You know what, whatever. You quote me wrong, you gotta show your superiority via stating over and over again that my observation of what worked for me is kaka. I guess the Raven forum is the only forum.
Look, Raven, I am NOT trying to undermine your expertise, but again, I point our this is a forum. I can and will continue to note things here that I tried which worked. Please, re-read what I wrote and make sure you do not put words in my mouth.
My statement is not one of better or anything like that, strictly what worked. If I am guilty of anything, it is not making clear that my response is an alternative, that it takes a certain amount of common sense to accomplish, and if you are not mechanically inclined, than please, leave any firearm repairs to those who are. Even something you feel as simple as a bolt replacement can be botched up with disastrous results.
Fact be said, if assuming common sense, as in testing via dry runs the function of a repair or modification, is missing, then by all means, any and all suggestions short of taking it in for review is out of the question. I am guilty of the assumption that others have it and will do as I did and review their work, confirming that a bolt will drop correctly and hold a cylinder in battery. Perhaps I am wrong, but if so, then who are any of us to make any form of suggestion of a do it yourself repair?
My suggestion may have benefited from a better description as all I am suggesting if a replacement bolt is not the fix is to press the bolt cam out further by a few thousands at a time at best. Yes, one can press it out so far the bolt will never drop it off the ledge, but again, test and review are something I have taken as a given. Too far, press it back. Close but not enough, perhaps a little more. I am not stating to reshape the face of the cam at all, just giving the bolt a little larger ledge to lay on. I in NO way (the words in my mouth thing) suggested enlarging the diameter of the cam, mushrooming it via smashing it with a hammer. Just knocking it through the hammer a couple more thousands to increase the ledge that the bolt rides, then slips off of. Think of a rod in a skin tight tube. The rod = cam, the tube= hammer. Push the rod a little deeper through the tube is all I am saying. This increases the area on the cam that the bolt rides on.
To me, this is fine tuning AND a learning experience. I massaged the heads of a half dozen colt bolts before I got a shape that minimized scouring. I broke a couple of Remington bolt springs too before I got it where I liked it. Yes, it cost a couple of bucks, but I had fun and I learned things.
I taught myself to do lead work on cars when I was 23 to restore, not hotrod, a 26 model “T”. I taught myself how to shoot a basecoat clear coat paint job on a car, well enough to have a national show winner in my garage (check my www). My help on my son’s resulted in his being in a national publication, both as a full 7 page article and as calendar car.
I taught myself how to repair pocket watches and other many other things. I read, I watch, I learn, I DO. My biggest issue is for those who are so set in their ways that they cannot admit or see any validity in anyone else’s point of view. Knowledge of ANYTHING is an ongoing process. So again, I submit, do we assume those here have a common sense enough to review what they are doing, or do we submit they do not, and our answers should be accordingly.
You are most likely right, there are as most likely as many answers as there are gunsmiths. I have a couple gunsmithing books in my possesion too,author David R Chicoine among others, and yes, this method which I bring up is addressed there in at least one publication too, although as I noted, it was 1st brought to my attention via a buddyl.
At this point, this issue for me is dead. If you want to PM on this, fine, I will not continue to go back and forth here on it. Remember, you asked the question....
"No offence but why do you guys want to make the job so hard ". All I was dong was noting something else.
I added this latter, so sorry. It was on my mind but overlooked.
Often, these lines are a result of NOTHING wrong with the firearm. Only that someone is playing with it, cocking and releasing the hammer, even if under the release tension of your thumb to prevent nipple mushrooming, if done at a slow to moderate pace, will result in the bolt dropping even in a properly timed 58 too soon. If cocked with authority, the timing may be spot on. If you time one like this to drop correctly with a slow cocking motion, the first time they do it with authority will result in the bolt releasing too late. All of his issues may in fact be nothing more than how he is handling the gun. Only someone observing his firearm will be able to tell or not.