Stupid question: Lefty loosey?

[John Spartan]

The bolt holding the hammer in the lock.
For my entire life I’ve gone by the old saw “righty tighty, lefty loosey” and it has served me well 99.8% of the time but I know there are certain specialized applications where this can be reversed.
I’ve had my entire musket apart multiple times except this one bolt so I gave it a try. Tried till I thought I was gonna snap or break something.
Is the hammer bolt traditionally one of the rare reverse threads? Some strange trick needed? Or just keep cranking?

 

[smoothshooter]

The bolt holding the hammer in the lock.
For my entire life I’ve gone by the old saw “righty tighty, lefty loosey” and it has served me well 99.8% of the time but I know there are certain specialized applications where this can be reversed.
I’ve had my entire musket apart multiple times except this one bolt so I gave it a try. Tried till I thought I was gonna snap or break something.
Is the hammer bolt traditionally one of the rare reverse threads? Some strange trick needed? Or just keep cranking?

Never heard of a L/H thread on a muzzleloader.
More likely some ham-fisted gorilla with a screwdriver overtightened the screw. Or could have been done at the factory with an air-driver that had the torque set too high.
Might even have some Loc-Tite on the threads. Why, I wouldn’t know.
Try some penetrant for a couple of days, then give it another go.
You DO realize that even with a properly fitting screwdriver the odds are pretty high that the screwdriver will skip out of the slot and gouge something you do not want gouged unless you are extremely careful.

 

[duca]

 

[springfield art]

The bolt holding the hammer in the lock.
For my entire life I’ve gone by the old saw “righty tighty, lefty loosey” and it has served me well 99.8% of the time but I know there are certain specialized applications where this can be reversed.
I’ve had my entire musket apart multiple times except this one bolt so I gave it a try. Tried till I thought I was gonna snap or break something.
Is the hammer bolt traditionally one of the rare reverse threads? Some strange trick needed? Or just keep cranking?

Yeah, and the guy that posted the picture of Kroil is on the right track, too. I got my 1st can at the Gunmaker's Fair years ago. My very experienced gunsmith, who works on lots of old guns, says you may have to give it a "tap", then wait 24 before trying again! The point being 'patience'!! He's worked on classic Colts, etc., so I always listen to him. Best of luck!

 

[John Spartan]

Alrighty thank you gentlemen.
Wanted to double check before trying other things like Kroil or more ridiculous level brute force.

 

[sheriff john]

I've found no other "thing like Kroil". We've used it to disassemble horse-drawn farm equipment left in the open to the point bolts were not only rusted, but covered in lichens. It really does "creep" into threads. Best to let soak in overnight, get a little movement, put more on. It will eventually evaporate and is not a lubricant, but boy howdy, Kroil has got stuff loose for me.

 

[SDSmlf]

The bolt holding the hammer in the lock.
For my entire life I’ve gone by the old saw “righty tighty, lefty loosey” and it has served me well 99.8% of the time but I know there are certain specialized applications where this can be reversed.
I’ve had my entire musket apart multiple times except this one bolt so I gave it a try. Tried till I thought I was gonna snap or break something.
Is the hammer bolt traditionally one of the rare reverse threads? Some strange trick needed? Or just keep cranking?

I have found that if I use my cordless DeWalt drill/driver starting at the lowest torque setting it will ‘hammer’ away (as the clutch engages and dis-engages) at most screws until they come loose.

 

[springfield art]

The bolt holding the hammer in the lock.
For my entire life I’ve gone by the old saw “righty tighty, lefty loosey” and it has served me well 99.8% of the time but I know there are certain specialized applications where this can be reversed.
I’ve had my entire musket apart multiple times except this one bolt so I gave it a try. Tried till I thought I was gonna snap or break something.
Is the hammer bolt traditionally one of the rare reverse threads? Some strange trick needed? Or just keep cranking?

Also, consider if it needs to be removed at all?

 

[Grimord]

Might even try putting the lock in the freezer for a day or so.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I like to use these 1/4" hex drive impact tools. You can make a screwdriver tip that fits the slot. The impact and slight turn often loosen a very tight threaded fastener. I made the tool above the set shown to loosen some over torqued nipples in an Uberti revolver cylinder. Do generously apply a penetrating oil such as Kroil and wait 24 hours to allow the penetrant to do its work before you tap on the screw with the impact tool.

No longer available at Harbor Freight, but can be found on Amazon or Ebay. You don't want the big ones as the small hex drive is more than sufficient.

 

[deerstalkert]

on the off chance someone used red locktite, try some hear. if you can swipe the wifes hair dryer that works sometimes.

don't get caught!

 

[Grenadier1758]

If you use heat, take the lock out of the stock.

 

[Ponderosaman]

I agree with several of the posters that impact loosens hardware very effectively, as well as use of a penetrating lubricant.

 

[nhmoose]

Kinda a tiny screw thread to use an impact wrench IMHO.

 

[ltdann]

Kroil! I've used on firearms with great success....it creeps so take the lock out of the stock. I've used it on leaf spring bolts on a 58 yr old merc that I couldn't turn with a 3/4 socket and a cheater bar. Soak it once each day for 3 days. If it doesn't come out, it's not meant to.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Kinda a tiny screw thread to use an impact wrench IMHO.

That's why I used the smallest impact tool I could find and only use a small hammer to tap on the impact tool. We are looking for a slight impact coupled with a bit of turning.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

FYI, this works significantly better than Kroil or PB Blaster and you can make it yourself, see link: Great penetrating oil

I would heat the screw with a heat gun or hairdryer and bang on it with a screwdriver that fits that slot very well.

 

[nhmoose]

Owned a shop for 20+ years, worked on many fine but badly treated guns and can tell you use an impact tool on the hammer screw the next question will be "how do I get the broken screw out of the tumbler?"

There is a time for force, but this is not one. Go for it though I ain't got a dime invested in it and a Smith might get to make some money.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

If you want to use heat take a large nail using the head end or a big heavy flat faced punch is even better. Hold it with a vise grips and heat it up hot with a propane torch. Put the nail or the punch on the screw head and the heat will transfer the length of the screw. This way you've localized the heat and not done any collateral damage. This works very well for screws that have loctite on them.

 

[Semisane]

To release Loctite, hold the tip of a soldering iron against the screw head.