Merwin & Hulbert Pocket Army upper side plate screw

[orpington]

Missing! Sure could use one of these. Called Jack First, none in stock, stated what I already knew--'we're not going to get one of those anytime soon'. Any suggestions? Or, does anyone have the dimensions of this screw if I attempted to make one myself?

 

[Kp321]

You mentioned making one yourself. Do you have a lathe or access to one? If so, it should be doable. First you need to reverse engineer the screw by using a good caliper to measure the threaded hole size and depth along with the diameter and thickness of the head from the recess in the side plate. The tpi can be determined by using a wooden dowel or chopstick sanded down to the size of the screw, then screwing it into the existing hole. Unscrew it and measure the threads with a thread gauge. Realize that the id measurement of the threaded hole is the minor diameter of the screw, the major diameter can be calculated using the tpi you just determined. Machinerys Handbook is a good reference on this process.
Actually takes less time to do it than describe the process.

 

[orpington]

I am skilled with my hands and could fabricate a screw given having access to a lathe. I am attending auctions now in search of a vintage quality lathe at the right price.

 

[Jim K]

You can thread a blank screw with just a die and handle, you don't need a lathe. You can even use a larger and longer screw and a drill press and file to remove the threads, trim the head to the right diameter, and shape the head. Then you grind the sides of a hacksaw blade to thin it to the right size and use it to cut the screw slot. The last step is to cut the screw shank to the right length. Sounds like a hard job, but takes about 15 minutes.

If you can determine the screw size, you might be able to use a standard screw, but in the days before national standards, most gun makers made their own screws to whatever size and pitch they needed for the job.

Jim