6x48 Filler Screws for Sights & Scopes: How to Shorten Them

[Old No7]

I'll bet there are some other ways to do this, but I figured I'd post this here in case it helps someone else when they mount a sight or scope.

The challenge I had was:
How to shorten those small 6x48 Filler Screws by 0.025” to 0.030” so they’d fit flush.

Luckily, I had a few extra and only 2 to do, but gee -- how do you hold 'em???

A pair of tweezers didn’t work... I could have used a small metal jewelers vice, but that probably would have damaged the threads. A set of rubber jaws in my bench vice didn't work either, as they just popped out the moment the file hit it. So then I tried a pair of nylon fishing pliers clamped really tight... That ended up launching 2 screws to never-to-be-found-again-land after they jumped out of the jaws. Then on top of all this, it turns out that none of my files (and I have quite a few very good ones from my locksmithing days) would even touch the finish of the screw -- never mind take some metal off.

What I really needed was a thin 1/16" metal plate that was already threaded to 6x48... But of course, I didn't have that...

Time to get creative! So I used a hole punch to put different sized holes in some tough leather scrap, and then I screwed it into one of the holes that was a tight fit:




Then I slowly and carefully ground it down with a 3/4" stone in my Dremel, at moderate speeds:


Great, it worked!

This last picture shows them fitting flush -- and "clocked" or "timed" correctly -- on the muzzle of the new-to-me Savage 99A which I'd already scoped, and I didn't want to see the front sight in my view:


Now I just need to add a touch of cold blue to blend them in a little better.

Using that holed leather strap to hold them really worked out well.

Tight groups.

Old No7

[Big Al1]

Nice tip, thanks!! I've been meaning to make a fixture out of 1/8" flat stock for that purpose. Just drill and tap it with the common screw sizes like 6-48 and 8-40. Then just thread your screw in the hole and trim as needed.

[Setters4life]

Nice tip!

In a pinch, I've used a plier like this to shear the screw but I wish I knew about your leather trick before I did it this way.

[saleen322]

Brownells has sold these for years. Real time saver that was made for holding screws while you grind them to length.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-to...--prod599.aspx