First Fox Post

[Linn]

Recently purchased a Sterlingworth 12 ga. Wanted to improve the look of the excellent wood on the gun so sent it to my local smith. After a few weeks he tells me he is having trouble getting the screw/bolt out that holds the floor plate to the receiver, a week later he tells me he can't do it and suggests that he drill it out and make a new one. As the gun is fine anyway I elected to pass and picked up the gun today.
The screw/bolt slot is a bit boogered and seems to be limiting the depth to which I can get a proper screwdriver into it. Would someone suggest a good way to clean up the slot or for a better fit or, is there another way to get the thing out?
Sorry for the long post.

Linn

[bbman3]

Linn welcome,i have run into a couple of Foxes that were really tough to remove the trigger plate screw.I get correct size bit and after soaking iscrew with kroil for a couple of days use my drill press turning it by hand to loosen the screw. Bobby

[ASavageFox]

bobby's method is the best I know if you have a drill press and you MUST have the correct sized bit. I have also read several places that the best penetrant you can get is actually a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF... never tried it but have seen lots of ppl swear by it... even seen an email that claims it was tested by engineers and proven to be more effective than any other off the shelf product.

Good luck and welcome the forum!!

[yelloh564]

Kroil and other penetrants will normally work. I use this stuff as well to freeze the screw, making it contract then I believe the Kroil will have a better chance of wicking in around the threads. I normally hit it twice with this "component cooler" If it is really stubborn. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2102648

[Silvers]

The various penetrating oils will help if the screw thread is rusted and that is sometimes the case.

The other source of difficulty is that the bottom of the screw head is under heavy compression against its counterbore in the trigger plate. Or it could have been cross-threaded by someone who had the gun apart previously. Or both. I really doubt drilling it will work because you'll have to locate the exact center of the screw, keep the drill bit from "walking" in a deformed screw slot, then use an EZ-out which probably won't be able to grip the drill hole tightly enough. I think it's best to get the screw out intact. If you're a mechanical sort you can use a drill press with bolted down d/p vice to hold the frame, then put heavy down pressure with the d/p spindle on a parallel-sided screwdriver bit held in something like a hex extension, and turn it with a crescent wrench or similar. BE SURE to wear safety glasses in case the screwdriver bit breaks. Then when you get the screw out you'll have to deal with a badly deformed screw slot. It can be microtigged and slot cleaned up but sources for that specialized technology are quite limited and tiny screw slot files are very expensive. Best fix IMO is to fit another one. Its head must be filed to the radiused contour of the trigger plate AND the slot should be dead north-south when tightened. Very difficult to make right. Using a screw from another SW will likely not work out too well because they were individually fitted to the gun. You'll need a lathe to make up a new screw, and it will need some light engraving to look right. Net, I really think the easiest and best thing is to send the back end of your SW to an expert and let them handle it. Often local generalist gunsmiths aren't set up to handle work like this. Here are two excellent sources who advertise in our Fox newsletter. Silvers

http://www.pgsguns.com/

http://www.vicknairrestorations.com/Vic ... _Home.html

[sidreilley]

Just wanted to add a +1 to ASavageFox's mention of the 50/50 mix of acetone/ATF as a great penetrate. First heard about it on a motorcycle forum I frequent (old motorcycles tend to have a lot of stuck screws) so I mixed up a batch and have good luck with it. There is supposedly some measurable data from a comparison test in a machinist's publication that supports it's performance too. Lord knows it's cheaper then Kroil.
I would also concur with Silver's advice and turn it over to a specialist smith at this point rather then risking possible damage to more then just a screw. As Dirty Harry once said, " a man's got to know his limitations".

[Linn]

Thanks to those of you that replied, I appreciate it. I have some good ideas now.

Linn