Double check before drilling commences!

[hijack]

Hi guys.

I have a TM metal bodied M4 which after upgrades, tight bore, new gears and piston and a few other bits, has decided to start putting out 400fps which is just too much. Decided to drop in a new M100 to cool it off but here lies the problem. The techie that did the work has unfortunately, in a moment of ham fingered madness, rounded off the Allen head of the mag catch retainer screw. This means the mag catch can't be removed and hence the gear box can't come out, etc.

I have ordered a generic mag catch which looks exactly the same as mine and am about to drill the old one out and do the work needed. My question is, am I missing something obvious? New to the pulling apart of AEGS. seems simple enough, drill out the old screw, remove gearbox and replace spring, put in new catch when rebuilding.

You guys can tell me the error of my ways before I make it. Lol. Cheers for any advice.

John

[sparkie740]

Re: Double check before drilling commences!

hey, i had a similar problem with the mag release catch screw, i used a 3mm hss drill bit. if your VERY carefull and take your time you should be able to just drill the head off the screw till it snaps off the shank then use a pair of pliers to remove the rest. get a new bolt from a well known auction site (M1.5 or M2 i think) and you can even re-use your existing mag catch!!

hope this helps

[Chandler]

Re: Double check before drilling commences!

personally i use a dremmel to cut a slot into any screws that round off. And then use a flat bladed screwdriver to remove them.
Then fit new screw

[Caveira]

Re: Double check before drilling commences!

If you've got a small torx driver that will be worth a try as sometimes there's enough edges left in a buggered hex head for the star bits to grip.

Other than that, drilling out is easy if you take your time and don't go in with the largest bit you've got straight away. A small bit down the centre to weaken it, then a slightly larger bit to torque the head off.

[hijack]

Re: Double check before drilling commences!

Cheers for the ideas. Will try the torques then the dremmel as I actually have one. Lol.

Cheers guys.