doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Sideplate screw misaligned

Took a hammergun apart to ultrasonic clean, refinish wood, etc. Reassembling now and the sideplate connecting screw is misaligned, just barely, and enough so that screw will not grab. Threads are in fine shape. No mistakenly swapped screws. It was together before and nothing has structurally changed. There is not enough play anywhere to allow for angles to shift to get a start. Thanks for any tips and tricks.

Make sure you pull the triggers forward to get under the sear tails. Then you might need to put a punch through the offending hole into the stock and wiggle it around to line things up.

I have had this problem a time or two usually after re finishing the stock. What I have found is finish builds up on the lock plate recess wood periphery, removing some of the wiggle room as each plate is pushed in to position. Also setting the hammers at full or half cock position this just gives more finger room when using the hammer to position the lock plate back into its recess.

Thanks. Eventually went in. I was careful to to get finish in the inletting, but the tiniest bit evidently mattered.

That is a sign of precise inletting.