What would you do?

[Tac-O]

Long story short, I have a Tikka action that will either get a new barrel, or will be sold and then I'll get a different Tikka action and put the barrel on that. I also have my kids Tika which I could have the barrel put on two, get myself and action wrench and just have a switch barrel gun.

The action that I have now has been completely trued.... Squared face, squared threads, squared lugs, squared bolt face... Which is nice, but the gunsmith took a ton of material off the receiver face so that the devils wood match me shank diameter of the barrel that was put on. So, I can no longer put a factory barrel back on, or use a prefit. That is exactly what I wanted to be able to do, so I am a little hesitant to have a new barrel fitted to it.

I
Part of the reason I want to have an unmodified action is so I can buy new Tikka takeoff barrels and either use them or have them rechambered. Yes it's a factory barrel, but I think they're about the best largely available factory barrel out there. And if I end up buying a reamer, I'd like to rechamber rather than have a whole new chamber cut in order to save reamer life. That would be a much cheaper rebarreling option than having a more expensive blank custom fitted and contoured every time.

And, I sort of doubt that I'd be able to tell a difference between hey blue printed Tikka action and an unmodified one... They're pretty good from the factory.


Also, money is real tight right now.

So....

Have new barrel fitted to the bluesprinted action and maybe have the barrel contoured thinner or fluted? More money now and long-term.

Sell that action along with the factory Walnut stock it's bedded in and get a new rifle or action?

Sell that action and stock, get an action wrench, and have the new barrel fitted to my kids action and use that as a switch barrel rifle until I can buy another rifle?

 

[West Calamus]

Long story short, I have a Tikka action that will either get a new barrel, or will be sold and then I'll get a different Tikka action and put the barrel on that. I also have my kids Tika which I could have the barrel put on two, get myself and action wrench and just have a switch barrel gun.

The action that I have now has been completely trued.... Squared face, squared threads, squared lugs, squared bolt face... Which is nice, but the gunsmith took a ton of material off the receiver face so that the devils wood match me shank diameter of the barrel that was put on. So, I can no longer put a factory barrel back on, or use a prefit. That is exactly what I wanted to be able to do, so I am a little hesitant to have a new barrel fitted to it.

I
Part of the reason I want to have an unmodified action is so I can buy new Tikka takeoff barrels and either use them or have them rechambered. Yes it's a factory barrel, but I think they're about the best largely available factory barrel out there. And if I end up buying a reamer, I'd like to rechamber rather than have a whole new chamber cut in order to save reamer life. That would be a much cheaper rebarreling option than having a more expensive blank custom fitted and contoured every time.

And, I sort of doubt that I'd be able to tell a difference between hey blue printed Tikka action and an unmodified one... They're pretty good from the factory.


Also, money is real tight right now.

So....

Have new barrel fitted to the bluesprinted action and maybe have the barrel contoured thinner or fluted? More money now and long-term.

Sell that action along with the factory Walnut stock it's bedded in and get a new rifle or action?

Sell that action and stock, get an action wrench, and have the new barrel fitted to my kids action and use that as a switch barrel rifle until I can buy another rifle?

Holly cow!!!!!!!!! You don't have anything pard. Your gunsmith just perpetrated fraud on you. How did gunsmith explain to you he could blue print a receiver and bolt to the original factory blue print built on CNC machines with very little tolerances on his lathe.

 

[Tac-O]

Holly cow!!!!!!!!! You don't have anything pard. Your gunsmith just perpetrated fraud on you. How did gunsmith explain to you he could blue print a receiver and bolt to the original factory blue print built on CNC machines with very little tolerances on his lathe.

Wellll that's part of the long story haha.

So I take it you think I'd be better off selling this action since I want to be able to screw on a factory barrel or prefit?

 

[Tac-O]

And it is all very squared. I had another smith check it when I had him fix the crown and one of my oops.

 

[MagnumManiac]

How can you true something that is true to begin with?
Anyway, I would sell, sell, sell!

A pre-fit has to be matched to a standard, your so called smith royally screwed that up.
Hope you get some dollars for it, otherwise it's an expensive lessen. And, I will tell you I have learned the hard way more than once.
I destroyed a mint Mauser 98 Brno VZ24 action by being hasty with welding on a new bolt handle and not looking at the welders settings, blew a hole straight through into the threads for the bolt shroud.
No fixing that oops.

Cheers.

 

[FEENIX]

Long story short, I have a Tikka action that will either get a new barrel, or will be sold and then I'll get a different Tikka action and put the barrel on that. I also have my kids Tika which I could have the barrel put on two, get myself and action wrench and just have a switch barrel gun.

The action that I have now has been completely trued.... Squared face, squared threads, squared lugs, squared bolt face... Which is nice, but the gunsmith took a ton of material off the receiver face so that the devils wood match me shank diameter of the barrel that was put on. So, I can no longer put a factory barrel back on, or use a prefit. That is exactly what I wanted to be able to do, so I am a little hesitant to have a new barrel fitted to it.

I
Part of the reason I want to have an unmodified action is so I can buy new Tikka takeoff barrels and either use them or have them rechambered. Yes it's a factory barrel, but I think they're about the best largely available factory barrel out there. And if I end up buying a reamer, I'd like to rechamber rather than have a whole new chamber cut in order to save reamer life. That would be a much cheaper rebarreling option than having a more expensive blank custom fitted and contoured every time.

And, I sort of doubt that I'd be able to tell a difference between hey blue printed Tikka action and an unmodified one... They're pretty good from the factory.


Also, money is real tight right now.

So....

Have new barrel fitted to the bluesprinted action and maybe have the barrel contoured thinner or fluted? More money now and long-term.

Sell that action along with the factory Walnut stock it's bedded in and get a new rifle or action?

Sell that action and stock, get an action wrench, and have the new barrel fitted to my kids action and use that as a switch barrel rifle until I can buy another rifle?

Brother, you have terrible luck with gunsmiths.

 

[sierracharlie338]

As mentioned previously, the prefits available have to be mated to FACTORY built actions. Sell the trued one and stick with a complete factory action.

 

[shortgrass]

Brother, you have terrible luck with gunsmiths.

Maybe there was just a communication problem!? If you told the 'smith you were planning on using pre-fits and take-offs, his fault. If you neglected to tell him you were planning on pre-fits/take-offs, your fault. I don't usually "true" a custom action, but there are those who claim there is, or can be a need to do so. JMO, but threads only need to be re-cut if they're really screwed-up (and after 'smithing for the past 30yrs I've seen 1 or 2). Face the front ring, or at least check it with an indictor, check locking lug contact and that the bolt face is square to the (theoretical) centerline. Just because an action was machined on CNC doesn't make it 'perfect', but chances are it is closer to 'perfect' than actions produced that were manufactured pre-CNC days. Moving any 'part' from one station to next for the next operation doesn't lend itself to repeatability. In these CNCs the 'part' remains in the same fixture, possibly moved or rotated by the robotics, from start to finish. I set-up and run CNC mills and lathes, I'm a 'part time' hand at my age. Running at production rates you have to have allowable tolerances or whatever it is you are making would be unaffordable! I recently made two 70mm holes in a piece of inch and a half plate. Used 'circular interpolation' canned cycle on the mill. The holes were roughly spaced 15 inches apart. Ended up 1 hole was .0015 larger in diameter than the other, still in the tolerance provided for the work. Sell the 1 that's been 'trued', it's only good for a 'gunsmith fit', shouldered barrel, now. While I'm at it, seems there are a lot of wanna-be gunsmiths around, these days,,,,,, anyone who has a lathe and can cut a chamber........

 

[tobnpr]

How did gunsmith explain to you he could blue print a receiver and bolt to the original factory blue print built on CNC machines with very little tolerances on his lathe.

If you think that mass-production CNC machined parts are always perfect, and those made on a manual machine are by definition inferior- you know nothing about machining.

 

[shortgrass]

How can you true something that is true to begin with?
Anyway, I would sell, sell, sell!

A pre-fit has to be matched to a standard, your so called smith royally screwed that up.
Hope you get some dollars for it, otherwise it's an expensive lessen. And, I will tell you I have learned the hard way more than once.
I destroyed a mint Mauser 98 Brno VZ24 action by being hasty with welding on a new bolt handle and not looking at the welders settings, blew a hole straight through into the threads for the bolt shroud.
No fixing that oops.

Cheers.

Mauser '98 bolts are readily available here in the US, don't know about 'there'.

 

[FEENIX]

Maybe there was just a communication problem!? If you told the 'smith you were planning on using pre-fits and take-offs, his fault. If you neglected to tell him you were planning on pre-fits/take-offs, your fault. I don't usually "true" a custom action, but there are those who claim there is, or can be a need to do so. JMO, but threads only need to be re-cut if they're really screwed-up (and after 'smithing for the past 30yrs I've seen 1 or 2). Face the front ring, or at least check it with an indictor, check locking lug contact and that the bolt face is square to the (theoretical) centerline. Just because an action was machined on CNC doesn't make it 'perfect', but chances are it is closer to 'perfect' than actions produced that were manufactured pre-CNC days. Moving any 'part' from one station to next for the next operation doesn't lend itself to repeatability. In these CNCs the 'part' remains in the same fixture, possibly moved or rotated by the robotics, from start to finish. I set-up and run CNC mills and lathes, I'm a 'part time' hand at my age. Running at production rates you have to have allowable tolerances or whatever it is you are making would be unaffordable! I recently made two 70mm holes in a piece of inch and a half plate. Used 'circular interpolation' canned cycle on the mill. The holes were roughly spaced 15 inches apart. Ended up 1 hole was .0015 larger in diameter than the other, still in the tolerance provided for the work. Sell the 1 that's been 'trued', it's only good for a 'gunsmith fit', shouldered barrel, now. While I'm at it, seems there are a lot of wanna-be gunsmiths around, these days,,,,,, anyone who has a lathe and can cut a chamber........

LOL! My response to the OP is due in part to his 30-284 build challenges.

 

[xsn10s]

Long story short, I have a Tikka action that will either get a new barrel, or will be sold and then I'll get a different Tikka action and put the barrel on that. I also have my kids Tika which I could have the barrel put on two, get myself and action wrench and just have a switch barrel gun.

The action that I have now has been completely trued.... Squared face, squared threads, squared lugs, squared bolt face... Which is nice, but the gunsmith took a ton of material off the receiver face so that the devils wood match me shank diameter of the barrel that was put on. So, I can no longer put a factory barrel back on, or use a prefit. That is exactly what I wanted to be able to do, so I am a little hesitant to have a new barrel fitted to it.

I
Part of the reason I want to have an unmodified action is so I can buy new Tikka takeoff barrels and either use them or have them rechambered. Yes it's a factory barrel, but I think they're about the best largely available factory barrel out there. And if I end up buying a reamer, I'd like to rechamber rather than have a whole new chamber cut in order to save reamer life. That would be a much cheaper rebarreling option than having a more expensive blank custom fitted and contoured every time.

And, I sort of doubt that I'd be able to tell a difference between hey blue printed Tikka action and an unmodified one... They're pretty good from the factory.


Also, money is real tight right now.

So....

Have new barrel fitted to the bluesprinted action and maybe have the barrel contoured thinner or fluted? More money now and long-term.

Sell that action along with the factory Walnut stock it's bedded in and get a new rifle or action?

Sell that action and stock, get an action wrench, and have the new barrel fitted to my kids action and use that as a switch barrel rifle until I can buy another rifle?

How much material was taken off the face of the action and bolt? I ask because maybe a cheap solution is to mate a Remington style recoil lug ground to imitated factory specs. Meaning you could then screw on factory barrels. Or better yet slightly short so factory barrels would be like short chambered barrels. Then you could clean up the chambers with a chamber reamer. Otherwise I'd sell with a disclaimer on what happened to the receiver.

 

[MagnumManiac]

Mauser '98 bolts are readily available here in the US, don't know about 'there'.

They are available, but this was a matching number action.
It was a totally avoidable blunder, it sits on the workshop wall as a reminder.

Cheers.

 

[waspocrew]

What did you originally ask the gunsmith to do for you? Did you ask him to true the action? Did he remove the original barrel? Maybe there was a miscommunication regarding goals.

If he removed the factory barrel, Tikkas are known for having extremely stubborn barrels to remove- some gunsmiths will make a relief cut in the factory barrel to assist with removal. My brother had asked a few gunsmiths about removal and one mentioned that if worst came to worst, they'd need to square the action up (so prefit wouldn't be an option). Fortunately, his local gunsmith had the correct tools and popped it off easily.