Gunsmithing Over tightened and stripped screw

[M.H.]

hi,
I installed bipod on my Benelli Lupo, all went well initially, but when I am done I overtightened the rear screw that holds the barrelled action to the stock, I made it even worse by trying to loosen it and ended up stripping it. My Question; How solid is this screw? I am thinking of drilling it and use screw extractor. or shall I leave it alone, and will this over tightened screw mess up rifle accuracy?

What do you think. Thanks in advance

 

[atvman400]

What do you mean you overtightened the screw? Did you torque it above the specified torque value or you just stripped the head? I'm guessing you just stripped the head when tightening it. Internal hex are terrible. Good tools are the key to having success with them. The harbor freight or $1 tools at Menards will just have you swearing.
Internal hex are usually pretty hard. Typically they are made to ASTM F835 which is harder than a grade 8 or class 10.9 screw. Drilling it out and a screw extractor will still work as long as you didn't truly overtighten the screw and stretch it.

 

[M.H.]

You got that right, I overtightened it over the specs, and when I tried to fix it , I made it worse. I made the mistake of thinking I can feel the appropriate torque, since I do this almost always right when I work on my car.

 

[Bantam1]

Sometimes you can hammer in a Torx bit that is close in size and get it out with no need to drill. It depends on how tight it is.

 

[MrSmith]

Along the same idea as the Torx hammering I have had luck with wrapping a few layers of tin foil around the hex wrench and then hammering/tapping that in. If that still slips I go to a strip cut off of a soda can. Aluminum so it will squeeze into and fill the little gaps. Worth a try before bringing out a drill. There are few things more depressing than a small stuck bolt with a broken off screw extractor stuck in it.

Thank you,
MrSmith

 

[RTH1800]

One issue that causes this is using a metric wrench in a US Allen type bolt or vice versa. Just a little off is too much under higher torque.

 

[M.H.]

Valuable input, thank you,
I’ll try these ideas prior to drilling,
The rifle is a pure beauty, and I wanna be very careful with her

 

[salks]

You can also try an ez out screw extractor. few bucks at hardware store. I have used them with success without having to drill.

 

[loveha]

I never sent this yesterday, and the advice was given already, but I'll say it again with the torx.

Get your self a Torx socket set and pick a bit that is just slightly bigger that seems like it would fit. Pound it in if you feel it won't hurt the rifle. I always try that before I try a left hand drill bit. Then get your self a good set of Wera, Wiha, or Bondhus tools both metric and standard. I just threw away all my cheap sets and those random L keys that come with whatever you buy. Got two sets of Wera and my Borka torque kit. Haven't had an issue since.

 

[rijndael]

IME, in stripped allen fasteners, triple square (XZN) tends to bite better than torx.

 

[whatsupdoc]

Degrease hole, fastener head, and tool bit. fill hole with a good quality epoxy insert tool bit and let cure.
If it works you are golden if it does not no harm done. If you are going to drill use a left handed drill as many times it will grab
and just spin the fastener out.

 

[A&8's]

If the Torx above don't work. JB weld an allen wrench to the screw.

 

[M.H.]

Thank you all, It worked perfectly fine,
I tapped on a slightly larger torx star and untightened it, luckily replacement on the way.

 

[Sprayed99]

You do not need to drill anything. Use an extractor that is slightly larger than the current "hole" and pull the bolt out. No reason to get the power tools out unless you are just wanting to feel more manly