Stuck Screw on Superposed Forend

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clang444

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It's not a S&W, but I thought someone here migth have a suggestion or two:

I picked up an old about 1960 vintage) 12 ga Superposed Lightning that was not treated very well. It was probably put away wet and it has some surface rust on it. I'm trying to take of the forend wood, but the screw that holds it in place is stuck solid.

The screw has a pretty narrow slot, so I had to grind down a bit. I took my time and got a nice fit, but when I tried to loosen the screw, the bit broke.

I'm leary of a long soak with penetrating oil because it will get on the wood forend too. If that is my only option, I can try it.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Chris
 
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I just went through this on another Browning. Heavily tape the surrounding areas so as to not mess the finish up.

Take a dremmel and cut a new slot as deep as you can so a meaty screwdriver tip will fit.

Then center punch the screw and start drilling it. Use at least an 1/8th inch bit to minimixe the risk of breaking the bit. When you get a good hole in the screw, try to back the screw out with a screwdriver while the screw is still hot from drilling.

It should break free and come out.

Replacement screws and proper fitting bits are available from Brownells.
 
Chris, before you go to the length the previous poster had to, you might try regrinding another driver. Steel in screwdrivers varies tremendously. You may have chosen a bad one to start with. I used to buy Craftsman screwdrivers on sale whenever they were cheap as I had good luck with them when I had to grind one. Nowadays, I don't know whether they are still any good or not... ?

I happen to have one ground for Browning forearm screws. I can't recall how thin it is, but it is thin - maybe .020" or so. I have used it several times and it still is in good shape.

Here's some more thoughts. First, make sure that the blade you select is fully as wide as the head of the screw. And if there is any way you can grind the blade wet (coolant), that always helps a lot. Sometimes that alone can be make or break. You cannot possibly grind something this thin and not build up heat, no matter how careful you try to be. Next, I always carefully apply some Kroil to the screw for a day or so before trying to turn it. Just a drop from a syringe can make a big difference. You can do it without drowning the wood. Finally, of course, giving the head of the screw a good solid whack may help to relieve some of the stress on the head, making it easier to break free from its "seat." I use a brass punch for this about 2/3 the diameter of the head. Be sure this whack is in the center of the screw and is applied straight down, as in, straight into the shank. Block up the forearm iron so you do not apply the whack to the wood inadvertently. The wood will flex and you will get no benefit from the whack, or worse, it could spit. Blocking up the iron solidly is absolutely necessary.

Be careful and good luck.
 
Was this gun made with the salt cured wood? If so you may have other problems.
Sometimes after a screw has been in place for a good number of years it's comfortable there and takes a lot of convincing to back out.
Good luck with it.
 
I would purchase a good set of gun screwdrivers, like those available from S&W. Grinding your old Craftsman screwdriver, as someone else posted, can mess with the original tempering of the steel. The heat can make the tip brittle and cause it to break when force is applied. Plus one on the drop of oil and giving the screw a tap downward to break the rust. You can also use a pencil tip soldering iron to heat up the screw to help in breaking the bond.

The main thing is to move slowly and carefully. As a last resort, you may have to drill out the screw and remove the shank with vice grips once the fore end is removed.
 
The use of the salt cured wood began around 1966 I think, but I could be wrong. Usually high grade guns involved but any are suspect.

The use of penetrating oil, only a drop or two is needed & is excellent advice.... and patience.

Don't overlook the idea of turning the screw slightly in the direction of tightening it also. In the first motions you're just trying to break the bond of rust/dried oil/ect and any motion that you can get is a victory and may also allow the penetrating oil to get further into the joint.

The small soldering gun technique works to get heat onto it. Another is using a brass or steel rod the diameter of the screw head or just slightly smaller than it and about 3 inches long. Hold the tip of the rod against the screw head with a pliers and apply heat with a propane torch to the other end. Hold the torch sideways so as not to have flame pointed at the gun parts.
The rod will heat up and transfer the heat to the screw . You can get alot of heat into the screw this way and is very effective. But if you don't watch it you can over do it, or slip off the screw head and on to the wood with the rod and burn the wood. A 2 man operation is safer doing this. It does usually loosen up a screw after a soaking with penetrating oil though.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

Actually, I tried 3 screwdrivers on this screw - the first one I ground down started to bend, the second and third were flat tip bits that I ground to an exact fit and both broke (cracked/shattereed) when I really put force on them.

It's a 1960 gun, so pre-salt wood, but there is rust from improper storage. 12 gauge, 26 1/2" barrels skeet/skeet. Just under 7 1/2lb. I don't mind the rust - it can be my foul weather gun. It's going to make a great field gun when I go pheasant hunting with Brookie, my GSP.

I'll try some of the suggestions. I guess I will first start with a little Kroil. Let it sit a week and see how it works.

Thanks,

Chris
 
A quick check of the Browning Arms web site parts listing suggested that the threaded escutcheon and the unthreaded escutcheon were both available parts at $10 each and the forearm screw was also available at $11.50. Maybe you should talk to them first as it sounds like you are going to be needing these items anyway...

Ward
 
If you are putting enough force on the fastener to shatter the bits, it is just a matter of time before you damage the gun (like I did).

I knew to reach for the drill early on, but I thought that screw would pop loose any time.

Now I get to both replace the screw and refinish the stock.
 
Can you drill the head off, then grab the screw with vise grips? How long is the screw without the head....

Sometimes the best course of action with a stuck screw is to just drill the head off. If there is'nt enough meat left to grab you can drill a small hole and tap (with a hammer) a snug fitting torx bit into the hole. For small fasteners I find this works better then easy-outs, because they have a tendency to over expand the screw, and screw you worse. Worse comes to worse, use the correct drill size for tapping the screw size (reverse drill bit if available) and simply drill the screw the out to the bottom of the hole. If you center the bit, you can simply run run a tap in to clean out the remaining threads left by the screw.

Not to mention with the stock out of the way its much easier to apply heat, and penetrating oil. Then theres the old weld a nut to the screw.....
 
Just a quick update - I successfully removed the stuck screw. I let a drop of penetrating oil sit on the threaded escutcheon for the past few days and then I put some heat on it with a soldering iron. The screw finally turned a little so I moved it back and forth till I finally worked it out. It actually pushed the threaded escutcheon out of the wood on the back end - the rust was pretty bad on the screw head side too and it kept the screw from rising.

I did manage to put a good ding in the wood - the bit slipped during the operation. Nothing real bad, and it probably doesn't look any worse than all the rust I need to remove from the left side of the barrels. I'll hit the checkering that was screacthed with a riffler and it should hide it pretty well.

The gun was pretty inexpensive - $460 - mostly because of the rust. But the bores are clean, the wood is solid and everything funtions well, so I can't wait for my first pheasant hunt of the season in lesss than 2 weeks.

Thanks,

Chris
 
Last edited:
A 60's vintage 12 ga Superposed Lightning for $460! I would say you did very very well rust or not!
 
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