Grinder or file?

[strongpoint]

Machinist types: I have just about the most trivial gunsmithing task I can think of at hand -- I need to shorten an alloy steel socket-head cap screw from 1/2" to 7/16".

Is this something I'll need a grinder for, or will a file and elbow grease do the job? Either way, will I need to clean up the end of the threads with a die when I'm done?

TIA, of course.

[Dano3467]

Well I don't know how long or large your screw is, but if size permits, to put on 2 nuts and lock them together, so not to booger the head.

You could just use grinder & hold the 2 nuts w/needle nose vise grips pliers, that's how I might do it.

Just sayin.

[strongpoint]

Well I don't know how long or large your screw is

Sorry; should have included that in the OP. It's 3-56, a half-inch long. Specifically, this:

[kcstott]

in a screw grinding fixture using a snag grinder (bench grinder) or a 12" disk sander and I don't mean the hand power tool type I mean the one thats mounted on a pedestal

FYI a screw grinding fixture is a plate with a taped holes in it so you can hold the screw and not have it fly across the room

I've also made fixture to hold bolts in a lathe and cut them off that way. Bigger grade 8 bolts are hard to cut

[jimmykan]

If you have a Dremel tool and a hand drill, you can shorten the screw quickly, precisely, and make it look clean.

Clamp the hand drill in a vise to keep it steady.

Chuck the screw into the drill chuck jaws, and adjust the position until you can get the screw to spin without wobbling off-axis.

Spin the screw in the drill, and while the screw is spinning fast, use the Dremel tool with your choice of abrasive bit to grind down the screw to the desired length. Put a little chamfer on the threads to help it get started in the hole.

Here is a tip to get the screw to spin on-axis: Leave enough of the screw protruding so that you can spin a nut onto the screw and tighten it against the tips of the chuck jaws.

If you don't mind altering your hand drill a little bit, you can even square off the tips of the chuck jaws by tightening the empty chuck to fully-closed, then spin it up and Dremel the jaw tips until all are flat and even.

[Alex$]

as stated: spin two nuts on to proper length. File flat to nut, clean up threads with file.

This assumes you don't have many tools available.

[hermosabeach]

1/16" would be easy with a hand file.

Lots of ways to dress up the threads

You can also chuck up the screw in a drill and run it against sand paper to remove file marks

[1flhtk4me]

Well I don't know how long or large your screw is, but if size permits, to put on 2 nuts and lock them together, so not to booger the head.

You could just use grinder & hold the 2 nuts w/needle nose vise grips pliers, that's how I might do it.

Just sayin.

This ^.You could also hold it with the hex wrench.

Now if it was mine,I would just take it to work and turn it on the lathe.