Side Plate Screw Stuck

[snubbiefan]

I''m one of those curious rascals that just has to remove those three screws if for no other reason than to make sure they will come out. I can tell you that if you ever get one stuck.....that is the best place for it to happen. There is more beef in that area and if worse-comes-to-worse....you have an out. The WORST thing happened to me once with an AirLite. That screw went....POP. Snapped off almost even with the frame. The eventual fix was taking it to a drill press and drilling out the old screw, which ruined the threads. I drilled-n-tapped the hole for a larger screw. Screwed it in with a locktite application to make sure it stayed put. I milled this larger screw off flush with the frame...then re-drilled and tapped it for the proper screw. In short....I made an insert.

This is not a job to be done with a hand-held drill. The frame has to be level and everything squared-up, but it can be fixed with the right tools and a little patience.

 

[Jaymo]

TucsonMTB, I have lost my old impact driver and need to get another one for work.
Where did you get yours? I like that it has a socket adapter.

Thanks, in advance.

Kroil is like a magic wrench. I love the stuff.

At work, I often make/use a field expedient Ed's Red.
I use Dexron, carb cleaner, brake cleaner, and rust penetrant to make it.
It keeps me from having to throw away half empty cans of spray chemicals.

 

[Lee Jones]

Broken taps

Correct lube for the material you are tapping, lots of it. The various "Tap Magic" products have worked for me. Backing the tap (1/4 turn + -) often is very important.

If you do break the tap there are tools to remove it.
You don't want to deal with this, not even in a piece of junk iron,much less in a firearm.

Lube a lot, back off often.

Lee Jones

 

[TucsonMTB]

Hey, Mr. Jaymo!

My hand impact driver came from a local Sears store decades ago. According to a quick on-line search, Sears still sells them for about $20.

If you are looking for a more professional model for work, the Klein 70220 Reversible Impact-Driver Set is in the $60 range. I suspect your regular tool vendor would carry them.

Finally, Harbor Freight has a nice looking $8 "Impact Screwdriver Set with Case" that would probably be good enough for casual use.

Yeah, "Google is my friend".

Oh, and thanks for the reminder about Kroil. Would you recommend the screw top can or their aerosol spray?

Thanks for sharing your insight!

 

[toasted]

tousconMTB has good advice

As a life long motorcycle nut I have a similar hand impact wrench in my tool box and find it perfect solution many times.

Another trick I picked up (been so long ago that I don't remember when or where I learned it) is to clamp the frame in a well padded vise on my bench mount drill press and with a proper fitting bit clamped in the drill chuck I put downward pressure on the drill crank arm while turning the chuck BY HAND... works like magic for me.

As with any advice you find on-line use at your own peril.

I just used this trick to remove the most fragile and often the hardest to remove screw on a Smith....the rear sight retaining screw. A customer brought me a Model 28 That had seen better days and he couldn't get it out and thankfully the slot was only a little mangled. Applied my magic elixor, Kroil, and let it sit overnight. Clamped in the drill press vise, bit in the chuck and put pressure on it, put my tongue firmly in the proper place in my jaw and turned it right out first try. Magic!!!!

 

[TucsonMTB]

. . . Another trick I picked up (been so long ago that I don't remember when or where I learned it) is to clamp the frame in a well padded vise on my bench mount drill press and with a proper fitting bit clamped in the drill chuck I put downward pressure on the drill crank arm while turning the chuck BY HAND... works like magic for me.

Brilliant! Thank you, sir.

 

[Jaymo]

Thanks for the info. Mine was a Husky from Home Depot, back when Husky was made in USA.
I'll have to look at the local Sears. I'll pass by the one at Stonecrest mall on my way back from the customer.

I'd recommend both the aerosol and the screw top can.

As far as machining lubes, Tap Magic has been very good to me, too.

 

[TucsonMTB]

Oops . . . meant to be a PM.

 

[Riverbear]

Last night I kept thinking about waiting on the screw from S&W and thought just what Tucson suggested...shorten the screw. I took the good screw and ran it down to make sure most of the threads were good and they were. I took the damaged screw and clamped it in my drill press vice and with a fine file removed the damaged threads a little at a time an then tested the screw occasionally.

Finally, I got most of the first two threads filed and the screw went in the hole perfectly. I took a chance and torqued it down to see if it would tighten, break, cause more damage, etc. but it tighten up nicely with no problems.

I might try a similar trick on the new screw from S&W or just leave well enough alone (it is under the grip). The screw slot got a little messed up when I originally tried to get it undone and the hollow point tip broke. It didn't help it any when I tried a slightly larger screwdriver and it wouldn't budge the screw. We'll see what I feel like when the screw arrives.

For the record, I spent last night cleaning the gun while watching Monday Night Football. It seems the little bit of penetrating oil I used got into everything inside so I wanted to strip it down and clean it. I really hated putting the Internal Lock back in. Not because of the lock but because there seems to be no easy way to put the spring on the fork and then hold it out of the way to drop the lock back it. Oh well it was a good game and it's part of being a backyard gunsmith.