Marlin 94 Stuck Screw

[Muddy Trails]

I have a Marlin 94 about 10 years old. Just bought it used. I am trying to clean it up and have come across a slotted screw that holds the band around the forearm.
Someone has buggered the screw slot. I have tried to get it to turn using a quality gunsmith screwdriver, but it continually slips. I have stopped trying in an effort to not make it worse.

Any suggestions?

Muddy Trails

[izzyjoe]

i've been down that road a few times, at first i did'nt know what had happened, now i do. first thing is the forarm is probally lose, meaning it will slide back and fourth. that's probally what caused it to bend the screw, and somebody went to take it out and stripped the head. sometimes they come out easy, somtimes not. i had one that would not come out so i had to cut the band, but that is a last resort. you can take a small punch and try and turn the screw by tapping on it at an angle. if that won't work you can try to drive it out on the thread side with a small punch or nail. i know it's alot of trouble, but good luck with your project. but the older i get i'm thinkin' leave those screw's alone. like the old sayin' goes, if it ain't broke don't brake it.;)

[roysha]

Usually the reason a screw head gets stripped is that there is not enough down pressure to hold the bit in the slot and more than likely that is compounded by a poor fit.

If you have access to a drill press, you can try this: get a slot driver bit that is made for the handheld drill/drivers that fits what remains of the slot (or grind it to fit, the better the fit the more likely it will work). Put it into the drill press chuck. Clamp the rifle in the drill press vise and using plenty of down pressure turn the chuck with your hand. Sometimes it needs to be twisted back and forth to loosen the screw. Over the years I have removed many screws this way, especially from "barn" guns that needed repair.

[94Doug]

Never underestimate the power of a hammer impact driver. You may want to give one a try here. When you whack the driver the isn't much of a chance for the blade to slip out of the slot....unless it's worn that bad.

[Molly]

Usually the reason a screw head gets stripped is that there is not enough down pressure to hold the bit in the slot and more than likely that is compounded by a poor fit.

If you have access to a drill press, you can try this: get a slot driver bit that is made for the handheld drill/drivers that fits what remains of the slot (or grind it to fit, the better the fit the more likely it will work). Put it into the drill press chuck. Clamp the rifle in the drill press vise and using plenty of down pressure turn the chuck with your hand. Sometimes it needs to be twisted back and forth to loosen the screw. Over the years I have removed many screws this way, especially from "barn" guns that needed repair.

This is my method of last resort too! I once used it to remove a rusted in screw whose screwdriver slot had been wallowed out into a shallow valley. It still came out smooth as butter! The only thing I would add is that you could put a drop or two of penetrating oil on the far side of the screw, and give it a day or two to work down into the threads. Then give the top of the screw a few taps with a screwdriver and a small hammer before you clamp the rifle up.

If no wood were involved, you could also try a few cycles of heating with a propane torch and letting it cool back down between torching. The heat helps the penetratig oil, but the expansion and cooling will exert a 'micro-crush' on the hardened rust, which may be even more helpful.

If worst comes to worst, there are some micro -'easy-outs' now being made, where you drill a tiny hole in the axis of the screw and use the easy-out to back it up. I haven't used these tiny ones, but the larger ones are legendary for their effectiveness.

Oh yes, you might want to search the gunsmithing forum. There was a screw removal thread there a while back, with a ton of good ideas.

[Faust]

If the screw is in tension because of the barrel band, you might want to try and lightly compress the barrel band enough to try and turn the screw if possible; try peening the slot back in to shape a bit so that a screw driver can be used. Peening will also help brake the hold of the screw a bit and as already suggested by others, using a center punch to try and rotate the screw is a great idea that has worked for me in the past more than once.
If you wish to try my first suggestion, make a "vise" with a hard wood like oak and two pieces of alltread, nuts and washers and drill a clearance hole in one of the wood blocks for the screw driver to access the head of the offending screw, this should help keep the screw driver from slipping to the side and buggering up your barrel band. Don't forget to peen the slot so you can turn that screw.
Good luck.
Faust.