Gunsmithing Seekins screw broken?

[Rerun7]

Hey guys, I was mounting a scope last night with Seekins rings and one of the clamp screws at the base broke off when torquing it down.

I had the wrench set to 55in/lbs. I could tell something wasn’t right because it was turning but not feeling tighter and was taking too long to reach the torque value. Heard a pop and the screw was broken in half.

Has anyone else had this happen? I was really nervous to do the remaining screws but they seemed fine.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

Hey guys, I was mounting a scope last night with Seekins rings and one of the clamp screws at the base broke off when torquing it down.

I had the wrench set to 55in/lbs. I could tell something wasn’t right because it was turning but not feeling tighter and was taking too long to reach the torque value. Heard a pop and the screw was broken in half.

Has anyone else had this happen? I was really nervous to do the remaining screws but they seemed fine.

Give them a call tomorrow, I am sure they will make it right.

 

[Rerun7]

Give them a call tomorrow, I am sure they will make it right.

Oh, yeah they are great and already shipping me a replacement.

I was more curious if people have this happen or if I need to toss my torque wrench and be worried about the other screws being over torqued.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

Oh, yeah they are great and already shipping me a replacement.

I was more curious if people have this happen or if I need to toss my torque wrench and be worried about the other screws being over torqued.

What wrench were you using?

 

[db2000]

Give them a call tomorrow, I am sure they will make it right.

^^^definitely they will
Email may be quicker though.

 

[sjmpcc022]

Good lesson, if it doesn't feel right, STOP!!!!

 

[Rerun7]

What wrench were you using?

I’ll have to go check the brand. It’s a cheaper one that I’ve been using for years.


So, have any of you guys had this happen within a torque spec?

 

[6.5SH]

Always reset your wrench to 0 after using it? If not it may have lost calibration.

 

[ALShooter]

I’ll have to go check the brand. It’s a cheaper one that I’ve been using for years.


So, have any of you guys had this happen within a torque spec?

Nope, and I have 5+ sets of seekins made rings. Not saying it can’t happen though. No way to tell without wasting $$ to make sure your wrench is calibrated. I’ve reach oh shit torque like that many times in life.

 

[Rerun7]

Always reset your wrench to 0 after using it? If not it may have lost calibration.

Yep, I leave it at zero anytime it’s not in use. I went ahead and ordered a fat wrench just in case.

 

[6.5SH]

Yep, I leave it at zero anytime it’s not in use. I went ahead and ordered a fat wrench just in case.

Might check a pro level tool store or local mechanic school that has a calibration meter.

 

[atvman400]

I'm really surprised by this since the Seekin's rings I have thread right into the aluminum body. I would of guessed you would of stripped the body out well before the steel screw would break.
Either way it looks to me that these screws are black zinc plated. Hydrogen embrittlement in an issue with socket head screws when plating. If the plater didn't bake them, hydrogen embrittlement could of been the issue.

 

[Rerun7]

In talking with Seekins (who was great BTW) said it was probably the screw.

I also bought a new torque wrench and did some testing between my old one and new one. It appears to me that my old torque wrench was also off a bit (+\- 6 in lbs), it’s hard to tell exactly.

So I tossed the old wrench, Seekins is sending me new screws and all is good.