Please see "1885 22 rimfire case splitting", I'll paste my reply below. The thread is about splitting, but the solution is exactly the same as for excessive headspace. <<Gary, the wall RF extractor fingers extend up slightly higher than the centerline of the chamber, so that the next cartridge to be chambered cannot (we hope) slip into the chamber past the fingers and thereby jam the rifle. When the extractor is in the 'open' or 'extracted' position, the extractor fingers have pivoted so far to the rear that their tops have dropped down a significant distance, often enough so that the next cartridge rim can slip past them if they weren't longer than the normal CF extractor fingers. The extra length and double fingers ensure that the next cartridge is held by the fingers and can't slip forward into the chamber ahead of them. However this extra length means that, if the inside of the extractor fingers were cut to follow the chamber's edge exactly, then the tops of the fingers would neck down slightly (come closer together) at the section where they rise up beyond the chamber's centerline. Well, when the extractor pivots to the rear to extract the case, then the tips of the fingers will start to move downward slightly as they move to the rear since their pivot point is now somewhat forward, under the rear of the chamber. As the extractor ends move downward, if the tips are closer together than the sides then they will grab the case and prevent it from extracting freely. Accordingly, the extractor fingertips are not cut to follow the chamber's edge precisely at the portion that falls above the chamber centerline, they have a slight clearance there. If you'll examine an original extractor closely, you'll see that the extractor fingers actually are cut so that they are parallel to one another in the portions above the chamber centerline, and many of them actually have a small chamfer at their tips. The parallel places and especially the chamfers mean that the cartridge case is somewhat unsupported in two spots, the places at the tops of the fingers where they must become parallel in order to clear the case walls upon extraction. Well, sometimes the original extractors are a little small at these points and so they allow enough clearance for the case to expand significantly and sometimes blow out. It's my practice to try to eliminate this as much as possible, of course, and I normally do it when I'm checking and adjusting the extractor's headspace dimensions. I first cut the face of the extractor back until the rim depth is ~0.035"-0.040", no more, then fit the extractor to the rifle by adjusting the overall extractor thickness. To decrease the thickness it's easy to grind or file it thinner, but normally on an existing rifle it will be necessary to go in the opposite direction and make it slightly thicker in order to get a snug fit and minimum headspace. I usually do this by silver-soldering although I have used epoxy or Black Max on occasion. I thin the rear of the extractor until I have enough room for a thin shim of steel behind it, extending across the entire rear face of the extractor and connecting both fingers across the chamber, then I attach it (as I say, I prefer silver-solder). After the adhesive has cured or the solder has cooled, then I gradually thin the rear of the shim until the breechblock will just barely close. At this point the extractor thickness is just right but there's still a portion of the shim blocking the chamber. I remove the extractor and use needle files to take out most of the part of the shim that blocks the chamber, but I don't remove it all just yet. I take it down almost to the edge of the chamber, then reinstall the extractor in the rifle and use the chamber reamer to make the final cut on the extractor's inner curve at the chamber's edge. A cartridge will now chamber but the headspace is now too tight (remember the 0.035"-0.040" dimension above?) and so the block won't quite close on it yet. I use the chamber reamer to gradually deepen the chamber until I can close the block on an unfired case against some resistance. The headspace is now about as good as I can make it. Now I remove the extractor, cut the parallels on the top insides of the fingers and smooth & polish everything, especially the upper inside ends of the fingers, to ensure that they release the case freely upon extraction. The silver-solder or epoxy will always collect in the corners where the shim meets the edge of the fingers, and this extra material is very useful in making sure that the little unsupported spaces are filled in as much as possible. Frequently the factory-dimensioned fingers don't meet the chamber's edge but the extra attaching material helps greatly in filling any small gaps. There's no way to get rid of all the gap, and the slight bulge under the case rim is somewhat unsightly, but it can be greatly minimized by following this procedure.>> HTH, please ask if you have any questions, regards, Joe
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