Broken screws grrrr

[257WTBY]

So I bought a tikka ctr off someone and I was going to put a 20 moa rail on. I read about removing factory rails on tikkas. I used an iron on top of the rail to heat up the factory stuff they put on to secure the rail. I started at the rear of picatinny rail both rear screws were tight but came out easier then I expected. The front two turned super easy and didn't back out. So I grabbed the hot rail and lifted up it came off but the front two rail screws are broke off flush with top of receiver. Grrrr. I looked at the rail and it seems the heads of the screws were broke already and someone tried adhesive of some type the heads back on I mean it was gooped in the rail. Anyhow how do u recommend getting the broken screws out. Should I just bite the bullet and take it to a gunsmith? That's another problem who knows a good gunsmith in Spokane Wa area that doesn't take 3 months to get two screws out? Thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations.
Billy

 

[philipbrousseau]

sometimes a machine shop will help you out right now and let you watch.

 

[shortgrass]

Machine shops are busy places. Most are places where people are not sitting around, drinking coffee, waiting for a "job" to come in. If the owner is not a gun guy, forget it. Even then he may be too busy. He is in the business to make a living, to pay his employees, and keep his company alive. Machine shop hourly rates are easily double what gunsmith hourly rates are, many times. Customer safety is another concern. Let the customer watch? Ok, the drill bit breaks and hits the customer who is watching, in the eye. How many times have you seen the sign that says, "No Customers Beyond This Point", ? The safest method is for a gunsmith to mount the barreled action on his sight mounting jig and drill the screws out and chase the hole with a sharp tap. Machine shops don't have site mounting jigs. A gunsmith is in business to work on firearms. Find a competent gunsmith!

 

[Edd]

The issue I usually have with shops that aren't Gunsmiths is they won't work on gun parts. I have 3 Wyatt magazine boxes and I would like to get the seam welded up on them. One of the worlds best TIG welders has a small shop in Tulsa and he won't weld them for me because they are gun parts. I should have told him I was restoring some old Hoover Vacuum Cleaners.

 

[shortgrass]

Good post Edd. Somewhere the distinction has been lost, especially on the web. A 'machinist' is not a 'gunsmith', and most 'gunsmiths' are not 'machinists'. A 'gunsmith' might do specialized machine work, but chances are he would not fit into a machine shop environment. Most machine shops won't do gun work. The liability is just too great. I asked a local machine shop, that specializes in engine work, to magna-flux a receiver. They would not. I work in a machine shop, a "job shop", where we take in many different types of work, but NO firearms work! The shop has no FFL and we do no work that would fall under ITAR. Most job shops are just like the one I work in, no licensing. And a production shop has no time for the little jobs.

 

[philipbrousseau]

my mileage must have varied. so just disregard.

 

[HARPERC]

.....That's another problem who knows a good gunsmith in Spokane Wa area that doesn't take 3 months to get two screws out? Thank you in advance for any advice or recommendations......

I'd like to hear the answers to this myself.

 

[howco]

Not in Spokane, but I would contact Kampfeld customs in northern Idaho. He does great work, would probably understand the situation and has the skill to open up to 8-40 worst case scenario. It's usually cheaper for me to ship an action than drive around town to find a local shop or waste half a day on the phone. There are occasionally a few here and there shops that might try to help, but as others have stated, it is a money lose as far as a shop goes.

 

[shortgrass]

Why is a good gunsmith who can and does 'general' gunsmithing hard to find? That's easy. money. Most 'good' gunsmiths have had to specialize and are backed-up with work to one extent or another. For the time and tools expended, 'general' gunsmithing pays little, even though the customer thinks "he got soaked". Shouldn't that gunsmith be able to provide for himself and family? Should he have to do without health insurance or be stuck on Obamacare? Should he have to not prepare for some sort of retirement? That is the biggest reason a good, general gunsmith has slipped into obsolescence. Sometimes, a gunsmith who has specialized and survives will help you out,,,,,,, provided you're a 'regular customer' that brings actual 'work' and not just non-paying problems. The few good 'smiths who are still willing to provide 'general' services on short notice are few and far between.

 

[257WTBY]

I agree and understand a living has to be made and justly deserved for quality work and honestly I dont have a problem paying for that quality work.

I have been a millwright for coming up on 25 yrs and I run a lathe and a mill daily but I know when to tap out as well. I actually considered making a receiver block squaring it up in the mill and trying to center drill then use left hand drill bit to get it out which would take a while or go to work do a couple hours of OT and let a pro take it from here. I will contact kampfeld and see if they can get the screws out.

I just wish as well as others I am sure that there were the gun smiths like when I was a kid that seemed to be able to fix any gun problem and had the parts on hand...

I dont mind paying for quality but I also want the quality I am paying for...

 

[HARPERC]

....I dont mind paying for quality but I also want the quality I am paying for.....

I'm a menace with tools. I admire those with skills, and have no issues with paying for it.
When the work isn't done right, and/or I could have watched a video on you tube, and fouled up that bad myself, that's another story.

 

[257WTBY]

Now we just need a gunsmith in the Spokane area that see it the same way...

 

[just country]

morning, EDD take ur mag boxes to a muffler shop. they do mig welding.
the boxes only need to b welded on both ends,
welding the total seam might distort the box. just a suggestion.
GBOT TUM

 

[Edd]

morning, EDD take ur mag boxes to a muffler shop. they do mig welding.
the boxes only need to b welded on both ends,
welding the total seam might distort the box. just a suggestion.
GBOT TUM

I can weld myself, and better than the average muffler installer. I don't want them MIG welded or silver soldered and I want the whole seam welded. A good TIG welder won't distort them.