Bolt/firing pin retainer. Possible damage?

[t.bonee]

Hopefully someone here can help me with this figuring this out.  As this is my fist SKS I researched a bunch of how to's on cleaning out all the cosmoline from the rifle.  After reading and watching many articles and videos,  I started the cleaning.  It went extremely well, that is until I got to the bolt.  I went to try to remove the firing pin retainer and it was a bear.  I don't have the best setup for working on stuff like this yet and when I tried to pound out the pin with a punch and hammer and after two whacks I put a small nick in the bolt when the punch slipped. 

I'll post some pics below but my questions are:  1) is this bad damage or will the bolt still work fine?  Does it need repairs or replacement? 

And 2) after I nicked it, I stopped pounding on it and have been letting it soak in mineral spirits for 4 days now.  If the nick in it is a non-issue will soaking it a long time and blowing it out with the compressor clean out the cosmoline well enough?  Or am I absolutely gonna have to keep trying to get it apart to clean it? 

Obviously I'm a little hesitant on trying it again.  Here are the pics.





Thanks!

--Tommie

[spongemonkey]

Me personally, I would not be concerned about that nick on the bolt.  If you wish not to totally disassemble the bolt, as long as the firing pin "rattles" front to rear, and you can hear the "rattle" when you shake the bolt in your hand, you should be okay and good to go.  Just my opinion and maybe some one else has more correct info.  But, out of all my SKS rifles I own, if the firing pin "rattles" when I shake the bolt, I dont worry about it.

[running-man]

That nick isn't that bad.  You might hit it with a riffler file or some emory paper and smooth out any metal protruding out of it. 

That retaining pin should come out and you should clean the FP channel.  Many don't but the right way to do it is to pull it to be certain there isn't particulates in there that can bind things up and cause a slamfire down the road.

I would suggest you find yourself a 1/2" drive socket, set the socket down on a nice piece of concrete somewhere, put the bolt on it such that the head of the retaining pin will slip into the cavity inside the socket, and then try again.  You want a nice flat bottomed punch for this operation, a nail set or center punch is just going to mushroom the tail of that pin and cause you more frustration in the long run.  Those retaining pins weren't born there, I guarantee it'll come out! 

If worst comes to worst and you need professional help, I'd contact Miurray (see Murray's gunsmithing link down at the bottom of the SKS-Files homepage) and ask what he'll charge you to get it out (and maybe you might have him just toss in a new FP into the bolt anyhow).

See this video for some pointers:

[Loose}{Cannon]

Welcome.

These guys pretty well covered it.   

Let us know if you continue to have issues or any additional questions.

[t.bonee]

Thank you guys for the info.  The firing pin does rattle around when I shake it back and forth and makes an audible sound doing it.  To be on the safe side, I will check out getting a new flat bottom punch and a more solid base setup and trying it again. 

[MxwllBkr]

You can use a piece of wood with a hole drilled through it as well...... Home Depot has a set of cheap punches that I find works well: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Mayhew-Short-Pin-Punch-Set-3-Piece-89032/100196184 anything like this will work, Lowes might have them as well.

Also a slow methodical hit from a heavy hammer (like a 2-1/2lb mini sledge) is better than beating on it with a carpenters hammer.........

[newchi]

I have never taken the firing pin out and have never had a problem with an sks, or anything else for that matter.
Its a lot of internet hooey if you ask me.
BUT, i do put the bolt at a nice draining angle, and all the other small bits on a baking tray at 180 for 15-30 mins, longer if i forget.

[Phosphorus32]

I have never taken the firing pin out and have never had a problem with an sks, or anything else for that matter.
Its a lot of internet hooey if you ask me.
BUT, i do put the bolt at a nice draining angle, and all the other small bits on a baking tray at 180 for 15-30 mins, longer if i forget.

Maybe, perhaps that's good enough. Regardless, I've disassembled the bolts on all of the early Type 56s imported from Albania that I've kept, or intended to keep and therefore held onto for a while, so about 15. A significant minority had rough corrosion inside the firing pin channel as well as the expected dirt, carbon and Cosmoline build up. Glad I took them apart and cleaned them out with steel wool wrapped around a wooden swab stick in the case of the corroded ones or merely flush and scrub with a cotton swab for the dirty, Cosmoline embedded ones.

[Loose}{Cannon]

Few of mine had fubared FP tips.... Chips, dents, overall deformation.

[Greasemonkey]

I have never taken the firing pin out and have never had a problem with an sks, or anything else for that matter.
Its a lot of internet hooey if you ask me.
BUT, i do put the bolt at a nice draining angle, and all the other small bits on a baking tray at 180 for 15-30 mins, longer if i forget.

Hooey.. baking aint gonna get a hunk of primer out, broiling aint gonna do nothing for carbon.. it's a bolt, not a rump roast.

I'd be careful now.. you done jinxed your janx.. and Mother Karma and Daddy Murphy will be along for a visit soon enough. Wish ya the best 

[newchi]

I should have added all mine have been new in cosmoline too, not used by bubba knows who for who knows how long with unknown cleaning regime

[carls sks]

I would lightly clean the nick up (getting rid of any burrs). smoothing it out with a dremel, file, emery cloth or something. I have taken apart the bolts and made sure the firing pins moves freely on both sks's I have. they were both caked with cosmoline when I got them. they rattle back and forth like there on glass now, music to my ears. 

[t.bonee]

I got the retainer pin out of the bolt tonight.  Thanks everyone for the advice!  I got the right punch and a couple whacks on the 1 inch socket got it out.  Glad I did as it was messy and there was a bit of rust on the extractor and the spring is stuck in it.  Gonna soak in some liquid wrench over night to see if that loosens it.  Some carbon build up too.  Thanks again!

[running-man]

Awesome man!   

Let us know how she shoots! 

[firstchoice]

I have never taken the firing pin out and have never had a problem with an sks, or anything else for that matter.
Its a lot of internet hooey if you ask me.
BUT, i do put the bolt at a nice draining angle, and all the other small bits on a baking tray at 180 for 15-30 mins, longer if i forget.

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I wanted to add that I took one of my Chinese SKS out not long after I bought it NIB on a cold day (that may have had some effect on the cosmoline?) and it went to slam firing on me and scared the crap outa me. First and only gun that ever did that to me. I'd say, especially, if it's new, in cosmoline, clean the bolt. Just my $.02. YRMV  Better to err on the side of safety with all the slam firing experiences out there.

firstchoice 

[likemeasks]

I to am reading this rather late but my $.02. Most of these rifles have been fired with corrosive ammo and it will rust the pin and inside of the bolt if not properly cleaned. And yes Cosmo. will stick the pin and can cause slam fire. Also when installing the firing pin look at it carefully. Many if not all have a raised ring around the middle of the pin. If you look closely this ring is longer on one side than the other and hence there is an up and down position for proper assembly. When you place the pin into the bolt look through the hole the retainer goes into and while holding the pin forward in the bolt you should be able to clearly see through and through to the other side of the bolt. If you see any obstruction the pin is "up-side down" so rotate the pin 180 degrees. If the pin is placed wrong it could be locked in position either retracted or worse partially extended and result in a slam fire. This was the case on a Russian SKS that slammed at the range and it was just lucky that the owner had the rifle pointed down range when he pulled the bolt handle to load the first round. Disassembly revealed the problem and no one was hurt, but the pin was damaged and had to be replaced.

Charlie