Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Removing epoxied scope base screw.

Well, while we're on it....epoxy is wonderful for bedding bases, if you set it up right with straightedges and whatnot --- AND mold release compound.
But yeah, a big gun soldering iron with a good tip should work great. Been there, done that, "helped" things along with a blob of solder for conduction.

Intentional glue-ins are removed using heat. -Al

If no soldering iron available, you can do a redneck version.

Take a decent nail, flatten the tip into a shape that will fit in the screw slot. Hold nail with padded visegrips. Heat nail with propane torch so that it transfers heat to the screw. Let cool a bit and remove with good screwdriver.

If still stubborn, try again, only this time put a few drops of Kroil on the screw head as it cools. Let cool all the way down overnight--it will suck the oil down into the threads. Candle wax will often work that way as well.

Or, if you need to drill it out--I've had good results drilling a 1/16" bit into the center of the screw a little ways. Then switch to a 1/8" bit but run it in reverse to try to get the screw to back out.

I have had success with using a heat gun on epoxy AND red loctite. The heat gun will melt the adhesives without compromising the temper of the receiver. I just removed some red loctited screws on Friday using this method. By the way, use only purple or blue loctite on any small screws. Red is permanent and usually unnecessary on any gun screw.