Stripped star head optic plate screw

[Annihilator]

I

Don’t know why gun manufacturers and optics manufacturers insist on using the cheapest screws possible.

Well actually I do know, it was a rhetorical question. Which I asked myself in my head and texted out at the same time. So I guess it’s a rhetorical observation. Is that even a thing?

I think I’m getting @Old_Me syndrome. I’m going outside to look for flattened frogs on my driveway.

 

[deadduck357]

Got the set of extractors, made sure I tool my time, and whaa la, issue resolved. Now I can't wait to fire this thing. Thank you to everyone who responded and helped me come up with the best solution. You all are great!

Same thing happened to my Hellcat. One screw came out fine the other wouldn't budge. I was being very careful as I was afraid that this might happen but it just kept getting worse till it looked like yours.

I was almost distraught but as it was the evening and everything was closed I put it away for the night. The next day I ran down to my local ACE hardware and bought a 'IRWIN Hanson Spiral Flute Extractor Set' and got it out. Whew!

Good going OP.

 

[Old_Me]

Got the set of extractors, made sure I tool my time, and whaa la, issue resolved. Now I can't wait to fire this thing. Thank you to everyone who responded and helped me come up with the best solution. You all are great!

yes, yes we all are......

now that i have taken my time to respond here at 6:57 AM.....

time for my early morning nap.

 

[Pro Digy II]

Cannot stand small Torx screws, makes absolutely no sense for #6 or smaller, not enough meat to grab on the tool, they always fall apart. As for stripped screws, I've had many of these #$#$#$ Torx strip, and the easiest way is definitely drill through them with a small enough bit to be precise, then it all falls off easily... Last time I had this happen was with the Dragonfly screws on my Prodigy, took 1 minute to remove both as they both had stripped...

 

[Old_Me]

Cannot stand small Torx screws, makes absolutely no sense for #6 or smaller, not enough meat to grab on the tool, they always fall apart. As for stripped screws, I've had many of these #$#$#$ Torx strip, and the easiest way is definitely drill through them with a small enough bit to be precise, then it all falls off easily... Last time I had this happen was with the Dragonfly screws on my Prodigy, took 1 minute to remove both as they both had stripped...

same issue with my Dillion 550c.....the plate that you slide the casing on to insert for reloading, has 2 tiny Torx screws under it..the press has to come off the bench, turned upside down, and pray to God you do not strip them.....asinine set up.

this piece here with what looks like a bent paper clip screwed into it..

 

[Pro Digy II]

same issue with my Dillion 550c.....the plate that you slide the casing on to insert for reloading, has 2 tiny Torx screws under it..the press has to come off the bench, turned upside down, and pray to God you do not strip them.....asinine set up.

this piece here with what looks like a bent paper clip secrewed into it..

Yep, and don't get me started on the torque recommendations! 25 in.lbf is what you hear most of the time, regardless of the screw size...

On the Prodigy, the AOS mounting screws are the one that lose preload all the time, it's an absolute PITA as the RDS has to be removed too, 4 Torx screws waiting to strip every friggin' time! I'm slowly replacing all these with HEX instead of Torx for all the small screws, but since vendors are using metric or SAE, fine pitch or not, it's a wild goose chase all the time. Sometimes the customer supports know the answer or can find it, but not always, some don't understand the question either.

 

[Bassbob]

Yep, and don't get me started on the torque recommendations! 25 in.lbf is what you hear most of the time, regardless of the screw size...

On the Prodigy, the AOS mounting screws are the one that lose preload all the time, it's an absolute PITA as the RDS has to be removed too, 4 Torx screws waiting to strip every friggin' time! I'm slowly replacing all these with HEX instead of Torx for all the small screws, but since vendors are using metric or SAE, fine pitch or not, it's a wild goose chase all the time. Sometimes the customer supports know the answer or can find it, but not always, some don't understand the question either.

I guess it depends on where you get your info from. All the ones ( optic screws) I have were spec'ed quite a bit lower than that from the manufacturer. For example the Holosun 507 on an HK VP9 plate is spec'ed for 17. And the screws mounting the plate are spec'ed at 12. It's also worth notng torque specs are given for clean and DRY screws. Use loctite, it's no longer clean or dry. I've heard a torque reduction of 10% is recommended but I don't recall who told me that.

 

[Pro Digy II]

I guess it depends on where you get your info from. All the ones ( optic screws) I have were spec'ed quite a bit lower than that from the manufacturer. For example the Holosun 507 on an HK VP9 plate is spec'ed for 17. And the screws mounting the plate are spec'ed at 12. It's also worth notng torque specs are given for clean and DRY screws. Use loctite, it's no longer clean or dry. I've heard a torque reduction of 10% is recommended but I don't recall who told me that.

Yeah, the HEX doc for instance is all over the map, makes no sense whatsoever. They have #6 and #4 screws and the same torque spec, that's not how it works...

Torque measurements are notoriously bad, 30% off is not uncommon! Consequently, I do my own bolt calcs, taking into account Loctite if used.

 

[Bassbob]

Yeah, the HEX doc for instance is all over the map, makes no sense whatsoever. They have #6 and #4 screws and the same torque spec, that's not how it works...

Torque measurements are notoriously bad, 30% off is not uncommon! Consequently, I do my own bolt calcs, taking into account Loctite if used.

Fascinating. I'd be extremely interested to know how to do that.

 

[Pro Digy II]

Fascinating. I'd be extremely interested to know how to do that.

It's not super difficult, I'll put together a little note. Calculate the recoil values from SAAMI, calculate the preload you need to counter that (with some margins), then figure out the torque needed. When HEX says 22 in.lbf, I get 32 in.lbf and my RDS doesn't move why the gal next to me at the range got hers fly off and hit her in the nose, the range who installed it for her blamed the blue Loctite that wasn't set yet

 

[SimonRL]

It's not super difficult, I'll put together a little note. Calculate the recoil values from SAAMI, calculate the preload you need to counter that (with some margins), then figure out the torque needed. When HEX says 22 in.lbf, I get 32 in.lbf and my RDS doesn't move why the gal next to me at the range got hers fly off and hit her in the nose, the range who installed it for her blamed the blue Loctite that wasn't set yet

I hear stories like this and all I can say is whoever installed it did a crap job. I’ve got at least a dozen handguns with red dots on them and I’ve only ever had one come remotely loose, let alone threaten to come off. My experience is that 15-18lbs with a torque driver will get the job done perfectly. I used to put blue Loctite on my red dot screws, but not any more and I have not had any issues whatsoever.

 

[Bassbob]

It's not super difficult, I'll put together a little note. Calculate the recoil values from SAAMI, calculate the preload you need to counter that (with some margins), then figure out the torque needed. When HEX says 22 in.lbf, I get 32 in.lbf and my RDS doesn't move why the gal next to me at the range got hers fly off and hit her in the nose, the range who installed it for her blamed the blue Loctite that wasn't set yet

I have always used manufacturers specs and don't get me started on Loc-Tite. I don't use it and I have it on good authority from some smiths and a Boeing engineer that I am right not to use it. That said, the screws that came with my 507 ( for all intents and purposes the first RDMS I have ever had on a carry pistol or a pistol that gets shot a lot) had little tan colored dry spots on them from the factory. I did not clean it off and i did use manufacturer's specs. About 400 or so through that gun since then and nothing has loosened or moved. When I first started slapping red dots on shotguns and carbines I put a Romeo 5 on using Loc-Tite and the old German measurement Gutentheit. Yeah, I had to drill that bastard out and ruined a 6" rail on a brand new shotgun. $50 mistake I won't make again.