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Riihimaki L46 Bolt Disassembly - A step by step guide

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

topgear

Sako-addicted
Well this question comes up pretty often so I thought I'd do a quick tutorial with a step by step guide using photographs and a little discriptive text. Its attached as a .pdf file 4 pages in length. All you need tool wise is a small hammer and a nail or punch. In the tutorial I used a G clamp to compress the firing pin spring but its actually easier to use your body weight (But I couldn't photograph it if I did it that way). Anyway hopefully members find this useful.
 

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  • Riihimaki bolt disassembly.pdf
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Topgear: Great tutorial, and thanks for posting!

How would the procedure vary for the L46 bolt in this photo from SN 77XX?
 

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I second that! Great job Topgear, very well done. The pictures will make it easy to follow. Thanks for your time and effort!:thumb:~Bloo
 
Topgear!

Thanks a lot for this!!! It is much appreciated!

I have moved the pdf to the reference section in the Short action area. There´s a reference section there but you must be a member and logged in to view it. My plan is to move all good references there one by one. But I will need some help to do so, so let us know if you have any ineteresting scans or other!

Cheers!

Jim
 
Yes, one of the best presented descriptions I have ever seen.......plus with all the pictures to go along with the instructions.....this is Heaven-sent!
Thanks so much for creating this, as it will allow me to repair my dad's old Sako 222 that I presented in another thread on this site.

dwight
virginia
 
Stonecreek - I don't have one like that (is it the one with SAKO written on top?) so not sure, but I would imagine it would be very similar but just instead of the ball detent cover you have two screws to remove the left hand side housing cover.

Jim - no problems on the move of the .pdf.

Anyway glad its helped a few people out!

Cheers John
 
Just in case anyone doesn't know. The ejector on these old Sako bolts are interchangeable with the Zastava LK M85.
The Zastava are clearly lower quality, but if you can't find an old style Sako they will fit.
 
This is an update on my 1952 Sako 222 Bolt Disassembly. As can be seen in these two pictures, I was successful at the disassembly only due to your detailed instructions on how to do this.

Sako 222 Bolt Disassembly 002.jpg Sako 222 Bolt Disassembly 008.jpg

I did use a C-Clamp as you did in your illustration as it seemed like a safer way to compress the spring. After getting the minute roll-pin out of the safety lever, it was a bit of a challenge to pull off the safety lever, which had never been off in 60 years. I found that by using a thin one-sided construction razor, I could carefully insert it from one side to the other and slowly pry the lever off. But it took alot of patience, spray lube, and more patience to get that rascal off.

All parts were soaked and thoroughly cleaned. Now, I was wondering what is the best type of light oil to recoat all these parts prior to re-assembly.

Also, since the saftey was sticking and almost impossible to move back and forth prior to this over-haul, which parts in the picture should I really concentrate on when looking for possible defects. The edge of the safety lever that comes to a point (the piece which is at the top-left in the pictures) had a minute amount of "wear and perhaps overly sharp", so I lightly sanded that edge just a bit. The flat pressure washer (the square piece with "teeth" on it) seems smooth, so I dont think that was causing any binding. Is there anything else I should be looking for before putting her back together?

Many thanks. Kiitos!
dwight

Oil?
 
Hi Dwight

Glad you got it apart and the guide was useful. I use 3 in 1 oil to coat everything before putting it back together. I'd go over all the internal parts with fine steel wool and oil to remove any rust and smooth things up. Also put the safety shaft into the cocking piece housing and make sure it rotates freely, work it back and forward until you can rotate it easly. Make sure there is no burrs on the flat piece of the safety shaft or where it engages on the firing pin. Remove any burrs with a fine hone, file etc.

Once its all back together sit in front of the TV and work the safety on and off for 1/2 an hour or so. Hopefully that should fix all your problems.

Cheers John
 
TopGear.......I tell you, it would have been impossible without your excellent directions. OK.....some light 3 n 1 erl will do. I think I will waite and oil the firing pin/spring AFTER I first compress the spring and re-attach it......so as to help prevent it from slipping out of the clamp. Will oil all the other small parts as I put them back together.

I assume the "safety shaft" is the piece in the upper left-hand corner of my pic. Is it supposed to have a pretty sharp edge on its tip, which meshes with the other internal part? Im still not sure what exactly was causing the binding......but hope this cleaning/oiling will solve the problem.

Hope I can kick back in front of the TV and flip the saftey on/off as you say.......but I better be sure the Sako is not loaded, especially if those corrupt Euro and American banksters, technokraps, and freedom-stealing politicians happen to come on.........I may end up with a couple holes in my TV screen, and smoke billowing out the back. Ha ha.

Thanks again.
dwight
 
TopGear.........S.O.S!!!! HELP!!!!

I just finished putting her back together as you outlined.....cleaned, oiled, etc. She is just like before, and absolutely refuses to work. I put the bolt back into the rifle and had the bolt downward as if just finished chambering a round, and tried the safety.....does not want to budge. There is a bit of motion in the safety lever, but something is resisting it from going beyond a certain point.

My first question is: Does the safety ONLY work when the bolt is all the way down, as if a bullet is chambered and ready to fire? If so, you cannot test the saftey with the bolt removed from the rifle, right?

Second question: The small flat "spring" that looks like a rectangle with teeth on each end......this flat spring was bowed "upward" when I removed it, and you could clearly see the wear marks where the safety used to rub on it. When I say bowed upward, I mean it was installed with the bow up in the middle, kinda like a tractor trailer which is bowed upward to take more weight. Is this flat spring perhaps supposed to be installed with this bow "down" instead of "up"?

I am totally stumped as to why the safety refuses to engage/disengage. Do you have any other ideas?

Also, when cleaning, I did notice that the small "canal" which the "safety indicator rod" slides back and forth in had very minute edges, perhaps wear edges or factory machining edges. Since they were etched in this canal at a 90 degree angle to the movement of the indicator rod, I suppose they could create friction or even a bind if the indicator rod hit them exactly right. But the rod seemed to move back and forth fine in this canal after cleaning/oiling. I did try smoothing up any roughness in it, but maybe I did not do enough?

Also....the "safety shaft": In your picture under Step 13, it appears to have a rounded and smooth edge to the tear-drop tip. My safety shaft has a very sharp point on it......do you think I need to file it out to create a roundish tip to this tear-drop peice?

Kiitos/thanks.
dwight
 
I'll try and take some more photos tonight to explain it better. Your problem won't be the flat spring on safety indicator rod. It will be where the safety shaft blocks the cocking piece (and hence firing pin). Have a look at the photo above step 18 to try and understand how it works. The slot/flat spot in the safety shaft is what allows the firing pin to move or blocks the cocking piece (hence firing pin) and engages the safety. You will have a bind here would be my guess.
 
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I have attached a guide that hopefully explains how the L46 saftey works. You'll see there are two surfaces, one on the safety shaft and one on the cocking piece that rotate against each other.

In answer to your questions re: the flat spring all it does is stop the saftey indicator shaft from falling out.

Once you see how the saftey works in the attachment you will see that the safety can only be engaged when the bolt is cocked as you mentioned.

Also be aware the L46 safeties will always be a little hard to engage just because of there design. i.e. it won't be as easy as a trigger safety on the later sako's.

Anyway hope this helps understand the mechanism of how the safety works.

Jim (L61R) When I get a chance I'll combine these two .pdf's and clean them up so you can post in the reference section if you like.

Cheers John
 

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  • Riihimaki saftey operation.pdf
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TopGear.......As they say in some parts of this country, "Youre tha Man!". These attached pictures and explanation on the saftey operation are excellent. Thanks once again for taking the time to create this.

After reviewing this, do you think it would make sense for me to ever so slightly file down the sharp edge on the two sides of the safety shaft (the lower edge that rubs against the cocking piece)? I will also examine the cocking piece edge to be sure there is no burrs there.

I will disassemble it today and search for the problem, and hopefully resolve it. Soon, I will be able to do all this blind-folded as you and some others in this group can probably do. Hopefully I will come back and say, "No worries mate.....all is fine now".

Also.....the "flat spring" that is rectangular and has "teeth" on both ends: This small spring had clear rub marks where the end of the "tear drop" end of the safety shaft was rubbing against it (but the surface was still smooth). I was going to rotate it 180 degrees so it could rub on a new spot, but using the magnifying glass it seemed as if the "teeth" were slightly spaced more to one side....so I placed it back the way it was. Is this flat washer supposed to be symmetrical regards to the "teeth", or are they ever so slightly off, and thus you can only place this flat spring back in only one way?

Also....the "tear drop" end of the safety shaft: In these new pictures, it does appear that it has a pretty sharp/well-defined edge......so, there is no need for me to file mine down a bit. I will just concentrate on the two surfaces you described in your last attachment.

Kiitos.
dwight
 
TopGear.......I managed another dis-assembly of the Sako 222 Bolt. This time it was almost impossible to get the safety to the middle position for disassembly. I did not want to "force" it with tools, so I managed to put the bolt in the cocked position, then I backed it out from that just a smidgen.....to a point where there seemed to be less tension on the safety mechanism. At that sweet spot, I was able to get the safety to the middle position. From there I took her apart and was looking for burrs or anything that could cause the saftey mechanism to bind. I could not really see any issues.

However, if you look at the following two pictures I took, you will see that the back-most part (cocking piece) has a chamfer or wear spot on its outer rim. Is this a factory ground edge, or excessive wear? (Looking at the picture, it is the part on the lower left side......and you can see where the blueing has worn an it is shiny).

Sako 222 Bolt Repair 011.jpg Sako 222 Bolt Repair 018.jpg

Still looking for answers to this safety problem.....any and all input is appreciated.

dwight.
 
Hi Dwight
I had something like this on a model 70.
Wear had allowed things to move forward a little so the cam was catching on the edge of the groove it should have rotated into.
If you have some Prussian blue (or candle soot) put it on the cocking piece where the safety should engage - you might be able to see it that's happening.
If it is just file it off (the cocking piece) until the safety will engage.

Personal I don't like safeties, my attitude is don't chamber a round until the rifle is pointing in the direction of what you want to kill.
Then if you don't take the shot un-chamber the round before you change position.
 
Just stripped my old girl (using Topgears pics) - same prob, and same as the model 70.

Wear on the trigger shear has allowed the cocking piece to sit a little further forward, stopping the safety cam from rotating over.

If you cock the bolt in the action without the safety shaft in, and look through the shaft hole you will see what I mean.

You need to file the cocking piece where the screw driver is pointing.
Remember file a little - check; file a little - check
 

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PS
No need to put your firing pin in every time just thumb the cocking piece forward onto the trigger shear.
 
Binny......Thanks for the comments and for taking the time to include the pics.....this is a BIG help. Do you think that the factory actually machined some of this edge on the Cocking Piece, or was it originally completely round to begin with? For me, it is odd that there is so much wear on the Cocking Piece, and not much on the Safety Shaft (which has half the shaft machined out).

So, it is safe to gradually file off more of the cocking piece edge to allow room for the safety shaft to rotate properly? You think it is best to file in a way to keep a "contour" on it, or file so as to make a "flat" edge on the Cocking Piece?

That is a good idea to peep thru the safety shaft hole to see exactly where to concentrate on the filing.

GettyUP, Hi Ho Silver, Away! Now I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel.......maybe more like light at the end of the Sako barrell.....and within that light, a big Whooly Mammoth or snaggle-tooth tiger.......or even an Aussie Roo or Croc.

Kiitos.
Dwight
 
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