Arisaka 99 project

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  • Last Post 13 October 2014
tturner53 posted this 30 September 2014

A couple years ago I bought a few Arisakas in a package deal. One of them is a beautifully made example of skill and craftsmanship. It's serial #20 and looks better than most new guns today. Nice fit and finish. The problem is some fool rechambered it to 30-06, bent the bolt and drilled and tapped for a Weaver scope base. Otherwise it's issue. Now here's where it gets worse. Some other fool (me) installed a .308 chamber adaptor, with Loctite. It's the kind of adaptor that used to be in Navy M1's. Then fired it with 7.62 Nato surplus.  The idea was to be able to use the magazine, which is too short for normal 30-06 length cartridges. Now it will take, feed, and fire .308 but the bolt close is pretty tight and it's too rickety now to depend on anyway. I'm looking for ideas. Rebarrel, rebore? Dump it? How hard is it to rebarrel an Arisaka?

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 30 September 2014

interesting, my nextdoor neighbor has a souvenir arisaka.. anyway i googled www.milsurps.com and found some reading stuff. good luck with the 17 tpi heh heh.

ken

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gnoahhh posted this 01 October 2014

At this point I would dump it. How much money do you like throwing away while trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?

Perhaps if it were a rifle brought home from the war by a relative I would move heaven and earth to “restore” it. Otherwise, not so much.

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delmarskid1 posted this 01 October 2014

The good news is that 7.7's had chrome lined bores. Meaning you can probably find another rifle and use it's barrel.

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lmcollins posted this 01 October 2014

I wonder if it is a metric thread. I would also check to se if it is a 55degree thread. The only way to find out for certain is to take it apart. As for a rebarrel: I would imagine you could use any 308 based cartridge. If you cannot do it yourself your screwed. If it has been restocked you have less of a problem. If you rebarrel, I think 358 would be great for a cast bollet shooter. Are decent takeoff barrels avaiable from someone like Gun Parts?

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 01 October 2014

if i were desperate, i would consider a savage take-off ... they use 20 tpi, so arisaka 17 tpi would only crossthread about 1 or two threads ...

a better crutch would be to screw a bushing on the cut-down barrel tenon, then re-thread to the 17 tpi needed.

i think they call it ” labor of love ” ...

ken

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Fg1 posted this 02 October 2014

A good machinist should be able to thread a barrel to fit from specs from your barrel . The 99 has a safety breech that would need machined to accept bolt as well as extractor cut in end for extractor after barrel is headspaced and indexed.

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Fg1 posted this 02 October 2014

Before doing that tho I would get some Loctite solvent and try to remove adapter .

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argie1891 posted this 06 October 2014

the jap conversion really doesn't work well as the 30/06 case is a bit smaller. I was given a nice arisaka action with bent bolt and a full length stock it sat around for a few years while I wondered what to do with it.. finally I bought a 35 caliber barrel and a buddy threaded and chambered it. I got so interested I wound up buying a lathe and mill and have actually threaded a couple barrels myself. the one nice thing about the 35 Remington is if you decide you need more power you can run a 358 Winchester reamer into it or even a 35 Whalen. and yes it really doesn't have a lot of value but as I don't intend to sell it I really don't care. I say have fun with it no matter what you decide to do. argie1891

if you think you have it figured out then you just dont understand

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 06 October 2014

tim:

since this arisaka thing come up, i have been reading all the google material on them. the action thread on the 99 is 1.5 mm ( metric threads are distance between two threads ) the 6.5 rifles are 2 mm .

also, the users report a very strong action , hmmm , so it looks as if we could think of them as under-appreciated.

hey, i have always wanted a 6.5/284. i have a hunnert unused 284 brass ... ” you have a pair of brand new roller skates ... i have a brand new key !! ” ...comes to mind.

hey i just remembered ... i have a reamer for 257 marquart improved !! if interested , i will ship it out to you. seems fitting ... marquart was around about the time of WW2 .. gee a $100 barrel blank from midway and you are almost there .. ... the bolt counterbore in the breech is just like remington 700 but deeper ; even stronger.

maybe the arisaka is as ugly as our family dog ... but it IS our family dog ...

pardon my exuberance for goofy projects ... especially when someone else has to deal with the unforseen consequences !! ( g ) .

ken

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Brodie posted this 07 October 2014

Years ago I read in the 'American Rifleman' about a fellow who brought a 6.5 Arisaka in to a gun shop to see why the recoil was so high.  Somebody had chambered that rifle for 3006 and left the 6.5 barrel on it.  Ok chambered the 6.5 barrel to take a 30/06 cartridge.  It was sent to the NRA who test fired it and could find NO DAMAGE to the action.  They ruled the Arisaka as the worlds strongest action - if memory serves-. Brodie

B.E.Brickey

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lmcollins posted this 07 October 2014

P.O. Ackley did blowup test on various actions. The test are listed in his two volume “handbooks.” I also think that the test results were reprinted with Ackley's permission in “Hatcher's Notebook.” The Arisaka were VERY strong. I think “Hatcher's Notebook” is available online free somewhere. Somewhere I am certain that I have the specs for the Arisaka threads and shank diameter.

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tturner53 posted this 07 October 2014

I'm going to find me some Loctite solvent- I didn't know it existed before this. If I can get that chamber adaptor out I may just live with the 30-06 wildcat it is. Then fireform brass, use .316299 single shot or loaded short enough to feed thru magazine.

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Chargar posted this 07 October 2014

I should think a 30-06 chamber reamer would take that 308 insert out. Seems like that would be easier than re-barreling the critter.

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 07 October 2014

offhand i don't know the temp where loctite gives up, but guessing 600 F. would do it. harbor freight has a $18 heat gun. then run a 7/16 tap into the back of your insert and pull it out hot. hey that might give you a nice blue as a bonus.

did i mention to take the stock off ?

ken

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TRKakaCatWhisperer posted this 07 October 2014

It is lots LESS than 600dF.

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R. Dupraz posted this 07 October 2014

Or,run the tap up into the insert and then knock the insert and tap out with a rod down the muzzle. Have done this in similar situations.

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corerf posted this 08 October 2014

gnoahhh wrote: At this point I would dump it. How much money do you like throwing away while trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear?

Perhaps if it were a rifle brought home from the war by a relative I would move heaven and earth to “restore” it. Otherwise, not so much.

I must agree here and I will attest that this is the reason I have only passed along Arisakas and never owned one. Even some nice sporters and I am a sucker for a really nice sporter with Redfield iron sights!

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tturner53 posted this 08 October 2014

I'm spread a little thin on projects. Right now it's an 1884 Trapdoor. My first one. It was described as 'mechanically excellent' but the firing pin is in 3 pieces. I have parts on the way and hope to have it up and running for some CBA competition. The Arisaka is hard to let go, it's actually a nice looking gun. I've never seen one so nice. It's serial #20. I'll sleep on it some more. Maybe see about a rebore by that guy in Oregon. Meantime I'll try the heat gun and tap.

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lmcollins posted this 10 October 2014

I

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tturner53 posted this 10 October 2014

lmcollins wrote: I Exactly! Still thinking out loud, I'm going to try working with it as is. Path of least resistance. Off to the range later today, fire form 20 factory rounds, see what I get. It's a wildcat no matter what. I'm expecting to get a 7.7x51 Nato with a slightly shortened body. Downside is the insert could pop out and it's back to square one. Hey, it keeps me out of the bars!

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 10 October 2014

TIM

here is a little logic ladder you might consider ::

broke? IF      fixit THEN

broke? IFNOT      don't fix it THEN

JUMP TO shooting range

 

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lmcollins posted this 10 October 2014

According to one of Stuart Ottenson's books (Vol. 1) the threads are metric. They are M26 x 1.75. He doesn't state whether they are 55 degree or the more standard of 60 degree. I know from experience that the Howa/Vangard has 55 degree thread. He gives the shank lengh as .550 inches. The bolt face deapth .051 deep. The mag lenght is stated to be 3.11 inches. I was thinking that you might be able to take a Remington take off barrel and shorten everything, still use a Remington recoil lug, and re-thread. Problem is that a Remington is 11/16 x 16, and I think you would be too close. I do not think I'd bother to screw around. I'd just get a blank and start from there. It is too much work to cut metrics on many lathes. I would not bother for myself. A Savage is a finer thread, if I remember. I never played with one. It might work since there is less depth to the thread. (Might?) If you start a thread into the insert, and put something in it to push against (a bolt by a couple threads) I'd think you could heat everything up to less than 400 degrees, and puss it out from the muzzle. What did you use for Loctite? The problem with being a hobby gunsmith is that everyone wants you to do something for nothing for them that you wouldn't bother to do for yourself. Also, they expect you to have the tools to do the same thing: even if you are not interested in doing that type of activity....

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lmcollins posted this 12 October 2014

If you are interested in re-barreling let me know. I talked to a friend of mine that lives in the Little Rock, AR, area that does gunsmithing part time. He has done an  Arisaka into 358Win. He can even polish and blue it for you.I talked to him this afternoon. I also recommended that you do away with the recoil dingus around the front guard screw, and install a Remington recoil lug as part of the re-barrel and re bed the front the front with the screw hole filled with putty, and a couple wraps of plastic tape around the front screw boss so that recoil doesn't split the stock with a hotter cartridge. You also could just fill the screw hole and scrape out the rear of it after the re-bed job. Either way, clear it as you do the back of a Mauser's tang when you bed it so as not to split thhe stock. He is a competent man who I have helped get started. I have sent him books of mine on loan, and talked to him on the phone for hours. PM me if you want his contact info. Whatever you arrange with him is between the two of you.      

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mckg posted this 12 October 2014

From Roy Dunlap's Gunsmithing:

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tturner53 posted this 13 October 2014

PM sent-we'll see what the possibilities are. Thanks to all of you who have offered so much good information.

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