doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Old Belgian Hammer Double top lever screw removal

Just a couple of things firstly English gun screws have parallel sides and some are extremely narrow so I advise adjusting a screwdriver to be the same profile, also using larger screw drivers with their blades adjusted downwards to smaller sizes because of their larger handles help with grip and applied torque.
On good tip to stop a screwdriver from caming out of the slot is to hold the blade in a vice and hit the end of the blade with a hammer. This will put a bur each side of the blade that will cut in to the screw slots wall�s when you turn it keeping it firmly in place.
Heat is the finest thing to apply to a screw that after everything done to it before has failed. Now I did describe the heating system I have used for some considerable time and one board member decided that it would not work and sank to personal insults but I cannot help it if people don�t know or do not want to understand the simple theory.
So if you don�t mind I will go through it again, how it works and how to do it. So to start It was originally used for removing seized screws from Aluminium and its alloys and of course steel in the 1930�s. The unit was manufactured by an Australian company called �Cscope� well that was the name on the label of its metal case. And of course it had never been used for a considerable time and just sat in a pile of junk in the workshop waiting for the next big throw out session. So an inquisitive young man me!! Took it apart to see what made it tick.
Its simplicity was astounding but of course it was faulty and not repairable and that is how things stayed for some years, well until I started restoring anything from guns to cars and having problems with the proverbial seized screws nuts and bolts in all sorts of metals.
So I decided to make my version of the device I had seen many years before. It consisted of a very high current low voltage transformer two heavy duty copper leads and carbon rods of varying sizes and diameters. YES!! It was a stick welding transformer in a fancy case well for that time the 1930�s it was fancy painted bright yellow.
How to use it is simplicity it�s self first connect one cable in the case of a gun the action next fix a carbon rod to the welder electrode holder and place it on the screw�s head (for small screws sharpen the end so the rod only makes contact with the head of the screw. Now turn on the power and as the current flows through the screw and because steel has a higher resistance than the carbon and the copper in the leads the current flow heats up the steel screw and will continue to heat it up while the current is flowing. Apply enough current and in theory you could heat the whole area to melting point, So the heat is very intense and localised and over the times I have used this method of heating it has worked every time but it is not for the faint hearted because you can easily burn yourself.
** Copper coated carbon rods are available from welding suppliers for use in Ark Welder Brazing attachments, failing that the small carbon rods from Zinc Carbon Batteries work well.

Also can some kind person explain why I have 3 stars under my name, Is it something I have done???

Once you get to the point that you know you will have to sacrifice the screw and make or find another one, the next resort is one of those hammer driven impact wrenches, sold in "truck load tool sales", Harbor Freight, etc. You would need to grind a bit to fit the screw. With this, you would either move the screw or break it out. Then your choice is clear, you could only drill it out.
Mike