30 Cal Bore Alignment Rod - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - 30 Cal Bore Alignment Rod

Posted: 6/25/2021 9:37:13 PM EDT

Does anyone have one in the Billings area that I can use to check a rifle?

Posted: 6/26/2021 1:12:08 PM EDT

[#1]

Grainger does - sort of. They sell drill rod and the Billings location opens early Monday. Drill rod works well and it's cheap - $10 or under.

You want a 19/64" which is 0.297". Works great for the 0.300" bore of American thirty caliber barrels

Posted: 6/26/2021 2:14:20 PM EDT

[#2]

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Quoted:
Grainger does - sort of. They sell drill rod and the Billings location opens early Monday. Drill rod works well and it's cheap - $10 or under.

You want a 19/64" which is 0.297". Works great for the 0.300" bore of American thirty caliber barrels

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Awesome.

Thank you

Posted: 6/26/2021 2:24:04 PM EDT

[#3]

Not a problem. Bore alignment rods are just drill rod with a name brand and ten times the price anyway!

Posted: 7/5/2021 4:38:35 PM EDT

[#4]

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Quoted:
Not a problem. Bore alignment rods are just drill rod with a name brand and ten times the price anyway!

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I picked it up from grainger. The ends are slightly buggered up but that is an easy fix.

Posted: 7/5/2021 4:57:07 PM EDT

[#5]

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Quoted:

I picked it up from grainger. The ends are slightly buggered up but that is an easy fix.

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Yeah that'll happen sometimes - but saving $50 or more for a few minutes worth of work is a no brainer.

Posted: 7/7/2021 2:51:35 PM EDT

[#6]

Well I think the rod is bent. I put it in the aks bore and it showed it was leaning to one side. I spun the rod and it loosened up and evened out. I flipped the rod around and had similar results.

I chucked it in a drill and it has a slight wobble. I am going to try and get a new one and try again.

Posted: 7/13/2021 7:47:07 AM EDT

[#7]

Well that's disappointing. Had you tried straightening it? I've - very rarely - been handed a slightly bent chunk of drill rod over the counter and I asked for a straight one. They were happy to oblige but that was a few years ago.

Every last one Grainger (and Zoro and McMaster-Carr) has mailed me has been dead straight.

Out of curiosity did you go with W1 or O1? I wonder if it makes a difference in how straight the stock is.

Regardless of any of that - it's fairly easy to straighten if you run out of other options. Support it on either end of the warped area and push gently - that's all it should take at that size.

Posted: 7/13/2021 8:28:34 AM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:
Well that's disappointing. Had you tried straightening it? I've - very rarely - been handed a slightly bent chunk of drill rod over the counter and I asked for a straight one. They were happy to oblige but that was a few years ago.

Every last one Grainger (and Zoro and McMaster-Carr) has mailed me has been dead straight.

Out of curiosity did you go with W1 or O1? I wonder if it makes a difference in how straight the stock is.

Regardless of any of that - it's fairly easy to straighten if you run out of other options. Support it on either end of the warped area and push gently - that's all it should take at that size.

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I got a refund and ordered another. As far as steel type, I am not sure.

I picked up the replacement today and it was much better. I had to clean up the ends again but it seemed to be straight.

I am not going to be able to shoot my siaga ak 47 suppressed as it hits the side of the end cap. Bummer...

Posted: 7/13/2021 8:49:59 AM EDT

[#9]

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Quoted:

I got a refund and ordered another. As far as steel type, I am not sure.

I picked up the replacement today and it was much better. I had to clean up the ends again but it seemed to be straight.

I am not going to be able to shoot my siaga ak 47 suppressed as it hits the side of the end cap. Bummer...

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Quoted:

Quoted:
Well that's disappointing. Had you tried straightening it? I've - very rarely - been handed a slightly bent chunk of drill rod over the counter and I asked for a straight one. They were happy to oblige but that was a few years ago.

Every last one Grainger (and Zoro and McMaster-Carr) has mailed me has been dead straight.

Out of curiosity did you go with W1 or O1? I wonder if it makes a difference in how straight the stock is.

Regardless of any of that - it's fairly easy to straighten if you run out of other options. Support it on either end of the warped area and push gently - that's all it should take at that size.

I got a refund and ordered another. As far as steel type, I am not sure.

I picked up the replacement today and it was much better. I had to clean up the ends again but it seemed to be straight.

I am not going to be able to shoot my siaga ak 47 suppressed as it hits the side of the end cap. Bummer...

It's totally doable to straighten the threads up - so to speak. Many Saiga rifles had decent enough threads with decent enough concentricity - but the shoulders aren't always square. Cleaning that up on a lathe is a quick option so you can at least try.

Posted: 7/13/2021 9:07:57 AM EDT

[#10]

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Quoted:

It's totally doable to straighten the threads up - so to speak. Many Saiga rifles had decent enough threads with decent enough concentricity - but the shoulders aren't always square. Cleaning that up on a lathe is a quick option so you can at least try.

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Do you know of any Ak smiths close by that can do the work?

Posted: 7/13/2021 10:08:53 AM EDT

[#11]

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Quoted:

Do you know of any Ak smiths close by that can do the work?

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Quoted:

Quoted:

It's totally doable to straighten the threads up - so to speak. Many Saiga rifles had decent enough threads with decent enough concentricity - but the shoulders aren't always square. Cleaning that up on a lathe is a quick option so you can at least try.

Do you know of any Ak smiths close by that can do the work?

Honestly I don't. I'd heard of a few here and there but that's ten years ago when Saigas were $250. Since I tend to work on my own stuff I rarely keep tabs on gunsmiths.

Posted: 7/13/2021 10:10:28 AM EDT

[#12]

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Quoted:

Honestly I don't. I'd heard of a few here and there but that's ten years ago when Saigas were $250. Since I tend to work on my own stuff I rarely keep tabs on gunsmiths.

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Quoted:

Quoted:

It's totally doable to straighten the threads up - so to speak. Many Saiga rifles had decent enough threads with decent enough concentricity - but the shoulders aren't always square. Cleaning that up on a lathe is a quick option so you can at least try.

Do you know of any Ak smiths close by that can do the work?

Honestly I don't. I'd heard of a few here and there but that's ten years ago when Saigas were $250. Since I tend to work on my own stuff I rarely keep tabs on gunsmiths.

Copy. Is it easy to do yourself?

Posted: 7/13/2021 12:23:59 PM EDT

[#13]

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Quoted:

Copy. Is it easy to do yourself?

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Quoted:

Quoted:

It's totally doable to straighten the threads up - so to speak. Many Saiga rifles had decent enough threads with decent enough concentricity - but the shoulders aren't always square. Cleaning that up on a lathe is a quick option so you can at least try.

Do you know of any Ak smiths close by that can do the work?

Honestly I don't. I'd heard of a few here and there but that's ten years ago when Saigas were $250. Since I tend to work on my own stuff I rarely keep tabs on gunsmiths.

Copy. Is it easy to do yourself?

I might be the wrong person to ask. The first one I did was before I had a proper hydraulic press - and with borrowed lathe time. I made a little block of wood with a relief for the barrel pin and "pressed" it out with a sledgehammer. Removing the barrel involved a stack of nickels taped to a round rod of mild steel and more hammering with another wooden jig.

After that sure - all I did was set it up in the lathe between centers and square the shoulder up. Then of course I had to press the barrel back into the trunnion and drive the pin back in.

Five minutes worth of actual work with an hour or more of prep! That's gunsmithing for you.