How to Jewel a Rifle Bolt Presented by Larry Potterfield | MidwayUSA Gunsmithing

[@lucasgardner6189]

This is why I love gunsmithing. It takes time, and effort, and patience that most people don't have. It's like any other form of art, some people just have a gift for it

[@MH-WM]

I always love the way this looks on my 75 Trans Am's instrument panel.

[@jessejohnson159]

Thank you for the demonstration! On vehicle dashes and other flat surfaces, this is called "Engine Turning". Amazing that you can get this effect on a round bolt! Now I'll look into how you were able to imprint that rifle serial number..... Thank you again Larry! 👍

[@rick7858]

I did this a number of times on antique French cars, which is part of our restoration jobs, such as firewalls, dashboards, and engine components, pretty time consuming, but well worth the effort!

[@SeedFiddler-kp4eg]

Thank you, Larry, for sharing your knowledge. Besides your knowledge, I also appreciate the fact that you take hours of work and condense it down to less than 3 minutes. This is a notable difference from many who seem imminently capable of taking a project that lasts a few minutes and making the KZbin last 30 times this long. Thank you.

[@rahubba1]

Excellent tutorial. Job well done Mr Potterfield. Thank you MidwayUSA for posting.

[@theleopard3900]

Subscribe to my channel because why not :)

[@itsasinine3337]

larry potterfield is founder and ceo of midway usa

[@51_amanverma24]

sir these small videos full of detail information are very good and contain a punch of knowledge for every firearm lover........

[@sminkles]

Engine turned finish...very nice,and worth the effort!

[@schfiftyfive9680]

I wish you and hickock45 were my grandfathers.

[@drew1427]

You wish him and hickock 45 were gay?

[@feraligatorade99]

+DarkRevolation our education system has failed

[@Eshayzbra96]

Drew142, do you know how biology works?

[@madcowrebel4216]

@@drew1427 ...everyone have two grandfathers and two grandmothers.

[@jedediahhoffman7925]

@@drew1427 ha ha ha, so i'm not the only one who jumped to that conclusion.

[@jeremiec8014]

And here I thought it was just some space magic lathe trick that took two minutes, boy was I wrong.

[@memphetic]

Four axis CNC = win. Gonna try this in the future and post a video if you're interested.

[@firstjohn3123]

I thought it was acid etched!

[@wizardofahhhs759]

My model 70 came from the factory with a jeweled bolt. Now I know how it's done. Thanks Mr. Potterfield.

[@HuhWhatHuhwhatHuh]

Yes. Now you know. Robots did it

[@mechminded2207]

"Jeweling my rifle bolt" is a euphemism if ever I heard one.

[@LedGuitar1218]

I was like, “maybe I’ll”... watched video...nope

[@treycompton9972]

LedGuitar1218 😂🤣 same

[@GLF426]

You right

[@jesseterrell9354]

Yea me too. You know how many KZbin videos I can watch in the time it would take to do this? Way too lazy

[@Deadbuck73]

If I had the tools....

[@mharrisx]

LMAO, I love that comment

[@xxtwobitxx]

That was amazing. And that music was a nice touch, I liked it

[@wickerman9569]

That looks cool. The man is a gun artist.

[@stoneblue1795]

Dude's got mad skills, all kidding aside.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

Back inbtue mid 90s I had a Springfield armory Omega. It was a fancy 1911. I was always tinkering with it as it was my race gun. Anyway I saw in the machinest handbook how to jewel items. It showed a pencil in a drill press with with fine valve lapping compound. So I jeweled the barrel on my Omega. Came out really nice.

[@MysteriousGecko82]

It’s so fun to watch Larry do his jeweling

[@melchung1566]

50 years ago i had a machineing class at a local community college where i made a spur gear from aluminum. I used that as a basis for a fabricated indexing head with a plunger stop. I have a jet vertical mill, so used that and abrasive rods from brownells. I havent done jeweling lately but the last time I did, it took me a couple of hours. Jewelng seems to hold oil better and does look nice. Sometimes a customer will ask for jeweling and then hot blue over it for a subtle effect. Interesting video.

[@shadowwolf8375]

Thank you for the video. It's helping me with my school work. I'm attending Sonoran Desert Institute for Gunsmithing.

[@drew1427]

Great vid man ! Love how everyone is like it's a ton of money to buy the tools to to harbor freight and buy a drill press and buy a special bit

[@JYeeMusic]

the music is actually a nice touch and changes it up

[@TexasGTO]

Now I understand why this is so expensive.

[@robhoard9114]

Because it takes 2hours?

[@ferna2294]

@@robhoard9114 Nope, because it´s made by hand with tools that take years to master, my friend.

[@PenttiHinikka]

@@ferna2294 probably every machinist can do that

[@EnglertRacing96]

@@PenttiHinikka every machinist that sees that LOLs it actually and thinks "that's a project for when I was 12" and "his mill and lathe are low hobbyist grade"

[@PenttiHinikka]

@@EnglertRacing96 I have Been working with 100 ton ship rotors as a machinist, this doesnt impress me at all

[@kurteichenwald7417]

I was expecting "Step 1: ship the bolt to Midway USA along with $200. Step 2: your bolt is jeweled."

[@keithlucas6260]

Step 1: take bolt to work and put in HAAS VMC toolroom mill. Step 2: push the green button. Step 3: wait ten minutes and then remove finished jewled bolt. Step 4: collect $200 from your client.

[@ranchhandrandy3213]

Well...I mean that was my takeaway from this vija.

[@l.a.2646]

very cool! thank you for sharing this skill ! I like that smaller pattern much better than the factory pattern.

[@Bens359pete]

My Remington 700 BDL has this jeweled bolt. Very nice! Great work

[@carl9758]

Beautiful work and thanks for sharing this information!!

[@chicorodriguez3964]

I've successfully done this and had a very good finish by setting the stop on my quill and using a 1/4 2 flute carbide bottom cutting end mill at around 1400 rpm also using a 5c collett turn table but it went a lot faster than doing it with that abrasive bit with the most run out I've ever seen

[@randymagnum143]

Wat? "Here's muh bolt I nicked up with a bunch of cutter violations"

[@codyespinoza6868]

these are great videos for real shooters. reading some of these comments i wonder why some of you are even watching them. some simple planning and a little common sense and you can do some interesting things to your rifle, you can take pride in the craftsmanship, i know i do. this is for all you people talking crap and judging.

[@brokenmedic9133]

That is so freaking awesome! If I knew half the knowledge you forgot, I would be a hell of a gunsmith.

[@davidrobins4025]

Fascinating procedure. Thanks for showing us how to do this.

[@wickerman9569]

That really looks good. Excellent job

[@wrenchmonkey3920]

That bolt was probably made in Syracuse. I made (via cnc swiss lathe) thousands of them. Bolt heads made at the same job shop but I only ran them when the experienced guys were out. Final grind and assembly was done in Ilion. Poor Ilion.

[@denniscleveland669]

We used to call that “engine turning”, but it was done with a wooden dowel and valve lapping compound. Its pretty, but in some cases, it can make a difference in fit.

[@gonzo5912]

I have done this many times I made a spring loaded t fi a 3/4 collet so even pressure is applied on every jewel, and interchangeable tips from 3/16 to 1-1/2 in. to do just what you do up to the biggest things I did was for race cars and motorcycles and boats. I use belt leather and compound paste fine grit and brass like you, depends on the surface and the finish.

[@arnauddevorsine3416]

You can achieve good jeweling with a dremal tool, round felt tip bit and valve grinding paste.

[@bodyno3158]

And a shitload of patience.

[@themountainraven]

Wow, very nice. Much better quality, thank you for the video.

[@ditzydoo4378]

I can't even remember the number of bolts I Jeweled (Damascened) for Weatherby over the years I worked for them before they moved to Sheridan Wyoming.

[@Ammo-Musement]

Those jewels are so good they have my jewels moving.

[@majinkaos]

Wish you would have rotated the jewels in the light on camera more to see the full job. Beautiful work as always.

[@masonlaw7628]

On today's episode of where lockdown has taken me today

[@cozmcwillie7897]

Ha Ha Ha. (I wish u-tube had a laughing emoji)

[@deletdis6173]

😆

[@DPoner]

This music was off the hook!

[@emiliobruh7485]

Out of all the places on youtube i would never thought to see you here GR!

[@Enes-wj5xq]

Lol

[@troymartin642]

What is this music

[@borderm3]

I kept thinking I was on a safari

[@legionnaire5947]

Adorable

[@BigBuckGetter]

Nice job, LARRY!!!

[@tamminicholson5060]

I love engine turning as much as the next guy but that Peruvian flute band in the background takes it to a whole nother level! 😮😅

[@glockpoppin]

Larry you are awesome 👍👍

[@jnicksnewstart]

I've always used cratex, hard felt with compound or purpose made stainless rod brush. The idea is to polish or burnish the design onto surface. Not to remove metal.

[@DisgruntledFun]

Over 500? That's patience lol

[@SteGoughdotCom]

Your maths is horrendous. 2500 seconds would be 41 minutes 40 seconds.. Not 44 hours, or a week. If you're trying to be sarcastic... you missed the mark and just looked dumb.

[@alecingram4669]

Ste Gough thing is you’re counting 5 seconds each jewel except to move the bolt, turn it round, get it into position and more you’re looking at more like 30 second to 1 minute max per jewel. X550 is like 275-550 mins which is up to just over 9 hours.

[@SteGoughdotCom]

I don't think it would take anyone competent with an indexing collet and a sliding table anywhere near 30 seconds to move the bolt set amounts. You'd be talking less than 10 seconds to move horizontally and bring the drill press down, then once every row you'd need to spend maybe 15 seconds unlocking the indexer, rotating it and relocking it before coming back on the horizontal table the other way. Maybe it would take an hour and a half to 2 hours, but nowhere near 9 hours - It just wouldn't be viable for anyone to do if it took an entire days working hours to complete. Even as a labour of love.

[@alecingram4669]

Ste Gough as an estimate for a non-experienced gunsmith it would take longer than 2 hours. For a person with a lot of experience with these things and knows how to use them I would take a lot less time, like 2 hours but more like 5 or 6 hours for a non-experienced gunsmith to be fair

[@SteGoughdotCom]

I see what you're saying, but even a non-experienced gunsmith is going to get into the groove of it after the first few rows..

[@Southernguitar74]

This man has forgotten more about guns than most guys will ever know. He is a master gunsmith.

[@bmphil3400]

You could probably make a holding fixture out of plastic or wood.....or set it in a cradle marked with a line then attach a home made dial to the bolt. Turn the bolt then reclamp it.....could probably be done with a dremel if you were crafty.

[@Mike44460]

My 1974 Remington 700 BDL came with a very nice jeweled bolt. Unfortunately, it's pretty worn now. Fortunately, it wasn't a gun case queen, and I used it a lot. .22-250.

[@Gunthusiest]

Larry really loves this song

[@ZONUM86]

This is for those of you that are saying that "all you need is a $100K - $200K workshop": All he used was a drill press ($225), an indexing fixture ($125), 320 grit emory cloth, 400 grit emory cloth and 600 grit emory cloth ($15), a working vice and a work piece. I can't believe you would even talk shit about somebody who is actually making videos and giving back to the industry. I'm sure you'll keep my fries piping hot and pizzas delivered in 30 mins or less.

[@Muffin_Masher]

+Illustrious Potentate WHO CARES? Just be thankful that the information is being shared. FOR FREE no less. In any country with acceptable firearm laws it is completely illegal for anyone who is not a licensed gunsmith to modify a firearm in any case, FOR A VERY GOOD REASON, bubba's backyard garden shed is no place for such a potentially deadly instrument to be modified or repaired.

[@NGinuity]

+David Munoz I would agree that it's not a 100k shop, but I think you're underestimating what some of that actually costs. I have everything he has purely because I machine and gunsmith out of my garage. For clarification, that's a milling machine, not a drill press. It has a movable table and he's accomplishing the 1/8 inch divisions down the length by advancing the x axis. Then he indexes the head 20 degrees and retreats it back down to the zero, rinse and repeat. You can get a new mini mill that will do the job for about 500 bucks (although I don't suggest one buys a mini mill just for jeweling triggers or even gunsmithing), but the "indexing fixture" is a rotary table with dividing heads and a 5C collet attachment. That will likely run you at least what you're looking at for the mini mill. So while it's not $350 for all that tooling, you're probably talking about over 1K just for machine hardware to set that job up, bare minimum assuming you don't get lucky at an auction or an estate sale. And like I said, if you plan to use those things for more than that, 1K isn't even a drop in the bucket for that investment. It's not a complaint, because with any type of gunsmithing you can't exactly hand someone a Dremel, some spit, duct tape and bailing wire and wish them the best of luck, but realize that it's a pay to play hobby. Tooling and jigging is everything and the cheapest option is usually the incorrect and least precise one.

[@vincenttschida8849]

+Irate Carolinian Well, it's better than spending ones money on stupid things like golf, alcohol, or video games.

[@Muffin_Masher]

DoppleQ 100% true for any country with acceptable laws. inbredistan doesn't count, their laws are an absolute joke.

[@D8W2P4]

Yet despite the US having 325+ million registered firearms we have a lower violent crime and murder rate than your country euro-peon, and the places with gun laws like your country they have such high crime rates they push our national average way up.

[@coburnlowman]

Nice and a great presentation.

[@treyto3377]

Love it ! This made me happy

[@KaiAdventure]

Is jeweling done just for aesthetics, or are there practical/functional/performance reasons to do that?

[@tripsandsalsa9519]

The surface holds lubricant better/longer and MAY help function in icy conditions.

[@KB4QAA]

@@tripsandsalsa9519 But mostly it is done for appearance.

[@rooftopvoter3015]

The cool factor

[@jergensenC6]

Really makes a difference in appearance.

[@Jerseyhighlander]

"The swirls are made using an abrasive ROD, held in a brass tube". This is just a little vague... What is it exactly? Does Midway carry this, if not where can I get one? Would have been nice to see it closer than four feet away.

[@auskip07]

Kratex rod i would guess a medium rod abrasive.

[@Chewedbacca]

What a legend

[@Kaliburrrr]

I have one jewelled bolt and it is the cleanest working rifle I own. Idk if the jewelling is the reason though

[@junkbox93]

Im going to do this to the ram on my Hornady press. Maby by the time in done I'll have found pistol primers to make some ammo.

[@dufus2273]

i doubt it. let me know if you find any

[@mihalis1010]

They do this same process to the plates in higher end mechanical watches. It's called perlage in watchmaking. It serves no purpose other than to decorate parts of a watch that no one other than watchmakers will ever see. Love the way it looks though.

[@caseyclymore4417]

This comment section would have you believe that nearly the entirety of the gun community makes decisions about their firearms EXCLUSIVELY on matters regarding performance, only. Some people prefer a jeweled bolt, in the same way some prefer a wood stock over fiberglass/polymer I have a Savage 99 that came from the factory with the bolt jeweled, it’s a hand-me-down but it’s still a nice little touch.

[@brockhoopengardner8517]

Low chance I will get this answer, but what jig are you using Larry? I like it and am interested in getting one, thanks.

[@benstonhill3597]

This is like watching magic b4 your eyes.

[@huntinginaust.6463]

That’s impressive 👍

[@codyjenn8785]

This is very helpful.

[@SlimCowboy]

It's cool looking don't get me wrong and to me it's certainly distinguishes a well-built rifle but damn that's a lot of effort for something like that

[@Eric-AC]

does Brownell's offer a kit with various grit jeweling "rods" ??

[@1iving2di3]

Thanks Larry. This info will come in handy when I build my $100k gunsmith workshop.

[@joebonsaipoland]

is that like putting racing stripes on your car? It does not make it go any faster, right?

[@zellarsDD777]

pretty much yeah

[@esco7352]

It actually has some benefit if the entire surface is jeweled. the jeweling creates micro grooves that retain more oil on the surface for smoother operation. I jewel almost all contact points inside my handguns for that reason.

[@Softairmw2]

Esco Which translates to stripes on your car, for better aerodynamics ;) Just kidding :)))

[@unapro3]

Esco Oil is used as a lubricant to separate the two moving parts from rubbing together, the smoother the parts, the less friction. It makes no sense introducing micro grooves so they retain oil to prevent friction.

[@sjeverett75]

unapro3 the key word was "more" the grooves hold more oil than a smooth surface. This helps to ensure oil on oil contact which is slicker than oil on steel or steel on steel. Some say it helps others do not. In theory it should and it looks badass on my 700.

[@ianjennings8372]

I’m gonna go jewel something now.

[@austinflores9597]

So question, Why do you do this? allows lubricant to flow easier? or is it for an extra nice cosmetic touch?

[@supremekizzle]

How did he do the serial number in the bolt?

[@kickazz9473]

Since you've taken the glueing off your down to bare metal. How do you protect it from rusting? I know know some jerk is gonn scream oil. But I've seen people sand their barrels down to bare metal and oil. Two weeks later the thing every firearm owner dreads rust. Is there a certain kind of oil to use to prevent this?

[@scottwatrous]

Came for bling, stayed for hot beats. YEET.

[@rick4649]

Now I understand how it’s done. Now I need to purchase the equipment needed to do the work. What would be the approximate cost for the equipment ?

[@bennienickolaushinojos4311]

Wow, all that time and effort for that! I wonder how the results would differ if this was done on a CNC mill? This is something I would definitely send out and pay to have done, and after watching this video I know not to complain about the price.

[@euromoteurexpert817]

Hello. I have rem 783 270 cal . and i broke the firing pin by mistake. Everywhere out of stock. Is fitting another bolt from another gun on my rem 783 ? Thanks

[@Deathbyfartz]

that jeweling, honestly looks like thoose shiny film often used in really cheap kids toys :P

[@BabyBenz96]

To everyone complaining it costs too much- do it yourself...

[@bigredc222]

If the factory jeweling is worn off, can the bolt be jeweled again?

[@timothybellmar495]

Is the abrasive rod a stone or is the abrasive that stuff in bedded in a rubbery medium which I've never seen in a rod. I've heard of people using pencils on flat surfaces.

[@fredgardner1655]

What kind of tape are you using to tape up the front and back of the bolt?

[@isigch]

@MidwayUSA How is the tool to do that work? Or, Where I get it?

[@TWDxKILL3R]

Larry is hilarious "Let me show you how I do this job!"

[@rooftopvoter3015]

Has complete machine shop staff off camera

[@parkerkarelrg5136]

I like the music

[@redneckpyromania6965]

Would the jeweling be able to hold onto oil better than a polished bolt

[@ragnarragnarsson3128]

The jeweling has micro grooves to hold oil. The polished one does not or are not as deep.

[@williamglenn7488]

I can't find Jeweling bits anywhere Larry. Do you have a link somewhere, I cant find them on Midway USA

[@unionrdr]

I've seen this done on chrome car trim with a pencil eraser and valve lapping compound back in the 70's.

[@raoulduke7553]

Is that a Craytex abrasive stick you’re using?

[@TSPhotoAtlanta]

Man, that was something! I’ve heard top-end work can be a labor of love, but shoot, this is just crying out for cnc automation! OTOH, then the work might just be TOO perfect! (no wabe-sabe) Well, I watched this video because I’d heard the term and wondered what it meant. Now I know for sure.

[@TSPhotoAtlanta]

Wabi sabi, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

[@jontyhawkes5332]

well, t, thanks to you i`ve learnt two things today (the other was bolt-jeweling). wabi sabi- yeah i like that.

[@jarettjohnson5929]

Where did you get or how did you make the brass holder for the stone

[@robbyhowell8668]

is this process purely aesthetic? or does it do anything to the action of the rifle

[@nomobo1778]

Good video, and he did not blab for 10 minutes before getting to the subject at hand.

[@DarkFox6211818]

Now if everyone only had a machine shop setup like Larry. . .

[@brianbaker3767]

Will this work on a 2002 Chevy Silverado?

[@naturalstatepoolandspallc338]

thats gonna have to wait til retirement. that would take me a looooong time.

[@rexmccomb7589]

Very labor intensive

[@raydash2898]

Labor of LOVE

[@danielfilion225]

this is strictly for esthetics correct ? Beautiful job nevertheless.

[@dannygrant1416]

no jeweled bolts hold lubricants better