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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Hi Guys,
I took the gas block off the wife's new 196-Ranch tonight. At first I didn't think I was though... Used a long wrench and the screws wouldn't budge, took a lighter and heated the sides of the upper block a couple of times and they broke free. These things are entirely too tight and the stake is not only on the hole but dings the tips of the screw too. I could see the flex in the upper before I took it off. Anyway I lapped the blocks, 320, 400 then finished with 600 and cold blued. Luckily I had a set of virgin screws on hand, spares for my pre-ban. The guy that does this crap must be related...?
 

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I hear ya. Ole Popeye is strong of hand but weak of eye.
I could see the gasblock was very uneven on my new Mini, so VERY carefully I worked the screws loose to even things up. If you are not real careful, you will strip the screws or wrench after Popeye has performed his magic.
As the two halves do not touch, I do not see the need to lap them.
 

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I'll be the first to say that some of these buggers are staked tight as all get-out, and honestly, some might require a gunsmith, or at least some significant creativity to get them out.

There appear to be three staking methods used to fix these screws:

1) A single linear punch that runs across the outer portion of the screw head and then onto the gas block where they meet;

2) A single hand punch(...?...) on the screw head that angles outward towards the gas glock;

3) A little non-descript (sometimes nearly invisible at a casual glance) "stamped" area that distorts the edges of the screw head and the recessed area along the gas block where they meet

The single hand punch version (2) is the easiest to remove, as you can just take a punch and drive the outer staked edge of the screw back towards the center. The other two seem to require a progressive series of ever more "forceful" approachs.

Here's a few pointers and ideas for the stubborn ones:

1) Soak the screws with a quality penetrating oil for a few hours. Using a machinists or cutting oil is the best choice, but most any quality penetrant should help.

2) Make sure you use a high-quality, properly sized hex wrench that will take a high amount of torque without stipping either the screw head or the end of the tool. The "T-bar" handled versions in chromoly or good hardended steel seem to work very well for this.

Remember, gunsmithing is NOT the time to use a .99 cent el cheapo tool from the bargin bin at Wal-Mart, because if you strip out the heads of the screw, you could be in for some time/$$$ consuming work to get that screw out.

3) After you have soaked the screws, go ahead and see if you can break the screw loose with the hex wrench. If not, try attaching a pair of vice grips or other type of extension to the hex wrench to gain some additional leverage.

4) If the screw still won't budge, remove the stock, wipe off any excess oil, grab a blow torch, and then heat the gas block area and screws until they are nice and hot. Not glowing red or anything like that...just nice and hot. Soak it with oil again, let it sit for a few minutes, then give it another try with the wrench.

(The "oil-->heat--->whack it with a B.F.H. method" is a tried and true nut/bolt/screw removal technology for guns, cars, tractors, earth moving equipemnt, and airplanes.)

5) Locate exactly where the staked area is, and using a punch and hammer make a series of taps at that position inward toward the center of the screw. You don't really need to deform the screw...just nice solid blows that will cause enough "minor damage" to dislodge the staked area.

6) A more serious option is to take a tiny drill bit...say a 1/32" or 1/64" if you have one...and very precisely drill down along the very outside edge of the screwhead near the staked area. Only drill a down a very short distance...about 1/16 to 3/32" of an inch will be plenty. Now, take the punch again, and this time drive the outer edge of the screw inwards towards the center.

7) If you can find a good screw extractor that you can get to bite into the screw, you can often get the staking to break free. I've heard that a torx (t-20) bit can also be driven into the head recess, although I have not tried verifed this method.

This should about cover getting the screws out...getting a good fit on the block is entirely up to you and your torque wrench.
 

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Good job Mengo. The laping of the gas block halves will allow you to get a more prescise gap on each side. Mine was so rough like they sawed them with a 7 th hack saw. I was fortunate, mine was tight, but had no stakes. I use "loctite blue" on the threads when I gap the halves, and retighten the the screws.

The gas blocks will constrict your barrel somewhat. When I fire laped my barrel, I sluged my barrel with a pulled 22 LR bullet, the only remaining tight spots were the muzzle (a good thing for accuracy), and the gas block area. It was improved in the gas block area, but still a tight spot. I removed the gas block, the tight spot was gone. Reinstalling the gas block halves, torqueing the screws to 32 in-lbs, the tight spot returned. I once figured out the metal thickness in this area to be only .154". So that is why you may see a slight improvement in accuracy, by laping the halves, gaping, and torqueing the screws to 24 - 36 in lbs, (or for an even feel by hand, tight, but not real tight), tightening in a criss-cross pattern.

Z-man, thanks for all the tips on removing those stuborn screws.
 

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I just had my Mini apart to install Mike's modified gas bushing. I was a bit worried about getting the screws out after reading alot of stories about over-tight/staked screws. I had assemble the right tools to do battle with the situation (quality allen bit, extra leverage handle, penetrating oil, even a torch to "warm it up" if necessary). Well, when I backed 'em out they were scarcely beyond finger tight!! I was very surprised. In fact when I looked closely, I could see very small power fouling in front of the block, which would indicate some blow-by.

Maybe Popeye had the day off and Wimpy was filling in...:rolleyes:
 

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You certainly got lucky with the nice, easy screws. Nothing like quality control, huh? LOL

Let me just add, however, to please do yourself a favor and extend your lucky streak by completely checking all the other fasteners and connections on that firearm before you fire it again.

If a "hand-tight" gas block screw made it through Q/A, then you never know what else might be lurking inside...
 

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Discussion Starter · #7 ·
Good point! I've compared these two, a standard model and a new Ranch and even though they tout the milled in scope bases, which are cast into the receiver from the start. The Ranch has 'cost cutting' features too. The bolt stop cover is thinner/sorta flimsy really, the bolt/ejector system is made for faster production with less parts. Of course the mag release we're all aware of... and they sell for more... go figure??
 
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