actually, its a screw question. i got the H-S PRECISION PRO stock for a REM 700 LA 7 MAG and seems great but has an issue. the replacement screws that came w/the stock are too large in diameter to fit the action holes, and the existing front screw under the chamber binds the bolt when snugged up. when i loosen it a bit to free the bolt then the bbl. action is loose in the stock. i can bed in the recoil lug area to fill in the voids on the sides of the lug (which i plan on anyway after i solve this problem) w/devcon to raise the action a bit so the screw will "shorten" but then i lose the benefit of the pillar bedding. i could file/grind down the screw a bit but that boogers up the threads and i don't have a nut that size to screw on first so when i remove the nut it recuts the threads. i wrote HS an email and hit send and got a "can't go thru at this time" message. twice. i will call em on monday but just wondered if anyone had any suggestions. THANKS

To be honest, if you work slowly and carefully with a very fine cut file, I dont think it is necessary to bugger up the threads at all.

Get a second bolt/screw with a similar size shaft and thread and keep it near at hand to use as a visual guide to the shape you want the end of the shortened screw to look like when finished.

You can easily make a depth stop for the amount of shortening you want to do, from a 2x4. Drill a hole slightly smaller than your action bolt in it, and thread the bolt into and through it until it protrudes the amount you want to file off. Then file.

Once you are done shortening it, take a good look at the end of your visual guide screw. You'll notice it probably has a hair of taper on the last thread or so and isn't dead flat for the bolt's full thread width. You can pretty easily copy that very slight amount of taper without leaving a burr on the bolt threads.

When you are done, it should screw quite nicely into your action without buggering anything up.

I have done this myself on many rifles, and it is easy if you go slowly and carefully, and use your powers of visual concentration.

I will add that though it is relatively easy for an experienced hand with a grinder set up on a pedestal to do most of the shortening with a wheel and then finish up with a file, I DON'T recommend it to folks new at metal working.

With a grinder it is too easy to either cut off too much, or to end up grinding the end of the bolt at an angle which buggers up the last thread or two.

ok, i may try that, and actually thought of it earlier as an option. i do have a set of small, fine cut files from a previous life. the 2x4 idea will probably give way to a cailper measurement though. no?

Well, of course you probably want to know how much of the bolt you want sticking out of the 2x4...it can save a lot of "cut & try".

And that can be handily measured using the depth part of a set of calipers sticking through the stock and bottom metal into the action screw hole until it bottoms (IF the depth measuring portion is small enough in width to easily fit into the action bolt hole). I use a depth mic for that measurement, but you may not have one, or may not have a sufficiently long one. It all depends on the lengths of rods you have for your depth mic(s).

But a caliper is no substitute for a depth-stop. You have the threads you don't want to bugger up completely safe-guarded if they are encompassed in the soft wood of a plank.

good point and well taken. i DO have depth mic but as you say that will not protect the threads. depending on what H S says on monday i think i will try that. thanks

also, i had a good laugh and memory. what you call "cut and try" we always called "sneaking up on it". thats how 99.9% of my measurements go, whether cutting a board or setting the final COAL on a reload. works, just takes longer.

Here Ya go. The exact same lathe as Harvey Donaldson had. Been thinking about putting a three step pulley on it and powering it up. Everybody that tinkers with guns should have a tiny bench lathe.

Just the ticket for turning down screw shanks.

add power and a pulley and send it to me and i'll let ya know how it worked!
i took another look and the threads on the new screws are a different pitch (coarser than the originals) and thats why it won't work, not dia. size diff. also, the replacements are longer than the originals, and i need em to be shorter than the originals. if i can't come to some sort of conclusion w/HS tomorrow i'll have to start filing i guess.