Lighter Lvl 7 Bolt?

[skyguy]

So, if you were trying to make a lighter lvl 7 bolt how would you start? I'm kinda thinking there's no really easy way to shave it off a stock lvl 7 bolt. So my first idea was that I would have to start from scratch, which I have neither the time, equipment, nor the inclination to do, so I thought I was SOL...

But, now I'm looking at it and wondering, is the lvl 10 piston threaded into the bolt? Cus if it is I could try to get it out and put a lightened lvl 7 piston back in, and that would be like 25-50% lighter. Or if there is some way I could cut the lvl 10 piston but I don't think the wider part is long enough.

Has anybody ever tried to make the lightest lvl 7 bolt possible? Did they machine it themselves using a different material?

[skyguy]

Ok, to answer one of my own questions, no, the piston is not threaded.

The new question becomes what would happen if I cut the piston in a lvl 10 bolt and attempted to use a lvl 7 powertube tip? What does the powertube spacer in a lvl 7 do exactly?

[RogueFactor]

Has anybody ever tried to make the lightest lvl 7 bolt possible? Did they machine it themselves using a different material?

Yes. I posted a pic of it long ago. Rather than try to dig it up, Ive posted it here: http://www.pblegion.com/showthread.php?t=2434

[Dewok82]

How about a delrin-sleeved level 7?

[ThePixelGuru]

Any excuse to link to PBL, eh Rogue?

Anyway, there were some AGD prototypes with delrin sleeves a while ago, I imagine that was somewhat lighter. I understand it suffered from serious durability issues, but it kind of made me wonder about the reverse: a delrin bolt with a steel sleeve to protect it from the sear and bolt spring. I think you could probably get away with replacing most of the bolt with delrin if you got creative.

[james5]

L7 bolt

I actually have one that has a delrin center inside a sleeve of metal....i believe it was called a venom bolt....it weighs in at .9 oz versus the 1.9 oz of the stock L7 bolt. It cycles very fast with very little trigger pull, but durability is the problem...it seperates down at the bottom where the sear catches.

[RogueFactor]

The RPG ULE Bolt is lighter than both the AGD Delrin sleeved bolt, and the Venom bolt.

[athomas]

Is the RPG ULE bolt made of aluminum or stainless steel? It looks like aluminum in the pics.

[jade_monkey07]

i was accually just thinking of this the other night since iv switched one of my mags back to lvl 7. rogue do you still sell these bolts? how well do they work? were there any issues?

[pierce]

I would say you could cut slots front to back out of the bolt. That way the spring would still have a surface to ride on so it wouldn't collapse.

[athomas]

Or you could use an offset cutter on a lathe and remove metal from inside the bolt.