Another PSL headspace thread...

[jwarren116]

My PSL is (basically) finished. It was a $319 CFS kit that was "unmatching" but luckily showed up with all matching numbers. Everything has gone together pretty well. I initially had some trouble getting the barrel in, but remedied that quickly. I lined up the barrel pin hole and pressed in the pin. When i finally got my Clymer go/no go headspace gauges from Brownells i put that no go in the chamber and sure enough, that puppy closed and locked. Big sad face on my end. Both gauges would lock up, although the fit did seem a touch snug. With just the bolt, i could lock it up on the gauge and use a fine dental pick in the extractor groove to barely wiggle the go gauge, with almost no movement of the no go gauge. The bolt body was snuggly locked against the barrel with no sideways or front/back movement.

Not satisfied, becausr i enjoy my hands and face, i pressed out the barrel pin to properly headspace this fine rifle. I then spent a number of hours making fine adjustments to move the barrel in and out attempting to find a location where the bolt would close on go, and not close on no go. I was less than successful. It seems to me that the gauges had no impact on the bolt closing, or not closing. It's been quite an ordeal. I've come to wonder if the barrel breech is damaged and causing the gauges to sit deeper in the barrel. The appear undamaged and seat a live round with no problems. I have protected the face with pennies when pushing the barrel at all, and have been very delicate. I suppose my next step may be to get the headspace as close as possible and hide behind a tree while i fire with a string!

I'm quite stumped here. And i know my wife would appreciate if i would stop spending every free moment in my "man shed" staring at this build and cursing like a sailor. I'd rather fix it myself than take it to a professional. Plus, i likely can't afford a professional with all the build junk i bought for this!! I need some advice! Is it a case of operator error, or can this be a serious pain sometimes?

On a side note, if any competent headspace folks are in Sonoma/Napa/Marin, i would happily donate a 12-pack for a set of eyes and some assistance.

[tujungatoes]

were you using just the stripped bolt body(no FP or extractor)? Please define a touch snug.

Many people are under the impression that you're supposed to force the bolt/gauge into the chamber and if you can make it close that it's no good. That's not the way to do it. It only requires moderate pressure with you finger to close the bolt. slamming/forcing the gauge is something I hear about pretty frequently and I cringe every time. You can actually damage your chamber that way.

I'm not saying you're doing it wrong, just making sure you know how before you go drilling for an oversized barrel pin or some such.

*edit* also keep in mind the go gauge is a maximum desirable headspace. The weapon is still safe to fire as long as it won't close on a field gauge.

[jwarren116]

were you using just the stripped bolt body(no FP or extractor)? Please define a touch snug.

Many people are under the impression that you're supposed to force the bolt/gauge into the chamber and if you can make it close that it's no good. That's not the way to do it. It only requires moderate pressure with you finger to close the bolt. slamming/forcing the gauge is something I hear about pretty frequently and I cringe every time. You can actually damage your chamber that way.

I'm not saying you're doing it wrong, just making sure you know how before you go drilling for an oversized barrel pin or some such.

*edit* also keep in mind the go gauge is a maximum desirable headspace. The weapon is still safe to fire as long as it won't close on a field gauge.

Yes, I'm using a stripped bolt. When using JUST the bolt, no carrier, with an empty chamber or with either gauge, the bolt easily rotates into place when slid forward and using light pressure with my thumb to turn it. It's "snug" in the sense that it will stay in place if I remove my fingers. If I wiggle the back of the bolt it easily comes loose, or I can apply light to moderate pressure with my thumb to rotate it out of the locking lugs.

With the bolt carrier is a slightly different story. When I slide the bolt in the carrier forward it rotates fully into the locked position quite easily, but as soon as the bolt is locked the carrier takes moderate pressure to move forward. It seems that maybe the bolt locks in a way that puts pressure on the carrier. But it's only for the last 1/2 inch of the bolt carrier's forward movement, after the bolt is locked. I've read a few things that indicate that this is normal and after a few hundred rounds will smooth out. I think this is likely a different issue all together. I'm not going to worry about that until I have this baby properly headspaced!

Back on topic, I'm definitely not slamming or forcing the gauges or bolt. My rule of thumb (no pun intended) is to only use moderate pressure with one finger, at most. If it doesn't go, then it doesn't go. I've been testing the fit with an empty chamber before I try any gauges, and if it requires much more pressure than the empty chamber, I don't do it.

[jwarren116]

I just pulled out my 223 Saiga to see how "snug" the bolt locks up. As of now, the PSL bolt fits a bit tighter. But my Saiga bolt rotates into place, and if I remove my finger from the back of the bolt will damn near fall right out. It's definitely looser, with a decent amount of lateral movement at the back of the bolt. I realize these are two very different beasts, but should they lock up similarly?

I also have a 7.62 Saiga I can look at, but the 223 was already out because I got the AK bug and I decided to convert that bad boy while I waited to figure out this headspacing issue.

[safewaysecurity]

Tag

[oldyeller]

I would be happy to check it out with you, I am just west of santa rosa. Time is an issue for me though. Shoot me a PM.

[oldyeller]

There is a small ridge on the breach face of the barrel that gets squished when pressing the barrel out. This ridge needs to recess into the bolt head, this may be where you problem is.

[jwarren116]

As suspected, the ridge that the cartridge rim sits on was slightly smashed at the 4 o'clock position. Taking oldyeller's advice in a PM i pushed out the barrel and put the barrel in a vice. I put an empty cartridge in the chamber and very carefully used a punch and small hammer to push the damaged metal back into a ridge. Once it was 98% formed i used a fine file to smooth the outide rim and remove minor burrs. The ridge now meets the rim of the cartridge all around the barrel, and no longer protrudes outward blocking the bolt from meeting the barrel face and providing correct headspace.

I have not reset the barrel just yet. I hope i can get that done tomorrow morning, and maybe test firing Monday or Tuesday!

By the way, sorry for typos and whatnot. I'm typing this on my phone. As with all my posts!

[tujungatoes]

Cool. Hope it headspaces now and everything works good for you. Let us know how it goes.