Drilling weld - at a loss, need help

[ItsRainingLead]

Hey guys, lurked for a long time and appreciate the wealth of information. I tried drilling out my weld this evening, and got the welded nut off of the inside of the trigger assembly. Then, I went to unscrew what should have been a loose screw, and it immediately stripped the nut. Now the nut is locked into place and I cannot for the life of me get it off. Anyone have any ideas, at this point before I do irrevocable damage?

[WaltherP99]

Any way you could get a set of small pliers in there to spin it out?

[ItsRainingLead]

I have a set of needlenose and they will grip the bolt head, but it won't turn at all. Moves up and down very slightly. It's flush inside the trigger group itself.

[Obiwan]

When I stripped my hex head, I used a Dremel with a very small (worn down) cutting wheel to cut a groove into the head. Basically, I converted the hex head screw to a slotted screw, and used a normal flat head screwdriver to turn it. Using a flat head screw driver allowed to put way more torque onto the screw, and it finally gave and came out.

[juggernault98]

If the nut came out a tad to break that weld I would go one size smaller. The weld may not be completely broken. Or like obiwan said make that hex into a flat head. However be careful you could slip the drill which can skip on your frame of the gun.


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[juggernault98]

If the nut came out a tad to break that weld I would go one size smaller. The weld may not be completely broken. Or like obiwan said make that hex into a flat head. However be careful you could slip the drill which can skip on your frame of the gun.


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Personally, I would keep attacking it from the inside any minor mistakes won't show unlike altering that screw.

[derweibhai]

Buy some diamond bits for your Dremel. They will punch right through the hard steel from the welder. Sometimes it is the only way to deal with welds.

[HBi]

@ItsRainingLead - You are almost there!!! The portion of the screw that is inside of the trigger housing is either mushroomed out slightly larger than the major diameter of the threads; or the threads have warped/deformed from the heat of the weld. We have seen both. A good tool to grab the head of the bolt on the trigger guard side is needle nose vise grips. Irwin # 1402L3 .

http://www.irwin.com/tools/locking-tools/the-original-long-nose-locking-pliers-with-wire-cutter

You should be able to find them at any HomeDepot/Lowes/Ace for approx. $10-$15. If you go this route, apply some thin oil to the top side of the threads, where your picture was taken from... try to let it soak down into the threads, then use the pliers to slowly twist the head of the screw clockwise... counter-clockwise... clockwise... counter-clockwise... Tight, loose, tight, loose... Trying to go about 1/8 turn further counter-clockwise or loose each time. If that makes sense? After you get 1 or 2 full rotations the screw will then continue to spin right out without much force at all.

Take you time and don't rush :-) These stupid welds are super annoying, but you will get it out!

[Destructo6]

Mine did the same thing: even after the washer started to spin, there was enough weld left on the end of the screw that it wouldn't come out. I ended up dremeling the screw from the inside of the pack until I could get it loose and mangled the screw in the process. Not a big deal, but it bothered me enough to purchase a replacement from CZ-USA.

I think CZ intentionally left that screw soft and turned down as an anti-damage feature. Meaning that the screw is intended to stretch or break before you can get enough torque on it to damage the plastic trigger housing or trigger frame.

[ItsRainingLead]

I'm going to try a pair of vampliers, and if that doesn't work my dremel has a very narrow carbide bit. I was just worried about damaging the threads of the pack itself.

[Orbiter]

If the screw is soft, can't one just use pliers + force to break off the head of the screw from the underside and then remove the screw in reverse with the welded nut as the new screw head?

[ItsRainingLead]

If the screw is soft, can't one just use pliers + force to break off the head of the screw from the underside and then remove the screw in reverse with the welded nut as the new screw head?

The welded nut is gone. It came out on it's own after drilling and the end of the screw has mushroomed. None of my pliers can get a good bite on the head. Slips off. My first instinct was to break the head off. If I cannot get the head off with the vampliers, I will hollow out the screw with the dremel and try again.

[ItsRainingLead]

Thanks for the help guys. Vampliers caught the head and I got it off easy. Threw on the HBI spring kit and made a nice difference in trigger feel.

[longgonedaddy]

Yes, you will enjoy the spring mod!  The screw removal is sometimes difficult.  I had problems like yours when I drilled mine out.