m1903 broken front action screw

[ssgross]

I just took delivery this week of a 3.32million serial m1903 in a new CMP stock with a pristine bore. I'm excited to say the least.
I started taking her apart for cleaning and inspection, and the front action screw popped loose after just half a turn. Sure enough, the bolt is broken off. There are about 2 threads of the receiver visible, so the broken piece is down in there. My guess is it was a cheap modern repro action screw that had an internal fault.
Now - to get it out. My first thought is to 1) fill the hole with kroil and let it sit. I don't know how froze in there it is. 2) drill in to it and try a stuck screw extractor. My guess is it's not frozen in there...unless some bubba bottomed it out tightening it and that's why it broke. 3) if the stuck screw extractor doesn't work, drill it out some more and tap the hole. add some epoxy to a screw and screw it in, then let it sit and harden and screw the whole mess out.
Unless anyone else has a better idea?
Attachment 110478

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[rcathey]

The extractor is the way to go. I agree with you, it’s likely not seized and shouldn’t give you too many fits with the extractor.

[ssgross]

Attachment 110479I added a picture of the broken screw to my original post. From the discoloration I'd say it was a crapy overseas reproduction screw. I'm going to check my other m1903 (serial is 3.2million on that one) for the length of the screw, and depth of the hole before I drill in to the broken one - I want to be sure it wasn't bottomed.
Here is some eyecandy of the bore. barrel stamped 5-42 - tool marks on the lands and all. The throat and muzzle show the same - no wear at all. I may chase the chamber with a finish reamer when I check headspace. the tool marks in there look like it was done in a hurry.
Attachment 110479

EDIT: Assuming that the correct screw was inserted and then broke...there is 0.136 in of screw left in the whole, or about 3 threads worth. So I think it's safe to say it didn't bottom out. Nonetheless I've decided to play it safe and soak in kroil overnight before attempting to extract. Plan for the worst - maybe bubba decided to locktite his action screw and that's why it broke. In which case I should be soaking in acetone.
Attachment 110485

[RCS]

I have seen a broken screw like yours removed years ago. My friend heated up a small allen
wrench with a gas torch and applied just a small amount of heat to the broken screw. he
kept going back and forth from the screw to the allen wrench, then he attached the allen
wrench to the broken screw and let it cool. He then turned-out the screw with the allen wrench

[ssgross]

then he attached the allen
wrench to the broken screw and let it cool. He then turned-out the screw with the allen wrench

I haven't ever been invited to the forged in fire tv show, but I would think you would need pressure to heat-weld an Allen wrench to a broke steel screw. I could see maybe drilling a hole, coat hole and Allen wrench with flux and fill the whole with solder?
I center-punched the broken screw. seems soft so hopefully the screw extractor I have works. I plan to use a tap wrench on the extractor to go slow. I don't want to spin it and strip it out. If slips, I'll soak in acetone and try again. That fails then...well shoot I just need to man up drill the hole...in the morning when I'm not so tired.

[RCS]

If I had not seen the broken screw removed by heating and the allen wrench I would not have made the statement. Also
I must admit that while glass bedding a custom 1903 stock somehow the bedding mix got into the front screw hole in the
receiver. This locked the front screw into the action, impossible to remove with the stock on the rifle.

I had to mount the entire rifle on a lathe milling vise and then with a center drill start the hole then slowly drill out the
front screw

[ssgross]

Well that was easy! The sun must have been shining on just me this morning! The last screw I extracted didn't go so well. scope screw with loctite in it, and small - with an extractor broken off. Screw had bottomed out and snapped the head off flush.

I was drilling pilot hole, ..then the drill bit went through the screw and spun it down to the bottom. Now it's too shallow for my small screw extractor, but a small torx bit screwdriver backed it right out.
How on earth did it get broken like that! Right in the middle!
Attachment 110492
As you can see, the screw was a bit longer than an original in my previous posts.
Now that I've shown you all plenty of screwing pictures, I'll post back when I get it all cleaned up and shoot it. May even send it out to chuckndenver for an repro 8x Unertl.

[ssgross]

If I had not seen the broken screw removed by heating and the allen wrench I would not have made the statement

I've seen many things as well that didn't quite make sense but sure enough happen anyway. As such these kind of techniques can't be "figured out" but have to be passed on. Thanks for posting.

[ssgross]

Everything is taken apart and wow what a find! the feed ramp shows absolutely no wear at all!
I started to resemble, and with all the grime gone the front sight base is loose in its dovetail. Some searching and the CMP forum says there was a tool to squeeze the dovetail to spec that came with a blank to prevent over tightening.
pulled the front sight on my other late-production m1903. it fits very snug in the new rifle so it appears the dovetail is fine, but the base was small. My other rifle's base has an R stamped on one side and a number 1 on the other. The front has a witness mark that matches up with the barrel base. The new rifle and its base has none of these.
I think I'm going to order another base, NOS as this smaller one may have been new production. If it's not tight then I will file the back and front off the one it came with and use it as a blank to clamp in my bench vice and tighten the dovetail. The barrel base appears to be correct as the ends of the pin were cut to match the contour where it sits. I can only see evidence of the pin with a lens. If I pull the barrel base to tighten the dovetail, I'll have a hard time making it so perfect again.
Does anyone have a spare base, stamped R and.or no. 1? looks like luck of the draw on the interwebs.

[ssgross]

Here is the link to the CMP forum describing the tightening tool. They also recommend peening the sight base - which I take to mean hammering the male part of sight to stretch it out a tiny bit. may give that a go first if a NOS sight isn't snug.
http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=150087