Dan wesson 715 broken screw removal

[Donnovin]

A new to me DW715 arrived with a broken side plate screw. A small amount of the screw body is still proud of the frame. I am deliberating best process for removal and would appreciate any guidance. Stainless steel cap screw, ss frame.

I am thinking step one is to soak the screw body with something that might help loosen it. Hoping it didn?t break due to being stripped. What?s a good fluid for soaking other than Ed?s Red?

Step 2..Clean with acetone then JB weld the screw head back on and see what happens.
Step 3. After the jb weld doesn?t hold?cut a slot and try to back it out with a screw driver. Not a lot of meat to work with there.
Step 4. After the screwdriver slot fails, attempt using a screw removal kit. I have not had great luck with these.
Step 5. Engage a professional gunsmith to unfek it.

[ar15barrels]

Mount the slide in a milling machine.
Mill the remaining part of the screw flat.
Align the spindle over the screw.
Center drill the screw.
Use a slightly dulled left hand drill bit to extract the screw.
Right before you are ready to pull the screw, heat up the screw with a torch then run the spindle slow (say 100-200rpm) and put lots of force on the drill bit and the drill bit will grab the screw and unscrew it.

At least that's how I have done it for 20+ years.

[sofbak]

Mount the slide in a milling machine.
Mill the remaining part of the screw flat.
Align the spindle over the screw.
Center drill the screw.
Use a slightly dulled left hand drill bit to extract the screw.
Right before you are ready to pull the screw, heat up the screw with a torch then run the spindle slow (say 100-200rpm) and put lots of force on the drill bit and the drill bit will grab the screw and unscrew it.

At least that's how I have done it for 20+ years.

Hmmmm. Last time I knew, a dw 715 was either a Dewalt mitre saw, or a Dan Wesson revolver.

So...where on either of these is the "slide" u describe?

Oh, and Merry Christmas too.

[fishingolf]

Mount the slide in a milling machine.
Mill the remaining part of the screw flat.
Align the spindle over the screw.
Center drill the screw.
Use a slightly dulled left hand drill bit to extract the screw.
Right before you are ready to pull the screw, heat up the screw with a torch then run the spindle slow (say 100-200rpm) and put lots of force on the drill bit and the drill bit will grab the screw and unscrew it.

At least that's how I have done it for 20+ years.

Thanks for the tip. I have the same issue on my MPA DS front sight..I'll try it. Thanks

Sent from my SM-G990U2 using Tapatalk

[ar15barrels]

Hmmmm. Last time I knew, a dw 715 was either a Dewalt mitre saw, or a Dan Wesson revolver.

So...where on either of these is the "slide" u describe?

Oh, and Merry Christmas too.

I read "side" as "slide".
The slide plate is the adapter plate for mounting an optic on a semi-auto pistol slide.
A sideplate is part of a revolver so the OP's use of separate words "side plate" looked like "slide plate" to me since I remove broken/stripped out slide plate screws almost weekly.

Other than my mis-read, my method of removing a screw ALSO applies to a sideplate screw.

[Donnovin]

Mount the slide in a milling machine.
Mill the remaining part of the screw flat.
Align the spindle over the screw.
Center drill the screw.
Use a slightly dulled left hand drill bit to extract the screw.
Right before you are ready to pull the screw, heat up the screw with a torch then run the spindle slow (say 100-200rpm) and put lots of force on the drill bit and the drill bit will grab the screw and unscrew it.

At least that's how I have done it for 20+ years.

Thanks Randall. As always, excellent advice. Should the left hand bit be the same dia as the one used to center drill? Also, center drill full depth of the screw? It?s 1/2? in length.
And Merry Christmas!

[ar15barrels]

Thanks Randall. As always, excellent advice. Should the left hand bit be the same dia as the one used to center drill? Also, center drill full depth of the screw? It?s 1/2? in length.
And Merry Christmas!

The center drill is one of these:

I use a #2.

Then use the nominal tap-drill size to extract the screw.
Do NOT drill deep into the broken piece of screw.
You want to turn the spindle slow and push really hard so that the drill bit GRABS the broken screw instead of actually drilling a hole down the middle.
If you get all the way through the screw and it never grabs, you will be left with a coil of threads that you can pull out of use a tap to clear them if it's a through hole.
It's MUCH better if you get the screw to simply come out leaving you the original threaded hole without anything that needs to be cleared out.

[WOODY2]

Save yourself money and headaches, take to a pro, don't make me admit to my past errors.

[Donnovin]

The center drill is one of these:

I use a #2.

Then use the nominal tap-drill size to extract the screw.
Do NOT drill deep into the broken piece of screw.
You want to turn the spindle slow and push really hard so that the drill bit GRABS the broken screw instead of actually drilling a hole down the middle.
If you get all the way through the screw and it never grabs, you will be left with a coil of threads that you can pull out of use a tap to clear them if it's a through hole.
It's MUCH better if you get the screw to simply come out leaving you the original threaded hole without anything that needs to be cleared out.

Thanks Randall.

[Donnovin]

The center drill started cutting, then the screw body started turning with it, going deeper into the blind hole. Switched to a 5/64” bit that finished screwing it in till it bottomed, then cut a bit more into the screw body. Switched to a left hand drill bit and hand turned it while pressing med hard. It cut for a couple turns then the screw started backing out. Once it got to the top of the hole it got stuck again and the left hand bit started cutting into it again. It came out basically as threads but I eventually got it out. Cleaned up the threads at the top of the hole and she’s good to go. I appreciate the advice!

[ar15barrels]

The center drill started cutting, then the screw body started turning with it, going deeper into the blind hole. Switched to a 5/64? bit that finished screwing it in till it bottomed, then cut a bit more into the screw body. Switched to a left hand drill bit and hand turned it while pressing med hard. It cut for a couple turns then the screw started backing out. Once it got to the top of the hole it got stuck again and the left hand bit started cutting into it again. It came out basically as threads but I eventually got it out. Cleaned up the threads at the top of the hole and she?s good to go. I appreciate the advice!

As soon as you see the screw move IN, that's the sign to STOP!
Then switch to the left hand drill bit and it will pull the screw right out.

Use the slowest spindle speed, like 70rpm.
Push hard on the quill so the drill bit grabs instead of cutting.
If it's cutting a chip, you are not pushing hard enough.
The goal is to unscrew the screw, not to drill through it with the left hand bit.
The center drilling is only to keep the drill bit down the middle of the screw if the screw IS so stuck that it won't turn but as soon as it turned while you were center-drilling, you know it's not stuck.

[Donnovin]

As soon as you see the screw move IN, that's the sign to STOP!
Then switch to the left hand drill bit and it will pull the screw right out.

Use the slowest spindle speed, like 70rpm.
Push hard on the quill so the drill bit grabs instead of cutting.
If it's cutting a chip, you are not pushing hard enough.
The goal is to unscrew the screw, not to drill through it with the left hand bit.
The center drilling is only to keep the drill bit down the middle of the screw if the screw IS so stuck that it won't turn but as soon as it turned while you were center-drilling, you know it's not stuck.

Good to know! I am sure that it wasn?t as pretty as if Randall was on it, but, in the end it all came out. One complication was the threads at the top of the hole were not quite right, keeping the screw body from backing out of the hole intact.