How to remove a factory base from a Sako TRG??

[Jer]

I have a new TRG-22 with a rail that I want to move to another TRG-22 and it has four flat head screws like most bases but they won't even budge. Are they loc-tighted it or anything? Should heat be applied first? Anything else I should know about this? How do I go about removing this bad boy? I did a search but came up empty.

Thanks for the help!

 

[8up]

Re: How to remove a factory base from a Sako TRG??

I'd use a little heat to possibly loosen up. Better safe than sorry.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Re: How to remove a factory base from a Sako TRG??

Use heat from soldering iron. They likely have a variant of blue loctite on the threads.

Also, tapping the screwdriver can help. Just make sure the blade or key is close fitting to the slot or hex so you don't screw up the head.

When I switched over to a 20 MOA downbase, I broke a screw head off. That was fun removing. Used a left-handed drill and it came right out. But you don't want to do that if you can avoid it. Cheers, Sirhr.

 

[Ramius]

Re: How to remove a factory base from a Sako TRG??

Once you get the screws out be aware there is some kind of adhesive between the base and the receiver too.

Not sure if it is marine-tex or some other epoxy.

 

[Jer]

Re: How to remove a factory base from a Sako TRG??

Yeah, I was finally able to get them out today. I used direct heat from a butane torch held at a distance for a few seconds and did one screw at a time. Took a T-handle screw driver and VERY slow turning with more force pressed down than actually turning. Got some good torque on them and finally got them to back out. Once off though it was a bit odd. There was some substance on the screws that looks like more of a powder than a loctite so I'm not sure what they use at the factory but I'm sure it's meant to not come loose ever so no worries about losing one in battle or anything. There was also some sort of substance between the top of the action and the base like some sort of light glue or something. The lugs require you to pull straight up from the action to get the base off so don't try to pull at an angle or tap forward/backwards/sideways to get off. Thought I would post back some more details in case someone else finds this thread looking for the answer to the same question.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Re: How to remove a factory base from a Sako TRG??

The powder was the Loctite after heat broke it down and the threads "ground" it on the way out. It would likely be white, but you may see traces of blue or red (or another color as there are tons of thread lockers, not all by Loctite.

As Ramius pointed out, there is also a bedding compound between the surfaces both to lock the two together and to prevent water ingress which can cause rust. Amusing factoid... rust is c. 9x thicker than the metal it replaces. So if rust eats .001" into metal, the rust/oxide protrudes .009" above the metal. This is why rusted bolts are so hard to remove and rusty metal appears to grow and extrude (look at really old rusty car springs.) Technical term is rust smacking. Because of this, rust under scope mount = changed zero.

Good work getting them off! You can reinstall w. blue loctite or similar. That will work as bedding compound, too, just use thin layer. cheers, sirhr.

 

[Jer]

Re: How to remove a factory base from a Sako TRG??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sirhrmechanic</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The powder was the Loctite after heat broke it down and the threads "ground" it on the way out. It would likely be white, but you may see traces of blue or red (or another color as there are tons of thread lockers, not all by Loctite.

As Ramius pointed out, there is also a bedding compound between the surfaces both to lock the two together and to prevent water ingress which can cause rust. Amusing factoid... rust is c. 9x thicker than the metal it replaces. So if rust eats .001" into metal, the rust/oxide protrudes .009" above the metal. This is why rusted bolts are so hard to remove and rusty metal appears to grow and extrude (look at really old rusty car springs.) Technical term is rust smacking. Because of this, rust under scope mount = changed zero.

Good work getting them off! You can reinstall w. blue loctite or similar. That will work as bedding compound, too, just use thin layer. cheers, sirhr. </div></div>

Thanks for the great info!