30 carbine bolt reassemby, am I the idiot or is it YouTube?

[rtracy2001]

Decided to tear down the bolt and clean it. Also I figured replacing the worn springs would be a good idea too. Never having worked on the carbine bolt, I figured YouTube should have some instructional videos to help. I watched a couple and the consensus was that reassembly was a royal pain (but possible) without a bolt tool. One guy took 5 minutes (after editing) fumbling with a bolt to reassemble it.

The problem was always the same, coordinating the ejector, firing pin, and the extractor lock. When I did it, I just pushed a punch through from the bottom to hold everything in place. After that it was easy to deal with just the extractor lock. As I pushed the extractor in, the punch was forced out. No muss no fuss.

Is there a reason it should not be done the way I did it, or do I just chock this up to internet people not knowing any better?

[roverboy]

Been there and done that. Its a pain with out the bolt tool. I shot parts in the air a few times. I replaced the extractor and ejector on my brother in law's Thai M1 Carbine. I ended up holding it down with a small screw driver I ground down thin.

[Gtek]

Sometimes when I know it is going to be ugly. Get a printer paper box with lid, cut slot in lid to look through and two arm holes. It is a whole lot easier to pick spring and plunger up in box and go again vs. trajectory angles, strong light and magnets and on all fours. Too many times, I have forgotten where they all have flown never to be found in the "ROOM". Those bolt tools are really a cool tool if you are going to play.

[rtracy2001]

I don't intend to take it appart often enough to justify the price of the tool (yet).

A piece of duct tape over the ejector plunger worked really well to keep it from flying across the room. It just strikes me as odd that the self proclaimed experts would miss such a simple fix as using a drift punch to align and hold those parts together when reassembling the bolt.

[country gent]

One other trick is to turn up a solid case from brass rougly 1/2" longer than the actual case is. Insert this in chamber and close bolt on it bolt is held open and pieces parts contained. Used to use an 30-06 case in the m-1As to change out parts. The grands one tool had the correct back end on it for doing this also.

[Wayne Smith]

You assume that utube videos are made by experts. They are made by anyone with a video camera!

[roverboy]

You assume that utube videos are made by experts. They are made by anyone with a video camera!

Exactly.

[rtracy2001]

You assume that utube videos are made by experts. They are made by anyone with a video camera!

That is why they are "self proclaimed experts."

It just struck me as odd that none of the numerous videos or articles that I found mentioned using a punch or pin to hold the ejector and firing pin in place during assembly.

Does the bolt tool incorporate any such feature?

[Larry Gibson]

One other trick is to turn up a solid case from brass rougly 1/2" longer than the actual case is. Insert this in chamber and close bolt on it bolt is held open and pieces parts contained. Used to use an 30-06 case in the m-1As to change out parts. The grands one tool had the correct back end on it for doing this also.

A 5.56 case cut off just at the shoulder works well also. Depending on the 5.56 rim diameter a tudge might have to be turned off (case in a drill and file work fine) to fit inside the bolt face. A carbine bullet seated in the mouth keeps it from rounding over and slipping further into the barrel.

Larry Gibson

[abunaitoo]

I use a big clear plastic bag.
Kept the bag that the TV came in.
Worked great. Never lost a spring since.

As far as the Carbine bolt, it's so easy with the tool, I wouldn't want to try it without.
I've seen them for under $30.


Sometimes when I know it is going to be ugly. Get a printer paper box with lid, cut slot in lid to look through and two arm holes. It is a whole lot easier to pick spring and plunger up in box and go again vs. trajectory angles, strong light and magnets and on all fours. Too many times, I have forgotten where they all have flown never to be found in the "ROOM". Those bolt tools are really a cool tool if you are going to play.

[jimb16]

The main problem with reassembly as you have done it is making sure that the plunger is correctly positioned. If it isn't, the extractor, plunger and spring can go flying! It isn't fun to have that happen in the middle of a range session. It really spoils the day. Get the tool. You'll never regret it.

[rtracy2001]

The main problem with reassembly as you have done it is making sure that the plunger is correctly positioned. If it isn't, the extractor, plunger and spring can go flying! It isn't fun to have that happen in the middle of a range session. It really spoils the day. Get the tool. You'll never regret it.

I don't know how the bolt tool works, but the bolt itself is easy to understand. The plunger and firing pin both have a cutout on one side. That cutout has to align with the post of the extractor. (on my bolt it was impossible to install the extractor if the cutouts were not aligned.) If the cutout aligns, the extractor will install and holds both the plunger and the firing pin into the bolt (while still allowing the necessary movement for function). The right sized punch does the same thing. holding it all in position until the extractor is inserted. The punch just allows you to focus on two things at once instead of four.

[Geezer in NH]

Bolt tool is cheap worth every penny when you own a carbine.

[zomby woof]

Get the tool. If you shoot cast boolits with conventional lube, it seems to get dirtier.