Fitting a new bolt head

[CINDERS]

Q- If I wish to tighten up the headspace on my T and fit a bolt head that closes a bit tighter does this affect the action considering in the molecular scale does this taking up of the slack place more compressive force on the action at ignition of the round.
Also does this affect the bearing surfaces on the bolt in its altered headspace I ask as this rifle I gather is relatively unchanged.
According to PL my rifle was utilised in pad testing and its serial No. is so printed and mentioned in his Co-authored book with Ian Skennerton
The only reason as in the quest having my T professionally re bedded I thought I could fit another bolt head to take up a smidge more on the case.
Plus saving the original bolt head, now after you ask why it is only a question to wringing the last bit out of my T, I have plenty of 0,1,2,3 bolt heads to fish around with.

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[Gil Boyd]

Personally speaking I would stick to what you know is tight up against the headspace.
You could introduce a new bolt and indeed you could tighten things up, but in my experience if it aint broke don't try and fix it, you may exert more energy at the bolt face which is not to be desired.
Any reason for the sudden change or is it just to take up the slack?

[CINDERS]

Not really Gil just trying something well just a question my thoughts lie with over tensioning the action it is not like our modern weapons the guys who worked on them in WWI & WWII knew their lot I really do not think one should fiddle with a known entity, as you say and PL alludes to if it ai........."
It is not sloppy just tried with out shooting the weapon same No. bolt head but was a shade tighter in the lock up but seeing as the rims differ on the rounds even by todays standards I may get into a situation of too much on the action as even though it is a rifle action there has to be give the only thing you cannot compress on this planet is H20.

More so for my curiosity and anyone else thinking along the same lines, my paltry efforts would fade into insignificance with all the testing & developments over the years that the factories and armourers did with the Lee Enfield action.

Thanks for the reply Gil appreciated.

[Bindi2]

If it closes on the .64 and not on the .74 leave it alone. Back in the day when 303 ruled the ranges some guaged sorted their ammo and fitted a bolt head to suit the sorted ammo. Personaly i think it was a mind game. I do have several guages in my collection.

[CINDERS]

Honest Bindi2 I am just there to run the T or the APRS to see what happens and just have serious fun shooting the breeze and laughing with the other members and looking who has what much fun and merriment is the order of the day a 600yd sniper match and there will be lots of now where did that go LMAO plus we always have a melt down and I take heaps of useable spares

[Gil Boyd]

Its a lot of tonnage at the face, and I would leave it as it is if everything is going OK. It could open a bag of nails!!!
I am sure others might agree who have been there "Professionally" so to speak
Have a good weekend
Gil

[Ridolpho]

OK, now I'm curious. Does reduced headspace with a Lee Enfield increase stress on the action? I can imagine some energy/ pressure is used up stretching the brass in the case of a greater headspace but what about the acceleration and kinetic energy of the case head built up prior to impacting on the bolt face? Now back to enjoying a beautiful morning in the back yard- happy Fourth of July south of the 49th.

Ridolpho

[Peter Laidler]

Rest easily in your bed Ridolpho........ and others! Bindi is dead right as he usually is and like me, keeps things simple. If the bolt closes over .064" and won't close over .074, there is absoltely no reason on gods earth why you need to change a bolt head. None whatsoever. Annanuvverfing.......... NEVER, but never, ever OVER CHS anything.

It's always worth remembering that changing a bolt head doesn't only affect CHS either. The actual threaded bolt head tennon effects the whole geometry of the bolt as you'll read in the short article wot I rit a year or so ago.

I see shooters with a trayfull of boltheads in their range bags - for what? They also have a foresight cramp too.

Leave it alone is my advice Cinders. Only my oinion of course. Others may have a different point of view

[Ridolpho]

Peter: Yes, I stopped losing any sleep over headspacing in my Lee Enfields a while ago. But what about Cinders' original comment/ question: do you think tighter headspace applies more stress to the body? Personally I'm more interested in regard to another rear locking action- Tokarev SVT.

Ridolpho

[Peter Laidler]

Mmmmmmmmm Good question Ridolpho. My answer would be that if, in their wisdom, gained through experience of over 100 years making rifles Enfield thought that there would be a kiinetic force action you mention, then they'd probably have tightened up the criteria. Just my view. Another point is that the trusty old Enfield was made to close down on dirty old dusty ammo in the Sudan and Tobruk to Korea and Aden as well as the vagaries of slack wartime manufacturing control.

So .064" to .074" it is - and give the otler boltheads to someone you don't like as fishing weights!