Stripped out swivel hole

I have a No1 Mk III that the rear swivel holes are stripped. The screws look like they are original, but not much taper, big threads and a blunt point. Not a great combination to cut threads in wood. I am trying to use wood from a elm tree to glue a piece in there so I can drill and hopefully rethread the hole. But it seems that the screws do not thread very well due to their design. Is their a great system out there developed by some members to address this problem? I don't really feel that this effort is going to work. My carpenter cousin suggested I use a golf tee to glue into the hole to fill it and rethread. Don't want to change screws as they match all the rest.

thanks all,

you need to drill out the stripped holes to about quarter inch then glue in plugs. To put the screws back in you need to pilot drill holes with a bit of the same diameter as the shank of the screws. One important pointin this is that the plug must be larger than the screw threads and the pilot hole must be large and deep enough to allow the screw threads to bite without the screw actually boring out the hole at all

Just in case you didn't understand what the tbonesmith said because of his Australian accent. :rolleyes:

The Petch House: Stripped Screw Hole Repair 101

For the smaller bracket screw holes we'd drill out to 1/4" and make a slightly tapered plug from beech but NOT oak. (oak corrodes steel screws but WAS used for making reinforcing pegs)

The we'd glue the hole and drive the tapered peg into place so that it's TIGHT.

Make good the plug for height and using the bracket as a template, drill the screw pilot hole. Once you've done it, drill a larger hole for the depth and diameter of the unthreaded shank of the screw. Screw in tight and it'll be better than new.

That's the Armourers way but there'll be other variations on the theme....

Thanks for all the advise, had no problems with accents. You have verified I am on the right track, I just have to adjust the material that I am using for the plug. I am thinking that the Elm is too soft for this effort and I may have to get some proper dowling material, don't know if Beech is available in the Colonies. I still have some concerns about the cutting ability of the original screws, may have to use a more agressive woodscrews on the first pass for cutting and then the originals.

regards,

Birch dowels are what you want, cheap and sold at the local hardware stores. Trying to whittle one from an elm branch is not worth the time or effort, the interlocking grain makes for stringy material.

I still have some concerns about the cutting ability of the original screws, may have to use a more agressive woodscrews on the first pass for cutting and then the originals.


Sorry if this is a stupid question, but are the screws thoroughly clean? Sometimes they come out with old wood scarf and oil crusting up the shank and the thread, and it really needs to be picked out with a sharp point of some sort.
Just mabe?

All is well, at least for now. The Elm plugs worked OK. I just drilled them out and used a regular wood screws to blaze the way and cut the threads. Then I used the stockers and they went in like it was made for it, they snugged up nicely.

This is my 1st Enfield, just got my brass today, still waiting for the crimp dies to get here, have the rest of the dies, strange that some Lee sets just don't have every bit you need.

thanks again for all the assistance.