HighVelocity
Member
I have a very nice gunsmithing screw driver set and I'm always careful to pick the bit that properly fits the screw I'm working with.
That said, yesterday I discovered that even with the proper tool I was at the mercy of the gun manufacturer, which in this case was/is Taurus.
The subject, my PT145 Mil Pro. The project, install a set of Williams Firesights.
There is one screw holding the front and one holding the rear. The front was tight but I applied solid, slow and steady pressure and worked the screw back and forth and it finally backed out. There was some type of thread locker on the screw but it was colorless. Whew, ok, on to the rear.
Here's where I ran into trouble. The moment the screw slot cleared the sight, it became unsupported on the sides. The metal was so soft that half the top of the screw tore, yes tore, not snapped off.
It took me about another half hour to extract the broken screw without damaging the rear sight.
So now the gun is down until I get some screws. I called Taurus (was put on hold for 10 minutes and then disconnected) to get the screws (ordered 4 just in case) and because of shipping charges the bill was $8.75. I was upfront about what happened but was a bit surprised that I was getting charged $8 to ship 4 screws.
I've had mishaps before (Springfield and S&W) but have never been charged. In the case of Springfield Armory, I lost a part and they actually apologized to me and fedexed me another part free.
Lesson learned, 1. Taurus uses really crappy screws in non stress areas.
That said, yesterday I discovered that even with the proper tool I was at the mercy of the gun manufacturer, which in this case was/is Taurus.
The subject, my PT145 Mil Pro. The project, install a set of Williams Firesights.
There is one screw holding the front and one holding the rear. The front was tight but I applied solid, slow and steady pressure and worked the screw back and forth and it finally backed out. There was some type of thread locker on the screw but it was colorless. Whew, ok, on to the rear.
Here's where I ran into trouble. The moment the screw slot cleared the sight, it became unsupported on the sides. The metal was so soft that half the top of the screw tore, yes tore, not snapped off.
It took me about another half hour to extract the broken screw without damaging the rear sight.
So now the gun is down until I get some screws. I called Taurus (was put on hold for 10 minutes and then disconnected) to get the screws (ordered 4 just in case) and because of shipping charges the bill was $8.75. I was upfront about what happened but was a bit surprised that I was getting charged $8 to ship 4 screws.
I've had mishaps before (Springfield and S&W) but have never been charged. In the case of Springfield Armory, I lost a part and they actually apologized to me and fedexed me another part free.
Lesson learned, 1. Taurus uses really crappy screws in non stress areas.
