No4 Front trigger guard screw issue

[tbonesmith]

Howdy guys, anyone come across this: in stocking up the last couple of no4s I've done, I came across the same issue that I hadn't seen yet. In tightening up the front trigger guard screw to where it needed to be the screw "bottomed out", but not on the face of the threaded section, rather where the threads ended and became shank, bottomed out on the spiggot on the underside of the receiver. ie, I ran out of thread!
My solution was to machine up a little washer (about 1mm thick), and put that under the spring washer in the trigger guard, no dramas.
Neither wood set were particularly chewed up or terribly flogged in the trigger guard recess, or the receiver recess, but they'd done some miles.
Any official means of addressing this for future reference?

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

You could tap a little deeper into the blind, tapped hole that's already there, albeit not quite deep enough. You're not going to break anything. Well, you COULD snap your 1/4BSF tap off if you weren't carefull. I have to say that I have never encountered this

[tbonesmith]

the holes deep enough, but is not threaded long enough. I t doesn't bottom out on the bottom of the hole where the threads on the metal thread become the shank it fouls on the start/opening of the threaded section.

[muffett.2008]

Yeah Tbone, and it's damned annoying, no die to run the thread down a bit either, spring washer trick, but those narrow spring washers are not readily available, and I've used my last.
Might have to consider using a slightly longer spacer and building up the timber to bring it all back to some semblance of order.

[tbonesmith]

I turned up a little flat washer to sit behind the spring washer and it works fine. I looked up the thread form and ill get the die next time in at a suitable supplier.

[Steve H. in N.Y.]

I've run into this a couple of times while adjusting bedding and had to cut about two more 1/4-26 threads on the screw. I can tell you that if the screw head is clamped in a vise for threading, the slot needs to be perpendicular to the jaws to avoid crushing it. Also be sure the bottom of the hole is clean-all manner of dirt and petrified grease can collect in it. Not a bad idea to run a bottoming tap down there if only to chase the last few threads which haven't been in contact with anything since day one.

[Peter Laidler]

If I had to offer an opinion on such a problem, then I'd recemmend that you fix the problem or the thing that's wrong and not the things that ain't wrong. Spacing the screw with a washer or similarly, raising the trigger guard to take up the 'slack' or shortening the screw are palliatives and not cures. The problem here is that while the screw hole is deep enough, it's not threaded deeply enough.

As I remember, while fitting zillions of fore-ends in the past, there should be 6 to 7 FULL threads of engagement of the front trigger guard screw.

That's only my opinion if I were asked. Fix the problem and not the other bits

[Simon P]

I have found the same problem, twice recently both on 1942 Savage actions, just used the plug tap to cut the threads a bit deeper, then all is fine.

[muffett.2008]

It's the bolt that is in question, not the bolt hole. There is insufficient thread, getting 6-7 threads is scratching, so any slight variation/wood compression/collapse, cannot be corrected by a slight tightening of the bolt or reduction in collar height, as the bolt has insufficient threads and is binding/bottoming on the bolt hole collar.
As mentioned earlier, the timber will need to be repaired/strengthened at the point of compression, bed or trigger box area.

[Peter Laidler]

Or get a Screw, front trigger guard that has a full thread Muffer! Correct the bit that's wrong and not the bits that ain't wrong. That's what I used to tell them in the workshops when they were chasing faults all over the place