Stripped screw holes in Mag riser

[M60gunner]

Help please, I stripped one of the screw holes that holds latch assembly to riser. I first thoughts are retap and JB Weld. Any one else? Thanks in advance.

[ksbowman]

Tom, I have one of my A mags that had a spring plate screw and a cover plate screw that were stripped. They were #6 size screws and I re tapped the holes to #8 and it worked fine. If your concerned with a different size head you can grind the head down some and it will be very close to the same size head as the other original screw head.

[Hobow]

I agree that going to the next size screw would be a solid repair without too much trouble.

Towards the bottom of the thread below, you will find pictures of a repair that I made to my mag riser.  I drilled and tapped the riser for a larger size aluminum screw that I epoxied and tightened into place.  Once set, I countersunk it and tapped it back to the original screw size.

  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=14;t=006032  

I chose that type of repair to maintain the factory screws since it was in an area that was visible.  I don't believe that the factory screw in the aluminum is as strong as a bigger screw in the magnesium would be.  

I have unsuccessfully tried epoxy thread repair kits on carburetors in the past and always end up using a heli-coil or the technique shown above.

Good luck and it's worth the effort, I love my mag handles.

Brad

[M60gunner]

I bought a Time-Sert kit. It uses steel inserts so I can use orginal screws. I got it at a motor cycle shop. No regular nuts and bolts stores here had anything below #10. I shyed away from heli coil on my sons advice. He has used the insert product to repair stripped holes in transmissions.

[Hobow]

Those are great kits and can be difficult to find for many people.  Heli-coil kits are not a favorite of mine either since the threads are a friction fit.

Good choice and good luck!

Brad

[M60gunner]

I have since used my kit to repair my Mag riser. It was not difficult, just required a little patience. Now that I have my new string I am going to try out my Bigfoot limbs on the Mag riser.