[ithacaartist]

Ron, excellent suggestion on the conductive application. You can't get more precise in getting molecules to jiggle around than that! It may take several infusions of the heated screwdriver, and you might try tapping the red-hot screwdriver tip into the slot until it fits the slot perfectly, filling in most minor deformations. This will allow for even better heat transfer by allowing more surface area to come into contact to conduct it. I think anyone paying any attention at all will find it difficult to damage any of the surrounding material by this method.

A perhaps quicker method would involve a bit more equipment and something the average person might not have on hand, specifically, a pencil torch and heat-proof putty. The torch part is pretty obvious, but if you haven't worked with the putty, it might be worth a try. In this approach, pack the inside of the mag well with the putty to cover and protect the wood grips--the thicker, the better. Ideally, you'd leave only the tip of the screw, accessed from the vestibule of the mag well, exposed to the flame. The putty dries out in the process, but stays put to insulate nonetheless. The remnants are easily dug/poked out, and any excess or film wipes away with a damp rag, as it is water soluble. I'd make this the next-to-last-ditch effort.

The last ditch, really, is to take it to a machine shop with EDM machine. This process would use (E)lectrical (D)ischarge--an arc--to precisely blow away the core of the offending screw, leaving its threads still in the grooves; they can be picked out later. Since it runs in a tank of coolant, nothing surrounding the work is affected at all by any heat.

You will get those screws out one way or the other, and after you do, I'd recommend gently chasing the tappings in the grip frame before installing any of Tom's new screws, just to be sure there is no residue that would cause galling--you don't want to mess up new screws! It takes a rather exotic Whitworth tap. The tap for the grip screw's hole has been discussed on the forum, so do a search to find out its particulars and I think, also, a source. I bought and used one two years ago, and I can't remember offhand the size and pitch; but it worked great for a buggered hole in one of mine, threaded first thru the good, opposite hole, then chasing the mangled one from the inside out. This allowed the tap to start in some good threads to assure proper synchronization with them as the offending threads near the outside of the hole were encountered and cleaned out.

/blah