I am not patient.
So, in an effort to overcome my natural inclinations, I built a procedure that I never vary from, for disassembling old stuff.
I force myself to do these steps in order, on every disassembly.
YMMV of course.
1) I take a nylon brush to the bolt or screw, and get the crud off it.
2) I look to see what kind of fastener it is.
I take a welders pick, and carefully scratch all the crud out of the slot, staying away from the top edge of the slot.
3) I fit a bit to the slot, both for thickness and width.
I want full bearing across the slot.
Quite commonly I grind a bit of proper thickness to proper width. Costs about a quarter.
4) I tap the bit into the slot with a small hammer.
This is to break the microscopic corrosion within the threads.
5) I add a penetrant drop to the screw.
6) Now I TIGHTEN the screw a tiny amount.
7) Now I begin (with plenty of downward pressure) often using my drill press to do so, to work the screw back and forth until it will back out completely.
If I cannot feel any movement at step 6 or 7, I heat the screw head with a soldering iron. (Lock plate or firing pin screws)
On a hand pin, I may heat the tip that goes through the top strap.
Every bit of that is an internal struggle.
But, breaking off a tiny screw, down in a hole, within a 100 year old gun, quintuples the amount of time required to remove the screw, let alone make a new one.
As I said, HASTE MAKES WASTE
and it is frustrating being afraid of breaking off a screw, and having to heat/soak, heat/soak, 4-5 times to get one to budge.
As I said, it is a struggle against my inclination.
And, making myself go against my own grain, is an exercise in self control that I reap other benefits from.
