Gunsmithing
Stripped Screw Extraction
The optic screw that stripped, the grip screw that snapped, the scope-base screw the last owner torqued with Loctite and a cordless drill. Getting them out without wrecking the slide, receiver, or stock is a small job done with the right tools — and it's one of the most common tickets on this bench.
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Out clean, threads intact
A stripped screw is a fixture-and-patience problem, not a strength problem. The part is held square in a vise or on the mill, the screw is drilled on center with a left-hand bit or a carbide burr, and it's backed out with an extractor — heat first, if thread-locker is what's holding it. The threads underneath are chased and, if they're damaged, re-tapped to the next size or fitted with an insert. You get a fresh screw in the hole, torqued correctly, not a plug of JB Weld.
The usual suspects: red-dot plate and clamp screws on Glocks, SIGs, CZs, and Staccatos; scope-ring and base screws on rifles; a rounded-off front sight nut; grip and stock bolts on shotguns; the screws that hold a compensator on. Bring just the slide or the upper if that's what's affected — most of these come in as a bare part.
How a screw extraction runs here
Fixture and heat
The part is held square, and if thread-locker is involved it's heated to break the bond before anything touches the screw.
Drill on center
The screw is center-drilled with a left-hand bit or burr — often it spins out on its own at this point — and extracted if it doesn't.
Chase and refit
The threads are cleaned or re-tapped, a new screw is fitted and torqued to spec, and the optic or part goes back on if you want it remounted.
Answers
Common questions
Will drilling the screw damage my slide?
Not when it's fixtured and drilled on center — the bit is smaller than the screw and never touches the part. The risk in a stripped screw is the person with the wrong bit and a hand drill, which is usually how it got stripped in the first place.
The threads in the hole are ruined. Now what?
Two options, and we'll say which fits: re-tap to the next standard size and use that screw, or fit a threaded insert that brings it back to the original size. Either is a quoted add-on to the extraction. On an optic cut, we can also drill and tap fresh plate holes if the originals are beyond saving.
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