Wood Screws

C

Carolina Chuck

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I have a 22 Winchester 52B target rifle that I bought years ago in a pawn shop CA. One of the screw holes holding the trigger guard was blow out and I have babied it untill now and want to put a fix on it. I want to replace the screws because the original screws are to long and have a sholder that blew the hole out in the first place. Can someone here recommend where I can get good fasteners? I figure the best thing to do is find a suitable screw unplated and have my local gunsmith blue it.

Thanks
 
If you want to reuse the old screws or new screws then the hole can ben filled in using a golf tee and wood glue. Just scrape off the finish from the golf tee, glue and let set for 24hrs then redrill to screw size. This is what I do to door hinges that are striped out.
 
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Yea, I put the stock in the drill press and dowelled the hole- not this issue. I am looking for a supplier for good USA made wood screw fasteners worthy of being blued to be used on a firearm. I do not want to reuse the screws. The original fasteners are 1 inch long with a good 3/8 of an inch shoulder at the top. The fastener needed for this purpose needs not be longer than 5/8 of an inch. The shoulder on a 5/8 fastener would not serve as a wedge to split the wood.

Thanks
 
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I don't think you'll find any commercial screws that will work. They will most all be plated and have big ugly slots. You could make your own if you have a lathe and some tiny slitting saws or screw head files.

Also, when you fix this kind of thing with a dowel you end up screwing into end grain, which doesn't work well and the repair shows, even if only when dissembled. A matching cross grain plug is the proper repair. If you drill a pilot hole that matches the screw shank profile it won't split the wood.

The other nice repair is to wax the screw and metal parts, fill the hole with epoxy and assemble. You are bedding the screw and you'll have a perfect fit that won't strip out. It'll look nice and unaltered if you are a careful workman.

Check with someone like Jack First -- http://www.jackfirstgun.com/ for real gun screws.

Finally, while its your rifle and you can do with it what you want, putting screws in it that are other than original devalues the rifle.
 
Winchester stock wood screws

The Winchester 52B wood screw is a #10 size, but the head is .330 in width... much narrower than a regular slotted wood screw. The shoulder of the wood screw is also around 90 degrees. The length of the screw is 1-1/8". The slot is also narrower than a regular slotted steel screw.

So I used a #10 steel wood screw that was 1-1/4" long. I chucked it into my drill with the head sticking out and put the drill into my padded vise. Using the drill as an improvised lathe, I cut the screw head shoulder to 90 degree carefully using a needle file. Using a 8" mill bastard file, I then cut the screw head down to .330" in width and last, I shaped the head to the proper oval shape.

I had to deepen the screw slot -- and it is a little wide looking. But the screw fits into the trigger guard hole and stock nicely.
A little cold blue and the screw was complete. Time was about :30 minutes.
 
"The other nice repair is to wax the screw and metal parts, fill the hole with epoxy and assemble. You are bedding the screw and you'll have a perfect fit that won't strip out. It'll look nice and unaltered if you are a careful workman."

What a great idea! Not only for gunstocks either!

THANKS!
 
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