Lug raceway polishing?

[fireroad]

Does anyone know of a tool or method for polishing the lug raceway on a Remington 700 action? Wheeler Engineering use to make a "Lug Raceway Polishing Tool" but stopped for whatever reason (Midway still has a video on their site of how to use it).

I have an SS action that has a pretty rough raceway (lots of tooling marks). I have tried the old way of doing it (working the action for hours on end while watching football) but have not made much progress. I have thought of putting some lapping compound on the sides of the bolt lugs but don't want to risk excessive wear on the lugs. Thoughts?

 

[J E Custom]

Does anyone know of a tool or method for polishing the lug raceway on a Remington 700 action? Wheeler Engineering use to make a "Lug Raceway Polishing Tool" but stopped for whatever reason (Midway still has a video on their site of how to use it).

I have an SS action that has a pretty rough raceway (lots of tooling marks). I have tried the old way of doing it (working the action for hours on end while watching football) but have not made much progress. I have thought of putting some lapping compound on the sides of the bolt lugs but don't want to risk excessive wear on the lugs. Thoughts?

Polishing a raceway is not the best way to solve the problem.

The reason that they(Wheeler) stopped was ether sales or people were wearing the raceway
to much by excessive polishing.

There is several ways to improve the feel of a rough action. the use of graphite is messy
but it does smooth out the action.

Also you can molly cote the bolt and the receiver and it will fill any marks or scratches.

There are some good Teflon based coatings that will also make a large difference.

If you use any of these methods it will break in on its own.

J E CUSTOM

 

[fireroad]

Polishing a raceway is not the best way to solve the problem.

The reason that they(Wheeler) stopped was ether sales or people were wearing the raceway
to much by excessive polishing.

There is several ways to improve the feel of a rough action. the use of graphite is messy
but it does smooth out the action.

Also you can molly cote the bolt and the receiver and it will fill any marks or scratches.

There are some good Teflon based coatings that will also make a large difference.

If you use any of these methods it will break in on its own.

J E CUSTOM

JE - I was hoping you would chime in! Sorry for the onslaught of questions but...

So even if I used 600 grit lapping compound and only worked the bolt less then 50 times...I would be doing more harm then good?

Graphite - Would I be using that as an everyday lubricant or just to work the action to smooth it out?

Teflon/Moly - I have thought of that but since all the finishes I have found are colored and not clear it would mean doing the whole gun or nothing at all. Plus they all require heavy prep work, mainly bead blasting, in which I would A: have to send it out to be done as I don't have that kind of equipment and B: I would lose the jeweling on the bolt body.

I may ultimately send the rifle out to Lee at blackicecoatings.com to have the whole thing done in matte black....but in the meantime is their a clear coating I can do the whole bolt in myself or a black coating I can do just on the lugs (again myself)?

 

[J E Custom]

JE - I was hoping you would chime in! Sorry for the onslaught of questions but...

So even if I used 600 grit lapping compound and only worked the bolt less then 50 times...I would be doing more harm then good?

Graphite - Would I be using that as an everyday lubricant or just to work the action to smooth it out?

Teflon/Molly - I have thought of that but since all the finishes I have found are colored and not clear it would mean doing the whole gun or nothing at all. Plus they all require heavy prep work, mainly bead blasting, in which I would A: have to send it out to be done as I don't have that kind of equipment and B: I would lose the jeweling on the bolt body.

I may ultimately send the rifle out to Lee at blackicecoatings.com to have the whole thing done in matte black....but in the meantime is their a clear coating I can do the whole bolt in myself or a black coating I can do just on the lugs (again myself)?

No problem.

If you remove any material you are removing it from the outside surface and in order to polish
it enough to remove the machine marks you will reduce the diameter of the bolt and increase
the Inside diameter of the action.

The use of graphite or molly will only fill the marks/scratches and smooth out the operation
of the bolt until it gets broken in.

When using the Molly ,you spray it on the bolt and let it set for a few minutes and wipe all of
the excess off. (It will fill the scratches and will look like it is burnished) And will shine.

The graphite is an occasional treatment and will not change the appearance, It will fill just
like the Molly. Just use it sparingly.

Try ether one (It wont hurt anything and it can be removed if you don't like it.

When I was shooting High Power Matches I saw many fine rifles ruined by lapping/polishing
to make them operate smooth when they were brand new, I let mine break in naturally
and it only took 100 to 200 rounds . (I used the dry graphite).

J E CUSTOM