Stripped screw for trigger and bolt spring on a Pietta 1860 Army

[bash]

Hey Everyone-

Recently picked up a new Pietta 1860 Army with exceptionally soft screws. I anticipated as much, made sure to use the right magna-tip bits, bottomed out in the slot and applied downward force and still managed to ding some that were over torqued. When I got to the trigger and bolt spring screw, it just wouldn't budge and I ended up stripping it.






I tried the rubber band trick, still no luck and made it worse. Did some reading on here, and am going to get some liquid wrench and a Tekton 3/8in drive impact screwdriver.

From the angle of the screw head, it almost looks like it could be cross-threaded to me..




Any tips on making a block for this so I can secure it in a vise? I'm assuming the impact driver will require this to be held tight.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

 

[1KPerDay]

Heat cycle with a torch and liquid wrench/PB blaster/kroil. Impact driver might work, might not.

 

[hawg]

An impact drive might work but if it doesn't it will break off the head of the screw at the slot. Try taking a screwdriver that fits the slot and trying to turn it while tapping the screwdriver handle.

 

[Rule3]

No offense but quit while you are ahead. Take it to a gunsmith or contact where you bought it and find out if there is a authorized distributor service in the USA
Yes expensive but stuff happens.

call these folks

https://taylorsfirearms.com/accessories/parts/pietta-parts.html

 

[Bibbyman]

I'd try taking a pin punch and try cold forging the head back into place. It'll give penetrating oil time to work and some shock effect.

Another trick is take a small punch and strike the head on the outside edge - turning it "Lefty Loosy".

 

[Mark_Mark]

Walk away for 3 days… Slow Down. Then Take to a machine shop and see if they can extract it out.

but 1st… how much did the gun cost you? might not be worth it.

 

[Cowhide Cliff]

I don't even hesitate to go to the impact driver when taking any of the Italian guns apart for the first time. Would almost bet I could get that right out with my impact driver and magna-tip bit. A friend of mine brought a rifle over that he had completely destroyed the head of the screw asking if could use my mill and drill it out. I took an impact driver and it came right out. He bought a new screw and was good to go. It's really amazing how well those impact drivers work if you have a good one and know how to use it.

 

[Bibbyman]

Here is the lever screw on third version original 1873. I don't think the gun had been taken apart. All the other screws came out easy. But this one was so buggered up. I tried everything. Finally resorted to impact wrench. Worked. Replaced screw with new one.

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

That angle on the head is pretty much normal, looks like Guido got carried away again.The impact driver should work, just be sure the driver bit fits the slot or it will make things worse. I have 2 vises I work with, a large 4 " and a small 2 " one. I generally use the smaller one, when I'm working on a gun it's clamped by the arbor with the recoil shield against the side of the vise with padding between the 2. It shouldn't take much effort to get that screw out. If it ends being too much you can always send to me, and get the pistol tuned at the same time!

 

[J-Bar]

Apply Kroil liberally for three days. Cut a new slot at 90 degrees to the old buggered one with a Dremel or a file. Then use impact driver if you have one. If not, secure the frame in a padded vice, insert screwdriver, tap screwdriver with hammer while torquing the screwdriver left. If unsuccessful, seek gunsmith.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Trying to strip a JC Higgin 336 Bolt tonight and the rear roll pin is STUCK!

So I just soak the whole thing in rubbing alcohol and walked away. I’ll just soak it and qtip ask much gunk out as possible. and just leave it alone. Grease it up and call it quits

Feel the kitchen Gun Smithing pain

 

[hawg]

There's much better cleaners than rubbing alcohol. Even WD-40 would be better.

 

[Mark_Mark]

There's much better cleaners than rubbing alcohol. Even WD-40 would be better.

I’m doing a soak, then boil it. did it with my crate mosin with very good success

 

[Mizar]

If this is the fit of the Magna-Tip bit in the screw head, no wonder you stripped that screw. Bits must fit snug in the slots, with no noticeable movement - if it's not fitting correctly, then take the next one and grind it to fit.
Try to peen back the material as best as you can - a small hammer and a punch will do the job. Soak in penetrating oil overnight and then, with PROPERLY fitting bit try to unscrew it again. You can use a "Dremel" tool with a small cutting disc to cut a new slot in that screw head, if the original is in bad condition.

 

[bash]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'll let some liquid wrench soak for a few days, then peen back the material and try to unscrew. If that doesn't work, I'll move on to tapping the screwdriver, then the impact driver and cutting a new slot. If all fails I'll consider it a good excuse to send it away to get tuned.

I'll post updates. I appreciate the suggestions.

 

[Malachi Leviticus Blue]

Freezing then heating with a torch or heat gun will cause some contraction and expansion that can help loosen things up as well.

 

[Rule3]

It's a new gun, soaking it with anything is not gonna change the torque that was applied. It's not corroded in there

 

[Mark_Mark]

Boil it! I did that to a Type 99 and it worked GREAT!

 

[film495]

if you're planning on replacing the screw - stuck ones can be spun out with a punch and hammer, you just need to get the angle right. I always think it is going to break the head off, but, hasn't happened yet. well, that way anyways ... lol

 

[Navy Six 2]

I bought a new Pietta .44 steel frame Navy two years ago and couldn't get the trigger screw loose. After repeated attempts over two days and ruining the screw slot(Brownells Magna tip of correct size), it finally came loose with an impact driver. Inspection revealed the screw hole in the left side of the frame, the larger recess where the screw head would recede when tightened, wasn't actually round! It was oblong, or egg shaped, wasn't quite large enough for the screw head, but someone at the factory forced the screw in anyway! I ordered a new screw and had to carefully work the frame hole into a round shape.

 

[hawg]

if you're planning on replacing the screw - stuck ones can be spun out with a punch and hammer, you just need to get the angle right. I always think it is going to break the head off, but, hasn't happened yet. well, that way anyways ... lol

I've done that with harder screws but Pietta screws are pretty soft.

 

[film495]

I've done that with harder screws but Pietta screws are pretty soft.

I've done this several times, but admittedly never on a firearm screw... so, was just throwing it out there as an idea, but - not sure it is a good one.

 

[derek45]

 

[Jackrabbit1957]

Best thing to do is get a tap of the proper size in this case metric, and run it through the hole.