What are some tips for removing the screws that hold the quarter rib on a No 1?

Heat?

Those are 8-36 screws with a huge bearing surface head, which what makes them so hard to remove.
Once you strip the hex out, the only recourse is to center drill them out in the mill. That works every time. I have about a 80% success rate on them coming out with a wrench.
Heat? Never tried it.

I don't know about those screws in particular, but for any small screw that doesn't move, I use my hillbilly impact wrench. I put the screwdriver bit in the screw, apply medium torque with my left hand while tapping the end of the driver with a nylon mallet. On allen head screws, be sure your driver has sharp edges. Buy a new one if you have to. A worn allen wrench with rounded corners will ruin your day.

I do all this with the barrel locked in a padded vise and the butt of the stock sitting on a padded bench. I thought that would go without saying, but maybe not.

Never fails! Take your 1/4" pin punch and place it over the head of the screw, give it a sharp rap with a hammer. This will stretch the screw and loosen it, Try it, you'll like it

The screw heads are big but the Allen wrench is very small. And I don't like using the whacking method because the web of steel at the bottom of the holes are very thin. And if it stretches the hardened screw, what is it doing to the barrel threads? Those screws are easy to get and replace.

The screw heads are big but the Allen wrench size is very small. And I don't like using the whacking method because the web of steel at the bottom of the holes are very thin. And if it stretches the hardened screw, what is it doing to the soft barrel threads? Those screws are easy to get and replace.

Never had a problem with that and have done a number of them like that, don't know how else to get them out short of drilling them. And by the way, they are 8-36 flat head allen

I actually have 3 of them to install right now. One 45-70, one 375, and one custom 400.

quote:

I don't know about those screws in particular, but for any small screw that doesn't move, I use my hillbilly impact wrench. I put the screwdriver bit in the screw, apply medium torque with my left hand while tapping the end of the driver with a nylon mallet. On allen head screws, be sure your driver has sharp edges. Buy a new one if you have to. A worn allen wrench with rounded corners will ruin your day.

I use Mark's method a lot. If they still don't budge I usually go to the next option. Set the rifle up in your mill or drill press in a padded vise. Clamp the appropriate screwdriver blade or allen wrench in the chuck. Kick the mill out of gear or remove belt on the drill press so that you can freely turn the chuck by hand. Line up and lower the quill, engage the screw and carefully rotate the chuck. You can exert quite a bit of downward pressure with precise verticle alignment this way. I have removed some real stinkers this way. If more leverage is needed you can use the chuck key.

You have to understand how big the heads are and how small the Allen wrenches are on the Ruger screws. Normal methods don't work. It is not the downward pressure nor leverage that is the problem. The allen slot is way too small for the large size head and tight ones will eat new wrenches.
I will try JK's thing next time.

They can be a pain. Will try the Kobe method next time I run into a stubborn screw. I believe the Ruger rib screws are 8-36. The only 10-36 screws I know of are the front screw for Winchester tang sights.

Yes they are 8-36. I have 20 of them in stock. Various lengths.

After your get the screws out you will have the two 3/16" dowel pins that are a press fit in the barrel to remove. They are also tight. So far, the best way I've found to remove them is with a pair a vise-grips. This is crude & destroys the pin, but like the screws, they're inexpensive. Drilling them out in the mill also works but still destroys the pin. The pins have to come out to pull the barrel.

quote:

Originally posted by RogersGunWorks:
The pins have to come out to pull the barrel.

Why ?

The rear dowel pin has to be removed because it will not clear the forend hangar when the barrel is rotated. For the same reason, barrels with custom 1/4-ribs have the ribs screwed on instead of permanently soldered in place.

Good to know, thanks.

Here is another tip. I drill and tap the dowel pins to 6-48 and use a light duty puller, hammer type, to remove the pins. When reassembling them, just invert them with the d&t hole toward the barrel, can't see the holes then.

I also use the whack'm hard method to remove the screws. Works fine. The screw threads are bearing only on one side and the whack is just to loosen up the grip of the head in the countersink.
That's a neat idea for the dowel removal. Regards, Bill