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The screw holes are 6-40. Unfortunately we ran into this issue this weekend, also. A friend bought a new SIG 320 carry with the X-series slide. The starboard side screw hole above the extractor had no issues-- a 6-40 screw threaded in just fine. We shortened the screw so it wasn't encroaching on the extractor spring channel and moved on to the port side screw. The 6-40 screw started about 3 threads and then became very snug. We worked it back and forth several times, but eventually the lower threads on the screw demonstrated deformation and the black oxide finish was stripped off. It appears that the tap that formed the screw hole was worn out and did not get replaced as soon as it should have been.
Luckily I had a couple of 6-40 taps to run down the hole. The 6-40 taper tap went in with no problem and bottomed out after barely touching the threads at all. I then followed with a 6-40 bottom tap and sure enough, I started cutting threads right away. Unfortunately, I broke the tap about 1/8 of a turn before I was going to call it quits. :( There is a company relatively close that can burn the tap out using an EDM, so the project is on hold until that can happen. For what it is worth, the tapped hole in this particular slide is approximately 0.25" in thread length when fully threaded. This was a brand new bottom tap and I was using plenty of cutting oil and going, very, very slowly. These taps are just so small and the material/coating is so hard that breaking a tap is a very likely scenario.
Having now experienced the problem first hand, I would recommend calling SIG and ask them about fixing your slide rather than doing it the hard way, like we are doing.
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Thanks
much for the response.
And this situation is exactly what I suspected after having so many people tell me they should be drilled/tapped for 6-40 and striking out with that size and all the others I tested.
And I have called Sig. And emailed them. And while they have been responsive, they have been
zero help. They have allowed for
zero possibility the tapped holes are out of spec. Both the telephone and email customer service representatives I've spoken with have insisted that the problem could not be the slide and that I must be using the wrong screws, even though I've explained, multiple times, I have tried 6-40 screws from different sources. I have requested an RMA multiple times and in response they have simply said that the problem is not the slide...offering to sell me their new sealer plate, which comes with 6-40 screws. At one point, one of them changed his position and said my slide wasn't "cut for the RMR." I had to send a picture to prove that it was drilled/tapped for one...and then he went back to telling me I just didn't have the right screws.
So while you are right, Sig
should be dealing with this, I am done with them.
CHPWS has been great during related exchanges I have had with them and they stepped up to say they would take a look, so I shipped it to them.
I have been a shameless Sig fan since the 90s, but this experience has been extremely disappointing.
BTW, before sending the slide to CWPWS, I did eventually decide to use a bit more force on the 6-40 screws. With moderate force on the left RMR hole, I managed to get the screw to go in, but with the same result you had - screw threads deformed and oxide stripped off. Fortunately, the tapped hole didn't seem worse for the experience.
I tried using the same amount of force on the right RMR hole (near the extractor) and the screw wouldn't go in, so I stopped.
ETA: I have been talking with a guy on SigTalk who has the same issue with
two recently purchased slides...and his results with Sig CS are the same. They insist he must have the wrong screws and that there is zero chance they have a QC issue. He was, however, eventually able to get Sig to agree to look at it, so this will be interesting, especially since Sig has said they don't have the correct screws in stock. Hopefully they have changed the worn taps and can check that way.