I might go ahead and flame-harden that small section of the Threaded-Barrel-Stub; at least the very face of it. I'll just have to wait and see. I don't want to go from perfectly-fine as it is, to brittle and prone to breaking off down the road.
I got a chance to measure the inside front-to-back length of my K31 magazine. It measures 3.130" or there abouts so I guess this would be the max length we could make our reloads.
HollowPoint
My 6.5 mm Range Rod has now been ordered. While I'm waiting for it to arrive, if I get enough free time to do so I'll try to get ahead of this project by roughing out the inletting in the stock so that there will be less of it to do when the time comes. I can also go ahead and Powder Coat the Threaded-Barrel-Stub and Scope Mount while I'm waiting.
Because of the added shape of the Barrel-Nut and the Threaded-Barrel-Stub there's no way the action will fit back into the stock as it is. Also; I'm going to have to make another Globe-Front-Sight to fit the slightly larger muzzle diameter of my new barrel. Besides the different diameter at the muzzle, the Globe-Front-Sight I installed back when I first got this rifle has broken on the underside where my securing screws hold it onto the barrel.
Ordering the chamber reamer will be last on my list of expenses for this project. I'm still holding out hope that I can find a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser reamer in excellent shape for a whole lot less than buying one new. I mentioned this before. If I end up buying a new one, I'll probably sell it as soon as I'm done with it. I'm thinking I can sell it and end up having paid about the same as if I'd rented one instead. The only difference will be that I can keep it as long as I needed to while I wait for some more free time to become available without having to pay the extra money for keeping it longer than three days or so; same with the Range-Rod.
This is easier said than done cause I'm a sort of a Pack-Rat when it comes to tooling of any kind. Even if I never use them again, it's like selling off your kids or renting out your wife. If I get rid of them, I know that there will come a time when I'll kick myself for getting rid of them.
I almost forgot; I also have to drill and tap the two holes in the shoulder of my Threaded-Barrel-Stub so that I can secure the front of my Scope-Mount at that location.
HollowPoint
Last edited by HollowPoint; 12-24-2015 at 08:03 PM.
On Saturday morning I started work on forming the outside dimensions of my Barrel-Nut. For those of you who own a K31, you'll note that the top section of the fore-stock has about a half-inch wide piece of metal trim slip-fit over the back end of it.
This "Metal-Trim" has a claw of about an eight inch or so protruding from the rear of it. This little claw slips into an undercut in the factory rear sight to secure the rear section of the upper fore-stock in place.
Because I will no longer have the factory rear sight to use as the anchor point for the upper fore-stock, I've had to design my Barrel-Nut so that it acts not only as a Barrel-Nut but also as my anchor point for the upper fore-stock. I've shaped it so that it curves/tapers down from the shape of a conventional Barrel-Nut to the shape of a curved/tapering barrel.
The overall length is about an eight-inch less than three inches. This is the amount of space that is left open when measuring from the face of my Threaded-Barrel-Stub (when screwed into place) to the back end of the upper fore-stock.
I still have to smooth out the curve of the outside surface of this newly made part. Also, once I finish the outside I'll have to wait till I've actually threaded the chamber end of my barrel before I thread the inside of this new Barrel-Nut. This is because I want to be able to use the threaded barrel itself to check the fit of the inside threads I'll be cutting into my Barrel-Nut. It's time consuming this way but, at my lower level of inexperience it's the best way I've found to make sure I get slop-free thread engagement.
The Barrel-Nut itself will only have an inch and a quarter of thread engagement. The remainder of the three inch length will be bored so as to slip over the outside diameter of the barrel itself. An additional shallow depth of counter-bore will be cut into the inside front end of the Barrel-Nut to act as the anchor point where the upper fore-stock claw hooks into.
This is another one of those instances where trying to describe something simple with the written word makes it sound a whole lot more complicated than it really is. I'll take some more pics and post them as well so that my ramblings make a little more sense.
I'll be back.
HollowPoint
Looks like the magazine will be just a tad shortOriginally Posted by HollowPoint
Last edited by Artful; 12-27-2015 at 04:41 PM.
je suis charlie
It is better to live one day as a LION than a dozen days as a Sheep.
Thomas Jefferson Quotations:
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
"Looks Like The Magazine Will Be Just A Tad Short."
I'm pretty sure it all depends on the actual bullets being used. Because there are so many projectiles to choose from, that information isn't specified in this type of general information; or if it is, it may not necessarily be the bullet of choice of the guy doing the reloading. Even if it's the longest bullet available, it can still be made to work. It just won't be as long as the literature states, that's all. A competent reloader can work around it and still achieve what they're seeking as far as performance. At least that's my take on the caliber I've chosen to go with.
Here are a couple more pics that should explain most of what I attempted to describe in my previous post.
The outside of my Barrel-Nut has now been shaped to the way I want it. The stock has been inletted to accommodate this new part. The only thing left to do is thread the inside to match the threads I'll be cutting into the barrel blank.
At this point I've gone as far as I can. Until I receive the Range-Rod I ordered all I can do is make up the CAD drawing for my new Globe-Front-Sight and come up with the G-Code to cut some flutes into the gripping section of my Barrel-Nut.
I hope it all makes a little more sense now.
HollowPoint
I think the 3.149" OAL (80mm) is the absolute MAX for the Swede with the original 156 grains bullet. Most of the recipes I've seen is 3.1 or shorter..
Cap'n Morgan
Yea: I have a copy of an old Hodgdon reloading book in which every bullet weight is listed at less than 3.149" overall length. Even the long 160 grain round nose is listed at three-inches even. The longest OAL loading is listed at 3.050" for the 142 grain Sierra Hollow Pointed Boat Tail.
The cartridge over all length wasn't really a factor in my choice of cartridges. I just wanted something with a little less recoil; something a little different from the norm in a K31.
The information posted by Artful is very valid and a good starting place when dealing with the 6.5x55 Swede but, it's not written in stone. Even if I wanted to load to the lengths listed in those diagrams, I still could; provided the chamber throat was cut to do so. It would just mean I'd have to load them into the chamber by hand and not through the magazine.
HollowPoint
Keep the pictures coming! I could picture in my mind what you were saying but those two images are really worth a thousand words! I don't see the OAL for the new cartridge as being a problem, any good reloader can get around it. Just loading for the K31 in the original cartridge requires some work in that respect due to the shape of the nose of the Swiss bullets. Through the years I've simply measured the length of factory ammo and loaded my handloads to the same length...until the K31. When I did that, the bullet would jam into lands. I think the first round I loaded actually had the bullet pulled when I was able to hammer the bolt handle back! But I learned from it, so it wasn't a loss in my book.
INFIDEL
Oh, granted but I always try to look at what factory ammo does it eat and what length do they use as MAX.
je suis charlie
It is better to live one day as a LION than a dozen days as a Sheep.
Thomas Jefferson Quotations:
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
I got a call from the guy whose car I was scheduled to work on this morning. It turns out he came down with the flu so he wasn't able to make his appointment.
What that means is, I got the next two days off. That also means that I might be able to finish up the Globe-Front-Sight I mentioned in my previous post. I was also going to try to finish up the fluting on the Barrel-Nut but it occurred to me that it might be better to wait until I've gotten a chance to thread my barrel and the inside of that Barrel-Nut first.
If I flute that Barrel-Nut now I run the chance of having the timing of the flutes off just far enough to cause one or two of those flutes to end up in an incorrect position. I want for the raised flat sections to fall even with the upper edges of my rifle stock so if I wait till I've threaded the barrel and Barrel-Nut I can screw them down hand-tight and mark my top dead center at that time.
With the top dead center determined, I can then set it into the 4th-Axis of my mill and the flutes should automatically fall into place. I'm not smart enough to time the threads themselves. It's easier for me to time the flutes.
Here's a couple of computer renderings of the parts I hope I end up with. Wish me luck.
HollowPoint
I got an email this morning from PTG telling me that they'd just gotten around to shipping the Range-Rod I ordered a few days back. I decided to order directly from them because it was a few dollars cheaper than ordering from Midwayusa or any of the other online sellers.
I don't know if they always take their sweet time to ship stuff or it's a result of the holiday season. Oh Well; it gave me the chance to finish up my new Globe-Front-Sight. It's one less thing I have to do now.
I can't do anything more until I've threaded my barrel. Wouldn't you know it; on the rare occasion I get some free time, I'm having to wait on the tools to move forward. I guess I could use this time to rake the yard; or wash the truck or watch the Outdoor Channel.
Na.
Here's a couple of pics of the Globe-Front-Sight I just finished. I'll be back when I get farther along.
HollowPoint
HP your old globe front sight looks like the one sarco sells. Made by Parker hale and came with a card of inserts made by Lee Shaver. Also came with a sight mounting block and two screws. The sight block was made for a round barrel. Frank
I've only made four of these all together. Except for the one on the right that I broke when I over tightened the installation, the others were mounted on a lever action 44 mag, two Enfields and my air rifle. This just seems to be the easiest style to make.
I made the one I have on my Enfield now with windage adjustment on it. The others, like the one on my air rifle has windage adjustment on the Rear-Peep itself. On the broken one pictured above, I actually only made the bottom section. It was made with a dove-tail on top to accommodate a Globe-Front-Sight that came off of an old air gun I used to have.
I could never get used to the front sight inserts that, that particular type of Globe-Front-Sight used. I just couldn't get as precise of an aim with them so I started using fine-wire to form cross-hairs just like on a scope. The cross-hairs allow me to get a more precise aim at longer ranges where the old-style inserts would obscure or cover most or all of my intended target.
HollowPoint
I've used a couple of different globe target sights and they have had different types of inserts. The Tiger eye I have uses clear plastic inserts with a beveled hole that in effect leave a shadow to help align the eye on the hole. Redfield used something similar but also used inserts with both horizontal and verticle pieces again for alignment. And as stated the Lee Shaver inserts are stamped in different configurations. I have an old Vaver front globe front sight that has the horizontal and vertical lines as part of the sight itself and comes with about 8 threaded cylinders with different apertures and you just change out by unscrewing them and screwing in the new one. When I had younger eyes it was easy to swap out the inserts on the tigereye sight. Now with older eyes I need as much light as I can get. Too small and cannot get good sight picture. Keep up your build and the excellent pics. Looking good so far. Frank
it is a wonderful feeling to follow your instinct,I once made a "Reduced Rim 45/70 on a Steyr 95 streight pull,the action wrench I made works on LG.& SR Mau. typ:38 & 99 Ari.,SMLE ,Steyr 95,using spacers& Shims, I'm not a Gunsmith, just a Millwright who likes to play in the shop of my own
Thanks for the encouragement guys:
Yesterday I was going crazy cause I had a full day of free time but no tools to carry on the work with. I've done just about everything I can for now.
I was laying in bed the other night mulling over the steps I'd be taking when I finally did the actual chambering on my new barrel blank. It occurred to me that I hadn't come up with a good way to hold my chamber reamer as I reamed out this new chamber. I was going to try to make a "Floating-Chamber-Reamer" holder but I had an epiphany as I lay there in bed.
I'm going to be using one of the tool-holders from my Tormach CNC mill. It's proprietary tooling that includes a holder that uses ER collets. The tail end of these holders fit nicely into the tail stock on my lathe. It doesn't have a tapered fit, it's just cylindrical but, it's just the right size to allow it to float from side-to-side and up-and-down about an eighth of an inch in all directions. I didn't want to just chuck the reamer up in my tail stock. I wanted the reamer to float. If I remember to do so, I'll take a picture of what I'm talking about. This method might come in handy for some of you other home gunsmiths.
About the only other thing I was going to play with on this project is the "Ejector." It's the little flat bar that raises up as the bolt is pulled back to kick the empties up and back over our shoulder. Because my scope sits on the center line of the bore directly over the ejection port, I have a Pivoting-Ejector integrated into my home made scope mount. This Pivoting-Ejector works reliably enough as it is but, it requires a brisk pull-back of the bolt to get the empties to really eject; as apposed to dribbling out the side.
On the shooting bench or even out in the field, I don't really mind my empties dribbling out the side of my receiver. It comes in kind of handy cause I dont' have to go searching for any of my empty brass. It's generally laying at my feet. I just have to bend over and pick it up. BUT, even getting my empty brass to dribble out the side requires a certain amount of speed when pulling the bolt back. If I miss that speed-window the empty will come part of the way out then roll back on top of the magazine.
I'm thinking that by fabricating a new "Ejector" and tweaking the front-to-back width of it I can get the empty brass to start pivoting upward just an instant sooner, which will give my "Pivoting Ejector" earlier contact with the brass. This earlier contact will be while the brass is in a position within it's ejection-cycle that it has more clearance on all sides to eject cleanly out the side rather than bouncing against the inside of the receiver at the base of the brass on its way out.
This description is yet another one of those attempts at describing something simple with the written word and having it come out sounding far more complicated than it really is. For those of you who own a K31, next time you're playing with you rifle, take a look at how the ejector works in your gun. You'll be able to tell what I was talking about just by looking at how your K31 ejects shells.
I'll be back when my Range-Rod has arrived.
HollowPoint
Last edited by HollowPoint; 01-03-2016 at 04:18 PM.
i have dream some day to take a ratty, beat up K31 and stub the original barrel and rechamber it in .376 steyr. i feel like it would be an awesome cast boolit rifle.
hello.
The more I work on mine, the more potential I see in this rifle. Getting past all the misinformation about the difficulties of smithing these guns is the hardest part.
The Range-Rod I ordered finally found its way into my mail box on Saturday morning. I was able to use it to index the barrel for threading. I had already pre-indexed it off the outside diameter the day before. I thought it might cut down on the time it might take to zero it on the bore. I must have gone back and forth from the outboard and inboard points of adjustment for about 45 minutes till I got it turning as true as I could get it. I don't think it was really necessary but I was using my .0005" dial indicator. The .001" indicator would have sufficed; and probably cut that time down substantially.
The muzzle threads for my suppressor went off without a hitch. Right now I'm having some lunch but the chamber area or tang is nearly done also. I'll be ordering the chamber-reamer next week. While I'm waiting for that to show up I'll play around with the little ejector I mentioned in my last post.
I have a change-jar sitting in the bedroom. It's where I put all my spare change at the end of the day or week. Over the course of a few months it tends to add up enough that I can use it to buy metal stock, tools or other spare parts with. I counted it up the other day and it should put a big dent in the price of my Chamber Reamer. This time of the year I usually use that spare change to buy me a new hunting and fishing license. I figured this was just a little more important for now.
A few months back I wouldn't have been able to say this but, it really doesn't take much to bring a "Ratty" beat up K31 to the level of a rifle that anyone would enjoy owning. I've never heard of a .376 Steyr but, I have heard of dreams coming true. I hope to have my dream completed by the end of the month. We shall see.
HollowPoint
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.376_Steyr
.376 Steyr Type Rifle / Hunting Place of origin Austria / USA Production history Designer Steyr / Hornady Designed 1999 Manufacturer Steyr Specifications Parent case 9.3 x 64 Brenneke Case type Rebated, bottleneck Bullet diameter .375 in (9.5 mm) Neck diameter .3980 in (10.11 mm) Shoulder diameter .4732 in (12.02 mm) Base diameter .5010 in (12.73 mm) Rim diameter .4940 in (12.55 mm) Rim thickness .0500 in (1.27 mm) Case length 2.3500 in (59.69 mm) Primer type Large rifle Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy 210 gr (14 g) XFB 3,011 ft/s (918 m/s) 4,229 ft·lbf (5,734 J) 225 gr (15 g) SP 2,910 ft/s (890 m/s) 4,232 ft·lbf (5,738 J) 250 gr (16 g) SP 2,754 ft/s (839 m/s) 4,211 ft·lbf (5,709 J) 270 gr (17 g) SP 2,610 ft/s (800 m/s) 4,085 ft·lbf (5,539 J) 300 gr (19 g) SP 2,388 ft/s (728 m/s) 3,800 ft·lbf (5,200 J)
Actually a very good choice for K31 build - but I'd lean to 358 WCF
je suis charlie
It is better to live one day as a LION than a dozen days as a Sheep.
Thomas Jefferson Quotations:
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."
I suck when it comes to the metric system. What is the Maximum Average Pressure of the 376 Steyr? As long as it's within the capacity of the K31 action I think it would be a great cartridge too.
I've become a wuss in my old age. I don't think I could handle the recoil. That's why I went with the 6.5x55; and it has very moderate pressures.
HollowPoint
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