Can screws that are not in time be put in time?

How is it done?

My guess is by progressively cutting metal from the bottom of the screw shank.

You can put turn screw in drill chuck and remove small amounts with file till screw will index

Labowner is right but if the screws were filed and polished to the action or trigger plate they will be lower. You can use a very small punch that has been ground to a point. Very carefully take the punch and around the surface of where the screw will come into contact with the plate or whatever strike that surface. I reciently did this to an Ithica single barrel trap gun and it worked. I don't think this is a "fix" that will last as the upset screw surface will no doube wear back to the original surface. You don't need to strike the punch very hard and watch out for damageing the screw hole. Striking to hard can distort the screw hole.

Just my two cents.

Regards, Gordon

Great tip, Gordon.
Thanks. Mike

NOT ALWAYS WHILE THEY ARE PUPPYS.

Mike

How true when they are puppies. But you would not have all those memories if a few years. It takes years sometimes doesn't it.

Regards, Gordon

Before you worry about retiming the screws, you need to fix whatever has put them out of time. It is most unlikely that the bottom of the screw head or the screw's seat wore out. It is much more likely that something "moved." If, however, the "move" is permanent, then you will need to weld up the bottom of the screw head and recut or do the same for the seat. Or, you can make a new screw. You can't change timing of the screw by filing (shortening) the screw's threaded shank. The index between the threads and the screw slot doesn't depend on the length of the screw shank; no relationship at all. Indexing the slot to the threads would be a very tough machining problem if it were not for the use of "tall" screw heads that are cut off and reslotted after the screws final tightened position is clear.

You are absolutely right. Puppies can be trying at times, but I sure love "Higgins" today. Mike

Rocketman

I agree with you. Sometimes screws get streched and twisted by on over zelious person that really wanted to tighten the screw insted of stating it.

Opps, that should have been seating it.

In the past, I've used jewelers files and in careful steps removed a small portion of the screw thread until the thread is timed, i.e., the screw will move incrementally with the removal of the thread. The drawback is that you loose some contact surface by removing a portion of the thread.

If the timing is such that the screw is turned past where it should be and past where it was originally, someone has likely overtorqued it, buggered the threads, and you should not remove metal from anything anywhere. Instead make some very very thin washers out of brass shim material or even of aluminum can material and put them under the screw head until you're where you want to be. You can thin a washer in increments and eventually get it to where you want it. If the timing is such that the screw is short of proper timing and from where it was originally, it could be that the screw has been put back into the wrong hole. That happens to a lot of vintage Parkers.

Best "trick" when removing the three trigger plate screws from any Parker- (1) have the properly ground to fit screw drivers- seat the receiver bottom up in a well-padded vise-- make a drawing on paper- I mark the rearmost screw (near the trigger guard bow as No. 1- the left barrel side screw as No. 2 and finally the right barrel side screw as No. 3- And I turn each screw out a little bit, and then go to the next one in 1-2-3 order, rather than taking say no. 1 all the way out, then 2, then 3- this equalizes any binding pressure on the trigger plate- then I remove the rear tang screw and finally the top (under the lever) tang screw that bottoms into the front trigger block--

I tape each screw to the proper number on the tracing paper- those Screws are Not Interchangeable--

A friend came over with a sweet GHE 20- about 1912 mfg-older DHBP with the spur inset into the stock heel- but the two original engraved head Fillister type butt plate screws didn't aling slot to slot as they should have, and they didn't "bottom" in the counterbored holes in the black bakelite BP-- simple solution- someone had at one time removed the BP and reversed the two screws- so I 're-reversed them" and they 'clocked" perfectly and set just a hair below flush in the counterbored holes-- lucked out on that one- whenever you can avoid regrinding or filing under the head of an original screw, that is a good thing--