savage 110 action thread buggered up. need advice

[Remingtonman]

I am currently working on finishing up my 338-06 build and in short I screwed up my pillar bedding job by not making sure my action screw holes were in line with my pillar holes. I ended up buggering the front action screw hole up alittle bit to where I can get my front action screw started. My question is can I use a 1/4 x 28 TPI tap and and clean my threads up? Or will doing this make the action screw hole alittle bigger than factory? Ive done this before but on a top scope base with 6-48 holes and used the same thread pitch but the hole actually ended being alittle bigger, making my screws wobbly due to the extra material that was cut out. Do I need to go with a thread chaser tap or can I just use a regular 1/4 x 28 TPI tap? Thanks in advance.

[Robinhood]

Can you drill it over sized? Like if you have a 17/64 diameter hole in you pillar you might get a J or K drill to open it up a smidgen.

[Remingtonman]

I would prefer not to. Im trying to stay with the 1/4 just to keep it simple if I can.

[Robinhood]

Sorry I was talking about the pillar hole not the threaded action hole. The only option you have with that is to try and tap it with a 1/4-28. Afterthat it is a I drill and a 5/16 -24 tap. That ain't good but it is do-able.

[Remingtonman]

Sorry I was talking about the pillar hole not the threaded action hole. The only option you have with that is to try and tap it with a 1/4-28. Afterthat it is a I drill and a 5/16 -24 tap. That ain't good but it is do-able.

Are the savage action threads themself fine thread? Im looking at a different taps and wasnt sure exactly what they are.

[Robinhood]

1/4 - 28 is fine thread.

[Texas10]

Yes, you can clean up the threads with a tap, but you want to make sure you're not using a cheap, oversized tap that will produce a loose fit to the screw. If you own a good quality tap set, it is likely they are not slightly oversize, but you can order an undersize tap to start the repair.

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about taps sizes.

http://www.newmantools.com/taps/taptech.htm

[flutedchamber]

Use a good quality tap, one which states the H limit on the tap. An H limit of 1 means the tap is .0005 over standard size. Most taps you will find are H2. An H3 tap is usually used as a nut tap. A ground thread tap is well worth the extra money.

[Robinhood]

If you take a picture and post it, one of these knowledgeable posters might tell you if it is salvageable with a 1/4-28 tap of any tolerance.