How to remove screws

[Craigt]

Ahhh, I just saw on the Hudy home screen a photo of the tool with a caption that says "EASY TIP REPLACEMENT".

I guess that answers my question.

[tracker]

"Amainhobbies" is very efficient and user friendly to order items from their Chico Ca. facility by phone.

[tracker]

Now, armed with my $20 driver and $15 soldering iron I can approach my fifty cent loctite screws with a modicum of confidence.

[JR956678]

OK - here's a Situational Awareness test - what's strange about this picture (and why did I post it in this thread)?



OK - you should have noticed that the grip screws are black not "silver / stainless" in color.

Looks cool - especially on the Stealth. But there's more to this than just black screws.

I had noticed that on the Rohrbaugh Firearms Accessory list they showed silver screws AND black screws. I had called Maria to order some recoil springs and asked her what the difference is and she said "Well - the black ones are just black because some owners wanted black". I wasn't sure that was all there was to it so I ordered a set in black; they arrived today. And - the differences are more than just skin deep.

The standard silver screws are non-magnetic stainless steel - as might be expected. Stainless is great for corrosion resistance but it really is a terrible material to make a threaded fastener out of - it's soft and can't be hardened very well (unless it's got a lot of carbon in it in which case it will rust) and it creeps (get's longer when under tension - like taffy or sealing wax) so it gets loose.

The black screws are magnetic - which means they are some sort of steel alloy, which is usually what hex head cap screws are made of. I would guess they are substantially harder AND tougher than the silver screws AND that it would be a lot less likely that a hex wrench would round out the socket and require drilling out the screw. The fit of the socket was very tight - way tighter than the silver screws so much less chance of rounding out the socket trying to remove the screw.

The biggest downside I can see to the black screws is that they would probably rust if not periodically oiled - but that should not be too big a problem and they are cheap enough to replace if they rust. It may be a worthwhile trade-off.

I'm also investigating some special high torque hex keys - if the manufacturer's claim is right they can generate 20% more torque without rounding out the screw, and they are laughably cheap. I'll post more when I verify the source (they are imported from Germany). My "quest" is to make grip screws as much of a non-issue as possible.

[tracker]

I am with you on the quest to neutralize the apparent weak link on the R9 and that is the puny screws. The Hudy driver arrived today and it is very high quality. We shall see.

[yankee2500]

When tightening the grip screws you should have the long leg of the allen wrench in the screw and tighten with the short leg.
   Exerting too much torque on this size screw can either snap off the head or strip the threads in the Aluminum frame, neither a good situation. This is why Loctite is recommended by the factory.


John

[tracker]

That is excellent advice, John. My problem has not been the going in part but in the unscrewing because of the factory installed loctite and, in addition, the apparent corrosion related screw head failure. The loose screw issue is easily checked and remedied.

[JR956678]

Exerting too much torque on this size screw can either snap off the head or strip the threads in the Aluminum frame, neither a good situation. This is why Loctite is recommended by the factory.

Yep.

Any idea if the factory has ever set a torque spec on the screws? Or uses a torque driver to tighten them?

JR

[tracker]

Short answer: no.

[JR956678]

Short answer: no.

Thought that might be the case.

I really can't see an owner buying a torque driver just to maintain the firearm either. That would be really hard core ...

[yankee2500]

I have never seen a torque spec on the Rohrbaugh site or here on the forum.
  tracker I knew of your problem, and my response was in regards to JRs post about the high torque drivers.

"I'm also investigating some special high torque hex keys - if the manufacturer's claim is right they can generate 20% more torque without rounding out the screw, and they are laughably cheap. I'll post more when I verify the source (they are imported from Germany). My "quest" is to make grip screws as much of a non-issue as possible."

John

[JR956678]

My problem has not been the going in part but in the unscrewing because of the factory installed loctite and, in addition, the apparent corrosion related screw head failure.

That's been my biggest fear as well. The first time I removed the grips I really really didn't want to - but when I did I actually found that 3 of the 4 screws had shot loose. Today when I changed out for the black screws I hadn't shot since I put them in with fresh Loctite (Blue) but they came loose without any undue force.

It's my understanding that the factory uses Type 242 (Blue) Loctite on the screws and that's really only specified for screws 1/4" and larger - Type 222 (Purple) is for small screws. But since the Blue can shoot loose I can readily imagine that the Purple would be worse. The downside is removing the screws if they don't shoot loose. That's why I find the black screws interesting - alloy steel is much tougher than stainless.

[tracker]

The real answer lies in a better design and not in the band-aid remedies. Thanks for the black screw observation.

[kjtrains]

JR.  The black screws do make the Stealth more Stealthy looking, a term John used in another post.  Looks really good.

[JR956678]

Looks really good.

I think so too. Sometimes you think something is going to be good but when you actually try it you find you don't like it. In this case the black grip screws look even better in person than they do in the picture (to my eye anyway).