I think I applied a wee bit too much torque on a scope base screw and broke it. (Note to self - time to buy a mini torque wrench) I don't have a vertical drill press to drill it out with. What are my chances doing it "freehand" with an electric drill?

What could possibily go wrong? It's an SS screw in a SS receiver. Tips appreicated.

You have a very expensive receiver and I would not try myself. Put your pride aside and get a good gunsmith. The drill bit will wobble around in that hole and tear up or destroy the hole and threads. powdr

My vote is no hand drill.

NO HAND DRILL!

You have probably already done this - it's a long shot but by chance, have you removed the base to see how much of the screw is left sticking up? I have had cheap heads come off the screws and removed the base to find enough of the screw to remove with vise grips.

That might be worth a try. Personally I think he's xcrewed.
SS screw snapped??? You've gotta think the screw was glued (locktite) in or somehow welded/rusted tight from firing. I'd try lubricating and or heating the screw first before trying to rotate it back and forth...just to get it loose. Once you get it to "move" just a little, you might be able to gradually work it out?!

Drilling thru SS you would need special diamond tipped bits (something harder than SS) to either drill the hole out completley or enough to be able to get a screw extractor to bite and hold. (heat and lubrication) (locked in a vise and variable speed drill press, one that doesn't wobble preferably)
I'd bet he.d be lucky to find one gunsmith in his state that wouldn't botch the job.
If that screw won't budge, might be better of grinding, sanding, polishing flat and look to drill and tap in another location.

I've got a similar problem, two screws on my scope base (hex head) will absolutely not move. Fact is I'm starting to strip one hex and I.ve stopped before I completley eff it up. The other hex screw I snapped an Allen wrench !!! trying to turn it out!!! Whoever mounted this base, sure didn't want it to move? WTF

DOn't know where this guy gets his info, "a diamond tipped dill bit"??

a normal high speed steel drill will work just fine but make sure you have it done by a pro. You need to have it done in mill to locate the center of the screw. I do it all the time. Used to have trouble with the old allen head screws but now with the torx they are much easier to remove.

I was a machinist for years. News to me that you need special tooling to drill a hole in stainless steel

I'd get a left hand drill bit and run it slow with plenty of pressure.. Once it gets a bite in that stainless screw it'll probably back out......as long as you didn't use loctite. If you did it'll take some heat to do it.

Listen to Jkob and the pros. You have a situtation that should NOT see any "bubba smithing" or you're going to regret it.

Find a smith with the equipment to drill that screw and remove it with an Ez out tool. Drilling it is the trick, to not cut into the receiver threads.

You got too much at stake here, to screw it up.

IMHO,

DF

No hand drill is absolutely the correct advice. I recently did this and ended up having the holes professionally redrilled on a mill to 8-40 to cover up my VERY stupid mistake. Don't try it!!

I have found that SS screws are much easier to strip or break their heads off than steel screws.

The problem with drilling it out, with any type of drill, is, if the head is broken off at even the slightest angle, the drill is not going to start straight.

It was a new scope base installation and no loctite was used. Pretty much sheared flush with the top of the receiver, so there is no projection to get a purchase on with pliers.

I'm thinking I may try to superglue a toothpick or slightly larger dowel onto the screw and then back the screw out. Worth a try at least . . .

Drilling what's left of the screw with a center drill will provide a "divot" that is on center and the drill bit will have less of a tendency to wander off. When I was working as a Tool & Die Maker I kept a selection of tap drill sized left handed drills. Many times drilling with a LH drill bit walked what was left of the screw out. When drilled on center with a tap drill, many times what is left (looks kinda like a spring) can be removed with a dental pic. Easy-outs were a last resort due to the possibility of damaging the thread, especially on #6 or #8 screws like scope mount screws.

I wouldn't bet the farm on that plan working, especially if the screw was in there tight.

What if some Superglue gets into/onto the threads?

DF

Sometimes when the head breaks off it releases the tension on the threads. One time I got lucky and removed a broken screw by pushing the eraser on the end of a pencil against the flush broken screw to get a little traction and it twisted right out. It probably wont work but you can hurt anything so its worth a try.

I'd use a hand drill, but that's just me . No problemo..Probably wise for the OP to seek professional help though.

m
Experience, correcting other peoples phuc-ups.

Bad idea. Any type of glue is much weaker in shear than the screw. Plus the thinner super glue will suck into the tiny space between the threads on screw and in the hole.

About all you can do with hand tools is use a sharp prick punch and a hammer to attempt to bump the screw out. Disaster ensues if the punch slips and skids across the receiver. Of course the receiver has to be supported in a padded vise.

This is a good one for a gunsmith or machinist.

I have removed several with a prick punch.

As mentioned above, when the screw head breaks off, tension is removed from the threads

You may be able to put a drill bit on the screw and turn it on thru so it comes out in the receiver.

Which screw is it? If it is a blind hole......forget everything shy of a lh bit or end mill. If it is a through hole.....you have hope. Use nothing but a sharp prick punch to get a center mark......them you can try to spin it out. The center mark will get buggered, but you can find it again if you mark it.....good luck. Sounds like $25 to the local smith.

Get 'er done all by myself. Here's how it went down.

I hemmed and hawed and mulled things over for a couple of days reading the posts here. Some said NFW doing yourself and some said no prob.

Did the cost-benefit analysis. $80-90 r/t insured to ship to a smith in the Lesser 48 + smith charges, so about $110. If I fupped duck, I'd have send it down for a d&t oversized screw hole. One gent here did offer his services for free (tip of the hat to Jim Kobe.)

I started with a 5/64" drill hole freehanded and fairly well centered. Then a 3/32" hole down same hole. Tried super gluing the 3/32" into the hole and torquing on that assembly. No go as the glue bond broke. Thought about drilling the next hole size up, but recalled someone mentioning the LH drill bit. Light bulb went off - extractor!

Went to local hardware store and bought a spiral extractor for $2.50. Worked like a champ - mission accomplished. I will say that I was siding with folks that said once the screw snapped, there should remaind screw head would have no tension on it and be and easy out. Not the case. It should a fair amount of torque the entire way of backing it out - and it was a blind hole.

Sometimes you just get lucky.

This tends to work for me. I center punch the screw and use a set of reverse drill bits. Normally while drilling the screw will back out. Glad it worked out for you though.

Working with a hand drill I'd say so. But all's well that ends well.

best way I found doing this is mount the action in my forester jig line up the bushing and drill away no worries about anything, drill wont walk and perfect hole everytime when done drilling run a tap down the hole to remove the threads from the screw you drilled out