doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Making Turnscrews

I need to make some very thin tip turnscrews. I have the Brownells thin bit magantip set and they are too thick. Would you recommend grinding those down or start with something different?

Save em and go buy a Stanley driver to turn down!

I find grinding the big box cheap imports to work just as well as the super expensive stuff. The problem I run into is the width selection is limited.

bill

My suggestion is, go buy some spade bit wood boring tools. You have a variety of widths to choose. Take a Dremel cut off wheel and cut the point off. Hollow grind them on the face of a grinding wheel, it takes a little practice to avoid overheating them. You can then use them as screw jacks with a ratchet in the drill press, make a wooden or Delrin handle, or with Chapman handles and a ratchet. This method dramatically reduces boogered screws.

Just my way of thinking after 50 years at the bench.

James

To to the pawn shop and get a bag full of cheap screwdrivers.
Grind them, then throw away if you want.

You can id slot width with feeler gauges, and then use calipers to measure the flat parallel blade.

Clean your slots, and bottom out the blade.

The slots are saw cut, so fill the slot with the blade.

When James Flynn gives you information, you need to listen. These spade drills are forged and are made of high quality and tough steel.

40 years ago there was a TV commercial for the investment firm EF Hutton. "When EF Hutton talks everyone listens" Advise from James Flynn should be the same way.

If there ever was a person "who has been there and done that" it is Flynn.

Spade bits it will be. I never thought of using those but it makes perfect sense.
Thanks for all the tips.

Scott

Thanks James, that is very useful information.
Karl

+1

DDA

How much effort is the average bodger going to make to remove a screw without damaging it?

You are lucky if they even know the slot is parallel, and a screwdriver isn't.

Doubly lucky if they never take a screwdriver to any part of an old double.

And then, without promoting bodgery, "How many times do you actually WANT a former owner after the innards of an old shotgun?"

Which goes to "How much effort and TIME are you really going to expend (I won't say waste) in your efforts to remove 1 screw on a shotgun you hope to never have to get inside of ever again?"

if your livelihood is at the bench, that's a whole different matter.

Same with making spanners for removing risk set strikers.

How long, and how hard, for Why? Again?