Greengun Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Was trying to remove the screws on the rear sight. Used a small cigarette torch to heat it up to loosen Loctite but still no budge. Ended up stripped both screws. Looked up all screw extractors on Amazon but the smallest one only goes down to 5/64” or 2mm. I used a 1/16” Allen key but it was a bit too big at the beginning but now it won’t bite in. Any suggestions? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 These left hand bits work most of the time.https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-10038A-Titanium-Nitride-Coating/dp/B000HS0UJQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengun Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 Great, I actually have it on order from Amazon but I wasn’t very sure it’d do the job. Do I just press down and drill in reverse? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 If you have a torx bit that will fit, tap it in and try turning it out. Works almost all of the time. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengun Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 Thanks. I think my root problem was not having quality torx and allen keys to begin with. At my age I am starting to regret all the cheap tools that I have accumulated. Now I am shopping for good ones. Once I have good torx bits I’ll give a try. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa-XD45 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 (edited) You need more heat and for a longer period of time before extracting. You can often see smoke when the threadlocker (i.e.Loctite) is starting to liquefy. Edited April 17, 2018 by Tampa-XD45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengun Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 Till it smoke? Maybe you are right. I checked that it needs to reach 550F to loosen red Loctite. I have no way to be sure, but I used a cigarette torch (one that blow a strong blue flame) for 50 seconds thinking it may be enough. It didn’t smoke but I’d hate to damage the cerakote finish. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 57 minutes ago, Greengun said: Till it smoke? Maybe you are right. I checked that it needs to reach 550F to loosen red Loctite. I have no way to be sure, but I used a cigarette torch (one that blow a strong blue flame) for 50 seconds thinking it may be enough. It didn’t smoke but I’d hate to damage the cerakote finish. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk That was plenty long enough. Generally it will smoke but not 100% of the time. Remember this ordeal when you put it back together. Don’t over tighten those tiny screws. Let the loctite keep them tight after just snugging them down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 I've had good luck with these http://www.sears.com/craftsman-impact-driver/p-00947641000P?sid=IDx01192011x202447059&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6sjxsIrC2gIVCbXACh0qHw2oEAQYASABEgImoPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CIvM-beKwtoCFVCoaQodtRcJlg in similar situations. Also with fitting a piece of metal in the socket as snug as possible (think old soft nail about the right size) and heating the nail cherry red to transmit the heat into the screw and not so much into the gun. And there is always soaking the area in a can of penetrating build overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and get a small, Bernzomatic butane torch. The flame will have a very thin point when lit (they cost about $25), and get a good set of Torx bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengun Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 That impact driver doesn’t look like the right type for the job but inserting a nail then heat the nail sounds like a great idea. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IHAVEGAS Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 2 hours ago, Greengun said: That impact driver doesn’t look like the right type for the job but inserting a nail then heat the nail sounds like a great idea. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk There is magic in the down force hitting at the same time as the torque, but I agree that you would need to finagle some to support the bottom of the slide & may struggle to come up with a suitable bit. In a perfect world there would be an easy out to 3/8 socket. When the earth was young Japanese motorcycles used to be put together with a lot of soft metal philips head screws, finding out about impact wrenches was like mana from heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengun Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 Ohhhh, I think I didn’t know what that impact driver was for. Now I know. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoshidaex Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 what size is that hex? I’ve had good results with MIP/Thorp hex drivers to break loose small hex screws with red loctite. They’re sized so well, there is very little to no play when used. Look around for the best price. Not cheap for a single hex driver but if I knew how well these worked from the beginning, I would have saved myself a bunch of headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom S. Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 A soldering iron works better. It is easier to keep the heat located where you want it and won't effect things near by. My iron is adjustable to 750 degrees which is more than enough for thread locker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengun Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 Tom, I think soldering iron idea is brilliant and I do have one that is temperature controlled. Yoshi, MIP seems a great tool, as their price indicates. I am still looking for a set that won’t cost me an arm I think the screw maybe 1.5mm as I tried a 1/16” initially and it was a little too big. So I used the next smaller one and it was small enough just to grab a little but that was how I stripped the screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengun Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Thanks for all the input. I finally got the rear sight removed, but not the screws. Turned out the screws are very soft. I used reverse drill bit and extraction bit but were only able to further strip the screws without getting them loose. So I think I’ll just push the rear sight and see what happens and then I did and I was able to push the sight all the way off without scratching the dovetail. To prevent this from happening again in the future, I’ve been searching for good hex bits/allen keys and did a lot of reading on online reviews. This is what I’ve settled with. The price is not bad comparing to other top quality tools. It has most of the common hex sizes for gunsmithing, including both SAE and metrics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelpend Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 I have used torx bits many times to remove stripped allen head screws. Depends on size though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honkeymcgee Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 Everyone seems to be over thinking this. Get a small ez out. Drill it Get it hot Ez out Done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greengun Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 EZout comes only in 4 or 5 sizes and even the smallest one is not small enough for some small screws like those on rear sights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honkeymcgee Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 On 7/13/2018 at 5:25 PM, Greengun said: EZout comes only in 4 or 5 sizes and even the smallest one is not small enough for some small screws like those on rear sights. I've taken out lots of small screws like scope base mounts for example. Maybe those are a tad smaller though. I found a pretty small one at a local automotive store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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