Stuck screws in scope rings....any ideas?

[spannulman]

I’m hoping for some advice from the collective wisdom. I moved a 6x42 onto my new/ old rifle today when I ran into a problem.

So the 6x42 came off the other rifle no problem, and I got the current scope off the new rifle ok. But the mounts don’t align so I needed to slide the scope forward in the rings. Four of the eight wee screws came out fine. But four are hellish tight and I fear I may have rogered one of them. They look a bit worn but I can still get bite with the tool which comes with them but I think I should try with one with a T handle rather than Allen key type torx tool.

It has been suggested I put a soldering iron onto the bottom of the screws and get some heat in and try again, but I’m nervous about wrecking the four heads any more than they might be already. Can anyone suggest a way out of this please? The thought of having to drill the screws out in situ worries me greatly.

it was all going so well and I have never had trouble removing these screws before.


thanks

 

[Yorric]

Try the soldering iron trick heating the screws up from both ends. then try remove them with a tight fitting driver.
Consider removing the stock and gripping the action in a vise with padded jaws, then use an impact driver , again with close fitting bit.
If all fails and you wreck the screw heads, use a Dremel slitting wheel to cut the screws in half through the split between top & bottom rings. (lots of masking and a steady hand needed to do this) When you have cut the screws , the two halves should come out easily unless they are glued/loctited in. In which case drill them out & buy new screws.
Dont use any glue on fitting!

Ian

 

[Jelen]

I suggest you try penetrating oil, here's a link No Nonsense Penetrating Lubricating Oil 750ml
and let it soak overnight before resorting to heat or a dremel.

 

[bullet chucker]

If you fitted the screws in the first place, did you use any locking/glue to keep them tight?
If they were NOT locked in then, FIRST, you could try a sharp TAP or two useing a pin hammer and the torx bit fitted on the head of the screw to shock the threads.
SECOND. if you can remove the other three it will lesson the tension on the stubborn one.

BC.

 

[Donkey Basher]

Take the scope off the rifle with the rings attached & then try to undo the screws, you may find that the reason the screws are tight is that the 'misalignment' you mentioned has put some tension/torsion into the rings which will be relieved once the rings/mounts are off the action.

If you still can't shift the screws try some penetrating oil (not WD40 but proper penetrating oil). If that doesn't work then bench/pillar drill & drill the old screws out!

Unlikely a soldering iron will do much as your rings are just a big heat sink so you may not get any heat to speak of where you need it.

 

[Klenchblaize]

This is your salvation:
K

 

[User00026]

Put the kettle on...ie. boiling water over, the expansion and contraction should set them free, once they’ve been heated, leave for about 30sec to start contracting, then unscrew with a perfect fit screw bit/head and downward pressure to ensure the bit doesn’t slip and marr the heads..

time to put the kettle on as they say in the old gun trade

 

[Klenchblaize]

My apologies to the Op as I incorrectly assumed they were sloted screws rather than as made clear in the following:

“Four of the eight wee screws came out fine. But four are hellish tight and I fear I may have rogered one of them. They look a bit worn but I can still get bite with the tool which comes with them but I think I should try with one with a T handle rather than Allen key type torx tool.”

As someone else mentioned you need to commence with a perfectly fitting bit of the correct type and then exert plenty of nicely centralised downforce. Another trick is to first try tightening the screw.

If all fails and you have the skill sets you’re into drilling out the head and when the ring halves part, getting a grip on the protruding portion of thread with mini mole grips. That is if it remains stubborn rather than simply unwinding in your finger tips which it most likely will do if not cross-threaded.

K

 

[spannulman]

Thanks everyone. I’m going to try some penetrating oil in the morning. But the DreMel might be the last resort if it doesn’t work.

ive looked back at photos on my phone and I can see it on my kitchen table without rings and then fitted so t’was I who graunched them on. I’m quite surprised as scope screws make me nervous like compression washers on spark plugs or sump bolts and I’m usually very careful. Plus I used the torx Allen key which came with the optilocks and wouldn’t have thought I could put that much leverage on it.

anyhow, have stopped stressing now. Will use the oil as advised and see someone with proper, well-fitting tor’s tool and go from there.

thank you for your input chaps, it is appreciated.

 

[spannulman]

On a positive, the silvers pad is now fitted and I think, sans scope ( temporarily), it has a whiff of rigby in Africa about it now despite being. 40 yr old £200 BSA.


I’m glad I walked away when it started to go awry and will revisit it with a better tool and some prep work.

 

[bogtrotter]

Put the kettle on...ie. boiling water over, the expansion and contraction should set them free, once they’ve been heated, leave for about 30sec to start contracting, then unscrew with a perfect fit screw bit/head and downward pressure to ensure the bit doesn’t slip and marr the heads..

time to put the kettle on as they say in the old gun trade

Great what you can free with boiling water, I have used this method to free brake calipers and choke tubes should
work on scope rings.

 

[Yorric]

Scalding water & scope glass are not good bedfellows! A shattered lens could result !
Ian

 

[finnbear270]

Why not just alter an Allen bit by sanding (powered), until it has to be tapped in (Gently), for an interference fit in the screw head.

 

[bogtrotter]

Scalding water & scope glass are not good bedfellows! A shattered lens could result !
Ian

You don't need to put it near the glass keep it localised just apply to the ring where the stuck screw is.

 

[Yorric]

You don't need to put it near the glass keep it localised just apply to the ring where the stuck screw is.

Hmm remember there is often glass in the turret tube part of a scope...... Difficult to keep boiling water away from that.
I'd rather chance screwing up the rings than the scope due to cost of replacement.
Ian

 

[JTO]

Someone suggested Coca-Cola as a penetrating oil alternative.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Try them all in a different sequence. You'll most likely find one will be causing the ring half to deform ever so slightly and cause the rest of them to bind. Seen this happen a fair few times

 

[Koenig]

I’ve JB welded an Allen key into the screw head to get it our before-obviously both were only fit for the bin afterwards but it did work and without damaging the thread. I think I soaked the screw in penetrating oil overnight. As previously stated buy/use the proper stuff not WD40 or gun oil.

 

[Heym SR20]

The scope is the valuable part, then the rings and then the screws.

I would use a penetrating oil, but I would not put heat anywhere near a scope. Putting in the freezer might work. But sooner or later you going to have to get the screws out.

Assuming allen or torx heads - try a reverse threaded stud extractor - admittedly i have never really succeeded with them.

Instead i would take a sharp drill - slightly bigger than the diameter of the screw thread and carefully drill out the head of the screws. Then pop the rings off.

When setting up rings its always worth using a 1” or 30mm steel bar or thick walled tube to ensure rings are lined up, and lap them in so you have full contact with scope body.

And when you reassemble use a light oil on the threads as lubricant- prevents galling of threads and you get correct tension. Or use a low strength loctite for the same purpose.

 

[Strongman]

Have you tried re tightening the screws that have loosened ok, then undoing the bound ones? As previously mentioned, it may be the ring deforming slightly when one or two screws are loosened that is binding the others. Think of it like the reverse of torquing down a cylinder head, go round little by little in sequence.