Brioken brass screw in stock--how to get it out

[dmills]

The brass screw in the front of the trigger guard on this T/C Hawken broke off about 1/4" down into the stock. Any ideas on how to get it out without damage to the stock? Thanks.

 

[Roy]

Hate to say it, but the only thing that comes to mind is to drill a series of small holes around the broken screw to beable to work it out. Then use a bigger drill to clean it up and make a plug to fill the hole. After the glue dries be sure to drill a pilot hole for the new screw. This should be all hidden under the trigger gaurd when placed back on the gun.
Love to hear some other ideas on this one if any one has any.

 

[B.Habermehl]

I made my broken screw extractor this way. I chucked a piece of 1/4" steel rod in the lathe drilled a 5/32" dia hole 1" deep. Then filed saw teeth into the end if the rod. No heat treatment necessary. This was for a #6 screw. Chuck it in your hand drill, and drill your screw out using slow speed. Plug the hole with a dowel and glue and redrill for your screw. BTW brass screws were almost unheard of during the time period of the guns we are enjoying. BJH

 

[Mr. Chester]

I have done the following:
Drill a small hole in the center of the remaining screw - if you can flatten it a bit using a dremel fly cutter all the better - new drill it a bit larger depending upon how much stock you have left and how small the orignal drill you used.
Get out that 8 piece small screw driver set - 4 philips-4 straight bladed (the ones folks buy for glasses work too) - now take the next to the smallest one that would fit in the hole and grind it to a small taper (sorta like a sod spade shovel). That top prevents it from going into the hole but the bottem fits into the hole.
Try turning the screw out using your new tool - if it slips you can tap it into the hole causing it to jam tight - for further leverage a set of pliers can be appied to increase the torque. /a slight pushing down ath the same time or turning should do it.
I have gotten many a broken screw and bolt out using this method.
Good luck - go slow! :thumbsup:

 

[dmills]

Thanks for the ideas. Here's what I did. I used a 1/8th inch drill bit in a dremmel and drilled the screw out without enlarging the hole at thge top, but of course it is now 1/8" all the way down. Now I am thinking I can fill the hole with:
wood filler or wood plug. If I use a wood plug, I think I would need to drill the hole out to 1/4" which I hesitate to do. There is room to do so if I need to do that. What do you think?

 

[thehorn]

If I use a wood plug, I think I would need to drill the hole out to 1/4" which I hesitate to do. There is room to do so if I need to do that. What do you think?

If you can find a hard wood dowel in 3/16", drill the hole out at 3/16. Even if you have to go to a 1/4" hole, the plugged hole should be concealed by the trigger guard tang.

 

[dmills]

Yeah, it won't show and I think it will work better than trying to use filler. Of course, that screw is not structural anyway. Thanks.

 

[bob1961]

right now there isn't a screw in that hole on mine....it hits the ram rod end....so i'm going to braze the screw in the trigger guard and cut it off flush with the guard....the screw that goes through from the top to the front will hold the guard in place....just my idea...........bob

 

[Swampman]

I think someone makes a set of steel replacement screws. Since brass screws are not not historically correct, the steel screws would be nice.

 

[dmills]

True, but the trigger guard is brass also. So, mix-n-match?

 

[boar]

White Buffalo I fixed my H&A kentucky that did the same thing by glueing a small piece of ramrod in channel, then screwed the the trigger guard to it. As this was only way to hold front of guard in place,it work good. I think mine was drilled to deep as it din't affect the lenth of ramrod. Dilly

 

[Bountyhunter]

One thing that most people either forget or are not aware of is that drill bits are made for both clockwise and counter-clockwise drilling.

You can order "left hand" drillbits from several different places, inexpensively. When trying to drill out broken out screws, try using a c/c drill bit so that the drilling will most often "unscrew" the broken-off portion and bring it out. This means that your drill press must be run in reverse to normal drilling. You may need to twist a belt.

Second thing, SLOW is the answer. If your drill press wont come down to like 10 rpms or less, then turn the quill by hand. Just hold the bit down with the depth wheel/lever, adjust the down pressure as needed. If the screw tip begins to unwind and come out, let off the pressure in the downfeed, and let it come up.

That's what I do.

Bill

 

[dmills]

You can order "left hand" drillbits from several different places, inexpensively. Bill

Thats a good idear. Too late for this one, though. I know a local hardware store (a real one as opposed to a Home Depot) that probabley carries that bit.

 

[dlemaster]

When I first found out about left hand drill bits and tried them on broken screws, I thought they were the best thing since breast implants. They almost always bring the screw out without the need of an extractor. I've been using them for over 15 years.

Regards, Dave