M1A bolt re-assembly aid +1

[Scarecrow]

At the Eureka, KS RBC The Guy demonstrated M1A bolt re-assembly with the aid of an empty .30-06 case.
I still felt like I needed a third hand so I made one.
Just a dowel cut to length to hold bolt,firing pin, ejector and spring in place against the '06 case leaving both hands free for the extractor parts install.
Others may have done something similar.

[Ashes]

Somthing similar I did for a M1 Garand bolt. The casing is a 10mm Auto deprimed case. I've also used a 9mm para case also deprimed. Usually I will wad up a paper towel behind the bolt to help with leveling because the firing pin causes it to cant sideways.  Then I'll use a small flat head screwdriver to press the detent for the extractor down and push the extactor in place.

[Old Dog]

Taking a bolt apart should be a rare thing to do.  I've had my M1A since 1978 and the only time I took the bolt apart was to check the headspace (when I replaced the original bolt in my son's M14S with an H&R bolt I checked the headspace during that process a few times so I figured I'd check mine, too, just for comparison's sake) one time.

Now I have taken the bolts apart on every CMP M1 I've bought and every spare bolt I've bought because I don't know the history/condition.  However, after doing it once, if you keep it well lubed and clean, there's not a lot of need to do it again unless something breaks or you have problems with it.  Meaning there is no need to tear the bolt down to clean it when you clean the rifle.  Every now and then I shoot a squirt or three of carb cleaner into the bolt from both ends, let it dry, squirt some RemOil in there to put oil back on the metal surface and its good to go.

Somewhere here there is a (or was) a pictorial on using the 30.06 case for M1A/M14 bolt disassembly/reassembly.

[Scarecrow]

Agreed.
Dis-assemble only for checking headspace or repair. 
Especially for those not mechanically inclined.

[hawkeye]

I take my bolts apart once a year or as needed. A grain of sand in the wrong place can hang the firing pin in the forward position and cause a slam fire. I saw a guy at Seymour Johnson AB have two slam fires because of a dirty bolt before he decided to find the cause. Shaking the bolt will give you some idea if the firing pin is loose or fouled with something. The M1 bolt is not that hard to disassemble with a m3 tool or the m10 handle with practice.