Headspacing ? for Gunsmiths

[bailey1474]

I work for a distributor for Savage. We had a gun that was damaged in shipment and UPS lost the bolt somehow.

I called and ordered a new bolt from Savage. I received it today but am a bit leary to put the gun on the shelf. Does the headspace need to be set on this gun? I don't want to blow someone up b/c of my ignorance on this deal.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
B.J.

[Larry Morris]

Bill,
If you can close the bolt on a new case then check the headspace yourself. (If not, then yes it will have to be headspaced for sure)
Take about 1" of fine solder, mine is .032 thickness, stick one end in the flash hole and wrap the rest around the extractor groove on the case head. Insert the new case in the chamber and close the bolt slowly.
Remove carefully and using a mic determine the thickness of the solder.
This will get you pretty close to the headspace that the new bolt has and you can then decide what course of action to take.

Larry

[chris matthews]

I am going to disagree with the checking headspace with new brass- you have no idea where that new brass is- 0.001 from the correct number or it can be as much as 0.020" off.

That's what the make gauges for......

The thing to remember is cover your butt!!!!! Especially if this is a gun going on the shelf for resale- close is not good enough in today's sue happy world.

[Larry Morris]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.....
He wants to know if the rifle is OK to put on the shelf.
If he knows what the headspace is he can tell the buyer and leave it up to them but if he put a go guage in the chamber and the bolt closes does that make it safe?
If you want a lawyers opinion take it to a lawyer. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
By the way, this is the way Darrel Holland teaches how to chamber and headspace a barrel - on his videos.
Larry

[chris matthews]

First a lawyer wouldn't know how to check headspace!!! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
Second, he needs a go and no go gauge- if it closes on the go and does not close on the no-go the gun is considered safe - within SAAMI specs.
Checking with solder and a piece of brass does not tell you if it's within SAAMI specs (unless you know what they are) and will not stand up in court if some doorknob blows it up, neither will "I told the customer what it was"

Honestly- this should be a problem for Savage- They should warranty it to make sure the bolt headspaces correctly to that gun.

[longtooth]

Gator

I must agree with Chris the headspace should be checked with GO, NO-GO gages lawsuits are a definite consideration but I would hate to lose a good customer. I am also surprised Savage would send you a bolt unless your a authorized repair station. When in business it is always best to error on the side of caution.

[308 nate]

Here is my take on the headspacing.
Headspace guages were made for a reason.
Here is the way I use them.
I only use a go guage
for my go and no go
Once I have taken the measurements and cut the chamber to spec.,I install the go guage if it closes on the go guage then I install a piece of paper measuring .001-.002 in the bolt face, make sure the paper does not fold over. If it closes on this it is a no go and the shoulder is cut on the barrel to move the chamber back.

There should be no safety issues in using a case with the paper as your guage, the only problem you may ecounter is you may not be able to close the bolt on another lot of cases, which would really tick off a customer especially if he has a nice buck in his sights.
So for what it's worth get the go guage.

308nate
p.s remember, if your case is not under the go guage dimentions, the manufacturer of your brass will not be in business for very long.