30-06 Fitting Report

[218Bee]

Well it's been a long trip with this aught -six barrel.

When I first put the barrel on my receiver it had over .010 gap at the breech. I spent a lot of time in the basement trying to shim the gap. Everything from feeler gauge to plastic water bottles found its way into the pivot.

 Enter Fred M. and Devcon plasicsteel. I made a couple of attempts before re-reading Fred's posts and picked up on one key that worked with this barrel.  Let the epoxy set for 45 - 60 minutes before applying. This stiffens the mix and, in my case took the gap up fully.

When I opened the and re-closed it there was a gap of .002. Bummer. Also some vertical play. Double bummer. While in the shimming phase of my disorder, I had done some filing on the latch shelf. Apparently too much!! I dimpled the latch shelf with a punch, applied a thin schmeer of devcon epoxy and let it set up. I filed the devconed shelf down slowly, testing for latch up with every pass or two of the file.

Now I have a solid latch, the barrel will lock onto a .0015 feeler gauge and it shoots fine. I've run a box of moderate/stout handloads through it, still tight as a drum. With a little load development I'm confident I can get her at, or under, an inch at 100 yds.


Hats off to Fred M.

Rick

[Fred M]

Rick.
This is the first response I got on the putty job. Thanks.

When all fails read the instructions.    :-D  :grin:

I said to let the primer set up a bit, since the Devcon 2-1/2 to 1 is stiff enough.

But with a ten thou gap this is a good idea. After one hour you still have plenty of adhesion. My gap was only three thou and nothing will fit in between the joint when the action is closed.

Why do you have a 1.5 thou gap?

[218Bee]

LOL, Fred. Dad always taught me to "read the destructions".

I don't have a gap. I should have phrased it differently.
I can lock a .0015 feeler gauge in the action. You can not pull it out.
I'm betting it would lock and hold a .0010 (if I had one). There's no visible gap at all.



Rick

[Fred M]

Rick.
Just as an after thought, I sanded out the seat just very little and applied another coat of Devcon Putty. Now that small amount was most difficult to compress. I think 0.0015 is about as little you can compress.

If you have to redo it you should take out 0.003" for best results.

Did you fill in the hole in the underlug.

Dimpling the latch shelve and build up the shelve to a concave is on my web page but I need to check if I actually spelled out the dimpling. The dimpling is important for a good bond and lateral shear stop of the putty.

One other thing I did when experimented with the putty, I developed a perfect fit between the standing breech and the barrel face. I removed some metal from one side of the barrel with a flat mill file and #800 grit wet and dry paper on a flat piece of wood. The removal was about 0.001 mostly machine marks. Candle smoke will tell you the high spots. Slow and flat is the word go.

A good fit at the breech will prevent horizontal stringing. Same as a tight latch will prevent vertical stringing.

I am very pleased that this has worked for you.

[218Bee]

Yes, Fred I filled in the extractor slot to the retaining pin. It makes sense, what with the additional bearing surface.

The putty seems to bond very well to itself. I had a layer from the previous application that I didn't entirely remove. This final application has bonded tightly to it.

Thanks again for the technique, Fred. This barrel will see some action this deer season, as the DEC has approved rifles for our area.

Rick