Ridiculous Screws

[Ray-Vigo]

I've posted a few times about my Uberti 1851 Navy, which is a good shooting gun but which was put together by either someone with a pneumatic wrench or incredible strength.

Originally I had to drill out the 6 factory nipples because they would not budge, even after the full battery of procedures. Most of the screws were ok, however the lock bolt/stop spring screw and the main spring screw were like the nipples- ridiculously tightened down.

Well I had my bolt/stop spring break at one of the fingers and it was time to get that screw out. Heat, kroil, and time did nothing. I eventually had to drill it out, weaken the head, then deform it to unscrew it. The mainspring screw was much the same- it took drill out to remove it. I have ordered replacement screws and a new bolt/stop spring.

Does anyone know just what sort of tooling Uberti is using to put these threaded parts in? I've never had a gun come like this and need so much work freeing basic screws. I will add, I've won a few prizes with this gun, so it shoots reasonably well. But whoever put these screws and nipples in went crazy.

 

[dickydalton]

It's not just Uberti. Every one I've bought was like that. i've broken more Wilson screwdriver bits than I can count on them.

 

[pargent]

I suspect the screws are installed dry and that is why they are so freeeeking tight to undo.Get yourself some realy good quality gunsmith screwdrivers, the ones with hollowground bits,if you dont have these already. A trick with tight screws is to hold an electric soldering iron on the screw heads to heat them up, let the screw cool off and try to loosen again .Of course when you find a screw with a soft head it realy is a problem :cursing:

 

[capt_turk]

Just ran into a site where some mechanics did a test of the most common penetrating oils on the market. Kroil was listed as the best of them.

They had an additional test that included home brew mixes too. They found a 50/50 mixture of ATF and acetone worked four times better than Kroil.

The test consisted of a group of same sized nuts and bolts that had been immersed in salt water and then left together to rust.

The dry torque needed to break the nuts and bolts apart was around 550 lbs. The range of torques using the commercial products ranged from around 300 lbs with WD-40, down to about 200 lbs with Kroil. The home brew mixture ATF/Acetone was around 50 lbs.

 

[Glenfilthie]

Been there. Done that.

Gentlemen, I solved the problem thusly: I went down and got the thinnest bladed screw driver I could find from NAPA. (No, I am not shelling out $100.00 plus - for a set of 'gunsmith's screw drivers).

Take the screwdriver home. Insert the blade into the slot - it will probably be too thick...so you use a hammer and lightly tap the screwdriver in. Wrap the gun in a thick leather pad and pad the jaws of your vise to hold the gun.
Problem solved. This trick works with other screws installed by apes and ignoramii. :wink:

It's easier than pie to do and takes longer to talk about than actually doing it.

 

[Rod Lassey]

Could they be using Loc-Tite or some similar threadlocker? Japanese motorcycles, for instance, are notorious for using threadlocker and having soft screws--without an impact driver, all you'll do is mess up the screw head.

Rod

 

[Ray-Vigo]

I remembered that site and picked up a new bottle of Kroil this weekend. Even with heat and Kroil, no luck. I do have some leftover acetone here from stripping paint though. The next time this happens I'll try the ATF-Acetone mixture.

However with that, all of the screws have been freed. I just had those two left, which I had hoped I'd never have to remove. Of course that proved not to be.

 

[Coot]

I am interested in the acetone & atf mix & will try some on an old MG engine I am pulling out of a hulk. In the meantime I will plug for a good set of gunsmiths screwdrivers - I got mine from Brownells 40 years ago for what seemed like a lot but they have saved a lot of screws & I know that I have spent more than the cost of the screwdrivers on replacement screws that others needlessly buggered up :cursing: . There is a good article on gun screws & the grinding of screwdrivers to fit at: www.finegunmaking.com/page16/page16.html
each of my flintlocks has a period turnscrew that I have ground to fit the gun's top jaw screw. That turnscrew & a pair of correct size spare flints live in a thin leather pouch in the bottom of the guns shooting bag.

 

[dcriner]

Uberti is famous for overtightening nipples and other fasteners. Don't try to complain to them in an email in English - they won't read it, much less respond. Japanese manufacturers are far more responsive.

Best to remove the cylinder and take it back to whoever sold it - tell them to loosen the nipples, or else give you a new cylinder and a set of nipples, that you will install yourself.

 

[Ray-Vigo]

I got my parts package from VTI gun parts this afternoon and installed the screws and a new bolt/stop spring. The parts from VTI were drop-in fits and a full step nicer than the stock stuff. The stock screws and spring were very, very soft, but it looks as though the VTI parts are hardened. It sure feels that way at least.