Stuck Luger Grip Screws

[Don M]

I recently purchased a Luger and have been unable to remove the grip screws. Any suggestions?

[Steinar]

It might help with some solvent or thin oil..
I have a problem getting out the pin that goes trough here;

..I almost find it a bit embarrassing going to a gunsmith for that little thing

[SteveM]

If you have a take-down tool and a stubby screwdriver you can place the blade of the screwdriver throught the hole in the td tool. Grasp in one hand and place the td tool blade in the slot of the screw. Use firm pressure but be VERY careful to not let the blade slip out of the slot. It is a crude way of doing things, but it has always worked for me with no problems.

[Dwight Gruber]

Penetrating oil applied several times from the magazine well side. Be patient, leave it alone for several days to soften things up.

--Dwight

[Pete Ebbink]

Hi Don,

Several top-end gunsmiths near me have recommended this product. I had a similiar problem as you have...applied several applications over a 2-3 day period (as Dwight stated...) and the screws came right out without much effort from my screwdriver.

http://www.storesonline.com/site/598...duct/AeroKroil

Regards,

Pete... <img border="0" alt="[typing]" title="" src="graemlins/yltype.gif" />

[Don M]

Status Report -- Semi-Success

Tried most of the suggestions:

- Several days of penetrating oil, from both inside & outside
- Short, fat-handled screwdriver with wide, well-fitting blade
- Backed up on folded towel
- Lots of vertical pressure while trying to turn by hand - no wrench

Didn't budge!

- Put frame in freezer
- When cold, blew hot air from hair dryer with slotted diffuser up the magazine well
- Repeated above

Left grip screw backed out! Right still stuck.

- Repeated freezer/hair dryer trick with no further success.

Looking for a better penetrating oil and hoping my wife won't make me take my mess out of the guest bathroom until I'm finished.

[DougT]

Don, I'm sorry that I do not have any additional suggestions for you--please keep us posted as this is a most interesting problem. Good luck!
DougT

[AGE]

Don, I would think warming up the frame would be better than cooling it. Warming it would expand it. Maybe it would be worth putting a real big screwdriver in the freezer overnight, warming the frame with a hair dryer for awhile, and then use the cold screwdriver to try to remove the screws. The cold screwdriver should chill the screws well below the frame temperature.

Just my thoughts, good luck.

[Hub]

Don,
There is available an inpact driver which is used to tighten and loosen bolts and screws. It accually is hit with a hammer and when such is done it turns to tighten or loosen. I have used this method some what by taking a screwdriver which fits the screw slot and giving it a couple of good raps with a hammer. This tends to shock the threads loose. In this case should you try it be sure to back the screw/frame up from the inside.

[John Sabato]

My recommendation is to continue to the soaking with penetrating oil. It may take several attempts over a week or more... Use the best fitting screwdriver that you have, and while pressing down to make sure you don't slip out of the slot, use a crescent wrench or vice grip on the blade of the screwdriver to apply the torque...

I wouldn't attempt Hub's suggestion of the use of a torque screwdriver except as a last resort... if you do so, make sure you have a piece of metal exactly the width of the mag well to absorb the shock of the impact on the torque screwdriver or you will very likely bend your frame...

Heating the frame (without burning the metal or the grips) and chilling the screw may very well break the hold... Hopefully the screw slot hasn't been stripped by overtightening... Let us know how you make out...

[John Sabato]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Morgan Kane:
<strong>It might help with some solvent or thin oil..
I have a problem getting out the pin that goes trough here;

..I almost find it a bit embarrassing going to a gunsmith for that little thing</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Morgan, you must use a steel pin punch that is exactly the right size, and place a cavity under the supported sear... then just WHACK it solidly enough to drive out the pin, but not so hard as to break the punch... Simple, eh? Good luck... it WILL come out.

[Hub]

One thing I added to my tool arsonel was an impact punch which acts the same as an impact driver but with a great amount less of an impact. The little smack they give sometimes is all you need and I made a few replaceable drive points and screwdriver bits for it.

[Scott H.]

Don,

You might want to try Liquid Wrench which can be purchased at any hardware store. A few months ago I purchased a model 92 Winchester that was manufactured in 1894. From what I could tell it had never been disassembled as ALL of the screws were frozen in the receiver. Just for the fun of it I tried a different type of lubricant on each screw: WD-40, Kroil, Moovit, Liquid Wrench, and Break Free. The screws where I used the Liquid Wrench all came loose after three days of soaking. The screws where I used the other lubricants were all stuck tight after three days. After I applied the Liquid Wrench to the other screws they also came loose. Even after soaking for several days there was not any damage to the gun blue. Liquid Wrench may be considered out of date by some, but I use it often when gunsmithing. It is cheap, readily available and most of all it works!

Scott

[Hugh]

Don,

I got this suggestion from an old gunsmith: buy a cheap screwdriver and grind the blade to fit the screw slot. Make the sides straight, not beveled like most commercial non gunsmith screwdrivers. Cut the handle off with a hacksaw and mount the screwdriver in a drill press. Place the screw under the screwdriver, and lower the drill press (NOT RUNNING) until the screwdriver is in the screw slot. Be sure that you have the frame of the gun backed up against something to keep it from turning. while applying downward pressure with the drill press, turn the chuck BY HAND to unscrew the screw.

[DougT]

Don, please let us know as soon as you resolve this problem. One of these suggestions is going to do the trick. I can't wait to find out what the fix finally turns out to be--this is even better than waiting to find out who shot J.R.! Only this Forum (and the internet) would make it possible for people all over the world to get concerned about a litte screw not working like it should. The suspense builds!
DougT

[Don M]

Doug: Wow! I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders! I hope that I'll be able to give you a success story as Christmas present.

Scott: I passed up purchase of Liquid Wrench yesterday on my so far unsuccessful quest for Kroil. I think I'll return to my friendly auto parts dealer. Thanks.

[luger11]

Hi Don............John is correct patience is truly a virtue here....Trust me , what ever loosener you decide to use they all work in time, DO NOT GET OVER AGGRESSIVE.
MTCs
Leo

[Don M]

FINALLY, SUCCESS!!!

I switched to Liquid Wrench and, after several days and applications, it finally came free.

Many thanks to all of you, especially those who counseled patience.

[DougT]

Great! Glad to hear that the "grip screw saga" has come to a happy ending. By the way Don, what sort of Luger is it, anyway? Not knowing this is kind of like helping get the baby born--then not knowing if it is a boy or girl. Tell us, OK?
Dougt

[Don M]

Dougt,

It's a police 29 DWM, s/n 1454u, about 85% blue overall, commercially marked, with both sear and mag (clipped) safeties, front grip strap marked: L.Ar.412. (Landj�¤gerei Arnsberg, weapon #412).