Parker Gun Collectors Association Forums

In my thread about the Buttplate screws that I had made, there was questions about how one would go about fitting screws that are made with no slots in them.

This will illustrate how this is done. The particular screw in this illustration is a rear trigger plate screw on a Parker.

The new screw was turned on my lathe and made with the head approx. 1/8" high and it is simply cut off.

Attachment 42824

The "tit" from cutting off is removed and a shallow starter slot is cut in the head of the screw. Just deep enough to be able to get a bit into it and install the screw.

Attachment 42825

The screw is installed snuggly into the gun. The head is marked with layout die and the location of the final slot is marked.

Attachment 42826

Then using a Hosford screw slotting jig, the final screw slot is cut to a depth that is at least 2 times deeper than the starter slot. The Hosford jig allows for centering of the screw and the slot you are cutting. The blades on the jig are set for the different thicknesses of slotting saws that Hosford sells. Obviously there is other ways of slotting a screw, but this is one.

Attachment 42827

Once the final slot is cut, the head is filed down enough to remove the starter slot. Here is the screw at this stage put back into the gun.

Attachment 42828

Then the screw head is gradually taken down to flush with the surrounding metal.
This is a more time consuming process when the surrounding metal cannot me marked up. If an action is being recolored, the screw can be dressed down and polished right in the frame. Now the screw is ready to be engraved.

Attachment 42829

As a detail note, since this screw is the rear position trigger plate screw, the appropriate + mark is filed into the bottom of the screw so that one knows where that screw goes back into the frame.

Attachment 42830