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Can't remove the two hex head screws on my t/c Hawken under barrel rib, the two that hold the ramrod pipes. Real stuck, any ideas as to how to get them out.
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underrib stuck
- Thread starter torpedo
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dragnetbill
36 Cal.
Soak them with some Kano-Kroil; let it sit a day or two and try them again.
Why do you want to remove it? 
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Just like to check for any rust under it. found some on my .54. It has a serial number in the 500xxx, and this one, the .45 is in the 13xxx. Looks good but you never know.
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Wow, I don’t think I’ve removed mine in 40 years on my TC.
If it is stuck and it looks good, I'd just leave it. Trying to get it loose could bugger it up if not real careful.
torpedo said:
Might be a little scale under there, but 'what the hey'. Ignore and carry on. Removing those stuck screws might.....uh....screw them up. They are probably soft steel and you could end up with lousy looking screws after having accomplished nothing worthwhile. Just my :2
bubba.50
Barefoot Hillbilly
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torpedo said:
As others have said, I’d leave them alone. IF there’s any scale or anything under them, it’s not goin’ to get any worse. But if you MUST remove them, as much as I love T/C guns, they used terribly poor quality screws and bolts in them. So, if they absolutely won’t come loose after tryin’ all the aforementioned tips, get a drill bit the same size as the shank of the screw and drill the heads out and replace with new screws when you re-install.
Have found some screws on TCs that were as hard as glass and literally shattering on attempted removal.
Have TC Cherokee that didn’t have the ramrod retention spring (I assume one should have been there??). Screw exploded on removal as did the two screws holding the thimbles to the rib (could have left those two alone as they didn’t go through the rib and into the barrel). No real problem with the other screws holding the rib. The three problem screws were removed by hitting them with a center punch. Nothing left but dust.
Anyone know where to find replacement screws? The one nearest the stock that would hold the ramrod spring needs to be one of those thin headed type like the ones that hold the thimbles in place on a Hawken (driven in with a 5/64 Allen wrench, although some were driven with a screw driver). The thimble retention screws need to be the same type of screw only shorter (or threaded more so it could be shortened) as it only threads into the rib.
Now, do you REALLY want to remove the rib plate on your TC?
Have TC Cherokee that didn’t have the ramrod retention spring (I assume one should have been there??). Screw exploded on removal as did the two screws holding the thimbles to the rib (could have left those two alone as they didn’t go through the rib and into the barrel). No real problem with the other screws holding the rib. The three problem screws were removed by hitting them with a center punch. Nothing left but dust.
Anyone know where to find replacement screws? The one nearest the stock that would hold the ramrod spring needs to be one of those thin headed type like the ones that hold the thimbles in place on a Hawken (driven in with a 5/64 Allen wrench, although some were driven with a screw driver). The thimble retention screws need to be the same type of screw only shorter (or threaded more so it could be shortened) as it only threads into the rib.
Now, do you REALLY want to remove the rib plate on your TC?
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Thanks for all the input. Will NOT remove the screws. Although I have three TC Hawkens and the others removed with no problem. I'm just a bit of a "gotta be sure everything is real clean on my guns" kind of guy. Thanks again to all.
I always cleaned TC barrels in a bucket of water, blew the excess water out of the under rib with compressed air and oiled it.
I did put together two TC guns last year and oiled the under rib screw threads before I installed them.
On one 30 year old kit the sear spring was seized, I couldn't get the sear spring and plunger out. No amount of penetrating oil would free the spring cup up. I finally had a friend with a milling machine cut the cup and spring out of the lock plate. Rust had welded the cup to the lock plate and turned the spring to dust. How moisture got in there is beyond me, the rest of the kit was pristine.
Fortunately in your case a little rust can be arrested with some oil and won't cause any problems.
You can buy under rib screws off eBay but there is some sticker shock involved.
I did put together two TC guns last year and oiled the under rib screw threads before I installed them.
On one 30 year old kit the sear spring was seized, I couldn't get the sear spring and plunger out. No amount of penetrating oil would free the spring cup up. I finally had a friend with a milling machine cut the cup and spring out of the lock plate. Rust had welded the cup to the lock plate and turned the spring to dust. How moisture got in there is beyond me, the rest of the kit was pristine.
Fortunately in your case a little rust can be arrested with some oil and won't cause any problems.
You can buy under rib screws off eBay but there is some sticker shock involved.
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Whenever I clean a barrel with an under rib, I hose down the seam where it contacts the barrel....both sides with a good rust preventative. But I have no plans to ever remove one.
To me that would be like removing the sights to clean under them.... :nono:
To me that would be like removing the sights to clean under them.... :nono:
I’ve only built one gun with an under rib. I was worried about it rusting underneath, so I silversoudered it on. I did have a CVA Mountain pistol that I shot a lot years ago, but it pretty much sat on display not being used these last ten or twelve years. Last year I decided to restock it and got a full stock for it. This gun was bought in 78 or 79, and I had never had the underrib off. I had hot browned the barrel with the rib and ramrod pipe on. And since then I cleaned in water, wiped down, sprayed with wd-40 dried and oiled.
Over the years not shooting it I would just swab the bore with a lightly oiled patch then wipe down the outside. When I did pull off the rib it was clean as when I put it on, no rust at all or even smudge.
Over the years not shooting it I would just swab the bore with a lightly oiled patch then wipe down the outside. When I did pull off the rib it was clean as when I put it on, no rust at all or even smudge.
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Who knows what adhesives somebody put down in those threads or why the screws froze up. Messing with them sounds like all risk and no reward.
nwtradegun
50 Cal.
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track of the wolf
Have looked at TOW a couple of times. The TC thimble screws they have are too long and are not threaded close enough to the head to be shortened and used on a Cherokee. On TC Hawkens and Renegades the thimbles screw goes through the thimble and threads into the barrel. With the Cherokee the thimble screws are much shorter and only thread into the rib.
Guess I could make the threaded hole in the thimble a clearance hole and drill and tap two holes in the barrel, but not even considering something like that right now. First rule of hole digging is to put the shovel down and stop digging.
Guess I could make the threaded hole in the thimble a clearance hole and drill and tap two holes in the barrel, but not even considering something like that right now. First rule of hole digging is to put the shovel down and stop digging.
