doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Fixing over-timed screws?

I've got some screws (top lever, top tang, trigger plate, etc) that are what I would call "over-timed". Put another way, if they are as tight they should be, the slots will be past the direction that they should be pointing. Complicating this further, some of them have heads that are fit to the curve of what they are positioned in. What are the strategies to fix such problems?

The issues are with the Alfred Field, and I cannot make new screws nor buy replacements from Mr. Field.

Thanks!

Washers punched or cut out of thin shim may sort it out for you.

Question...when the slots are lined up does the screw head shape fit the shape of the action as needed? And how much over-timed do you estimate?

There is room for the screw head to be more fully seated, which you can do if you go beyond timed. The different surfaces have become squashed perhaps.

I would say that on average that these are able to point to between 2 and 4 o'clock when fully tight. Maybe I'm anal, but it doesn't look good, and the tops of the screw heads are no longer flush with the surface that are resting in when they are over-timed, or under-timed for that matter.

This would effectively extend the underside of the head so that it bottomed out at the appropriate time, and was then tight in that timed position. Right?

This guy makes end-play shims for revolvers. Perhaps he has something to fit your screws?

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/626889435

I have access to shims for end shake, and will give those a try for size. Thank.

B.Graham.
Are you sure the screws were timed, to start with( of course the one filed to fit the trigger guard was)? If they weren't, there is not much you can do, easily. If you are sure they were, the first thing to do is to be sure they are in the correct "hole". Those that either screw into or through the wood (stock, forearm)may be out of time due to wood shrinkage. A fix for these is to let a piece of wood into the stock, where the screw goes through, and work them down to where the screw is timed. A quick temporary fix is to put wood shims between the stock and tangs( this is also useful to see how much room has to be taken up. Where the screws go into metal parts, check to see if they have been marked to indicate whether they were intended for the right or left side of the receiver. A common way to mark the screws is by filing a line on the end of the screws intended for one side, and those for the other side are left blank. In cases where a third similar screw is used(drilling), the third one has a x filed on the end. The fix for these is to put them into the correct "holes". Where the shrinkage is very severe, the tangs might be pulled so close together, the gun won't function. In this case, shims or additional wood would be needed, anyway. If the stock has been refinished, and oversanded to the point that the metal "stood proud", the tangs might have been let into the stock deeper, causing the problem. Of course, since I haven't seen the gun, this is only speculation.
Mike

Thank you.

Fit with the wood seems as it should be. In this case it's more metal to metal: larger screw holding the trigger plate to the frame, the large screw under the to top level, and the screw that holds the top level to the mechanism attached to the bolt. The gun is the Alfred Field SLE that I'm working to clean up.

I don't know to what degree the screws were or were not appropriately timed. I think it's about 120 years old based on the marks, so who knows what has transpired to date.

Shim may be tricky with the trigger guard but should work fine on any action screws.
I've made an unconventional repair to a guard once where weld was run around the countersunk part then I used valve grinding paste to lap the screw back in after rough shaping the angle . Professionals may cringe but I used a cordless drill to carefully spin the screw until it sat at the right depth and could be timed.