Somewhere, recently, I saw a column on repairing slotted screw heads that had damaged from using the wrong screwdriver. I've looked through my last couple of American Rifleman magazines as well as my Brownells and Midway catalogs, but it wasn't there. Maybe it was in a Handloader or Rifle magazine,American Rifleman... I just don't remember. Anyone else seen it?
Thanks,
35W

no, but I'll tell you a few of the tricks I use in the shop. First off you want to try to keep the slot as close to the original width as possible and not make it any wider. Sounds simple. So I start out with a punch with a slightly rounded face on it and a small hammer and oh so gently massage the damaged edges back into place. Now I use just a stroke or two of slot file to just kill any high points. Not too hard, takes a gentle touch though. Good luck.
Steve

If they are simply a little buggared up you can chuck them in a drill press or if you don't have a drill press an electric hand drill clamped in a vise. Then LIGHTLY re-face the screwhead with a fine file and emory paper down to about 400 grit. Try to maintain the original profile as much as possible. No need to go hog wild. Just remove enough metal to make it look good again. You may need to re-cut the slot a little deeper if you have to take off a lot of metal--use small needle files or even a thin Dremel cut off disk for this if you have a steady hand.
Cold blue the heads and you are back in business.

I believe the column you are talking about was by Reid Coffield in Shooting Times, about 5 months ago. I read the article.

Don

skb said it. Before buffing or sanding the damaged screw head, you need to move the displaced material back to where it started. Otherwise you can end up with a gap where the burr use to be. I place the screw in to a hole in a steel bench block and use a small peening hammer to tap it back in place.