I recently came into possession of a commercial Mauser sporter which had apparently been glass bedded at some point. The action screws were evidently not coated with release agent and are firmly fixed in the action. I suppose applying heat to them in the form of a soldering iron or similar tool would release them, but I feel as though there must be a simpler way. Suggestions, please.

I brought a 22 hornet that was glassed into the stock.

I found a can of fiberglass mold release agent I put some release agent around the action for several days.

After awhile I was able to pop the action out.

I think for your screws heating them with a soldering iron would be a good start doesn't get much simpler than that.

You can always get replacement screws, drill them out

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Kobe:
You can always get replacement screws, drill them out

As long as you have a proper drilling set up it would be very easy to slip and drive the bit into the stock.

You could also try putting the rifle in the freezer. Be ready to give each a screw a good wack with a proper fitting screw driver and hammer as soon as you take it out.

Yes, put it in a freezer; if that doesn't work, drill them out; If that doesn't work, grab your hatchet.

quote:

I suppose applying heat to them in the form of a soldering iron or similar tool would release them, but I feel as though there must be a simpler way.

You are looking for simpler than that? That is far easier than drilling them out.

You guys must have a lot bigger freezer than I do.

Very simple. Put the gun in the mill vise. Grind a close fitting stub screw driver bit from some ubber tough, Zimbabwe death steel. Lock the driver bit in the collet. Raise the table so that you have about 400 pounds of force on the screw driver. Slowly build up turning pressure by putting the wrench on the collet and turning. They don't make a glue tough enough to survive that much force and because of the downward pressure it CAN'T slip. Every 1/4 or 1/2 turn drop the tabled down 1/4 or 1/2 the pitch. Most of the time the screw is undamaged and can be reused. Once in a blue moon the head will twist off and you will have to chase the shank down with a 3mm carbide drill. But not very damned often.


That ugly piece of 1/2 inch drill rod stuck to the machine with a magnet to the right of the scale, that looks like a cross between a burned up cold chisel and something you might find in Darth Vaders night stand? That's the kind of screw driver I'm talkin bout !

screw driver by Rod Henrickson, on Flickr

put gun in a vice or drill press. This can be done by hand or in the drill press, I prefer the drill press with a screw driver blade inserted.

heat the screw driver red hot, put it in the screw slot, let it cool just enough for the screw driver steel to get hard again, and watch for melted glass bubbling up around the screw and hold hard pressure on the screw driver once it cools just a tad, and the screw will come right out.

Keep in mind the red hot screw driver will bend when red hot, so you hold it until it cools just enough to be hard again, and the hot screw transfer will melt the glass to liquid or soft and break loose the binding, quickly remove the screw...its a walk in the park..

But, your recoil lug and barrel etc may also be glassed in tight in which case put the rifle in the deep freeze over night then knock it out the next morning with a rubber handle and you may need a 3/4 inch pieced of walnut to tap out the forend on each side...??? If this is confusing and you can't make it work then take it to a gunsmith.

Keep in mind that some folks glass a barreled action to the stock on purpose, mostly bench rest shooters..

Ive never seen this done by the owner of a rifle, only rifles that have been purchased in this medium of disarray!! just kidding!

Go to Harbor Freight Tools and get a $10 impact driver. Use a proper hollow ground bit that fits the screw slot. Secure gun in a padded bench vise. Set driver to loosen and rap with a hammer. It should break free.

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:
I recently came into possession of a commercial Mauser sporter which had apparently been glass bedded at some point. The action screws were evidently not coated with release agent and are firmly fixed in the action. I suppose applying heat to them in the form of a soldering iron or similar tool would release them, but I feel as though there must be a simpler way. Suggestions, please.

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:
but I feel as though there must be a simpler way. Suggestions, please.

Secure the rifle. Rap on the screw a bit with a screwdriver and a hammer. Get a GOOD 1/4" drive screwdriver bit that fits, perfectly! And use it in a 3/8 drive ratchet. CAREFULLY! Back and forth and repeat. Im afraid that is about as simple as I can get. The hatchet idea does seem pretty simple though.

I have pulled many an action that guys have glued in with no release agent at all. Set up the bedding jack with a couple hundred pounds of pressure and put them on the dash of my truck on a hot day with the windows closed. Or simply shine one of the halogen shop lamps on the receiver. Every hour or so I give the screws on the jack another turn or two to rebuild the pressure. By the end of the day the two are separated with bands of snail shit between them ready for cleanup.

VERY slow, VERY steady, always wins. Controlled violence at it's finest.

There is a reason I choose not to work on my guns other than scope mounting, and I have screwed that up a time or too.

quote:

Originally posted by speerchucker30x378:
I have pulled many an action that guys have glued in with no release agent at all. Set up the bedding jack with a couple hundred pounds of pressure and put them on the dash of my truck on a hot day with the windows closed. Or simply shine one of the halogen shop lamps on the receiver. Every hour or so I give the screws on the jack another turn or two to rebuild the pressure. By the end of the day the two are separated with bands of snail shit between them ready for cleanup.

VERY slow, VERY steady, always wins. Controlled violence at it's finest.

Hello,

So google didn't help and whilst I have some mental images pray please tell what a bedding jack is. Or post a link if possible. Thanks!

His bedding jack is a grand idea and simple enough for a cave man to use. It is in one of speerchucker's videos. it will pop a bedded action out of a stock pdg.

He has good advise on these matters.

Joe

Here is a photo of the one I use AL. There is also a video at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV60DDda7LU

I made a batch of them once for my evil associates here in Canada and gave the last of them to Western Gun Parts to peddle off. They may still have a few.

wgp@westerngunparts.com

bedding puller by Rod Henrickson, on Flickr

They are dead simple to make if you have a mill. It's just aluminum, but you could make it out of steel too. Then whittle out the spacers for different action widths. You do have to use a certain amount of common sense when using them, but they are for the most part, idiot proof. It pushes down over their entire six or eight inches on the stock so there is very little pressure at any giving point on the wood. I very seldom if ever pull out any wood. And if I do it's my own fault and it would have broken out using other means. But it does eliminate all of the violence and almost all of the damage commonly caused during pulls. It's just very slow, massive, applied pressure. I can't see myself making any more of them as there is just no money in it. But for USA guys, I'm sure Duane or Tom or any of the other gunsmiths or machinists that frequent this forum would whittle one out for normal jobbing shop costs. I've gotten spoiled and I would never do bedding without one, myself. They are one of those tools that actually really do work well. By the way, I didn't invent the damned things. I saw Rudy VanOwen using one 30 years ago and I have seen other gunsmiths and hobbyists use them before I ever went to gunsmithing school.

A suggestion from a friend solved the problem. I simply borrowed my wife's pressing iron, set it at the maximum temperature, and held it on top of the action for about 15 minutes. I then inverted the rifle and using a close fitting screwdriver bit with a Stanley brace, carefully applied pressure. Both bolts came out.

This was after trying several of the above solutions, with no luck.

Removing the barreled action from the stock revealed a sea of AccraGlass. What the previous owned was trying to accomplish with a rifle equipped with open sights only and no provision for mounting a scope escapes me.

I have to say, xausa, you blew it.

You missed a chance to buy both a milling machine and a drill press.