frozened scope ring screw

[tvfinak]

I picked up a used Leupold scope that had a set of Sako rings on it. One of the screws on one ring had a badly messed up slot and couldn't be removed by ordinary means. The person that sold me the scope said I would have to drill it out.

What worked great and only took a few minuted was cutting through the screw in the slot between the uppper and lower rings with an Exacto razor saw. I was carefull not to touch the scope and got the screw out without damaging the scope or the rings in a only a couple of minutes. Much faster and easier than drilling could ever be.

A very usefull trick to know if you ever run into the same situation and there is a thin gap between the two upper and lower ring halves as is common.

[BrownBear]

I picked up a used Leupold scope that had a set of Sako rings on it. One of the screws on one ring had a badly messed up slot and couldn't be removed by ordinary means. The person that sold me the scope said I would have to drill it out.

What worked great and only took a few minuted was cutting through the screw in the slot between the uppper and lower rings with an Exacto razor saw. I was carefull not to touch the scope and got the screw out without damaging the scope or the rings in a only a couple of minutes. Much faster and easier than drilling could ever be.

A very usefull trick to know if you ever run into the same situation and there is a thin gap between the two upper and lower ring halves as is common.

How did you get the stub of screw out of the lower ring half, since you cut it off more or less flush?

By drilling just enough to get past the screw head without touching the ring, you leave behind a fairly long screw shank that's dead easy to grab for backing out.

[tvfinak]

I cut the screw flush with the top ring so there was small stub protruding out of the bottom ring. It was easy to turn out with a small set of pliers. Once the tension was off the threaed portion unscrewed very easily.

If the screw had been rusted in place drilling the head off would have been a better choice since as you state there would have been a longer strub to work with.

How did you get the stub of screw out of the lower ring half, since you cut it off more or less flush?

By drilling just enough to get past the screw head without touching the ring, you leave behind a fairly long screw shank that's dead easy to grab for backing out.

[Alangaq]

nice little trick to know about, thanks.

Often I find scope ring or mount screws that have been installed with permanent lock-tite, and these are prone to stripping out if you dont first heat the screw with a soldering iron to break the bond on the lock-tite.

[markopolo50]

Heat also

Nice job TV, I am sure your first concern was the scope. Like Alan I have used heat but used a screw driver and heated the shank with a propane torch. This way I could apply turning pressure and heat at the same time. Obviously you could not as the head was messed up so you did the next best option. Keep those KINK's coming, Mark