Tang screw"s" & torque

[Frontier's]

Does anyone actually torque down their tang screw?

I did some measurements with my torque wrench and it ended up taking 25 inch lbs " roughly 2ft lbs "
A loose tang screw can really hurt accuracy, so tightening it down consistently certainly could not hurt.

My tang, barrel and trigger are bedded, so I'm not sure how well this would work on bare wood with it being softer material.

 

[rich pierce]

I think you are alone in doing this. It’s possible some high end bench shooters do this. Many of us index our tang screw slots to align with the barrel and so keep things pretty consistent.

 

[Pete G]

If you have the tools, then why not? Change the torque and test. Get back with your report.

 

[ZUG]

At the aero-space company that I worked at the standard max torque for a #10 lubed stainless-steel screw was 28 inch/pounds and a #8 lubed was 24 inch/pounds. There was no wood involved. I would think that repeated torquing of that screw would compress the wood and change the overall dimensions of your gun in those areas over time and possibly (?) effect its reliability with interactions with other parts. I don't see any benefits of doing this. My two cents worth.

 

[wiscoaster]

No, I don't torque the tang screw. I tighten it to tight and align its slot fore and aft with the bore axis. As it's supposed to be.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Does anyone actually torque down their tang screw?

I did some measurements with my torque wrench and it ended up taking 25 inch lbs " roughly 2ft lbs "
A loose tang screw can really hurt accuracy, so tightening it down consistently certainly could not hurt.

My tang, barrel and trigger are bedded, so I'm not sure how well this would work on bare wood with it being softer material.

I am with Rich Pierce and ZUG.

Larry

 

[dave951]

Guys-
Poor inletting coupled with white knuckle levels of torque can and will destroy accuracy. Glass bed the tang area and torque to a consistent value. Wood can and will compress in the screw hole but torque is torque so slot position can change

 

[Frontier's]

 

[SDSmlf]

A loose tang screw can really hurt accuracy, so tightening it down consistently certainly could not hurt.

My tang, barrel and trigger are bedded, so I'm not sure how well this would work on bare wood with it being softer material.

Even with everything bedded, wood under the glass bedding will be compressed and change over time. If you want to make things solid and go to a repeatable torque, pillar bed the tang. Basically a solid piece of metal (steel, aluminum or brass for example), bedded in the stock between the tang and the trigger plate or whatever your tang screw is threaded into, so it’s metal to metal from the tang to the trigger plate when you apply your torque. I’ve done it on my muzzleloaders that use an adjustable long range tang sight. Overkill? Maybe. SOP on modern bolt action things we don’t talk about here.

 

[SeaBee133]

View attachment 344018

Was going to use wood hardener there, around/under the keys, and under the butt plate of a Lyman GPR. And in any thin sections of the barrel channel. Did that to a 75 year old Mossberg .22 and an at the newest 114 year old Davenport 12g. Neither shoot any better, but the factory screws seem to have more bite…
Thinned epoxy, or full strength?

 

[Frontier's]

Was going to use wood hardener there, around/under the keys, and under the butt plate of a Lyman GPR. And in any thin sections of the barrel channel. Did that to a 75 year old Mossberg .22 and an at the newest 114 year old Davenport 12g. Neither shoot any better, but the factory screws seem to have more bite…
Thinned epoxy, or full strength?

Original jb weld. 6 to 12hr set up.

 

[French Colonial]

Personally I am a fan of Brownells Acra-glas, most epoxies have some small amount of shrinkage, not Acra-glas.

 

[SDSmlf]

Personally I am a fan of Brownells Acra-glas, most epoxies have some small amount of shrinkage, not Acra-glas.

I also have a bottle of Brownells’ brown Acraglas dye. Makes it easier to match wood colors.