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#1
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How to fix a stripped pistol grip screw hole?
So the last time I had my rifle out at the range (AR15), the grip felt just a little loose, so I pulled out my Allen wrench and not even thinking about it as I work on cars a lot, I just cranked it down. I know I gave it too much torque when the grip screw kind of squeaked and felt like I maybe stripped something, Had a brain fart and forgot I was dealing with aluminum here. but it feels solid and has remained so. I think it is ok. But I was wondering if You did strip the hole, how difficult a fix is it?
I am assuming I would just need to retap the hole with a slightly larger tap and then use a proper size screw for the new tapped hole and all would be good. Has anyone stripped this before? How did you fix it? Should be pretty cheap to have a gun shop do it I think if you do not have the right tools. And yes, I am going to invest in a torque tool for the screws for now on and do it propper. Also, I am assuming this is a part I should be using lock tight on? But now I am afraid to try removing the screw, it might not go back in tight again if I did any damage.
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https://thedeplorablepatriot.com/ "A Holocaust survivor dies of old age, when he gets to heaven he tells God a Holocaust joke. God says, That isn't funny. The Old man tells God, well, I guess you had to be there." Last edited by CaliforniaCowboy; 05-20-2018 at 10:15 PM.. |
#2
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It depends on the length of the screw and how far in it stripped out.
Often times, you can simply re-tap what's left of the stripped hole and run in a longer screw that reaches up into the un-damaged threads. Another solution is to repair the hole with a helicoil insert. I have fixed many of these and never had the need to go to a larger screw size. On your lower, put some wd-40 down the grip screw hole from inside the fire control pocket and work the screw back and forth as you remove it. This will minimize the additional damage you do while taking it apart. No Loctite.
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Randall Rausch AR work: www.ar15barrels.com Bolt actions: www.700barrels.com Foreign Semi Autos: www.akbarrels.com Barrel, sight and trigger work on most pistols and shotguns. Most work performed while-you-wait, evening and saturday appointments available. Last edited by ar15barrels; 05-20-2018 at 10:29 PM.. |
#3
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Quote:
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https://thedeplorablepatriot.com/ "A Holocaust survivor dies of old age, when he gets to heaven he tells God a Holocaust joke. God says, That isn't funny. The Old man tells God, well, I guess you had to be there." |
#4
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Locktite has a product to repair bad or stripped threads.
http://www.na.henkel-adhesives.com/p...=8797876355073. Hope this will help. Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
__________________
Michael J Fernandes owner Gecko Guns Gunsmith "Repairs done Right" 510-914-6396 Ham radio operator KI6SDO NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle and PPOH [/url]www.GeckoGuns.com[/url] Pinole, CA 94564 "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" Ronald Regan |
#5
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If your threads are jacked, they're jacked. My repair would be to make a bushing to repair the threads. The bushing would be a stumpy screw, a little larger in diameter than the original, and then a hold through the middle with the correct thread pitch. The quick and easy method is to find an existing fine-thread bolt that is just a hair bigger than the hole that was stripped. Make sure the threads go all the way to the head of the bolt. On a bench grinder, start grinding down the head until it's fairly thin. Make it even and pretty. You might even want to finish your grind with a file, so it's really pretty. When grinding, frequently cool your work in a cup of water. Your callused fingers will thank you. Now grind down the threaded side so that it's short enough. Dress the threads so they won't bind when you screw it into a nut. Drill a hole straight down the middle of your bushing. Thread it to whatever the pitch of the grip screw is supposed to be. Now drill and tap the buggered threads on your lower to match your insert. Boom! You're done. Or more accurately, you're ready to test-assemble your work to make sure it's all good. Maybe the hex head needs to be thinner, maybe something interferes, I don't know. Test it all out. Perhaps you'll just want to tighten your bushing, assemble the gun, and call it good. After confirming all is well, I would use Loctite Retaining Compound on the bushing. You might need to modify my idea, but you should understand the basics well enough to make it work in your application. Another thing to thing about is how to keep this from happening again. Aluminum likes to gall. So does stainless. Titanium, too. Actually, everything does, but aluminum is really susceptible. When assembling threaded parts, there's rarely a good argument against using anti-seize. But yourself a jar and use it frequently. |
#6
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Helicoil is way simpler than a bushing for this repair...
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#8
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Use a Helicoil insert or a generic equivelant. https://www.stanleyengineeredfasteni...ands/heli-coil I have used them to fix stripped aluminum engine parts. .
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Be sure to ask your doctor if depression, rectal bleeding, and suicide are right for you. In the United States a person's expertise on a subject is inversely proportional to their knowledge of the subject: The less they know about something, the more they become an expert on it. I am being held hostage in a giant insane asylum called Earth. |
#9
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__________________
Randall Rausch AR work: www.ar15barrels.com Bolt actions: www.700barrels.com Foreign Semi Autos: www.akbarrels.com Barrel, sight and trigger work on most pistols and shotguns. Most work performed while-you-wait, evening and saturday appointments available. |
#10
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35 inch pounds is fine.
__________________
Randall Rausch AR work: www.ar15barrels.com Bolt actions: www.700barrels.com Foreign Semi Autos: www.akbarrels.com Barrel, sight and trigger work on most pistols and shotguns. Most work performed while-you-wait, evening and saturday appointments available. |
#11
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Never heard of it and what is it? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
#12
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First off it may not be damaged bad enough to need repair ,try removing (wd40 as previously advised is a good idea ) the screw and grip and inspect the screw for pieces of threads if clean screw all the way in with fingers if it goes all the way in easy the threads are not stretched and it's fine also see if screw hole is tapped all the way through if not tap it all the way . Dry threads squeak so put a drop of oil on the screw .
Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk |
#13
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Actually, I look at a Helicoil as a half-assed solution for a hack-artist who is trying to save time at the expense of artistry and workmanship.
The OP can throw down some cash and wait for a Helicoil kit to arrive. In the end, he'll still have a lower with a Helicoil. Ugh. Or, he can use common material and tools to create a solution that he can look upon with pride when he's finished. He'll also learn skills that will serve him well in the future. If I pick up an old gun and it had a Helicoil, I'd see a damaged gun where somebody took the most expedient route to cover up the flaw. If I picked up a gun that had a well-executed bushing, I might be impressed by the effort and workmanship required to make the gun as nice as possible. It's not that I never do quick and sloppy work, but when the situation allows, I much prefer to do nicer work. Try not to "settle." |
#15
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Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk Last edited by ozarkpugs@gmail.com; 05-23-2018 at 5:50 PM.. |
#16
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That is what I was thinking. Thread inserts have been used for years to make threaded connections stronger. One of my first jobs was standing at a gang drill press putting heli-coils in aluminum hard drive housings. 8-32's I think. That was a loooong time ago.... Last edited by kendog4570; 05-23-2018 at 7:45 PM.. |
#17
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You would probably look down on the practice then, but it's quite common to use helicoils in brand new aluminum parts, simply to make the threads stronger, I have installed hundreds of Helicoils into brand new anodized aluminum parts because the prints call for it.
__________________
Randall Rausch AR work: www.ar15barrels.com Bolt actions: www.700barrels.com Foreign Semi Autos: www.akbarrels.com Barrel, sight and trigger work on most pistols and shotguns. Most work performed while-you-wait, evening and saturday appointments available. |
#18
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A helicoil is NOT a solid material. It's an insert made from a diamond shaped wire that is wound in such a way that it has inside and outside threads.
__________________
Randall Rausch AR work: www.ar15barrels.com Bolt actions: www.700barrels.com Foreign Semi Autos: www.akbarrels.com Barrel, sight and trigger work on most pistols and shotguns. Most work performed while-you-wait, evening and saturday appointments available. Last edited by ar15barrels; 05-23-2018 at 9:48 PM.. |
#19
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As you have seen from a few previous posts, Helicoils are not only used to fix a foul up but they are sometimes spected from the get go. As with Ken My first job in industry was the drilling and tapping of a CNC router's 4' x 8' table. Then installing helicoils in over 200 holes per table. 5/16" - 18 Now the other thing is if you think a helicoil is half arsed way to fix a stripped thread, Then show me the specs on your engineered bushing you guessed at being good enough to get the job done made from (most likely) scrap that you have no clue what it used to be. Yeah thats a better fix you can be proud of. "I'll completely ignore a pre engineered proven and tested product that has traceability and recognized standards, and just install a "bushing" that i have no engineering calcs on for the press fit and probably used a dull tap that cut an oversize thread" Yeah sure convince me with your vast experience 9 out a 10 the OP need to chase the threads with a tap. if he was really ham handed he'll need a longer screw. Going up a size will not work well as the wall is getting thin. a helicoil or a timesert is the way to fix it if he really buggered it up. |
#20
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Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk Last edited by ozarkpugs@gmail.com; 05-24-2018 at 4:01 AM.. |
#21
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I'd consider the Helicoil an upgrade in this case. Some real fail in a couple of posts here...
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#22
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How exactly would you chuck a reveiver in a lathe?
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#23
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Who here has? |
#25
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That receiver needs to be at a 45 degree angle to the chuck. Would you tap from above ot below? If tapping from below, as I imagine, that receiver will require some fixturing as it would be a several inches from the chuck face.
Maybe there is an easier way. |
#27
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I think the half-fast (say it real fast) guy, when referring to using a lathe, it was about making the threaded bushing. |
#28
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#29
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Like we used to say in the iron pile... "If it was easy, they'd have the women and kids doin' it". |
#30
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Hell im half tempted to set one up this weekend just to show it can be done. But then again it’s only Calguns and I have better things to do.
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#31
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I have visions (nightmares) of a $1000+ fixture for a half hour labor charge fix. |
#32
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Exactly. and like you I have better things to do with my time then prove it can be done.
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#33
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I have used timesheets in the automotive industry. Toyota had a problem with studs pulling out of the aluminum head. Tried helicoils but they pulled out. I found timeserts worked better with less problems & far stronger .
Just my 2 cents .Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk
__________________
Michael J Fernandes owner Gecko Guns Gunsmith "Repairs done Right" 510-914-6396 Ham radio operator KI6SDO NRA Certified Pistol, Rifle and PPOH [/url]www.GeckoGuns.com[/url] Pinole, CA 94564 "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'" Ronald Regan |
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