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I'm looking for input from the resident gunsmiths here. Your suggestions would be appreciated.

Buddy broke the 6-48 front base screw on his 700 in .308 Win, and took it to a gunsmith. Gunsmith drilled the fastener threads out of the action and did a sloppy job of converting to 8-40, with the barrel installed. More importantly, he drilled into the barrel. I believe that the gentleman that did this work was competent in his younger years, but in his advanced age it seems like he might have lost his edge.

Anyway, it appears that the hole is ~0.3" deep, measured from the top of the receiver. If my math is correct, the gunsmith drilled into the barrel ~0.156". That should leave ~0.138", between the chamber wall and the bottom of the botched hole job.

I understand that there are minimum chamber wall specs, but these are for the entire circumference of the chamber. Are there any specs for the minimum amount of material between the chamber wall and a blind hole?

I see some references to 0.1" as a rule of thumb, but don't know where it comes from or how accurate that information is. And some gunsmiths have mentioned that this only applies to the barrel, forward of the chamber.

Is the barrel usable or should it be scrapped?






Last edited by 4th_point; 05/21/20.
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Deeper then it needs to be, but not unsafe.

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I would have pulled the barrel, but that's me, should be safe

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I would have no issue with it.

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Ditto to all above this...


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Just out of curiosity, does the gunsmith even realize he did it?

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I had a guy bring me one once where he’d drilled all the way into the chamber, like a pressure barrel for a copper crusher. His complaint was that ever time he shoots he has to put a new screw in the front base hole because they fly out and hit his scope! And the brass has a hole in it for some reason.

I put a new barrel on it and ran the base screw holes out to 8x40s and had a customer for life. smile

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Originally Posted by clockwork_7mm_gator
Just out of curiosity, does the gunsmith even realize he did it?


I don't think he did, but didn't talk to him.

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Thanks for the feedback guys.

For anyone curious, the images below show the hole.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

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some ugly work there.
as to a hole into the chamber , if the screws have good threads they wont blow as one post says. and the brass usually only has a pimple on it , making extraction hard.
had a 257 Roberts in a 98 mauser with that condition. finally got a screw the right length, honed the chamber and cured that. no more pimple.


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Fu ck that chit. You didnt pay to have a hole drilled into the chamber. You need to find a real smith and not someone that hangs his shingle out claiming to be one.

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Originally Posted by deerstalker
some ugly work there.
as to a hole into the chamber , if the screws have good threads they wont blow as one post says. and the brass usually only has a pimple on it , making extraction hard.
had a 257 Roberts in a 98 mauser with that condition. finally got a screw the right length, honed the chamber and cured that. no more pimple.


Very interesting. I figured that the brass would flow into the hole, and completely prevent extraction.

The gunsmith didn't drill into the chamber on this rifle, but I've wondered what could happen if he did.

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Originally Posted by WTF
Fu ck that chit. You didnt pay to have a hole drilled into the chamber. You need to find a real smith and not someone that hangs his shingle out claiming to be one.


I've never met the gunsmith. It's a cheap rifle, and lessons have been learned by my buddy. Water under the bridge.

Yeah, it sucks but at the same time I think this gunsmith was well regarded years ago. He's just lost his mental capability, and doesn't appear to have anybody to keep him pointed in the right direction. Bigger problem than the botched hole job in this rifle.

I hope the old man can find a way to walk away from his old profession. Must be a hard thing to do, when it's been your career for so long.




Last edited by 4th_point; 05/22/20.
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If I am reading and understanding correctly, the hold didn't go through into the chamber. It's just into the barrel threads over the chamber and left a wall thickness of .138".
Correct?

If that's so I think the work was not done as carefully as it should have been, but it's not unsafe. The cylinder walls on a 454 Casull are thinner than that, and the 454 runs a higher chamber pressure then a 308 rifle. So .138" may seem thin, and it's far thinner than the standard wall thickness, but not too thin to be safe.

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You said he drilled into the barrel. How could he *not* drill into the barrel if he was enlarging the hole diameter? Then you ask whether the distance from the bottom of the hole to the chamber is safe. Then you show us a hole right into the chamber. I'm confused.

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Originally Posted by postoak
You said he drilled into the barrel. How could he *not* drill into the barrel if he was enlarging the hole diameter? Then you ask whether the distance from the bottom of the hole to the chamber is safe. Then you show us a hole right into the chamber. I'm confused.


Did you look at the picture ? Its off center in a ripped up hole that needs spotted with an endmill and then tapped,


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Originally Posted by postoak
You said he drilled into the barrel. How could he *not* drill into the barrel if he was enlarging the hole diameter? Then you ask whether the distance from the bottom of the hole to the chamber is safe. Then you show us a hole right into the chamber. I'm confused.


I agree, I think you are confused smile

A Remington 700 receiver has four 6-48 holes for the base screws. All four of the tapped holes are thru-holes. The forward most hole, closest to the receiver lug, appears to be a blind hole. It appears blind because the barrel is at the bottom of the hole! You don't drill and tap the barrel for that base screw.

The barrel in that area does not normally have a hole drilled into it. It should have unmolested threads on this shank region. With the botched job, the gunsmith drilled a blind hole over the chamber.

Make sense now?




Last edited by 4th_point; 05/23/20.
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Originally Posted by szihn
If I am reading and understanding correctly, the hold didn't go through into the chamber. It's just into the barrel threads over the chamber and left a wall thickness of .138".
Correct?


Yes, that is correct. He did not go through into the chamber.

I assumed that the receiver wall is 0.144" thick. The hole, made by the gunsmith, measured from the top of the receiver is 0.3" deep. So, I figure the depth of the hole, into the barrel, is 0.3" - 0.144" = 0.156".

I also assumed that the diameter of the barrel shank is 1.062". And the diameter of chamber (.308 Win) to be 0.474". So (1.062" - 0.474")/2 = 0.294" for the chamber wall thickness.

The material between the blind hole, made by the gunsmith, and the chamber proper, would be 0.294" - 0.156" = 0.138".

If anyone sees a problem with my math or assumptions, please let me know.

Jason

Last edited by 4th_point; 05/23/20.
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I've never understood the boneheads that wouldn't set the depth stop on the drill press/mill so that kind of thing doesn't happen. Unless I'm drilling a thru hole, I ALWAYS set the depth stop !

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Originally Posted by szihn
If that's so I think the work was not done as carefully as it should have been, but it's not unsafe. The cylinder walls on a 454 Casull are thinner than that, and the 454 runs a higher chamber pressure then a 308 rifle. So .138" may seem thin, and it's far thinner than the standard wall thickness, but not too thin to be safe.


szihn,

I thought that the 454 and 480 cylinders use different steel, and/or heat treatment, than the common 416 stainless in a 700 barrel? I was under the impression that it could handle much higher pressures due to higher strength material?

Jason

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