Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Use a Torx bit to remove a stripped hex head screw

Took a rifle in trade that someone stripped three of the four the hex head screws on the rings. Before drilling the heads off, I put a #15 torx bit into the chuck of my drill press, centered the screw, and turn the chuck by hand as I kept downward pressure on the bit. The torx bit "bit" into the stripped hex head screws and they backed right out. I know that this is just a sample of one, but it worked so slick that I thought that I would share it.

Old news, pretty much common knowledge, glad you discovered and shared it though!

Heard that before but never had to do it. Thanks for the reminder, had kinda forgotten it.

I had a stripped alan head screw remover from brownells - you tapped in the hardened bit into the stripped screw head and then used the collar that fit the hardened bit and a box end wrench to take out the stripped screw. Brownells does not carry that anymore. I will try to torx method- thanks! Mel Chung

I've done it before, but it's not always effective - especially if the fool who mounted the base used fingernail polish on the threads...

I don't even waste time trying it any more.

I have a set of the Brownell stripped hex/Allen head removers, but these were scope rings and I really hate to "tap" anything with a hammer that close to a scope.

I doubt that the torx bit would get enough "bite" on a stripped hex/Allen head screw that had been glued in with Loc-Tite or fingernail polish.

I didn't know that this was common knowledge. Been around here for awhile and don't recall reading about it before, but old age has a way of clouding the memory.

I've always hit the screw with a centerpunch to slightly enlarge and bevel the hole, and then driven in the next largest hex size.

I learned that long before there was such a thing as "Torx"

I usually just drill the heads off because the screws are trashed anyway and saves time in the long run

Common knowledge before I had the internet. We discovered they fit and worked better than Allen wrenches about the first time we picked up the little "L" shaped Leupold torx wrench and used it by mistake! LOL

The bottom line...

Not a gunsmith so my time is not worth squat.

Driving in a torx bit to remove a stripped hex headed bolt takes but a minute or two to determine if it will work or not . It is always worth it to me before setting up any machinery.

I have to agree with carbon. I recently had a "lightly" stripped hex head scope base screw. Not wanting to really mess it up I took it to my local gunsmith who tapped in a torx bit and it came loose. May not work in all cases but to me it is worth a try.

http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10...mp;KPID=00947641000&kpid=00947641000

I've used one of these with the appropriate sized Torx bit to remove lots of loctited/rusted/stuck hex head screws - never found one it wouldn't work on...