milsurp tip of the week, how to plug drill and tap holes with out a welder

[Chuckindenver]

been asked this a couple times over the last few weeks, how do i plug the holes that some jackwagon drilled for a scope base, sight ect, i dont have a welder to do the job.
before i got a good welder this is how i was taught to fill the holes.
after you remove the base, sight or whatever, save the screws. c
clean the holes real good with brake parts cleaner, it dries fast, and leaves no oils behind.
screw the old screws back into the holes, if blind holes, bottom them out, if a through hole, make sure they dont stick out the other side, just flush is fine.
cut the heads off just above the surface leaving a little sticking up as shown, use a small ball peen hammer, and with the ball end, strike the screws, a couple times, not monkey hard, but enough to crush the heads, then flip the hammer around, and lightly tap them flush.
this will crush the threads below the surface so they wont back out, and wont leave a ring around the screw,
then use a fine draw file, and work the access down, when the file slips your ok, make sure you file with the round of the surface, or flat if thats the case,
i then use a small belt sander, and sand them smooth, if you dont have a belt sander, use a small sanding block with 100 grit paper, follow the conture of the area, beadblast if you access to that tool, if not, the sandpaper should work just fine,
you can cold blue if you like, or parkerize as well.
the screw repair will come out as dark spots when finished, as the screws are softer then then the action..
i didnt want to weld close to the new holes i drilled for the Redfield base..

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[Chuckindenver]

more pics

[Chuckindenver]

tried to post the pics in order, but no matter how i set them, the browser set them in whatever order it liked..lol.

[frankderrico]

Hey Chuck, thanks. We can figure out the order. How about another thread with the welder?.....Frank

[Chuckindenver]

can do. will have to wait till the wind and snow stop.. lol. hard to use a gas welder with the gas being blown away..

---------- Post added at 02:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 PM ----------

heres ya go, posted a how to weld and repair holes a while ago..
repairing holes drilled by bubba.

[frankderrico]

Chuck, thanks for the link. What size wire do you use?.....Frank

[Chuckindenver]

#30 C wire, on 1903A3 , 1903 NS and 1917 P14, i use a #30 2% nickle wire.
you cant hide the heat, it wont show that bad if black oxide coated, but phospate finish will make it show.

[Aragorn243]

Semi related question: Any way to get welded screws out to use the same screw hole? Mosin Nagant ex-sniper, can clearly see the screw on the inside, no idea how deep the weld goes. Thought of drilling through the back with a small bit and then drilling from the weld side with a bit slightly larger or the same size as the screw until past the weld and then backing the screw out. Or would I be better off simply drilling new holes slightly off the original ones? I have a repro base and scope I'd like to mount on it.

[Chuckindenver]

just re drill and tap to the same size, iv done this before on stripped holes, weld them shut, redrill and tap, works well.

[Allen Humphrey]

Thanks Chuck, Love the tips.