Well I got up the nerve and time to tackle my first bedding project. I chose to use Acra Glass Gel. I followed the directions extremely well and thought I would take it out of the stock tonight as it has been long enough to set up.
Well the first screw came out fine but the front screw on my small ring mauser isn't budging. I dowsed it with "kroil" a penetrating oil and decided to try in the morning.
I work with my hands every day and have a strong grip but I can't budge this screw, I rapped on it several times and it still isn't moving.
Any ideas?
If no one comes up with another course of action I will end up drilling the head off the screw and go at it that way, if it won't break loose in the morning.
Thanks Dave

Acraglass will go soft if you get it warm enough. What you have to do is get some heat into that screw. Get it warm enough and whatever bedding compound is bound up in the threads will release and the screw will come out. So, get a soldering iron or other concentrated heat source [but not a flame!] that you can place directly on the head of the screw. Get the screw hot, and it will back out with no problem.

Another option is an impact driver. The problem here is that getting a good solid blow on an action screw head can be difficult. It's tough to hold a rifle upside down solidly such that you can get a solid blow on the impact driver without damaging the finish on the rifle or the stock.

I would go with heat on the screw head first, then try the impact driver as a last resort.


Jordan

Jordan thanks for the quick response, great idea I don't know why I didn't think of it, I use heat for the same thing on machinery, trucks and tractors I just wasn't thinking.
Thanks again I'll try it in the morning.

Before you proceed get a Chapman gunsmith screwdriver set. These won't jump out of the slots, and it comes with 4" ratchet handle that allows all practical torque levels.

It will take a big soldering tip a good while to heat up the screw, so be patient!

As the others have said heat will work wonders. Hate to admit it but I've stuck an action to the point I had to heat it from front to back. Just hot enough you can't touch it and the glass will normally let go.

On the screws when I have to use them I coat them with floor wax. After a couple hours I loosen them and retighen then remove while the glass is still a little soft. Normally I just use inletting screws to line things up and then use several wraps of surgical tubing to hold the action in place.

run past a pawn shop and pick up a BIG soldering iron... ir just hold one to the screw for a LONG time...

you don't need to worry about turning it when or while hot... the heat will take awhile to migrate down the screw... and will stay there awhile..

do NOT NOT NOT NOT use an impact, or excessive force... as removing a now broken screw and its still stuck will be an interesting expereince...

only when you've first tried all the cheap and lesser invasive things should you use too much force.

and like ramrod says... floorwax... and turn them ever 30 mins.. 1/4 turn out, then in

jeffe

use vasoline one the screws in the future.
Timan

Gentlemen thanks immensely for all of the words of encouragement, suggestions and especially the "next time do this" scenarios.
I was just able to extract the screw!
I stood my soldering iron in the slot of the screw for about 2.5 hours, tried it a couple times early on but nothing was moving so I waited until it was too hot to hold a finger on it and put the force of 10 strong men on it and it came out. Not before I got in a bit of a hurry and didn't seat the driver and slightly buggered the screw which pissed me off as it was all original and looked un-touched before I went gorilla on it.
Well the bedding job turned out so good I think I will eventually tackle another! It was absolutely perfect! No voids or bubbles or problems of any kind except the stuck screw, now I know a few tricks to avoid the sticky screw scenario and how to get it out if I botch the job.
I am truly relieved (got the damn screw out) and excited ( my first bedding job turned out looking "pro").
Thanks again to all of you for your wisdom and vision.
Dave Snellstrom
"Amateur Gunsmith" (plumber!)

Congrats, like the others said, I usually don't used the screws when bedding, just fill the holes with clay or silly putty and spray the whole works with release agent. Use surgical tubing to secure the rifle and action while things set up.

BTW, don't feel too bad about the screw, Midway sells brandy new sets (from Forster and others) for around $5.

Let us know how she shoots!

Make sure that the screw has clearance around it inside the stock- a screw bearing against a glob of epoxy on the side will make your accuracy go to hell. I put plumbers teflon tape around the screws-3 or 4 layers- to make sure there is clearance after the epoxy cures, and the tape is removed.

I use inletting screws made from bolts to bed with leaving enough bolt protruding to put vise grips on. Use a drill press to turn screws after heating -lock the gun in a padded vise and put bit in chuck . Use a high quality bit and turn slowly.Try using Kiwi neutral shoe polish as release agent next time .
Glenn

Next time try this: Get the Acra EZ spray from Brownells...best release agent in the business. I also spray the screws in addition to the action. Another trick: When bedding the barrel and action, I spray the floorplate, and screws. Then I put the floorplate and screws in place in the stock...holding the screws in place with masking tape over the screw heads. Now I have a open barrel and action channel in the stock with two screws looking up at me, taped in place along with the floorplate. I mix the bedding compound and use both wide and narrow popsicle sticks to get the stuff into the stock where ya want it. While the screws are looking up at me I put a small dab of grease on top of the threads...not too much, just enough to give me some extra piece of mind...you don't want to put so much there that it mixes with the bedding compound. Take your time and get a good even coat of bedding compound in the stock and then lower your barreled action into the stock and onto the screw heads. It will naturally back the screws out a bit, but your masking tape is holding them in place. Tighten the screws up and another trick here: clean up the mess that has squished out with q-tips soaked in WD-40. I used to wait for it to dry and then clean it up...bad idea. Get a bunch, a big bunch, of q-tips and wipe the excess up a little bit at the time. The WD-40 does a good job of dissolving the excess to where it cleans up real nice and does not smear all into the checkering, etc...If some does happen to get into the checkering, soak a piece of thin cloth (old handerchief) in WD-40 and use a toothbrush with the old soaked handkerchief and scrub out the excess before it hardens. Makes for a much cleaner job!
You will at sometime epoxy a screw in, as you did here...my trick is to do what the others told you to do. My way to do it though is this: Get an old, throw away screwdriver that fits the slot...put it in the slot and while keeping it there, put a propane torch to the screwdriver. Don't put the flame too close to the stock! Keep the flame away from the stock, but on the shaft of the screwdriver. The heat, by process of conduction, will travel to the screw and it will be able to be backed out. It won't take 2.5 hours either, like with the solder gun.
One final word of advice: Throw away the acraglass gel and get you some MarineTex to bed those rifles...best industrial epoxy in the business. Much easier to work with and better results. Best of luck!
Just my 2 cents