Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

Buggered screws

wfk
Purchased a Turkish Mauser and the front action screw looks like it was replaced with a flathead wood screw and can't begin to get it out. Plus the front barrel band screw looks like it was peened with a hammer. Any suggestions for removal of these gems. Thanks in advance for your help

Walt
0

Comments

11 comments

Date Votes
  • mrbruce
    Walt-
    You can if your careful, drill out the center of the screws and back them out with a easy out. If it has been peened over carefully grind the top with a dremel tool and then go from there....

    Gun control is hitting what your aiming at.
    0
  • Blckhrn
    I agree with the dremel idea for the band screw. The other screw, if it is a wood screw, is probably mild steel. Going by my K98, if memory serves, the front screw is the long one.

    First, if you're using the usual craftsman screwdriver, put it away. Those are for pulling nails and such. The steel's good but they aren't hollow ground. Believe it or not, the $4 interchangeable tip screwdrivers are a good choice for guns a long as the tip isn't bigger than the dia. of the screw head. They are hardened and hollow ground. The difference is that a flat ground screwdriver will try to lift itself out of the slot as you put more effort into turning it.

    If it still won't come out with a hollow ground screwdriver I think you can drill the head out and lift off the trigger guard. Then you should be able to get the screw out with a pair of vise grips, gripping it as low as possible and being careful not to twist it in half. If the screw has galled up in the threads you may need to go back and forth turning it and use some penetrating oil. Worst case scenario is finding center on what's left and drilling it out of your action.

    I'll take my Mauser apart and post again if the head removal tip is wrong. I'd have my doubts about an easy out that small if you are having problems removing t with a screwdriver.

    "You can build a man a fire and keep him warm for a couple hours or douse him with fuel oil and keep him warm the rest of his life"
    0
  • Blckhrn
    Walt:

    I assume you're talking about a 98. The front screw is the shorter one but there will still be about 3/8 left of shank with the head gone on my K98. I hear the turk 98's and the German ones are pretty close.

    Not to be a smartass but I assume the capture screws are nonexistent/gone?

    "You can build a man a fire and keep him warm for a couple hours or douse him with fuel oil and keep him warm the rest of his life"
    0
  • JustC
    Take the largest screwdriver you have that will fit in the slot,..insert it and smack the screwdriver with a hammer, with a fair amount of pressure, and try to back it out. If it does not move at all,..repeat the hammer tap method several times, then try again, etc etc. You will need a fair amount of pressure with the hammer, but not excessive. Learned that one from the gunsmith,..works like a charm especially on scope rings and bases (even with loktite on them).

    why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
    Got Balistics?
    0
  • Der Gebirgsjager
    I've fooled around with a large number of these in my shop, and the variations, and "expediency repairs" I've encountered continue to amaze me. The peened over appearing front band screw is pretty standard, and I'm beginning to believe intentional. Most of them are a pin-screw, in that they have 3 or 4 threads immediately under the screw head, but 9/10th of the shaft is pin, and they screw only into one side of the barrel band. I've found a few that actually are entirely pins with a screw head---leaving one to wonder why did they slot it? Anyway, what these fellows are telling you is correct, but to make the slot with a Dremel the best tool to use is a cutoff wheel which will clean out most of the old slot and then a thin needle file will finish the job out toward the edges of the slot. Or--if the screw head sticks up far enough you can carefully use a hacksaw to make the slot, but it will be wider than it was originally. As for the front action screw being replaced with a woodscrew--that's a new one! If it is a brass screw like they used on most of the buttplates you are in trouble, because if they forced it into the steel hole it has deformed into the steel threads of the hole, and will be difficult to remove. Dissimilar metals tend to "grab". If it is steel, the center hole and easyout will probably work. I'd give it a good dose of Kroil or WD-40 and let it sit for a couple of hours before I tried it though. I think if the screw was brass and the problem mine, I'd grind away at it with a dental burr until I got the head cut away and the trigger guard came off. That should leave a short shaft sticking up that I could grab very tightly with some visegrips and attempt to turn out. Good luck.
    0
  • Blckhrn
    Got my Mauser apart (and dinged the stock doing it) and took a look. I have to assume you mean the trigger guard screw when you say action screw. The shank on mine are not much bigger than 3/16", probably 5mm meaning an easy out would need to be no bigger than 1/8" where it is working. Hardened steel and torque mean one thing; fracture, so if you're going to drill, get as close to center as you can. That way, if the easy out does break you can gingerly drill the head off. There will be at least 5/16" to get ahold of with visegrips.

    "You can build a man a fire and keep him warm for a couple hours or douse him with fuel oil and keep him warm the rest of his life"
    0
  • rhmc24
    Der Gebirgs--- knows what he's talking about. Taking off on his mention of dental burrs, I have succeeded a lot of times with cutting a new (or deepening the original) screwdriver slot using a dental burr smaller than 1/16". Ask your dentist for some of his old burrs or buy them at dental supply houses.
    0
  • wfk
    Thanks for all the suggestions. I will head out to the shop this morning and see what progress I can make. Will let you all know the outcome. Thanks again.

    Walt
    0
  • wfk
    Screws are out!!!!!!! Tried all of your ideas and ended up using the Dremel and dental burr to dig out the entire head of the front action (trigger guard) screw after I broke the easy-out. Looked like brass to me like the buttplate screws. The front barrel band screw I used the dental burr and ground off both sides and drove the pin out with a tiny punch. Looked like it had been hit real hard as it was bent in the middle. NOW any body know where I can get a couple of replacement screws, Really appreciate all the suggestions and help.

    Walt
    0
  • Der Gebirgsjager
    Were you lucky enough to get all the brass out of the front guard hole? If you want to send your U.S.P.O. snail mail address to me at ccnorth@teleport.com I can definately scrounge up a front band screw for you, and perhaps the front action screw as well. No charge.
    0
  • Blckhrn
    I've seen Mauser guard screws on ebay and here. Not cheap and repros. These are for K98 and whoever is making them will probably be doing so for a while at $10 per set. These are front and rear and capture screws and I bought a set. They work but the hardness is questionable.

    I don't know if the Turk is the same as the German. I can figure out the metric thread of mine with a tap/die/guage set I bought at Harbor freight for $8 on sale.

    Be real careful running a tap into your action if you want to keep it original. It should be hard enough to prevent you ruining anything if you only use your fingers to drive it.

    Dril, dental burr, my way's quicker. LOL. Glad you got it apart, though. I never even figured that anyone would screw an action together with anything but steel, which will chew up a burr. Then again, the wrong threads with the right hardness would have screwed up your receiver.

    "You can build a man a fire and keep him warm for a couple hours or douse him with fuel oil and keep him warm the rest of his life"
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity