Cetme with no cocking handle gap

[erne75]

I have had my CAI Cetme for a couple of years now...I think I have taken it out only twice in that period of time and put like 100 rounds through it for function check...The bolt gap was at .008", low but inside the acceptable range. The bolt is not ground. Last year I got a complete bolt assembly from APEX and it brought my bolt gap to .012". My problem is that my cocking handle gap is non existent which makes me think my bolt gap readings are false. I ordered +4 rollers and it brought my gap to .013" with the old bolt group and .018" with the new bolt group...My cocking handle gap improved a little bit on the new bolt but it is still not perfect. Is my only option at this time to ground the bolt carrier to bring my cocking handle gap to the desirable bolt gap + .015" measurement?

[bladeworks123]

In short yes, but there are really two options depending on how much you need to shorten the bolt carrier, you can either take the needed amount off of the front of your bolt carrier, or you can remove the cocking handle support from the rifle and deepen the support by hand with an end mill cutter. The .015" plus bolt gap is not an absolute that you have to be at, you can have as little as .005" plus bolt gap and be good to go. Just watch when your bolt gap starts to decrease close to the bottom end.

The ideal situation would be for you to go with the new carrier set up with the .018" gap. What is your cocking tube gap with that set up? And what is CT gap with the old carrier?

[erne75]

My cocking tube gap is 0 or close to it...I thought I had some improvement with the new bolt group but as soon as I grab the handle and start pulling, the bolt carrier starts moving. If I make sure the coking handle is all the way forward and grab the handle I see some small movement before the handle support contacts the bolt carrier but it is no more than 0.005". This indicates that my bolt gap readings are false as I will need to have at a minimum my bolt gap as my Cocking Tube gap...I'm confused as I gained considerable bolt gap when I installed +4 rollers...I don't see how you can work on your bolt gap if the carrier is resting against the coking handle support...

It would be great if instead of modifying the bolt carrier I could work on the cocking handle support but my most advanced tool is a dremel...As soon as I start removing material from the bolt carrier I should start seeing my bolt gap decreasing until the bolt carrier is not resting against the CT support anymore and at that point I would be able to measure my real bolt gap...BTW my cocking handle only swings out 0.33" before meeting resistance and the rifle is easy to cock...

ETA: If my reasoning is correct, when I added the +4 rollers and gained bolt gap what happened was that my rollers pushed the locking piece back and the locking piece forced the carrier to seat that much farther from the bolt head. That is how I gained bolt gap. So if the carrier moved 0.006" how come I'm not seeing that improvement in CT gap? These DRB rifles are confusing...

[bladeworks123]

Sounds like you are very close to zero CT gap, but maybe not there yet. I would mark how much you want to take off, say around .010" and file the bolt carrier down to that point and try it again. You are absolutely correct that if you remove some material from the bolt carrier, and bolt gap does not change, you know for certain that the bolt carrier is not resting on the CT carrier.

[bladeworks123]

ETA: If my reasoning is correct, when I added the +4 rollers and gained bolt gap what happened was that my rollers pushed the locking piece back and the locking piece forced the carrier to seat that much farther from the bolt head. That is how I gained bolt gap. So if the carrier moved 0.006" how come I'm not seeing that improvement in CT gap? These DRB rifles are confusing...

Your reasoning is absolutely correct, but .006" of bolt gap improvement may not be seen at the cocking handle carrier, if the bolt carrier is resting slightly on the near side and pushing the CT handle carrier to one side. If you want to be absolutely certain about where you are. Take the cocking handle carrier out of the rifle and then check bolt gap. Otherwise, just take .010" or so off of the carrier and see if it improves CT gap without changing bolt gap. If bolt gap stays the same and CT gap increases, then you know that you are not bottoming out. only taking .010" off will not hurt you even if you are right at 0 CT gap. Just mark the end of the carrier by wrapping the end with masking tape, to be sure you get a nice square cut on the end of the bolt carrier.

[holyfire]

I was just asking this same question elsewhere on the site. Thanks for the great answers. Really appreciate the details.

[drine]

I agree with Blades. Take that handle out first and see what your gap really is. If you got any room at all, as little as .005 you say, it is close and you don't have much to take off. Scribe a line about .005 and remove that metal. Or the tape idea sounds really easy. Repeat as necessary. It sounds like you are awful close if you don't have to gorilla the action open.

[erne75]

I took my dremel out and by taking a little bit at a time and checking often I got my cocking tube gap to a perfect 0.029". That is with my old bolt carrier which gives me a bolt gap of 0.012". I guess my bolt carrier was barely resting on the cocking handle support as my bolt gap never decreased...

I also installed POF made HK furniture...My dremel skillz suck as I spent 2 hours fitting the handguard but I'm pretty happy with the results...

http://guns.valtamtechnologies.com/cetme-1-small.jpg

My other battle rifles
http://guns.valtamtechnologies.com/mbrs-small.jpg

erne

[bladeworks123]

Oh erne, erne, erne,,,,,,the three of those rifles have to be together in the same photo my friend. You have three aces there,,,,never lay them down as a pair with a kicker.....:icon_biggrin: Nice, real nice,,,, the three best battle rifles on the planet......You belong here.

[erne75]

Thank you, thank you...Last time I tried to make a family portrait with my AKs and ARs, my living room wasnt big enough...:D

[drine]

What he said.