Chisel-tip screwdriver for older double gun

[Flyrod]

I have an old JP Sauer & Sohn boxlock that seems to be gummed up inside. I'd like to remove the stock and have a look. The screws have extremely narrow slots. I can grind a screwdriver to fit. OR, maybe there's a better option.

I found a MidwayUSA gunsmithing video where an experienced gentleman used what looked like chisel-tipped screwdrivers to disassemble an older double gun with narrow scew slots (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwMIgo4BXW4). I pasted a screen-grab below.

I like tools, and would like to find a set of those screwdrives, but don't know what they are called. Can someone here please educate me?



Thank you in advance -
Flyrod

 

[Flyrod]

Whoops; hit Submit before I added the other pictures. For completeness, here's the gun and one of the narrow-slot screws that someone in the past apparently struggled with.

 

[Cholo]

I highly recommend Brownells Magna Tip screw driver set. Somehow I can't put a direct link so here's a link to the page it's on. I'd pick the one at the bottom that says: 080-112-804WB
58 Bit Master Set Plus w/ Magnetic Law Enforcement Handle. Handle: Magnetic Style: 58-Bits, Law Enforcement. $129.99

I have one bought new in the 70's and I bought my son one a few years ago. Amazing quality and I havn't found the screw yet that I can't get a good tight fit with one of the inserts. Some are pretty narrow like you need.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/screwdrivers-sets/magna-tip-sets/magna-tip-super-sets--prod417.aspx

 

[woodperson]

The Brownells screwdrivers are a great choice. Also get the little grinding wheel for them when you purchase some bits. For the really tough screws in a double gun I used a lathe and made a center in the handle of the screwdriver. I can use the drill press to apply pressure down while I turn the screw.

 

[Johnnu2]

I have a set of Brownells THIN BIT magna tip bits: #080-120-000. I don't know how old that part # is, I bought these many years ago. I can tell you that they have helped me take apart several old, foreign guns with very thin screw slots. Worth their weight in gold if still available. p.s. there are 18 thin bits in this set....
J.

 

[Highstandardguy]

Get a generic bit that is the correct width for the screw and thin it down to fit the slot. I had to do this for the grip screws on my Beretta 950s.

 

[Flyrod]

Thank you for the replies -

I do have a handle/bit set designed for guns that serves most of my purposes (in addition to a set of Grace gunsmith screwdrivers). I will probably invest in that thin-bit set that Johnnu2 pointed me too - those look great. The recommended tools from Brownells are out of stock at the moment, but I'm not in any rush.

Using a drill press for downward pressure - another great tip, thanks!

I'm still hoping someone here can tell me what that wedge-shaped "screwdriver" in the video is called. I like the design: the wedge-shaped tip will never bend, and can be pressed into the thinnest, shallowest of slots, even one that has been buggered. Has anyone seen those for sale anywhere? I don't see them in the Brownells catalog, and so they may no longer be made. I suppose I could make one for myself, but would be a lot easier to buy one that is properly hardened and handled.

Thanks,
Flyrod

 

[woodperson]

I watched a good bit of the video. I have never seen screwdrivers ground like that. I did notice that he was very careful to use a lot of down pressure to keep the wedge from pushing out. I expect the main thing to take away from that video is that the guy really knows what he is doing. Looks like all the pressure is on the edges of the screw slot. And he maybe tilts the screwdriver to get one face flat against the slot?

 

[Flyrod]

I agree - those were experienced hands! He looked like he had taken apart many, many similar guns in his day. That's the main reason I'm intrigued by those screwdrivers - if there was a better tool for the job, I think that man would have been using it. Maybe he made them himself.

Hoping there is someone here who can shed some light . . .

 

[Mobuck]

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend that type of screwdriver tip. It puts all the force on the top edge of the slot and can/will break 1/2 the screwhead off in some cases. Find a top quality bit that fits or grind one to fit. Hold the bit with ViseGrips and whack it into the slot a few times with a smallish hammer. This will seat the bit AND help break the threads loose.
I have on a few really stubborn screws used a combination of driver bits and extensions plus a small arbor press to exert a LOT of controlled force in order to remove already buggered screws.

 

[snakeeyes4445]

The gentleman's name is Jack Rowe. His decades of English gun shop experience allows him to make fabricating that screwdriver for the video look easy. It isn't. Never throwing out any high carbon broken tools of various diameters will leave you with the raw materials to inexpensively make your own..
I use a spindle sander with the smaller cylinders to get the correct radius. A lot of touch and observation is required, but if you miss, there is still plenty of material to try again.
The shorter shaft is easier to feel how solidly you are fitted into the work. The Brownells set handles are each too long and too short. The minor looseness of the bits in the socket scares me when working on expensive firearms. Thank you for the tip about Brownells thin blade set though.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

If you're gonna order from Brownell's, include a can of Kroil. This stuff is supposed to "creep" through gaps as small as 2 millionths of an inch. Don't know who was the one that actually measured that, but the stuff works for me very well when I soak barrels with stuck choke tubes in an empty, tall olive jar, filled with it.

Squirt some of the Kroil around the edges of the screw head and let it "creep" around for a day or two.

 

[rugerguy]

I;m with SGW and Mobuck, in our shops and the factory shops I had worked at ALL the gunsmiths usually cut and ground the tips of the various drivers to fit the guns they worked on, in the shop we last owned the gunsmith had "set" of screw drivers for Browning,one for European doubles, and then another for the common stuff for the majority of the everyday guns, wish I had a picture of the triple rack of "screwdrivers" along the shelf of the work bench,............ same for punches.........
and YES< the pressure tip given above, that works and lastly like SGW pointed out 'Kroil' and yes it does "creep" and UPWARD too!! 8) :roll: :wink:

 

[Hondo44]

That "chisel" bit goes against everything I know about screws and proper screwdrivers. However it's clear from the video that it has a special purpose, is unbreakable, and for tight screws in locations where the screws are hidden once installed. The rest of his screwdrivers were not chisel pointed nor for use on exterior screws that are not hidden. I suspect the old gent was a shotgun manufacturer's employee for many years! Didn't have time to hear it all yet.