brought back to spec ?

Roger

With the bolt in position, it appears that the left hand side of the rear bridge is the only side bent out....I'm thinking ( never a good thing! ) that a lever was used in the raceway against that side to unscrew the action....I'm hoping that, with a round bar to replace the bolt, I may be able to press that side back in

An aside question....Is there a double set trigger that will fit the Vergueiro ? I have already fitted a shotgun trigger guard.

Roger

The Verguiero trigger appears to be nearly identical to the M98 unit. I would think a M98 double set could be adapted. To be extra cautious, you could apply heat to the rear sidewall during the bending process as that area is not critical.