How do they clean up with a stuck bolster screw?

[Curtism1234]

I just bought a single shot percussion pistol from someone REAL cheap. Everything looks good but there's no way the bolster screw is going to come out it's mangled up so bad. :surrender:


I always take the nipple and the bolster screw out to clean with soapy hot water.

Am I going to be able to get this gun clean using only the nipple hole?

thanks

 

[BrownBear]

Am I going to be able to get this gun clean using on the the nipple hole?

Sure. I prefer to remove it, but if there's no way, there's no way. You can still do a good job, especially with the help of a few pipe cleaners.

 

[SgtSchutzen]

You should`nt have any problems cleaning it without removing the screw. I have an old CVA Mountain Rifle that has had the bolster screw rusted in place for more than 20 years. I have no problem cleaning it by removing the nipple and using pipe cleaners to clean and dry the flash channel.

 

[Zonie]

It isn't necessary to remove the bolster screw to clean the gun.

This original Belgian pistol and many other guns don't even have one of those screws.

 

[Curtism1234]

I guess I'll be ok then

thanks guys :applause:

 

[Birddog6]

I take it you mean the screw slot is all chewed out ? Be that the case, to get it out you may have to drill it out. Have done 3 that way.

I took the barrel out. Took the nipple off.

Cut open a can of 556 Penetrating oil & stuck the breech end of it right right down in it & then took a straw & put it in the oil, finger over straw & lift out & put fluid in the straw into the barrel to insure it did get Inside the bore & patent breech. Left it sit for a week.

Take out & drain fluid.

Put the barrel in a vice & took a drill & drilled the screw dead center with a Left Handed Drill Bit & they backed out before the drill went all the way thru.

This is not to say this will work for you, but it did for me. :idunno:

Probably have to retap the threads in the bolster or drum & prior to doing so, check the thread type as allot of the cheaper ones are Metric..... If so get a Metric Allen Head screw to replace. If you drill it out & retap, go to a US thread & still use a Allen Head screw.

Each time you take the screw out, but sure to put some Anti-seize on the screw & in the hole prior to installing.

:thumbsup:

Keith Lisle

 

[Dave K]

Once you get some left hand drill bits in your tool box for removing stuck screws, you will never want to be with out them again. Sometimes a center drill works out handy to get centered on the messed up screw, but once centered, that left had drill bit will make life easy.........usually.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Before I retired a coworker who thought he was a gunsmith broke off a # 4 40 tap in a rifle he was working on and asked me how to get it out. I knew he had a small drill/mill so I told him I could regrind a fine carbide end mill to a left handed drill and he could try to get it out using the end mill as a drill/easy out combination. I made the tool and he came to work the next day and said: " It didn't get it out. All it did was drill a hole in the broken tap. I had to use an easy out to remove it! " :idunno: :idunno:

 

[mykeal]

You don't need to take it out, which has already been stated, but should you wish to follow up on the left handed drill bit setup, I'll recommend the following:

Brownell's (and other places too, I'm sure) sells a kit of 3 small bits that each combine a left hand boring bit with an easy-out. It's a bit expensive but a great tool to have if you ever need it. It's called a MicroGrabit Kit and is available here.

 

[Supercracker]

Don't know if it would work in your particular situation. But I've removed many a stripped allen bolt/screw on bikes by super glueing the wrench or screwdriver to it then turning slowly.


.02 fwiw

 

[Billnpatti]

While the clean out screw makes it a bit easier to clean out the drum, it is not necessary to remove it to get a good cleaning job done. Also, there are some drums on less expensive guns that have a false drum screw. They cast a screw head to make it look like there is a screw but it is fake. If you have one of these and the screw slot is screwed up, you can just file it off smooth, blend the surface into the surrounding surface of the drum and touch it up with cold blue or one of the browning solutions.

To try to remove the screw, if you don't know if it is a fake or not, determine what size threads you have on your nipple and get a bolt that size to screw into the nipple hole to plug it. Tip the bore up and fill it with penetratiing oil. Let it set for a few days and then use a brass or other soft metal drift to place against the head of the screw and give it a few good raps with a hammer (hit the drift not the screw). This will help break up any rust and corrosion that is in the threads and allow them to work free. Now give the screw another try. If it moves, do not try to take it all the way out. Rock it back and forth and sloooooly work it out. This will further break up any rust and corrosion bits and allow the screw to turn. If you try to remove it all at once, sometimes the rust flakes will jam up in the threads and jam the screw again. Rocking it back and forth will break up these flakes and they will be less able to jam the screw. Application of a little heat with a propane torch will also help but be careful that you don't over heat the drum and discolor it. You want it way too hot to touch but not enough to cause a color change. If a drop of water will sizzle on it, it is plenty hot enough.

Be sure that if you use a vise, that you pad the jaws to keep from marring your finish on your barrel. Sheet copper or lead is good. You can also buy polymer jaw pads from some machinery and tool dealers. When trying to loosen uncooperative screws, I always place some rags around the screw just in case the screw driver slips. The rag padding will keep the screw driver from gouging your barrel if it slips.

 

[Zonie]

Another thing those folks who want to remove the "clean out screw" need to be aware of is that often, the nipple can interfere with it.

These small set screws interesect the threaded nipple holes at the bottom and if the nipple is still installed when folks try to remove the little clean out screw the nipples threads will actually be hitting it.

By removing the nipple first that part of the problem will be gone.

I have also seen cases where the nipple was installed and then the clean out screw was installed jamming into the nipples threads.
Needless to say, when the owners tried to remove the nipple it seemed to be frozen in place.

To prevent this sort of problem I suggest that the nipple be installed first. Then the cleanout screws threads should be coated with clear finger nail polish and installed until some resistance is felt. Then, backing the clean out screw out 1/2 turn, let the nail polish harden.
After doing this, make a mental note to leave the clean out screw alone in the future.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

you are starting out just like I did, bought a cva 50 capper pistol that the drum screw was buggered and the nipple frozen in too.
I was working in a machine shop at the time - I used the tig welder to weld a small washer to the screw folded it up and backed it out - the heat may have helped break it loose, I also squirted 'knock-er-loose' down the bore to soak awhile.
the nipple I used a left-hand drill on and it backed out. I still have that pistol and it still shoots good although I reamed it to a smooth bore since the rifleing was in bad shape. it's my trekking gun, I've shot much small game/birds with it loading #5 shot. a .54 cal prb is a snug fit and shoots fairly well- enough to do service as protection against larger critters.
welcome to the Forum and good luck :thumbsup: