I'm going to keep trying the Kroil and tapping method for a while longer before the drill press.

Thanks again, great information.

Kroil is not a solvent for shellac.  Methyl/Ethyl ("denatured") alcohol is the standard solvent. 91% Isopropyl alcohol is its solvent too but works much slower because of the water content. The fastest solvent for shellac is acetone. Just be careful with it because it will damage plastic and wood finishes. 

More than a year ago I broke off the threaded shank of a 6-48 filister head screw, leaving it frozen in place in a scope mounting hole. It had been locked in place, no earlier than 1960, with shellac.  I'd used Kroil, then pinpoint heat with a gas operated mini-soldering gun, then more Kroil. No luck. After I finally figured out there was a colorless threadlocker in place, I switched to Isopropyl alcohol and eventually got two of the three screws out, then tried to use the one-piece scope base as a lever to turn out the balky screw. Ping!   

What made this event more than usually tense was the gun: a Winchester Model 52C Sporting rifle, one of only about 1,314 ever made, according to Houze. 

A gunsmith's fee later for getting the broken shank out of the hole and chasing the female threads in the receiver, I put the Redfield Jr. base in my parts box, I recently decided to re-use it and saw the filister head and part of the shank was still frozen in the unthreaded mounting hole of the base. I soaked it in an airtight tray of acetone overnight and was able to brush the residue out with a stiff old toothbrush. A little Kroil cleaned the part up. 

Your predicament is precisely the reason I resist the temptation to take old guns apart to clean them up.

Over the years I’ve found (with maybe 1 or 2 extreme exceptions) that simply wiping down the gun and if necessary cleaning accessible internal and external cracks and crevices with a q-tip, toothpick and a solvent/oil soaked patch is more than sufficient and scratches my itch.

You’ve received some good advice. I’ve removed stuck screws on scope rings a couple times by applying Kroil, securing the gun securely in a vise, applying heat to the screw with a soldering iron and having a go at the screw with a reverse drill bit (but I didn’t have to reuse the screw). If all else fails take to a gunsmith.

Good Luck

Jeremy P said
Keep dripping the kroil and if you add heat, use a hair dryer or a lower-setting heat gun, not a flame. Also once you have a nice fitting tip in the screw head, give the driver a few light taps with a hammer to help shock it. I think those are also pretty well known to strip too...you might want a gunsmith to drill it out if you're not comfortable with that and still can't get it to budge...
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86Win said
My old gun nut friend said if you have access to a drill press, insert proper fitting screw driver in chuck. With the stuck screw item firmly secured, lower the screw driver down into the screw slot. While holding pressure down  and the drill press off slowly turn the chuck by grasping the drill press belt. This has worked for me a few times.
  

I do like both of these suggestions and can understand them completely as I have been there using both methods and almost combing them. I have always been a fan of Kroil, and have stated this in the past. When we work on a project as this, hurrying isn't the proper method to use. Think about "the one shot you have to not screw it up"! Taking you're time and revisiting it to add another drop of kroil, and a light tapping practice, of several small hits, with a small hammer, of choice, on the right small and proper screw driver is Paramount. Having the proper set up and securing the firearm is second to none. By doing this you're shocking and working on breaking the bond whether it be rust and corrosion or even some sort of thread locker holding the small screw in place as someone, possibly, didn't want it to work loose. Then the drill press method slowly and carefully, can be tried, helping to place the needed downward pressure and slowly trying to turn the screw loose at the same time. IMHO!

Tony

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Judging from the other parts I've removed, I don't believe it's been fully disassembled since it was made, and I know that's probably the problem. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I did a search for this problem but couldn't find anything, I apologize if this has been asked before.

Are there any recommendations for where I can find the small screwdriver that fits this little devil?

Corey Freeman said
I have an old 1897, circa 1899, and the slide handle has forward and back play. It's probably more than an inch.
Is there something I should check to correct this?
  

"More than an inch" is excessive.  All of my Pre-C, C, and D series gun have about 1/2-inch for rearward play before they engage and begin to open the action when the firing pin is depressed (fired position).  With the hammer in the safety notch, or fully cocked, the slide handle is locked in position.

Bert

Is there something I should check to correct this?

Mike