Spetnaz Soldier 47 Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 hey guys i have 2 saigas now and i was wondering if the bolts were interchangable. they seem to be the exact same size. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigChongus 765 Posted December 22, 2012 Report Share Posted December 22, 2012 If they're the same caliber, yes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Forge 11 Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Head spacing will have to be checked! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spetnaz Soldier 47 Posted December 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 headspacing? i was thinking since it was the same caliber it didnt need to be headspaced. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Forge 11 Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 Every rifle is different. Headspacing is accomplished by how far the barrel was pressed into the trunnion. Someone with more experience than me should chime in here shortly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
thebuns1 4,323 Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 The bolts are fitted to each rifle individually. Just because they are the same caliber and same size bolt head does not mean they will have the exact same headspacing. It'd be wise to check it or have it checked before you ever swapped them, as you could really damage the rifle, or get hurt in the process. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted December 23, 2012 Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 (edited) An easy way to compare headspace with two identical rifles and bolts is to take a dummy round or snap cap and add a trimmed piece of scotch tape to the case head. Just place it over where the primer would normally be. Then, insert the round into the chamber, and slowly close the carrier/bolt onto the round. Add another piece of tape, one at a time, until the bolt will no longer lock up smoothly on the dummy round. You will probably reach this point with just three pieces of tape. If both bolts stop locking up with the same amount of tape added, the headspace is close enough to interchange the bolts. You should always check headspace, but my belief is that current Izhmash manufacturing processes are probably precise enough that most parts are probably going to be interchangeable without any major headspace differences. The major differences in assembly come into play when you consider that the rifles are still largely assembled by hand after initial machining of parts are done. You are depending on the assumption that all of these parts are machined to identical tolerances, or that the assembler headspaces every rifle the same - this isn't always the case. That's why even if you think they're going to be the same, you need to verify. Edited December 23, 2012 by mancat 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spetnaz Soldier 47 Posted December 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2012 hey now thats good thinkin thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spetnaz Soldier 47 Posted January 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 How can you tell if your headspacing is off. what would happen if you fired it and it was off? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tool_of_Society 15 Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 How can you tell if your headspacing is off. what would happen if you fired it and it was off? Nothing serious other then a rifle exploding in your hands. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spetnaz Soldier 47 Posted January 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 So I understand exactly what heapspacing is. It seems like it would be hard to fuck that up when assembling. Seems easy to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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