Machine Bolt Action Wrench

As the opportunity presents in the design and makeup of a gunsmithing tool, as good or better than that which I can buy, and at less cost, I get right on it. Such was the case in my construction of an action wrench adaptable to the Model 70 Winchester in three different action lengths. Moreover, the barrels are conveniently removed while the scoped action remains undisturbed within the stock.

In the search for suitable material to design and make an action wrench for the aforementioned use, I considered a number of materials in various shape and steel makeup. It had to be of workable diameter to form the laterally opposing action wrench lugs at one end and the torque coupling wrench at the other and be adaptable to the longest actions. The steel would also need to be hard enough to withstand the required torque for barrel removal and installation.

I imme- Below center: Turned to size, the bolt is milled to a half-inch square end for socket wrench coupling. Below, the finished Winchester Model 70 action wrench. diately ruled out a length of over sized steel shaft which would have required a major amount of turning and shaping. That’s when the idea struck me to use a proper length Grade 5, 3/4-inch machine bolt. The inherent qualities were all there, so all I had to do is lathe turn and mill things to shape.

Making the Action Wrench A 3/4×8" Grade 5 hex head machine bolt would meet all these needs. The first step was to locate centers at each end of the bolt for lathe turning the main bolt shaft and head. The bolt body was turned to just under the Model 70 Winchester bolt size at 0.685" from just inside the bolt head to within an inch of the end where it would later be squared off for 1/2inch socket wrench use. The bolt head was then turned to 0.972", close to the outer diameter of the

Far two locking lugs. The linear thickness of the bolt head is 0.465", just right for engagement at the locking lug juncture. The bolt was then removed from the lathe and shaped to size at each end. I first milled the threaded end to 1/2" square to fit a standard half-inch socket wrench drive to a length of 0.875". A very small remnant of bolt thread remained at the corners as a reminder this wrench was made from a machine bolt.

The lugs were then shaped from the bolt head which was already outside turned to M70 locking lug outside diameter of 0.972". The two lugs at the head end of the bolt were (Continued on page 22) milled to a thickness very close to the Model 70 Winchester locking lug race of 0.390". The finished bolt has essentially the same bolt body diameter and lug specifications as a Model 70 Winchester bolt with minor tolerance differences for universal rifle-to-rifle fit.

The action wrench also conveniently fits my Model 77 Ruger actions… another plus. Finishing Touches There may be considerable torque applied to an action wrench requiring precise positioning of the

This set up enables the user to turn a barrel from an action without removing a scoped action from the stock. A barrel can be removed and replaced in five minutes in this manner, all ready to shoot. A special "no scratch, no slip" padded barrel vise is used to hold the barrel. The latest one is at the bottom. Second and forth from top are special wrenches for the Weatherby Mark Vaction. lugs in the bolt races.

If pushed in too far the wrench lugs may fall into the bolt locking lug races, or partially so, while attempting to remove a barrel. This should be avoided. To prevent this I placed three wrench stops for the three different length Model 70 actions. This was accomplished by placing conveniently labeled screw-in bolt stops located where the bolt handle drops into the action. Here I drilled and tapped holes for an 8-32 socket head screw at each of these three locations.

Finally, I buffed the entire action wrench to a dull luster with a wire brush. As gunsmiths, we can often make tools better than we can buy. AG