Front sight screw problem.

[Striker]

We have a Remington Mohawk we are refinsihing for a guy. He wants the front sight removed and grub screws put in the holes.
Our problem is..the screws holding the sight on are seized.
I thought maybe someone put red loctite on them so I tried heating one up with a hair dryer. Didn't work.
Tried giving a couple of good solid taps on the screw head with a punch..didn't work.
Tried gentley heating the screw with a propane toch (held the tip of the flame about 1" away) and spraying it with penetrating fliud after. Didn't work
Any suggestions for getting them out without stripping the screw head?

 

[gunrunner100]

You can try heating up a copper rod with the tip of a propane torch. When it gets almost to a cherry colour, hold the tip on the top of the screw head. This will allow the screw to act as a heat sink and break the bond if it is chemical. If it's rust, which I'm thinking it is, you may have to drill the heads off, centre drill the screw and re-tap.

 

[Slash5]

Try an impact driver. If you're going to drill anyways, I've had good luck with them. There are small ones that take normal screwdrivers bits.

 

[sunray]

Use a soldering iron with a pointed tip right on the screw. Does the same thing as gunrunner100's copper rod, but it's more controllable. Assuming it's a Model 600 be very careful. The rib on the Mohawk M600 isn't metal. It's plastic. Remington called one of the Nylon 10C .22's, a Mohawk too

 

[Striker]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I should have updated my thread.
We used an impact driver. Worked very well..I did spray the screws with penetrating fluid and let them soak all night too though.

 

[10x]

Also it some times help to get a punch the same diameter as the screw head and give the screw a coupld of very sharp raps.
Heating with a electric soldering iron with the tip ground back to the diameter of the screw head is sometimes effective as well.
I watched one "Gunsmith take a 12V battery, hook the neg to an action bolt with a booster cable and take a small cabon rod and touch it to the head of the screw for a couple of seconds while the carbon rod was held by booster cabel hooked to the positive terminal of the battery. He also used the same method to spot anneal in order to drill and tap for scope and sight mounts.
It worked.
I have also used an impact with a small bit ground to fit the screw slot exactly. Sometimes the bit will break. But usually the screw will come out.

 

[Striker]

Also it some times help to get a punch the same diameter as the screw head and give the screw a coupld of very sharp raps.

I tried that a couple of times and it didn't help. There wasn't any sign of rust or loctite on the screws..they were just super tight I guess. With a slot head it doesn't take much to strip them either.

 

[10x]

I tried that a couple of times and it didn't help. There wasn't any sign of rust or loctite on the screws..they were just super tight I guess. With a slot head it doesn't take much to strip them either.

DId you have the part holding the screw supported on a solid surface. It does make a difference.

Sometimes there isn't a choice that works and saves the screw.

I have found that heat, then impact will usually break the screw loose.
The last resort is drill and dremel...

 

[Striker]

I had the barrel clamped between to blocks of softwood in a vise. It was solid.
I guess it just needed a bit more persuasion.

 

[10x]

I had the barrel clamped between to blocks of softwood in a vise. It was solid.
I guess it just needed a bit more persuasion.

That would be solid.

 

[Striker]

That would be solid.

Not solid enough though...when we used the impact driver I set the barrel on the bench (just the first 5 or 6 inches under the sight). worked like a charm.