Remington 700 Project Action and Bolt truing

In this video I give an overview of the process I used to true up a 700 action and bolt. All of this in done on the lathe and everything is dialed in to as close to zero runout as possible. The action is indicated using tapered bushings and a ground tight fitting indexing rod. The bolt is just indicated on the OD in a couple spots with a 1/2 thou indicator. More can be done after the lathe work, but this is most of it.
This is for entertainment only. If you do not have the skills seek out a professional to help you with any projects. This is not intended to be a tutorial or instructions.
apexrifles.com
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[@misterlewgee8874]

I always love seeing r700 truing. Wish I could do it! Like the look of your work. Thanks for sharing .

[@apexcustomrifles]

Thanks!

[@sparksandchips]

I had my 700 trued and a new PTG bolt, turned it into a tack driver for F class shooting! Dixie Precision by Alton Britt who is no longer with us after covid…..

[@neilwade4857]

Very interesting

[@davelmm5301]

Interesting!

[@justice1327]

Good video

[@apexcustomrifles]

Thanks, I'm kicking myself for not getting video for the threading of the action, but i'll be doing another at some point here with a brand new one.

[@misterlewgee8874]

What approach do you take for cleaning the threads 1. Single point 2. Tap

[@apexcustomrifles]

Single point.

[@slamminhawgs9847]

nice!

[@apexcustomrifles]

Thanks!

[@freeradical6390]

Personally I think working on a Rem 700 action is kind of a waste of time and resources, being that it is completely round and uses a washer style recoil lug. The Howa 1500 action is far superior in my opinion. Nice work tho! :)

[@apexcustomrifles]

Thanks, I agree the 1500's are highly underrated.

[@lurebenson7722]

I own the Winchester mid 70 action rifle that has the action like the Rem 700 so looking at the back of the bolt one lug has the bluing, and the other side is wore off the bluing telling just one lug is making contact. I looked at the bolt lugs on my Weatherby Mark 5 and the same thing is some lugs are making contact and other lugs have bluing showing indicating no contact on lock up

[@CarrollAguillard]

The locking lugs should be lapped in the action, because the lug seats in the action may not be the same depth. I always hand seat them with grinding compound.

[@apexcustomrifles]

The lugs end up being squared and uniform after truing the action. This combined with truing the bolt creates square mating surfaces. Lapping them after this outside of a few seconds if a guy wanted to verify contact, would defeat the purpose of the truing process. There is the fact of the cocking piece lifting up on the bolt, but with a properly headspaced barrel, formed brass, and or a minimal clearance bolt body, this should be held to a minimum. The only actions I lap are M1917 Enfields due to their canted lugs. Truing of these on a machine requires a special setup or a CNC. This is my method and has worked very well for me.

[@sms9106]

You have to be particularly geeky to watch this and unfortunately I am.

[@gsdtdeaux7]

Can you talk more on your work holding stuff? Great video fellas

[@apexcustomrifles]

It's ether a Viper or a copy of a Viper truing fixture. I bought it from a guy that went out of business. I added the thru hole to allow for the bolt handle to pass through when doing bolt truing. I believe they come with that cut now. If you don't have a TBAS, this is the way to go.

[@gsdtdeaux7]

@@apexcustomrifles thanks fellas! Wish yall the best

[@Lucysdad66]

My dad took his X40 to a custom well known builder to have it rebarreled and ask to have the action tuned and the guy laughed at him and said are serious we can do it but waist of money.

[@gtroxlar8597]

Excuse my ignorance. What does cleaning up the front of the lugs do? Really good video, wish there were more videos like this.

[@apexcustomrifles]

Typically not much other than looks. It's usually not off far enough to affect anything. I do it because it looks cleaner.

[@donhalter8377]

You took material off the action's shoulder, the rear of the lugs, and the bolt face. When the barrel is screwed back in, won't the timing of the barrel along with the bolt headspacing be off now?

[@apexcustomrifles]

You typically don't re-use the old barrel. A new barrel gets fit after the action has been true.

[@timtrax918artisan8]

Is there a point when squaring these faces to the CL of the bore that the bolt handle cam timing is effected ?

[@apexcustomrifles]

Yes, It will move the entire bolt back and changes both ignition timing and cam timing. Some of these newer actions are decent enough that you can get away with not repositioning the bolt handle.

[@dirkshumbadrinkersb4908]

Aren't you cutting through the hardened surfaces?

[@apexcustomrifles]

No, generally the entire action has been heat treated throughout unlike older Mausers for example, which would have a hard outer surface and a softer core.