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Finnwolf VL63 Belly of the beast

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

maxwatt

Active Member
I wanted to take a closer look at the internals of my "new" finnwolf, and see how dirty she was.
DSC_2709.jpg


This is the dirt I found inside the bolt assembly.
DSC_2710.jpg


A small speck of rust in the chamber.
DSC_2705.jpg


Not realy that much dirt, for a 40 year old rifle.
DSC_2690.jpg


It was not that hard to take apart. And not that impossible to assemble. And the action was supersmooth afterwards. I could see from the screws and pins that it has been taken apart some times. Now I am considering a total dismantle and cleaning/degreasing and re-lubing of the mechanism. Im realy looking forward to taking it to the range soon
 
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Pictures?

I wanted to take a closer look at the internals of my "new" finnwolf, and see how dirty she was.
DSC_2690.jpg.html

This is the dirt I found inside the bolt assembly.
DSC_2710.jpg.html


A small speck of rust in the chamber?
DSC_2705.jpg.html


Not realy that much dirt, for a 40 year old rifle.
DSC_2709.jpg.html


It was not that hard to take apart. And not that impossible to assemble. And the action was supersmooth afterwards. I could see from the screws and pins that it has been taken apart some times. Now I am considering a total dismantle and cleaning/degreasing and re-lubing of the mechanism. Im realy looking forward to taking it to the range soon

No pictures!?
 
tear down and reassemble video

I wanted to take a closer look at the internals of my "new" finnwolf, and see how dirty she was.
DSC_2709.jpg


This is the dirt I found inside the bolt assembly.
DSC_2710.jpg


A small speck of rust in the chamber.
DSC_2705.jpg


Not realy that much dirt, for a 40 year old rifle.
DSC_2690.jpg


It was not that hard to take apart. And not that impossible to assemble. And the action was supersmooth afterwards. I could see from the screws and pins that it has been taken apart some times. Now I am considering a total dismantle and cleaning/degreasing and re-lubing of the mechanism. Im realy looking forward to taking it to the range soon

Ever consider making a video of your disassemble reassemble procedure. I myself with and probably the majority of Finnwolf owners on this site would love to know how?
 
Looks like i finally cracked the code for posting pics here…



After getting some gun oil and grease I started the second round of cleaning this gun.

I printed out the 3 page owners manual that I found in pdf online, with an exploded picture and part list to help me keep track of things. It has a guide to remove the lever, trigger and bolt assembly and disassemble the bolt.This is essential.



This is the tools you will need(hammer is optional) to do this.
DSC_2726.jpg


The pins I removed could be pushed out without use of force with a small screwdriver or.... something else

First I pushed out the lever pin, removed the lever, hammer spring,spring guide rod and the two cogwheels(419 rack lever) that attaches to the connector link arms (303,304)on the bolt.
DSC_2760.jpg


Take note of how these fit in your gun. They are the same, so switching left to right piece is possible, but in my gun I think they fit better in a certain way. And one of them had more material removed from one side of the "Fingertipps" than the other. I used 1200 grade paper to smoothen the surface of these two wheels( it only had minor scratches) and tried to take off the worst of the sharp edges on them. Then I cleaned and greased them.
 
Sorry, i dont do video...


I took apart most of the internals, except the trigger assembly.

Everything on it moves good, and it looks harder to dismantle than the rest of the mechanics, so I just let it be. I am no gunsmith, so doing anything to try and remove the tiny creeping motion from trigger is not an option. And I have read somewhere that: NO ONE SHOULD DO ANYTHING TO TRIGGERS, UNLESS THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. This sounds like a good advise to me.

I just removed the two screws and two pins holding it in the receiver, and pulled it backwards to remove(tight fit). I cleaned the surfaces that mate with the receiver, and the parts I could reach, and sprayed penetrating oil on it. It was a little tricky to get the holes to line up when i was putting it back together. But i kind of figured out that if it needs more force than just a firm hand, the racks is out of position and i took it out and tried again.
DSC_2758.jpg


You can see how these to pieces (401,402 rack) mate with the two "cogwheels.
DSC_2738.jpg


The bolt assembly was more dirty on the inside than outside, and had probably never been cleaned like this before.

Push out the firing pin dowel(319) in the rear holding the firing pin in. Remove firing pin and return spring.

Push out the connector link arm pin. It will only enter/exit from one side, and has an out take in the middle for the firing pin.

Now you can remove the bolt guide pin(315) on the rotating bolt head (breach bolt 313) and remove it and the slide (314) from the bolt body.
DSC_2736.jpg


I didnt remove the ejector and the extractor from the breech bolt, since they both looked and moved good.
The Breech bolt and the bolt guide pin is the only thing you can switch up on the bolt. If you put the guide pin wrong way in, you will not get the firing pin in properly.
But if you put the rotating breech bolt in 180 dgr wrong, you will not see it before you have got the bolt back in the receiver and try to close it(guess what i did). Check to see that the ejector and extractor is on the right side according to the ejection port in the receiver.

The slide(314) moves back and forth in the bolt when the breech bolt rotates and therefore it will wear if not properly lubed.

I could see wear marks on the outside of the bolt as well, where it slides against the inside of the receiver and hammer when the mechanism is moved back and forth. I cleaned and lubed it but not the underside of the bolt that will slide against the ammo as the bolt moves back.
Try and avoid to get oil and grease on the parts that touches ammo, since you dont want it to get in your the chamber.
 
Maxwatt

Great post! I've had my finnwolf apart as well for a clean and agree its not the worst job in the world as some lead you to believe. Try changing a fuel filter on an 80 series landcruiser on the side of the road on a hot day!

Anyway great thread and photo's. The only thing I found was it took a few try's to get the lever cams and rack to mate right so the lever stops in the right spot against the stock on reassembly.

Cheers John
 
Maxwatt

Great post! I've had my finnwolf apart as well for a clean and agree its not the worst job in the world as some lead you to believe.

It really isnt as bad as you get the impression of by looking at the parts list and drawing. And it is not an excuse to neglect "gun hygiene".
Cleaning the bore of the barrel and the chamber will be more difficult than on a bolt action rifle. Cleaning it in the usual way (chamber to muzzle) will require this strip down, and i will probably not bother to do that every time i clean the barrel. Maybe a rag in the chamber to stop crud from getting in the action, and pointing the muzzle down will be enough. And a boresnake will probably be a good investment. I am thinking of taking it to a gunsmith for a look in the barrel with a borescope, sinse i have heard horror stories of barrels being like cleanbore guns because of copper build up and lack of cleaning.
Well, more on that later...

DSC_2752.jpg


The hammer and hammer spring guide rod is held in the receiver by the last to screws and a pin. It is attached to the magazine rear stop(210) Remove the screws, push out the pin and pull it out if you feel like it. It is probably not necessary to remove it to clean it, but you will get a better view of the receiver if you do.

If the hammer spring guide (514) for some reason ever comes out of its seat in the lever while shooting , the spring and spring guide will probably fall out. A spring might be reasonably easy to replace, but this spring guide is not.
So if i ever come across a spare I would buy it just in case.
Someone with the right machines should make a bunch of these, becouse spare parts for this gun is so hard to find.
There is a seller on ebay that has springs, extractors and other small parts, but he is located in the u.s and does not ship parts out of the country.


If you ever have truble opening the action after firing a shot: DO NOT APPLY FORCE. Using excessive force will cause damage to the internals or it can break the stock.
If the lever feels hard/heavy to open you can take out the magasine, and push on this locking lugg on the breach bolt to help it rotate open.
DSC_2735.jpg


Once the bolt luggs is clear of the receiver luggs, you can use a long bar (cleaning rod) throught the barell to push the bolt and the empty shell backwards and out of the chamber.

That is pretty much all i have on disassembly and cleaning so far. I hope this can help someone care for and clean these guns. We should consider us lucky to own them and treat them with care.
I will show off my scope mounts when i get the rings, and if i ever try to fix up the hopelessly worn wood on my rifle i may write something about it.
My stock is in very bad shape from years of hunting, and has this huge yellow sako sticker on it.
DSC_2727.jpg
 
Well i am still here and still messing with tings i shouldnt.
My first trip to the range started out real nice. After sighting in my scope i managed five good grouping shots before they started flying all over my target.
When i got home i noticed my scope had moved forward and canted a little.
And after closer look i have discovered several more "problems" with this gun.

Under the rear sight i found rust and moisture. No real problem maybe...

The recoil lug(651) does not make contact with the magazine catch body(214)". This means some bedding is needed.

The hammer spring was a bit compressed (only 31mm long) and gave a really weak strike. This showed at the range as minor cratering of the primers.

And my trigger had a bit of travel and was not smooth, so i decided to have a closer look at it.

I would NOT recomend anyone who dont like doing things like watch repair or similar work to disassemble the trigger. There are two springs under tension and they look very much the same and are both a real p.i.t.a to get back in the right way.
It seems that some gunsmith or previous owner also tried to do this, but had a hard time putting it back together. He must have applied force and bent the trigger spring rod
(524) that sits between the front safety (525) and the hammer catch (502)
 
I am impressed and enthralled. There are some great minds on this forum. You are "The Man", Maxwatt- Many thanks, Misako
 
First i took out the slotted pin that stops the trigger (522 Trigger pin), then i punched out the front safety pin (526) and removed the front safety (525)
By this time the two springs (519,523) and trigger spring rod was out, and i could see that the parts moved easy and smooth and was not really dirty.
I straightened the bent trigger spring rod, and reassembled the trigger unit.


NOW HERE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART:
The trigger spring rod was not set properly in its seat on my gun. And getting it right was real difficult.

WARNING: If you push (rotate) the trigger forward ( when you have the trigger unit out of the gun) and push (rotate) the front safety (525) backward, the trigger spring rod will pop out of its seat. My gun did function in this condition, but my trigger did not feel crisp and clean.
I have tried to take a picture of how it looks when the trigger spring rod sits in the right spot.
you can see it sits high on the hammer catch (502) and the spring runs parallel to the edge of the rear receiver.


The trigger pin(522) was sitting in a position so that the slotted opening was resting on the rear receiver. I simply turned it 180 degrees and that made it stop the trigger earlier. This combined with a stronger hammer spring made my trigger feel much better and have less travel, but hopefully did not affect the grip on the hammer.
 
Maxwatt

Thanks for documenting your efforts with the Finnwolf. Its great seeing all the photo's from the 'belly of the beast' !

Cheers John
 
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I love doing things like this. Its like exploring uncharted territory.
But now i have come across a problem i cant solve by my self.
It seems my gun is missing a part. I can replace it if anyone can measure the sizes of it for me.
The part i dont have is the bushing under the rear fastening screw (548). Its basicly just a metal cylinder.
I am also looking thru online catalogs for a spring to replase my hammer spring. I wil post on it if i find something i can use.
 
Maxwatt- The part is called a ferrule here, I believe. I have made two out of small diameter copper tubing for refrigerator ice-makers. I bought the tubing from the local hardware store and took my rear screw along to get the correct inside diameter fit. If you can't locate the source there, I will be happy to send you my stock of tubing and you can cut off the correct length.-Misako
 
Thanks for the kind words
And thanks for the offer misako, but i dont think i actually need it anyway. I get better contact betwen stock and receiver without it i guess.
I bedded the front lug and i am considering bedding the rear also.
You can see that contact is only at two vertical dark stripes, and the horizontal surfaces.
Maybe i should try to make this contact point better by filling in some epoxy between those dark stripes and also bed the area behind the hole for the rear fastening screw.
DSC_2992_zps93cde96c.jpg

DSC_2997_zps475d3e55.jpg
 
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I went to the range the other day, and got a some more experience with this rifle.
I got some feeding issues with lapua ammo and had to "adjust" the end of the flaps on the mag and i also took it apart and oiled it. It was i bit rusty inside.
This time the rifle grouped nice and tight, so i will not
bother to do any bedding around the rear screw.
The trigger was way better and the primers showed deeper and better strikes.
This is 6 shots at 100 meters.
DSC_3001_zpsbc8b6509.jpg


Next step will be a better scope and handloading.
I found a used leupold vx-r online, but i dont feel it is room in my bugdet yet.
 
This is a terrific thread for Finnwolf owners. I still doubt if I'll ever be taking mine apart, but I'll certainly remember the helpful input found here on this most difficult subject. Maybe I will get brave next time and pull the bolt out for a proper cleaning.
 
I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!
I took one of mine apart once, only once! It took about 20 attempts and absolutely hours to get it back together.
I had that rifle reblued and my gunsmith never wants to see it again.
Well Done!
 
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DSC_3445-1_zpsa0e6b18f.jpg

These are the parts that make up the safety. To remove the safetybutton it is probably best to remove the lever from the gun.
You need to remove the safety guide screw.
DSC_3449_zps688a1ddc.jpg

Push on the lever to spring the lever joint back and push the button out while you press down the little pin with i screwdriver.
DSC_3459-1_zps7bede65b.jpg
 
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