Gas etched bolt face

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Gas etched bolt face

Post by Elmer » 01 Jan 2023, 1:26 pm

Hi fellas,
my beloved sako 85VLS .260 has a gas etched bot face, around the primer /case junction, its only a s few pits and I know it wont affect accuracy but it pisses me off every time i look at it.
I know i could get the bolt face bushed and have asked a couple smiths , one said ok but but he will have to set the barrel back a little to tighten up headspace and it might affect extraction of the case and another said NO lol.
Is there any other way I could at least cover it up or fill in the holes with super hard epoxy?(type of epoxy?) I dont want to get it filled in by tig welding as im worried it might affect the hardening.
Any suggestions would me muchly appreciated
cheers :thumbsup:
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by deye243 » 01 Jan 2023, 1:49 pm

Don't look at it .............. sorry mate I could not help myself but that is just one way of looking at it I have a Remington bolt face the same only it's a complete doughnut has it affected the rifle in anyway nope funny thing is there's never been a blown primer it's as if for some reason some primers are a poor fit and the gas just leaks out loads have never been hot in this rifle that it is on its fourth barrel.

I have an edit for this but I think using epoxy would require you to Dremel out a larger area to fill or it just wouldn't be enough for the epoxy to work personally I would not go there but I know of an epoxy that chainsaw performance builders use to raise Port lowers and if they can put up with combustion and rings sliding over it and stay there for years of hard work being used every day I don't really see why couldn't put up with this
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by Elmer » 01 Jan 2023, 2:18 pm

Cheers dye,
Yup that's a good solution and I've ignored it for 7years now lol
What's the name of that epoxy?
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by Billo » 01 Jan 2023, 3:25 pm

It's a very easy repair with Laser welding, but it need to be CM, not sure they do SS.
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by deye243 » 01 Jan 2023, 3:31 pm

:sarcasm:
Elmer wrote:Cheers dye,
Yup that's a good solution and I've ignored it for 7years now lol
What's the name of that epoxy?

I will have to ask Somebody in the u.s. should have an answer Within 24hrs
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by dnedative » 01 Jan 2023, 4:04 pm

Welding it wont be an issue, you just mould wetrag heat putty around the bolt and and the three seconds your tig welding it will barely get it hot. Certainly not enough to change the heat treat in the lugs.

Then just face in a lathe and polish.
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by BMW » 01 Jan 2023, 4:32 pm

dnedative wrote:Welding it wont be an issue, you just mould wetrag heat putty around the bolt and and the three seconds your tig welding it will barely get it hot. Certainly not enough to change the heat treat in the lugs.

What filler wire?

Then just face in a lathe and polish.
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by Wyliecoyote » 01 Jan 2023, 5:17 pm

BMW wrote:
dnedative wrote:Welding it wont be an issue, you just mould wetrag heat putty around the bolt and and the three seconds your tig welding it will barely get it hot. Certainly not enough to change the heat treat in the lugs.

What filler wire?

Then just face in a lathe and polish.




Since it's not in a shear area like the lug, 309 will suffice, but if really concerned use 410 filler but there is a need to preheat otherwise it just deposits hard lumps that are difficult to machine. Once welded dump the bolt in a lime bucket overnight to cool slowly. This further prevents hard spots.
I just did a complete repair of a bolt using 410 where someone tried to convert an action to a drop port and stuffed it. The end result was not detectable after machining so 410 is a perfect colour match. 309 is not.

The real issue is the cause like pressure too high or pockets too loose allowing gas to bypass. Faulty primer cups like those 205s years back could be another issue. Fix that first before the bolt otherwise you're back to square one.

Personally i would bush it back like that done in trued up Rem 700 actions. It kills two birds by clearing up the craters and taking the firing pin back to 60 thou to reduce piercing primers. Then you can go the Palma brass route, run more pressure for speed and be unlikely to ever see a primer leak. Easy for me to say as it costs me nothing, but if you go to all that trouble, the gain is worth it as i have seen in my own 260.
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by dnedative » 01 Jan 2023, 7:11 pm

Ah its stainless; eh, complicates things somewhat.
If it was steel its a lot easier
Last edited by dnedative on 01 Jan 2023, 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by Elmer » 01 Jan 2023, 7:16 pm

Thanks fellas,
lots to think about here
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Re: Gas etched bolt face

Post by deye243 » 10 Jan 2023, 12:36 am

Elmer wrote:Cheers dye,
Yup that's a good solution and I've ignored it for 7years now lol
What's the name of that epoxy?

JB weld
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