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1928A1 Bolt Spring Help!


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Not all Savage 1928 buffer pilots are created equal. A early and late Savage pilot comparison.

 

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Spent some time today with my '28 and a group of early Savage and late Savage 1928 buffer pilots.

 

The portion of the pilot that goes through the receiver is longer on all of my late Savage pilots and the length prohibits the use of a British recoil spring tool. There is not enough room to get the pilot inside the receiver using the recoil spring tool in the hole. A paper clip does allow just enough to get the spring installed and the pilot installed in the receiver.

 

All of my early Savage pilots worked with a British recoil spring tool.

 

john's advice to check the fit of your oiler is a good place for you to check when you get parts. Don at Omega is a great place for parts.

 

Good luck!

Edited by Bridgeport28A1
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When you say appears normal, can you wiggle the pilot around to a point that it would contact the actuator coming back or is everything pretty rigid?

 

Ron

I can wiggle it around to contact the actuator but otherwise it is pretty rigid. It becomes even more rigid when I remove the fiber pad. The hole in the receiver appears perfect and the breech oiler is not bent.

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I didn't even realize that Savage had ever used a hollow pilot, and I've been shooting Thompsons for many years. I've only seen solid ones.

 

Certainly, when the gun is assembled the pilot should extend inside the bolt, holding the spring in perfect alignment. A kink should not be possible, nor should the bolt and pilot ever bear on each other during operation.

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I didn't even realize that Savage had ever used a hollow pilot, and I've been shooting Thompsons for many years. I've only seen solid ones.

 

Certainly, when the gun is assembled the pilot should extend inside the bolt, holding the spring in perfect alignment. A kink should not be possible, nor should the bolt and pilot ever bear on each other during operation.

That is what I would think also. But, as you can see in post #'s 13 & 14, the pilot buffer does not extend inside the bolt when assembled.

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The pilot likely isn't hollow. Early Savage pilots had indentations on the ends of the buffer pilot rod. An early Savage pilot is pictured on the right.

 

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vD7cmHtm.jpg

 

Has anyone ever seen an AOC marked buffer pilot?

I have never seen a AOC marked buffer pilot myself. Mine is marked with an " S ". You are correct in that these holes are simply dimples and not holes on each end of the buffer pilot. And looking at pictures of Savage buffer pilots the later ones do not have the dimples and are a tad longer! I wonder why the later ones are solid & longer? Maybe to correct a cycling or kinking spring problem???

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How in the world did anyone reassemble the gun when

the pilots did not have the hole to capture the spring???

 

I can be done, but it's not fun, especially with a new recoil spring. At least on Board member made a capture device sort of similar to what is used to change struts on a vehicle suspension. When I had such a pilot rod, I used small, low cost lock jaw pliers with the outside edges of the jaws ground down so they would fit into the receiver and put tape on the inner jaw teeth to prevent scuffing or gouging the pilot rod.

 

MHO, YMMV, etc.

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How in the world did anyone reassemble the gun when

the pilots did not have the hole to capture the spring???

I had a Thompson for 10 years before I found out the purpose of the hole in the pilot. Back then assembly was tricky, but simple enough. Edited by timkel
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john's advice to check the fit of your oiler is a good place for you to check when you get parts.

 

Would you believe it is possible to install the breech oiler upside down? It is, I've seen it, and it aligns just a few thousands off where it should be in the pilot hole...putting indirect pressure on the pilot. Take the oiler out and run it to see if it runs right with no binding.

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The popped-out-spring-thing happened often enough that clever folks figured out ways around. it.

Ergo the "spring-loaded buffer-pilot" from Gunmachines many years ago...

 

The centre pin retracts with the bolt, keeping the spring in shape. Supposedly... Phil

Looks like the set-up in an M1A1...

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Do you have the right actuator ( cocking piece ) in the bolt ? Let’s see pics of rear of bolt and rear of cocking piece while inside the bolt.

I put up some pics of this. Neither part appears broke or excessively worn! The actuator has a " 5 " stamped on it unless it is a messed up " S ".

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The popped-out-spring-thing happened often enough that clever folks figured out ways around. it.

Ergo the "spring-loaded buffer-pilot" from Gunmachines many years ago...

 

The centre pin retracts with the bolt, keeping the spring in shape. Supposedly... Phil

Looks like the set-up in an M1A1...

It is indeed modeled after the M1 pattern, and used a modified M1 "buffer", cut to use in the 28.

The original claim to the spring plunger was for an increase in ROF. The assist in spring guidance was a side benefit.

The other atrocities produced by Gunmachines, such as their speed bolts and no-ears blish locks, had nothing but destructive properties.

Edited by mnshooter
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The popped-out-spring-thing happened often enough that clever folks figured out ways around. it.

Ergo the "spring-loaded buffer-pilot" from Gunmachines many years ago...

 

The centre pin retracts with the bolt, keeping the spring in shape. Supposedly... Phil

Looks like the set-up in an M1A1...

It is indeed modeled after the M1 pattern, and used a modified M1 "buffer", cut to use in the 28.

The original claim to the spring plunger was for an increase in ROF. The assist in spring guidance was a side benefit.

The other atrocities produced by Gunmachines, such as their speed bolts and no-ears blish locks, had nothing but destructive properties.

I plan on keeping the original set-up but am purchasing a different actuator & buffer pilot.

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The pilot should be in alignment with the bolt hole. Your pilot could be too loose to stay in alignment. I would try a different pilot.

Got a new pilot and will install it later today. This buffer does not have the dimples on the ends and is a tad longer.

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I will ask another question. Once the bolt, buffer pilot & recoil spring are assembled into the frame, the buffer pilot does not line up perfectly straight as it sits in the frame! Is this normal? Nothing appears bent and the recoil spring is new.

That is normal in all the 28s Ive seen. The partially compressed main spring will push the pilot slightly off center with the bolt forward.

I installed another new spring, NOS actuator, & NOS buffer pilot which is actually a tad longer than the older one and the pilot is slightly off center with the bolt as you stated. Hope this works....

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