Receiver replacement 03A3

[Rexalot]

Hey, just looking for some potential advice.
I purchased a 03A3 rifle with a "Santa Fe" receiver a couple years back. I had the barrel checked, bore and muzzle wear is minimal. I have good parts for a project. I then found a good 03A3 receiver/barrel combo, for cheap, stripped of everything and it has laymen sights.

I was unsuccessful in finding any local gunsmiths who do these types of projects. Most are AR builders. So, I bought the tooling, barrel vise, action wrench, and the three set of headspace gauges. I was inspired to do it myself after finding the "chuckindenver" post concerning rebarreling a 03 Springfield.

I sat on this project until recently. I was able to easily split the Remington barrel from the Santa Fe receiver. It took a little more effort to break the original barrel from the good Remington receiver. I inspected everything, all looks good. Here is where I wonder if I have an issue.

The Remington receiver witness mark hand tightens to about a 1/4" from the barrel witness mark. Using the action wrench I can move it another 1/8" or about half that distance. At that point it'll start to slip in my vise, but more importantly I'm concerned any more force and I'll wreck it. If I remove it and screw it back on the original barrel, it hand tightens to the same point. For comparison, that Santa Fe receiver hand tightens to about an 1/8" short of lining the marks on either barrel. With the wrench it'll line up.

I've read in another post, that that individual liked 30-40 degrees short of the witness marks. That would be close to what I have.
I look at Chuck's pic, and that looks similar to mine so I wonder, is my issue:
1) I need to get the barrel tighter in my vise (custom set of blocks) or,
2) that 1/4" gap is to far away, I need to be hand tight closer to an 1/8"?

If it's just get a tighter clamp on the barrel, what would be the best method then to tighten that last little bit? Add a little length to the action wrench arm (put a pipe on it) for a smooth pull to the lines or smack it (the action wrench handle) with a mallet? I've seen in a YouTube video where a guy replaced the barrel on a P17 and he malleted the last little bit.

I do have access to lathe and a mill, but I don't think I need to go removing metal. As for my skill, I'm an aircraft mechanic (A&P), been at that 32 years, I work on farm machinery, etc. I'm new at this gun smith stuff, but sure would like to learn to take care of my own.

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[konigstigerii]

Ah no replies....I'm in the exact same situation re barreling a Steyr M95. Trying to keep it cheap and don't really want to order a 8x56R reamer for a one off project... I don't think you'll get the extra rotation with more torque...so I wouldn't try that...my thoughts are on my project:

Turn a $250 project gun into a $400 project gun and order a reamer :/ Turn the face of the chamber and shoulder down in the lathe, rechamber to correct depth. with 12 TPI I think I should only need about 5 thou off...so maybe the chamber is on the large size..but I doubt it.

Lap the threads...seems uber accuracy chasers may do this. Might be just enough to get the extra few degrees...

Put the receiver in the mill or lathe, and turn back the face, and inner face, and hope my bolt isn't too tight. Probably the wrong way to to it, but also is free for me.

Hopefully this weekend I'll work on it some more. Probably try lapping the treads and checking my chamber depth...to see if I did turn it down, if I would have to rechamber. I may also try the wrong option...maybe a little bit of all 3 will get it done...

[gjungle56]

Hi
A wrap or 2 of paper around the barrel can do wonders for stopping slippage. I usually true the barrel shoulder but unless you've made all the tooling it may be difficult to do accurately. A bit of lube may help with the 1/4" to index.

[gjungle56]

In addition to my other post, 3/16 is about what I strive for provided the barrel and receiver contact for all 360 degrees. Its surprising how many just bear on one side.

[Chuckindenver]

crush. back it off , recrush , repeat until the marks line up perfect... dont over think this.

[Rexalot]

I completed this back in March. I've attached 4 pictures, the witness marks where it locked up hand tight, the bolt on the No-Go, the bolt on the Go, and the finished rifle. Barrel is a 5-44 Remington. I used all the parts that were marked with a "R" so it would be as close to an all Remington rifle as I could build with what I had already acquired. The stock has no visible markings that I saw. I do have a set of 03A3 sights, but I kind of prefer the view thru the peep hole of the Lyman sight. It's a shooter after all.

I assembled the Santa-Fe receiver on the sporterized barrel, it screws to the witness marks hand tight (just about how tight it was before I split it from the barrel it had). It's a paper weight now. So if anyone was wondering I'm NOT shooting or selling that.

I have yet to test fire, been to busy. I enjoyed this project quite a bit. I think I need to build something now. I do have a Mauser with a crack in the wrist of the stock... maybe I should learn stock repair next.

Thanks All!

[browningautorifle]

So if anyone was wondering I'm NOT shooting or selling that.

As long as it exists though it can be shot by the next guy...after you. Things happen...you did say it was junk.

The Santa Fe receiver is junk. It was cast in the 60's by the same guys that made "National Ordinance". Unsafe, dangerous to shoot.

New assembled rifle looks good.