I bought a set of hex head grip screws off eBay, and they are junk! I managed to strip the head on one of them bad, it's in there nice and tight with a rounded hole...I have a nice set of Hogue G10 grips on this pistol and don't want to mess them up trying to cut into the screw if I can...ideas or any help on backing this rounded out screw out would be very much appreciated.

I have had success using a strip of a thin rubber band pushed into the screw's head. Pushing into the band/screw head and turning with the screwdriver/bit may get enough traction to move it.

You could try a small screw extractor:

https://www.mactools.com/en-us...ine-Screw-Extractors

Or a similar tool:

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Screw...ies-Tools/1922672115

Good luck!

I have had luck using the next size up torx bit , tap it into the hex head and let it bite.

Screw extractors work if they can be seated deep enough. You might have to drill into the socket to provide the extra depth. Use a sharp drill bit smaller in diameter than the screw. However, those screws are pretty small threaded shaft diameter.

Caveat* Do this only if you're confident you can drill perfectly straight, so as to not damage the threads in the frame.

Whenever someone has this issue, someone else will inevitably suggest epoxying or gluing the hex head wrench into the fastener. It doesn't work. You cannot get sufficient adhesive into the fastener and around the tool.

There are left handed drill bits that might work. Drill into the damaged fastener and the reverse cut bit should back the fastener out. Lubricant helps but you probably won't be able to easily apply it. Again, be careful to drill perfectly straight.

Good luck with it. The services of a gunsmith might be worth it. The grip might have to be sacrificed.

Place the grip frame in the freezer overnight and then try unscrewing with whatever bites into the head. All that costs you is some time.

Elmer’s suggestion has worked for me, in the past.

I’d also suggest you put a bit of penetrating oil on the tip end of the screw where it’s visible in the magazine well, and give it time to work its way into the threads before any further efforts to remove the screw.

Go out and put a couple hundred rounds through it- neve fails to loosen the screws up on my Sig's

I've never tried this but I wonder if an allen wrench epoxied into the screw would work.

Aren't grip screws intentionally made from soft alloy to avoid stripping out the frame threads? Better to strip out a screw than a frame.

quote:

Originally posted by elmer:
I have had luck using the next size up torx bit , tap it into the hex head and let it bite.

I had this problem on a P228 and did the above. With a little elbow grease and hammering the torx bit into the screw, it came right out.

Back to slotted grip screws as the it seems like all of the hex heads eventually do this.

 
I use purple Loctite on all my grip screws, instead of high torque. Never had one work loose. The purple is "reusable". You can get the screw out with only a little effort, and the threads clean easily with acetone for reuse.

quote:

Originally posted by druryj:
I bought a set of hex head grip screws off eBay, and they are junk! I managed to strip the head on one of them bad, it's in there nice and tight with a rounded hole...I have a nice set of Hogue G10 grips on this pistol and don't want to mess them up trying to cut into the screw if I can...ideas or any help on backing this rounded out screw out would be very much appreciated.

I have had such instances in the past. I took the gun to a smith who used a thin cut-off wheel in a Dremel-style tool to cut a straight slot across the screw head. I told him to sacrifice the grips if necessary; the grips survived. And that was also the last time I've used hex-head grip screws.

Get some blackened stainless socket head grip screws. They don't strip nearly as easy as cheap steel ones do. As far as getting the stripped ones out, the Torx wrench trick is the one that's worked for me in the past.

left hand drill bit and if that doesn't do much extractor of the correct size. Don't buy cheap fasteners on ebay.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
left hand drill bit and if that doesn't do much extractor of the correct size. Don't buy cheap fasteners on ebay.

I've had that happen to hex head screws from name vendors who sell grips. Poorly fitting allen wrenches (or just the wrong size, perhaps metric by mistake), and/or trying to tighten them too tight to prevent their loosening. The torque for screws that small is in the 15-25 inch-pound range.

any name vendor that ships junk screws should be publicly shamed. But someone using the wrong tool should simply own up to their own stupidity. Torque numbers are probably in the 8-10 range for the quality/size of these.

If the hex slipped, it wasn't the poor quality of the fastener (though it may be poor quality); it was the wrong size tool, or wrong tool.

An extraction bit may help, but the screw may be too small. Be careful you don't drill into the frame if you have to deepen the hole. A small cold chisel can be used to rotate the screw; be careful you don't slip, use a small, light hammer, and make single taps, and secure the pistol before you begin, so it doesn't move.

If you use anything in that hole to rotate the fastener, also use valve grinding compound; it provides additional grip of the tool (extractor, hex, etc) and increases the chance of success. It doesn't take much. Just a dab'l'do'ya.

If the fastener isn't too deep in the grip, it can be notched with a cutoff wheel, but be careful about the wheel jumping or touching the edges of the hole in the grip, and ruining the trip. Notching is for a straight blade.

Grip screws require fingertip pressure, max. A low quality fastener won't manifest itself as a stripped hole, but as a screw that shears off and compounds your problems. These are small screws. It doesn't take much to twist them off.

Whatever you do when you're trying to get that fastener out, don't damage the frame.

I have not seen this issue previously discussed in a long time, but I recall numerous complaints/reports about Hogue hex drive grip plate screws failing. Back then it was the general consensus that they were made of soft steel, evidently to help avoid stripping out the frame threads if they were tightened too much. It would not surprise me in the slightest if the hex hole rounded out if too much torque was used, and especially if the drive tool wasn’t a close fit.

quote:

Originally posted by elmer:
I have had luck using the next size up torx bit , tap it into the hex head and let it bite.

Great idea! I'll have to remember this one.