Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing crooked boltface

Any advice appreciated, I have owned for some time A very nicely sporterised 1917 Enfield , The bolt face is not flat so when fired the Brass leans noticeably away from the extractor side.( when placed on A flat serfice
) making the Brass not fit for reloading. Any idea for A Fix.

Thanks Ken

Nick Hughes is the best mod17 Enfield smith that I know of: nhughesjsvalve

Also note you're probably going to have to have the barrel set back a thread to make up for the material taken off the bolt face when squaring it up.

Doesn't one swap bolt heads on those to alter headspace? I'm not an expert on the Enfield but I think I remember that. If so, it may just be a matter of finding another bolt head that is square and gives the correct headspace. FYI many of those old Enfields have severely excessive headspace, so having it checked by a good smith is a good idea.

It's also possible that the crooked case head may be a result of damage to one lug on the bolt head, or one of the lug seats in the receiver.

The OP is asking about a U.S. Model of 1917, a derivative of the Pattern 14 Enfield. You are thinking about .303 calibre, Rifle, Magazine, Lee–Enfield and it's various Marks.

You are correct as is MichiganScott.

You're right, thanks.

try another bolt and check headspace. Good luck with it, Mel

Depends entirely on what the headspace is now and how much has to be removed to square up the bolt face. If headspace is nominally minimum now, then the removal of .003" will still leave you with in limits. If you want to, you can set back by a small amount and just widen the extractor cut a little. .005" amounts to 1/20th turn which , unless the barrel has sights, can be handled OK. This is a very common flaw. GD

Just because brass ends up crooked doesn't necessarily mean the bolt face is the cause. It would be a good idea to verify that this is indeed the problem.

It is, by far, the most likely cause and is quite common. Any other misalignment would have to be very gross in order to show up on the fired case. GD

While it may indeed be the most common cause, it isn't the only one and I'm not one to willy-nilly swap out parts when verifying the ACTUAL cause is so simple to do. It doesn't take the receiver threads being off by much to give the impression that the boltface is crooked. Brass will act the same either way.

If it turns out that the boltface is the cause then a lot of good suggestions have already been provided.

If you're going to the trouble of pulling a barrel to set it back, just do it right and set it back a full thread. I can't imagine a smith charging to 1/2 ass the job by clocking the barrel slightly and making a wider extractor cut. Seeing the chambering marks on the barrel crooked would pizz me off to no end and I'd be stuck thinking what kind of jack azz did this job and charged me for it?

+ one on what greydog said.

Ed

seen more than 1 barrel threaded crooked as well

You have undoubtedly done a lot more of this sort of work than I have but there are often good reasons for not setting back a full turn (which, in the case of an Enfield, would be .100"). One reason is that the existing chamber may be oversized and your SAAMI minimum spec reamer might leave a ridge at the shoulder or in the neck. In my limited experience, I have seen this often enough that it is a concern. Also, if the stock fits the barrel contour closely, it won't after setting back a turn. So, if misaligned witness marks would blind you to the fact that the rifle now functions properly and still looks good, that's your effing problem.
If one simply sets the bolt up to run true in the lathe, the bolt face can then be indicated to find out whether or not it is perpendicular and, if not, by how much. Alternatively, one could simply go ahead and make the cut and true the face. Then one can deal with headspace as required. GD

Yes Sir! I think most forget the square threads on the tenon.

Thanks for all the great Information, I should have mentioned it had been rechambered in 308 Norma mag. The boltface has noticeable circular grinding marks on the extractor side, Looks quite unprofessional.
wish I could send pictures however I have no way to do that. These Rifles don't hold much value however I would like to hand it on to a very special friend but not in this condition.
Anyone willing to take on this repair please send A PM. Again Thanks for all replies.

Ken
North East MN.

Have you considered a full face bushing and machining back to correct headspace if that is indeed the problem?

There is the potential for a bit of a feeding problem when you do this because the bottom portion of the existing face will be behind the face itself. Apart from that, it's a good, if a bit ambitious, solution. How deep would you counterbore the face for the bushing and would you make it a flanged bushing? GD