Found - Source for rare and obsolete British gun screws
While gallantly fighting the urge to make a juvenile, "screw" pun, I thought the following information might be of interest to milsurps members.
Back in March, I posted on an Enforcer thread, relating my folly in managing to break the spindly clamping screw on the front scope mount of my Enforcer, (serial # 062). It had shot loose after only 50 rounds down the spout.
Didn't take long to discover how difficult it is to locate another Parker-Hale, high-mount, Model RAHS.4, scope ring. Improvising, I bought a new set of low mount rings, from Brian Dick, thinking I could cannibalize them for the clamping screw, only to discover that Parker-Hale, apparently realizing their earlier ring sets were weak in this area, had beefed up both the clamping screw and thumb knob, putting me back to square one. (They had also provided the front ring with a much-needed locating stud, which my earlier ring lacks. Brian, being the guy he is, happily took the low-mount set back with a complete refund.)
In my desperation, inspiration struck, prompting me to check my "Favorites", as I vaguely remembered entering the name of someone mentioned on one of the forums ages ago, who actually made rare, and obsolete, British gun screws. Voila! I did still have the e-mail address of this machinist with the unusual specialty, and was very happy to discover Scott Stonehill is still in business as Evans Obsolete Screws, in Evans Georgia, and can be reached at sstonehill@knology.net
Yesterday the brand-new, custom-made, clamping screw, along with a spare, arrived and I couldn't be happier. The new clamping screws are actually better than the original, broken one I sent as a pattern, as Scott has managed to make the threaded portion longer, spreading the load over a greater area inside the knob, thus making it a bit stronger, I would think.
While I was at it, I also ordered a Long-Lee, rear trigger guard screw to replace the one someone had taken out of my Lee-Metford skeleton action years ago, and, that screw too, was at least as good as an original.
So, fellow lovers of British arms, we now have a reliable source for all those buggered-up, or missing, screws that are so hard to replace. Scott keeps a certain number of screws in stock, but, if yours happens to be one he doesn't have, he can make it for you. He is a pleasure to deal with, stands firmly behind his work, and, as a bonus, his prices are very reasonable. With every screw individually made, as you can imagine, Scott's expertise is in great demand, so be sure to give him plenty of lag time on your order. The results are well worth the usual two-week wait. My back together Enforcer can attest to that.
Hope this solves some problems for you folks, as it sure did mine.
Regards,
Terry
