Could do with some good advice.

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kenbro

kenbro

Well-Known Member
A couple of days ago a put a set of new Burris Signature Zee rings onto a Pic. rail.
I tightened the Torx head screws using the small key supplied, didn’t think the were too tight. ( Been doing it a long time)
Today I wanted to swap them out for a low set…front one came loose no problem, back one won’t budge.
Using the supplied key by hand only the end snapped off the key but I got the bit out easily.
Next tried what I thought a decent quality Torx bit out of a set, twisted the end off.
Next I warmed it and then tried again….the tool just started twisting but no screw movement.
Final attempt when it had gone cold produced no result.
Anyone got any suggestions? Re. getting the screw undone I mean 😢.
Ken..
 
Last edited:
How much warmth did you give it? I would hold the tip of a hot soldering iron on just the screw head itself until really hot, then undo when it's about half cool. Sometimes a small tweak in the tightening direction before turning to undo can help as well.
 
VSS said:
How much warmth did you give it? I would hold the tip of a hot soldering iron on just the screw head itself until really hot, then undo when it's about half cool. Sometimes a small tweak in the tightening direction before turning to undo can help as well.
Click to expand...
Tim,
What would warming the screw head achieve?
I warmed the ring itself on the side where the threads are, hoping to expand the metal round the screw.
It’s actually a Torx head bolt I think, because it is not threaded all along like a set screw.
Thank,Ken.
 
Just been and tried Woodsmoke’s idea, no joy and I can now feel a bit of free play between the bit and screw head, I think the head will soon be knackered.
I’ve ordered a set of extractors like Stalker1962 posted. Doubt they’ll do this job though.
Thanks to everyone for replies, Ken.
 
kenbro said:
Just been and tried Woodsmoke’s idea, no joy and I can now feel a bit of free play between the bit and screw head, I think the head will soon be knackered.
I’ve ordered a set of extractors like Stalker1962 posted. Doubt they’ll do this job though.
Thanks to everyone for replies, Ken.
Click to expand...
Did you try to retighten the stuck screw first? Chances are you've locked it in even tighter while trying to remove it with the front screw out
 
Coddy said:
Rather than heating the screw, heat the mount.
You are looking to expand the ‘female’ part rather than the ‘male’ part.

*** Unless of course the bolt is transgender and the mount is non binary.
Don't want the Woke brigade getting upset.
Click to expand...
The best comment of the day :)
 
kenbro said:
Tim,
What would warming the screw head achieve?
I warmed the ring itself on the side where the threads are, hoping to expand the metal round the screw.
It’s actually a Torx head bolt I think, because it is not threaded all along like a set screw.
Thank,Ken.
Click to expand...
By warming the screw you cause it to expand within the hole, pressing really hard onto all the mating surfaces of the threads, so as it cools and shrinks again hopefully the grip is broken. Put simply, you've effectively wiggled the screw in the hole to loosen it.
What you did may have achieved the same, but unlikely because firstly you were trying to heat a larger mass, and secondly because the metal you were heating wasn't in a restricted place, so was free to expand in an ineffective way. If you heat just the screw, as I suggested, then ALL of the heat you apply, and all of the resulting expansion and contraction is working in your favour.
 
Had the same issue, Ken.
Bought a good quality bit, after knackering several others and a torx key too. I used said bit in an 18v impact driver which worked like a charm.
 
Use a ratchet. Socket and torx bit, apply some torque and get someone to tap the back of the ratchet with a hammer.

Or if you have one an impact driver will shift it…

Regards,
Gixer
 
Coddy said:
Rather than heating the screw, heat the mount.
You are looking to expand the ‘female’ part rather than the ‘male’ part.

*** Unless of course the bolt is transgender and the mount is non binary.
Don't want the Woke brigade getting upset.
Click to expand...
It could be gender fluid in which case heat them both up, that may upset the base though as it may “Identify” as a screw
 
Woodsmoke said:
Retighten the front screw, then try slackening the rear one again. Sounds as though you've introduced a warp on the rail :thumb:
Click to expand...
Over the years I’ve fitted and removed very many sets of scope rings, and always just loosened the screw in one ring and then gone to the other ring and undone that, what other way of doing it is there? 1 then 2 in that order, Can’t really see the pic rail warping when the 2 screws are 3 inches apart.
Ken.
 
A word of caution with the use of easy outs, screw extractors, stud extractors etc.
You are talking about a small threaded bolt essentially. The hole you will make will expand with the force of the left hand tapered thread on the extractor either making the matter worse or just chewing up the hole.
If the thread is bound then you may well need to drill it out to relieve the pressure on the bound threads. If it is the head that is bound then you can drill the head off and this will release the tension on the threads, making the remaining threaded portion removable by hand.
If I assume correctly that it is the screw across the pic rail your struggling with then it may have bound as it has pulled on the taper of the rail and twisted slightly. Maybe a light tap on the mount with something non marking might help, failing that I would take the head off.
 
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