best way to losen screws

Discussion in 'Firearm Maintenance, Modification, Safety And Trou' started by Noturus, Oct 30, 2019.

  1. Noturus

    Noturus .410

    I have an 1885 with a 3x9 scope mounted but am having trouble focusing on the scope now that I have gone to trifocals. I have a set of Williams iron sights to install but for the life of me I cannot get the star drive screws to loosen up. I put so much torque on it I was worried the tool would strip out and maybe ruin the screw so stopped. Any ideas?
  2. Bill Idaho

    Bill Idaho .270 WIN

    Do you know if those particular screws were baptized in Loc-Tite?
  3. Noturus

    Noturus .410

    I do not but they are tight beyond my strength.
  4. Hairtrigger

    Hairtrigger .270 WIN

    Try putting a bit of valve grinding compound in the slot on the head of the screw before inserting the screwdriver. It will really help hold the tip onto the screw
    You can also use a soldering iron on the screw head to apply heat to the screw to loosen any loctite
    ripjack13 likes this.
  5. Bill Idaho

    Bill Idaho .270 WIN

    A minor point: I have learned in my advanced years, that often times when trying to loosen a tight screw/bolt, applying a large amount of torque and meeting with absolutely no movement, it can be frustrating. To say it very politely.
    What I have also learned, is applying a massive (relatively speaking) amount of torque -and keeping that amount of torque on the screw/bolt sometimes allows it to free up. In other words, giving it an instant twist with no success, is common, but giving it a huge amount of torque and maintaining that torque for a period of time does the trick. ( This is hard to explain....)

    Next time, try to twist much slower. In very simplistic terms-

    And I second the soldering iron trick. I have seen guys use one of those hand-held hammer-powered impact tools. (What we used to use back in the motorcycle days.) Personally, I would probably vote no on that method. Maybe a long handled 1/4" drive breaker bar? A person can develop an extremely large amount of horsepower with one of those.
  6. Noturus

    Noturus .410

    There's no problem holding the tip in since it's a "star drive." Thanks guys, I will try the soldering iron heat and the continued torque method.
  7. win7stw

    win7stw .30-06

    I’ve had luck with “shocking” tight screws. Hit the screwdriver with a hammer and sometimes the impact will loosen it up.
  8. Noturus

    Noturus .410

    Good to know but I got the screws loosened with some liquid wrench.
    ripjack13 likes this.
  9. Norske

    Norske .410

    Kroil brand penetrating oil will get into anywhere. It's a lot more expensive than hardware/auto parts store penetrating oils, but it's that much better.
  10. Noturus

    Noturus .410

    So I removed the scope and base finally and reinstalled the iron sights. I think it looks so much better now for an 1885.

    Attached Files:

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