P14/P17 Action Mandrel

[Harry Knutz]

I just finished this Action Mandrel for machining and holding between centers. I made this to hold the action so I can machine the wings off of the rear of the action while holding it between centers. It works for either a P-14, Or a P-17 action even though they are quite different. It is a square thread at 10 TPI.

 

[pontiac428]

Can you still reach in with a tool and clean up the lug faces with your mandrel? I've done it both ways, mandrel or receiver fixture. It's still very do-able with the mandrel. TBH, I don't know if that even applies to Enfields.

 

[Harry Knutz]

Can you still reach in with a tool and clean up the lug faces with your mandrel? I've done it both ways, mandrel or receiver fixture. It's still very do-able with the mandrel. TBH, I don't know if that even applies to Enfields.

Not with this tool John, I use an action truing fixture and a boring bar for doing that. But my fixture only works on round rec, I still need to make an insert for flat bottom rec. A little bit at a time, I will get that done soon.

 

[pontiac428]

I was just curious because I try to make action fixtures as versatile as I can. Reason being, I want to do as many operations as I can in a single fixture. It can be extra work, so it is a step taken to essentially base all cuts from the same part-to-fixture relation to reduce stacked tolerances.

Obviously it's impossible to ream the raceway with an internal fixture, so I try to group operations like the raceway, lugs, and receiver face in one fixture. I already figured out that I can cut both the receiver face and threads in either an internal or external fixture, so it's planning subsequent operations that decide which is "best" to use. If I'm not reaming the raceway, for example, I can square the bolt lugs in either fixture. It works with a mandrel by trimming the thread plug portion enough to reach in with a tool to kiss the lugs. You can use opposing cones instead of threads in some cases (for example, that setup works with the front of a Rem 700 but not the back).

Which processes do you plan to perform with the mandrel fixture?

 

[Harry Knutz]

I am going to use it to hold the action in a dividing head with a tailstock to mill the wings off of the rear of the action and later surface grind it. But basically it allows me to hold the action between centers. I have trued up more Remington 700 actions and bolts than I care to remember when I worked for a Rifle builder. Here is a pic of a batch I did. This was 10 years ago before I moved to Utah. I did these for years and I'm bored with Remington's.

 

[pontiac428]

Ah, I see, purpose-built! I thought you might have been working on a turning fixture. What you're doing is even better.

I love Remmys to death, but I'm getting bored too. I buy em, tear them down, blueprint the receiver and bolt, do a few tricks, but it takes a lot to make them tight. I've tried sleeving bolts, reaming raceways, oversizing bolts on custom order, silver soldering and re-cutting to fit parts together better than the factory. I've come to the conclusion that those actions are for hunting rifles. For a few dollars more than a base rifle, there are actions that don't need any machining straight from the factory... Now it's more interesting to accurize something uncommon, just for the challenge. Is that how you fell on Enfields, or is it a competitive division somewhere (military silhouette, maybe)?

 

[Harry Knutz]

Yep, The guy I used to work for has went to CNC and custom actions.

Ah, I see, purpose-built! I thought you might have been working on a turning fixture. What you're doing is even better.

I love Remmys to death, but I'm getting bored too. I buy em, tear them down, blueprint the receiver and bolt, do a few tricks, but it takes a lot to make them tight. I've tried sleeving bolts, reaming raceways, oversizing bolts on custom order, silver soldering and re-cutting to fit parts together better than the factory. I've come to the conclusion that those actions are for hunting rifles. For a few dollars more than a base rifle, there are actions that don't need any machining straight from the factory... Now it's more interesting to accurize something uncommon, just for the challenge. Is that how you fell on Enfields, or is it a competitive division somewhere (military silhouette, maybe)?

That's exactly how I feel, There is a lot more stuff to do on these older uncommon actions, And I have a fetish for older Rimmed cartridges, And they can be made to shoot too.