Experimental 1959 BSA gas block

[Bruce_in_Oz]

A useful product in its own right, but this is about extracting busted ones.

Further to previous regarding the removal of broken taps:

The folk at Waltons have some suggestions, here.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

And, from the world of clock-makers:

To remove a broken or damaged steel screw from a brass item, make up a paste of Alum and water, place over the broken screw.

Leave for 24 hours.

The screw will have been eaten away, leaving the brass intact.

This is the sort of info that used to be "common" knowledge.

Another example is the use of molasses as a "bath" to remove bulk rust from iron and steel items, without introducing potential hydrogen embrittlement and such. This is a SLOW process, but when restoring stuff from a century or more ago, what's another couple of weeks / months?

[mrclark303]

Using molasses, now I have never heard of that one! My long retired Father in law, used to be an antique clock seller/ restorer and he showed me some very old tricks for restoration. For instance "age colouring" small replacement parts in a tin with fresh oak shavings and ammonia. Some very clever tricks learned by resourceful clock makers having to use what came to hand down the centuries.

A lot of these are directly transferable to firearm restoration.

[Peter Laidler]

Of steel in brass on No32 telescopes. In the past I have been able to drill out the steel screws using the usual methods but where the bubba has had a go previously and totally xxxxxx up the situation I have resorted to cutting the corner off, and soft soldering a new corner onto the turret area THEN drilling and tapping afresh.

To be honest, I have nothing against putting right or correcting someones cock-up as it's a learning experience. Just so long as they STOP when it's gone wrong and don't compound the problem by continuing further and further into the sh......, er....., quagmire!