Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

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Fox20obsessed
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Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Fox20obsessed »

Ok guys I know most of us here have run into a floor plate screw or two over the years that was just about frozen...I know most of us have heard about using aero kroil or another penetrating lube and then putting a hollow ground bit in a drill press then putting the receiver in a padded vise and breaking the screw loose with a pipe wrench on the drill chuck...I wanted to show everyone something I came up with about 5 years ago. I have a cheapo craftsman “evolv” ratchet set that has saved my arse out on the road more times than I care to admit...well in that set is a screwdriver that has a 1/4” drive on the back end of the handle. Take a look at the pics here and you’ll see exactly how I use this setup to loosen a seized up floor plate screw with properly fitted hollow ground bit. This setup has never failed me even on the toughest and most frozen screws...I hope this will help someone in a bind someday. The screwdriver as opposed to a standard ratchet extension allows you to keep everything lined up perfectly and with a lot of down pressure and steady torque on the ratchet it will free up dang near any floor plate screw. Just wanted to pass this little gem on down the line.
-Matt

PS: always remember to thoroughly clean out any/all screw slots of crud prior to disassembly.
Double O
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Double O »

Thanks Matt
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Jeff S
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Jeff S »

I like it. :)
Foxnut
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Foxnut »

Thanks for the tip! We’ll all be going through our ratchet sets to put together a set up like that!
Regards - Foxnut
Mike of the Mountain
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Mike of the Mountain »

Nice tip Matt!
Mike of the Mountain
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Mike of the Mountain »

Was that found in the 42 piece kit in a zippered case?
Fox20obsessed
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Fox20obsessed »

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments. Mike, not 100% sure how many pieces are in the set, but it came in a grey i jection molded plastic case with lime green latches. The set has a 3/8” ratchet, extension, and multi-bit screwdriver. There is also a 1/4” adapter for the smaller socket sizes. I bought the set at kmart circa 2011 when I was without a tool kit and had to do some auto repairs. IIRC it was somewhere around $24 which I thought was a decent deal at the time. I’ve used this kit soo much over the years and regret not buying a second to keep on standby. For those interested, I found a 1/4” screwdriver by Williams called a “spinner handle” Part number is M-106A and it is basically the same as my cheapo craftsman screwdriver shown here in the pics. Cost is just over ten...
Hope this helps, and thanks again for looking
-Matt
Mike of the Mountain
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Mike of the Mountain »

Thanks Matt. I searched for that handle and came up empty until you said "spinner handle". I ordered 3 as they will come in handy for more than just working on old doubles.
Sporrns
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Sporrns »

Very nice setup - I purchased a much smaller version of the Craftsman kit from Monkey Ward's many years ago with the same socket drive fitting in the handle. It was for round sockets only, no screwdriver bits. One really nice advantage of the socket drive fitting in the handle is that you can put a longer 1/4 inch drive fixed-head breaker bar-type extension on it which dramatically increases mechanical advantage on screws and nuts. Kevin
Stan Hillis
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Stan Hillis »

Matt, I appreciate you going to the trouble to post the narrative and pictures. I am always open to new ideas concerning using tools to better accomplish a task, guns or otherwise. Along with that comes questions that pop into my mind. One is ....... do you see this as better than using a drill press, disconnected from all electrical power, as a means to break loose a stuck screw?

If you would address that question I would really appreciate it. The advantage I have seen to using the drill press method is the ability to keep the screwdriver bit from "riding out" of the screw slot, and in keeping it in perfect alignment. The leverage of the handle on the drill press, plus the rigid nature of holding the action in a vise, accomplishes that. Can you accomplish these two aspects as well with your tool combination?

I recognize that not everyone has a drill press, but with that caveat, I'd appreciate your opinion on this.

Thanks again, SRH
Fox20obsessed
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by Fox20obsessed »

Stan,
I feel strongly that using this method is pretty much as good as the drill press and you can also get it done much faster. I usually just put the action upside-down on a carpeted floor or a rug over a hardwood floor in my home and apply lots of down pressure to the backside of the ratchet right at the button to release the socket normally is. Right hand applies the down pressure, left hand on the spinner handle for alignment to the screw axis, and buttstock between your knees. The aforementioned down-pressure along with using the “spinner handle”/special screwdriver to keep your bit perfectly aligned with the screw head really helps prevent the bit from riding out of the slot as you said. Keep in mind that your hollow ground screwdriver bit must be well fitted to the slot as well to prevent buggering the slot. I have a pretty good set of 3 hollow ground bits that I have fitted and they fit most every fox I have built/worked on very well. I have never buggered a screw slot using this method. As always, slow and steady torque is the best...As you know Stan, once you get the screw to turn it comes out the rest of the way with relative ease. I have a drill press and the vise to do the other technique also, but I just think this is much simpler with a whole lot less setup time. I will say this, for the price of the “spinner handle” that I posted previously it is definitely worth trying. I think you will be pleased with how well it works. Just as an aside....I have a set of wheeler engineering hollow ground screwdriver bits and while I have snapped a few off over the years they work pretty well, are cheap, and also would like to state that I have never ended up snapping one while using this technique.
I hope I have sufficiently answered your question without too much babbling.
-Matt
JSD13
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Re: Tip for stuck floor plate screws.

Post by JSD13 »

I cannot seem to find or see the pictures of this setup?
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