misplaced tang bolt

[Simon]

I drilled my tang bolt today and got it on the curve of the tang.  It leaves a gap under the back edge of the bolt head of about 1/64''.   What would be the best way to bring the bolt head down?  Should I try to file the profile of the tang until the bolt head sits down or try to peen it down to fit?  Another thought would be to cut the counter sink deeper then re-contour the tang.

Which would be the least likely to result in a screw up?  My usual course of action would be to just cut a bigger and deeper counter sink and just live with it but I am trying to make this one look a little better than my usual work.

[Steve Bookout]

Sign Cutter, it's pretty hard to answer your question specifically without seeing the screw mounted into the tang.  You may be able to countersink the hole a tad more on the tight side to allow the head to set further into the hole and not be so noticeable.  Cheers, Bookie

[Jerry V Lape]

Do you have the option of plugging the wood and redrilling at a slightly steeper angle so the bolt head sits in the countersink flush? 

[Simon]

Jerry,  I didn't think of that.  I could plug the the trigger plate and the hole through the stock and redrill.  That should bring the bolt head down square.

Thanks  Mel

[Birddog6]

Regrind the head of the screw to shape of the tang & hole, so it Appears to be correct. When ya take it out it will look lopsided, but who cares about that, as long as it looks correct when on the rifle.

Keith Lisle

[Acer Saccharum]

You gotta fix this before you drill the hole. 

What?

I know it's too late now, but you have to plan the hole so the shank of the screw is perpendicular to the curve of the tang. This often makes the screw go thru the trigger plate at an awkward angle, but who cares about that end of the screw.

Possible fixes:
Use a fillister head screw, and counterbore the hole for the head of the screw, then file the top face of the screw to the contour of the tang.

[Ky-Flinter]

What Birddog said.  Install the tang bolt, mark the high side with a felt tip pen, file it a little.  Try it and repeat until happy.  Been there, done that.

-Ron

[Roger Fisher]

What Birddog said.  Install the tang bolt, mark the high side with a felt tip pen, file it a little.  Try it and repeat until happy.  Been there, done that.

-Ron

That's fer sure, thats fer dang sure

[Jim Kibler]

There's a catch to everything it seems...  The only problem with just shaping to fit the tang is that when the bolt inevitably starts to tighten up at a different location, the job won't be so neat.  If the required shaping is minimal it's really no big deal.  Too much and it might look OK now but not so great later.  Also if it's a simple countersink, after shaping you may end up with more of an oval that a circle if much material is removed from one side.   Again if it's a small amount of material removed, no big deal.  As Acer mentioned, a tang counter bored for the bolt head is a nice way of handling this situation.  I like to do this on my tang bolts.  Makes for a neat job.

[rich pierce]

Not picturing how the counterbore helps except for hiding a countersink that would "show" when the bolt is not indexed.  If counterbored at an angle not perpendicular to the tang, won't the head still need to be filed at an angle that will be revealed when not perfectly indexed?

[Acer Saccharum]

Not picturing how the counterbore helps except for hiding a countersink that would "show" when the bolt is not indexed.  If counterbored at an angle not perpendicular to the tang, won't the head still need to be filed at an angle that will be revealed when not perfectly indexed?

It helps, but doesn't fix the problem

As Jim mentioned, as the gun wood shrinks, the screw gets tightened, and goes out of timing. If it's a flat head screw, you now have a sharp edge revealed, and it really stands out.

But with the fillister head, you can dome the top of the screw, and it won't expose any sharp edges, no matter how far in it's turned.

However, if the angle of the screw to the flat of the tang is extreme, you may need to shape the screw head to the tang. Then it will show when turned beyond its sweet spot. That said, it is a little more forgiving than a flathead screw.

Tom

[Jim Kibler]

The counter bored arrangment also allows the screw head to remain round if extra material is removed from one side of the screw head.

[Simon]

Gentlemen;  thanks for the tips.  I found that the  biggest problem was that I  was using an 8-32 screw with a major diameter of .165, which is larger than my 8-32 tap.  When I switched to a screw with a diameter of .155 and a slightly smaller head all I had to do was minor reshaping of the tang.

Acer, your are correct about prior planing.  The whole problem started because I am using a pre-inletted stock that was inlet for a Cain trigger that is no long available and cut the replacement trigger plate to  short.  Had I been more careful in checking all my parts, I would not have caused the problem.

Thank you each and every one.

Mel