Separates the men from the boys. ?
Here is something I typically encounter. Never get the drill out until you have exhausted every other possibility. Twice. Then think of another way! Besides, this little screw is very, very rare to find in spares and the thread is proprietary to BSA. Only made in late 1905 and 06, possibly early 07. I could make one but I don't want to! Lord knows I've already made almost every other screw for these prewar BSA's.
Look at this poor buggered screw. It's been in there since 1906! The slot is already wasted and it's tight as a bull's butt. Top it off it has a tapered seat and this screw will not come out for YOU. I said not YOU, just ME. LOL! No thread locker they didn't have that in 1906. But 115 years time and the tapered seat have a mighty grip. It firmly holds that little stop block so the loading tap is in perfect alignment with the bore when closed.
Anybody want to take a guess how I do it? After my first attempts with heat and tapping on the back of the screwdriver with a light hammer while torquing the screw slot was even worse! I haven't broken a sweat yet. What did I do? What would you do?
I know we have some talented cranks here so some comments, please? I will follow up later and show what I did.
Plus one or two ways I get other screws out including buggered hex sockets in allen screws.
Can I try? Just enough heat and penetrating oil?
Like you, I've repaired damaged screw heads with a hammer while holding the screw in a vice, and the same method works with the screw still in the rifle.
I've used a hammer and punch, and if possible a thin washer with a hole just big enough to fit over the head and lay flat against the part the screw is holding on to protect it against any accidental misses.
The alternative would be to TIG weld a steel nut to the head, get the screw out, then turn the head back to shape.
Impact screwdriver. Very important to hold the work firmly.
Impact screwdriver. Very important to hold the work firmly.
Bingo! Good guess, John. I carefully peened the buggered metal back in place with a 4 oz ball peen hammer. The light hammer blows may have also reduced the clamping force slightly or at least allowed some penetrant to squeeze in past the tapered seat. Then that big wonky impact driver had to be adapted down to a 1/4" drive bit holder and a small slot bit. Mostly just carefully bumping the Impact driver handle with a medium brass hammer the screw came loose. It was tight. The screw went into the lathe chuck to be touched up with a file then polished, and touched up with cold blue. I got it back to 85-90%. Sometimes that's as good as I can get. Could tig the slot and recut but this is a 85% gun so... I could take a pic but it's in peices.
All original gun with decent bluing and typical honest plum brown on the compression tube. Finding minty early models is extremely difficult. This is considered a pretty good one. Was missing the trigger and guard but I got a guard and stole the trigger from another worn gun until one I found arrives. I have to make a trigger screw for it and cut down a spring to fit in it from a Mercury, Airsporter, HW50 or something. The original oval wire spring is gone. The .177 Standard size (43 1/2") rifles were very twangy so I'm giving it a little spring guide help.
I have gotten screws out that were tough to move, I clamp the object in my mill drill vise and put the appropriate screwdriver bit in the chuck, then advance the cuck down and engage the bit into the screw slot, and then continue to put more pressure down on the screw, after it is firmly pressing down I turn the chuck by hand or put the chuck key in place and use that for more torque
I clamp the object in my mill drill vise and put the appropriate screwdriver bit in the chuck, then advance the chuck down and engage the bit into the screw slot, and then continue to put more pressure down on the screw, after it is firmly pressing down I turn the chuck by hand or put the chuck key in place and use that for more torque
This is a creative idea, but wholly dependent on being able to hold the work.
In the case of KWK's gun, I fear it might have lost some finish in the fixturing.
Welcome to the forum!
Forgot to mention I use a piece of leather wrapped around the item that I am holding that is if I need to protect the finish.
You only need to have it in the vise till you break the screw loose then I take it out and finish by hand.
Doing it this way it lets you exert a lot of pressure and also keeps the driver straight in the screw slot, I have got a lot of stuck messed up screws out this way.
