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Luigi and his soft-as-cheese screws strike again


Orient Express

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I'm in in the process of refinishing my stocks as I need another project. I've done my stoeger and now moved into my Uberti 1873 rifle. The butt stock was easy to get off however the fore end proved challenging. It seems Luigi at the Uberti factory was feeling very frustrated when he assembled my foreend as the end cap screw was impossible to get lose and my gunsmithing bits just ate into the soft metal. I tried a soldering iron with oil, hitting with a rubber mallet and then resorting to left-handed drill bits and a drill run very slowly. Thankfully it was aligned enough not to cut into the end cap itself.

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Put a gunsmith screwdriver but in one of there’s and you are good to go!  they used to sell a small and a large driver in a kit. But the single large one will work just fine.  

but caution. Garret Wade has some really nice tools. Almost as bad as going to a gun store!

 

https://garrettwade.com/product/large-impact-driver

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 I have run into that asshat Luigi on my own guns.  Bugger uses an impact to put them in and I think epoxy's them as well for good measure.  Not to mention Uberti using screws apparently made of Play-Doh.

I have one in a brand new '73 that I am going to have to drill out the hammer spring screw on as well as the trigger spring screws on a couple revolvers.

 

I have tried all the tricks mentioned above, and nothing works.  Impact gun just strips out the head much quicker than a hand held screwdriver.

 

Extremely frustrating and putting a quality screw into their firearms can't really be that much more of an expense I would imagine.  One should not have to struggle to get a damn screw out.

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Quote

Impact gun

 

Don't use an impact GUN, use a HAND impact driver and a perfectly fitting bit!   So much more force is applied to hold the driver tip into the slot, and the linear hammer force also "bends straight" the threads that were distorted by installation torque at the factory.

 

Here's a sample:

https://www.amazon.com/CRAFTSMAN-Impact-Driver-8-Inch-CMMT14104/dp/B07R96M9VW

 

Every Uberti gun that I get ahold of, I take all the factory screws out with the impact driver.  Install with hardened replacements from VTI, or new Uberti factory screws if I can't find the hardened ones.  Haven't drilled one out yet!

 

good luck, GJ

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Harbor Freight sells a 1/4 inch impact driver.       GW

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It’s not Luigi it’s KING KONG!!:o I’ve boogered up many screws con Ubertis, never on Colts!

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2 hours ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

 

Don't use an impact GUN, use a HAND impact driver and a perfectly fitting bit!   So much more force is applied to hold the driver tip into the slot, and the linear hammer force also "bends straight" the threads that were distorted by installation torque at the factory.

 

Here's a sample:

https://www.amazon.com/CRAFTSMAN-Impact-Driver-8-Inch-CMMT14104/dp/B07R96M9VW

 

Every Uberti gun that I get ahold of, I take all the factory screws out with the impact driver.  Install with hardened replacements from VTI, or new Uberti factory screws if I can't find the hardened ones.  Haven't drilled one out yet!

 

good luck, GJ

Hey Joe, did all of them VTI screws fit?

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1 hour ago, Hendo said:

Hey Joe, did all of them VTI screws fit?

 

All the ones I've gotten from VTI have.  You have problems?

 

good luck, GJ

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I'm afraid all this whining a complaining about "soft" Uberti screws is just so much poppycock.  Many of the screw in Uberti firearms are over-torqued on assembly.  However, with the proper tools, and in some cases technique, removed without trouble.  There are also some easy modification to be done to the Lever Side Springs to prevent future problems.

 

Garrison Joe is correct.  An impact gun is the WRONG tool.  One needs an impact driver and proper support for the parts being removed.  Once removed and reinstalled (with proper tightness) the OEM screws can last the life of the rifle.

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26 minutes ago, Garrison Joe, SASS #60708 said:

 

All the ones I've gotten from VTI have.  You have problems?

 

good luck, GJ

Yeah, the hammer screws for my cattlemen are the wrong head size and thread size/pitch. The complete 73 rifle set I got didn't have the tension screw.

To be completely fair, I haven't contacted VTI, yet. I wanted to try and get it all lined up first, but I haven't had the time.

Maybe after Four Corners. 

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I had the same problem on the same screw as the OP.  I had to remove some material from the end of the nosecap (where it meets the wood; see picture) so that the hole and the threads lined up correctly.  That was the root cause of the problem.

image.jpeg.76d9f7da4bd8744d152eb7f13305a332.jpeg

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So when the wood and metal don't match you remove metal? Seems backwards to me, seems the wood wasn't fitted properly at the factory.

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I have not checked with VMI lately , but about a year ago I called them to order a set of the hardened screws , and was told they didn't have any. The person I talked to didn't offer much hope that they would have any again.

This thread reminded me to check again. 

Rex :D

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You can harden the screw heads yourself if you want . Unless they have changed the steel they use since I did it , it was oil hardening. Heat the head red , dunk it in oil . After this hit it with a file , if it skates it’s hard . Then Chuck up the screw in a drill press, a hand drill will also work . Polish the head . Then draw it back to a spring blue with a propane torch, oven or lead melting pot . Then you can leave the screw with the Niter blue look or polish them again, and re blue by the method of your choosing 

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3 hours ago, Springfield Slim SASS #24733 said:

So when the wood and metal don't match you remove metal? Seems backwards to me, seems the wood wasn't fitted properly at the factory.

It was way easier for me to remove the metal from the forend cap with a belt sander and touch up with cold blue than to do all the work to reshape the wood then touch up the stain and varnish.  Truth be told, I think the real problem is the hole in the forend cap was drilled in the wrong spot, but of course I couldn't do anything about that.  My screw was actually cross threaded into the forend tennon block underneath it, and I had to replace the block as well as the screws.  All good, now, though.

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I was lucky enough to use a 100 W weller soldering iron (stained glass) on a screw and it worked.

 

held it on for about three minutes

 

NOTE: if it comes out quickly don't pick it up with your fingers --  let it cool first

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32 minutes ago, Cheyenne Ranger, 48747L said:

I was lucky enough to use a 100 W weller soldering iron (stained glass) on a screw and it worked.

 

held it on for about three minutes

 

NOTE: if it comes out quickly don't pick it up with your fingers --  let it cool first

I only have a butane gas soldering iron

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Look closely at the OP's photo.  The screw hole in the Fore End Cap and the Tenon Block are not aligned.  This causes the threads to bind.  If not corrected, the screws will simply bind again or worse, cross thread and ruin the Tenon Block as happened to Woody.

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3 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Look closely at the OP's photo.  The screw hole in the Fore End Cap and the Tenon Block are not aligned.  This causes the threads to bind.  If not corrected, the screws will simply bind again or worse, cross thread and ruin the Tenon Block as happened to Woody.

This was the problem with mine. I cleaned the threads up with a die and chased the threads in the tenon. (Had to, replacements were on backorder.) I put Loctite on the buggered screw and started it first, then made sure the "clean" side lined up and put it in, then tightened them both up. My backordered parts came in a couple of weeks later, so they're hanging on the wall for when I pull that cap off again.

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