Torque specs for action and other screws?

[JimG]

Anyone have any idea as to how tight the action screws should be? Also how tight should the screw that secures the trigger group to the action be on the Howa family of rifles? Please don't say "really really tight" or "somewhat tight". I'm looking for torque specs in inch pounds. Thanks.

[drdougrx]

OK...I'll start.  The action screws should be set at 40inch pounds for wood and synth stocks ( I read somewhere) and Ruger says the front bedding screw on the 77 should be 90ips.  HS Precision recommends 65IPS on their stocks.  So, I bought a torque driver from Midway and I set everything at 40ips except my rugers front bedding screw that I set at 60.  I end glass bedding everytrhing anyway.  If you don't have one of these, I'd use the advice the Timney Trigger folks gave me.  Tighten all the with a screwdriver using three fingers until everything is tight except rugers, give the front bedding screw an extra turn. 


Hope this helps.

[tuck2]

Wheeler Engineering  makes a tool called The Fat Wrench --Firearm Accurizing Torque Wrench  that has the recommended torque settings in the wrench package.

[jvs]

I believe that having the right tool for the job is the best way to go, but there is a way around this if you have a ft/lb torque wrench.

1 in / pound = 0.0833333333 feet / pound, or roughly 12 in/lb to a ft/lb.

So 60 in/lb would be 5 ft/lb.

And since it seems that those in/lb tools can only be adjusted in 5 in/lb increments, a ft/lb torque wrench may be ok to use.  Buying an automotive in/lb torque wrench with less than 5 in/lb increments would not be cost effective for little guys like me.

What I'd like to know is what various manufacturers recommend for torque specs on their rifles.  Does anyone have those specs?

[drdougrx]

There's an article in Am Rifleman I think that talks about the Wheeler Torque driver.  In it the author lists the info you want.  Also, the instructions on the package give guidelines as well.

Hope this helps.

[JimG]

The Fat Wrench has mixed reviews. I own two higher end torque wrenches that are capable of accurate and repeatable torque settings. What amazes me is that rifle manufacturers don't advertise what the recommended specs are.

[skb2706]

IMHO....it is far more important to assemble the rifle consistently than it is to hit a specific number. So once you determine what torque value you think it should be use that number everytime.

[riddleofsteel]

That's because most of the factory rifles I have disassembled have not had the recommended torque on the bedding screws. If they advertised the proper torque they might have to buy a torque wrench at the d*mn assembly lines.

 

[Bill T]

They don't advertise torque specs simply because they don't want customers taking their guns apart. It's also the same reason they always say never to use reloaded ammunition. Bill T.

[jvs]

Ford, General Motors and the rest never wanted anyone to work on their own cars either and that never stopped anyone until they put those darn computers in each and every model.  It won't be long before you need to take your car in for air in the tires.  I bought a new Toyota, and I can't go just anywhere for tires because of the computerized valve stems.  Thankfully, I can still change my own oil because Toyota now gives the procedure for clearing the code for the oil change.   WHEW ! ! !

So I suppose if the gun makers wanted to stop someone from working on thier own equipment, they could computerize each and every model.

Until then, holding torque specs for action screws as proprietary knowledge is somewhat stupid, because it isn't going to stop anyone from doing their own work.  With the knowledge, owners could be doing it correctly, now couldn't they...

Somehow, manufacturers think that holding certain information 'close to the vest' is the best policy.  Maybe they don't want anyone to know that they don't set the screws to any certain spec under mass production practices.  It would cost too much.   I am positive that all they care about is that the screws are there and tight, and not missing.

[Bill T]

 I am positive that all they care about is that the screws are there and tight, and not missing.

Depends on the gun. On a Remington Wally World, "packaged 710", your probably correct. On a $2,500.00 .378 Weatherby Mark V DeLuxe with an accuracy guarantee, you can bet they use a little more  care during assembly. Cars are getting more complex, guns really aren't. All you get for more money is better materials, craftsmanship, and embellishments. The same screws do the same thing on either, except for guns like the Remington "Etronix". And we all know where that one went.  Bill T.

[jvs]

I obviously didn't mean the manufacturers or the rifles produced with pride to ISO standards or rigid specifications.  A Weatherby Mark V also carries the price tag associated with making sure everything is within certain specs.  Which makes my point even more obvious that on mass produced rifles, it is not cost effective to make sure the action screws are at 45 in/lb.  As long as the screws are there and tight, that's good enough.

Which could explain why service departments won't consider working on anything that is grouping at 2 1/2 inches, stating... " it falls within acceptible factory specifications for accuracy".

Why the manufacturers won't release those in/lb specifications is puzzling.  Don't they realize that you will probably turn those screws without the specs?

If they released the specs, the next thing they'd know is customers would be checking the in/lb's on new rifles and demanding to know why their new rifle isn't within company specs.   How could they explain that one?

The more I think about it, not realeasing those in/lb specs is a shrewd legal defense.



 

[S.B.]

I start with 65 inch pounds and move it 5 inch pounds each way till I find the sweet spot?

[Bill T]

I think with these newer synthetic stocks that contain a full length machined Aluminum bedding block, torque is less critical than with Walnut, or any type of natural wood bedded in plastic resin. I replaced a factory Walnut stock that split on a Remington 700 Safari Grade rifle in .458 Win. Mag., with a H&S Precision Synthetic model with a full length Aluminum bedding block, and simply gave it "a good snugging" with the allen wrench and screws provided with the stock, and the gun was very accurate without doing anything else. More and more shooters are changing out stocks on their rifles today than ever before simply based on the amount of aftermarket stocks sold. I can all but guarantee you less than 25% use a torque wrench when doing so. Hell, I never have.  Bill T.