Traditions Hawken Rusted Clean Out Screw

[Riverbravo]

Hello I recently picked up a .54 Traditions Hawken pawn shop special. It needed some TLC for some minimal rust. The one problem I have run into is that the clean out screw under the nipple is rusted shut. I have tried using as much force as I care to as I don't want to strip the screw creating more problems. Would a penetrating oil such as WD-40 be okay to use? If not what should I use? I didn't want to run the risk of any residue causing ignition issues in the future. Thank you for any and all help.

 

[Woody Morgan]

WD40 or any other penetrant plus a bit of heat from a hair dryer to help it penetrate may work.
Do a couple of heat/cool cycles then let it sit for a day then try removing.

wm

 

[azmntman]

Likely it will never come out. Gotta clean these every time you shoot or they get kinda welded in to a point the screw material will fail using the force needed to break free. I clean mine all the time. Have a few that i got used....they are never coming out. You can drill n tap but not worth in my opinion. Other than ease of adding powder in a dryball situation theres no need to use it. Many will argue till the cows come home to never remove it and some like me just keep on cleaning em.

 

[rafterob]

Yes, as mentioned penetrating oil and heat. You might need to put the barrel in a vice so you can get a good firm grip on the screw. The heads strip real easy so watch out for that. If you can't get it out don't worry a lot. Some folks never take them out.

 

[Cherrybow]

I had one that I decided to strip and brown that the clean out screw wouldn’t budge on until it was heated with a propane torch. Screwed out easily while hot enough for plum browning.

 

[Riverbravo]

Thank you for the rapid replies. I think I'll give WD40 a shot and hope it won't come to a blowtorch.

 

[Dwight Rutherford]

Suggest you use heat and PB Blaster or Kroil as these are penetrating products. WD-40 is a water displacement.

 

[Riverbravo]

Well it's good to hear that it's not a lost cause if this doesn't work. In the event that it is welded in what is the best way to clean that fire channel?

 

[Trot]

It really isn't necessary to remove the screw for cleaning, best to leave it alone. Remove the nipple and clean in a bucket of water pumping water through with a patch on a jag. It will clean fine.

 

[Eric Krewson]

It is not actually a clean out screw, it is a port for drilling out the flash chamber that has been filled with a screw, there is "0" reason to take it out when you clean a rifle.

On a TC they drill all the way thorough the breechplug and fill the hole on the opposite side with a threaded plug then file the plug flush with the breechplug. Take a look, you will see it.

 

[deermanok]

I have the same problem with one of my rifles. I tried to get the screw out a few times but finally gave up on it. The drum area cleans up just fine with removing the nipple. I use Q-tips and some of those pipe cleaners that I get from a craft store or smoke shop.

 

[Davey Boy]

Nothing beats an ultrasonic cleaner for parts.

Put the parts in a small glass or plastic cup that won't get eaten up by the chemical you are using. Use the water in the ultrasonic cleaner to transfer the energy of the ultrasonic waves. That saves on amount of cleaning solution you actually need.

For the screw you want to remove or anything like that, try soaking it overnight or until it penetrates, in iodine. The same kind used for cuts. I bought tincture of iodine 10USP on Amazon quite cheap.

 

[Grenadier1758]

It is not actually a clean out screw, it is a port for drilling out the flash chamber that has been filled with a screw, there is "0" reason to take it out when you clean a rifle.

On a TC they drill all the way thorough the breechplug and fill the hole on the opposite side with a threaded plug then file the plug flush with the breechplug. Take a look, you will see it.

In manufacturing, its not there as a clean out screw. Its there for ease of drilling the flash channel during manufacturing. Rather than call it useless or spend a few seconds of labor time to plug and file flush since its not needed anyway, it was decided to call it a feature as a clean out screw. One of T/C's early warranty expenses was the lifetime replacement of the "clean out" screw. That's why later T/C breeches have the described plug.

Removing the nipple provides all the access for cleaning in a hooked breech gun that anyone should need. The flush in a bucket of water does all the clean out necessary and a pipe cleaner will dry out the flash channel from the nipple seat. As an added note, if the "clean out" screw is too long, it may bind on the nipple making either difficult to remove or install.

Kroil and PB Blaster are far better penetrants than WD-40.

 

[Pete G]

What Eric and Grenadier said.

 

[2 shots]

file the head flush with the drum ,touch up finish and go have fun. not needed

 

[painter]

I don't know if the screw is needed, or not, but if you want to remove it use a hand impact driver... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074Z5KNHK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3NVL1ZWFAD8K3&psc=1 They're also available with a 3/8 ths square drive.

Buy it where you want, spend as much, or as little as you want, but they work on frozen fasteners.

 

[toot]

WD40 or any other penetrant plus a bit of heat from a hair dryer to help it penetrate may work.
Do a couple of heat/cool cycles then let it sit for a day then try removing.

wm

that process is what I did and it worked for me!

 

[LME]

It is not actually a clean out screw, it is a port for drilling out the flash chamber that has been filled with a screw, there is "0" reason to take it out when you clean a rifle.

On a TC they drill all the way thorough the breechplug and fill the hole on the opposite side with a threaded plug then file the plug flush with the breechplug. Take a look, you will see it.

Easiest and cheapest way to get from outside to inside the chamber? Drill straight through.

 

[S.Kenton]

Leave it alone and don’t worry about it. It’s really not worth the effort.

 

[Riverbravo]

Leave it alone and don’t worry about it. It’s really not worth the effort.

I sprayed some WD-40 on it I will see what happens. At this point I'm inclined to agree. I was thinking about a Muzzleloader I had in the past that was almost exactly the same but newer and it didn't even have the clean out screw. I don't know anything about Traditions serial numbers but I must have an earlier model.