Had the most fun in a long time last night. bolted on and aligned all my '67 Cougar primered parts, then started on those pesky screws and busted ends. Started with the rear lock plate screw and my old craftsman drill press. The drill was having trouble staying in the center, and when it did start digging into that old busted screw end, it was off center. Forged ahead all the way through and then brought out the screw extractor set from Ace that I tried unsuccessfully previously to extract the breech block clear-out screw. Took about 15 minutes, but sure enough that little bugger screw residue came out from the lock plate - how relieved I was. The original replacement screw I picked up from Lodgewood screwed in place just fine.
Next, I tackled the lock plate bottom screw for the pellet feed tube. Used a larger drill bit, to give the extractor bit better traction, and again with patience it came out. Thirdly was the successful extraction of the breech block clear-out screw, at least the part that was screw thread-related. I still need to drill out the extra metal that is still inside the channel.
Lastly, I took care of removing the busted screw end that was in the receiver bottom where the trigger plate screwed into place.
Went to the Greenbush, WI Civil War re-enactment event, but it was too hot, missed the morning battle, and there really wasn't anyone I could see as being a really good additional contact for the parts I still need. The hard stuff is all done, and now it's finding the right poor/fair condition parts to match what I have.
What caught me by surprise was the little spring pin that keeps the hinge pin in place. Prior times when I've removed the pin, it was flush with the base. Must have been that the soft hammering on the barrel to minimize the appearance of vice marks in the barrel sides loosened up that little spring. All the great little functionalities I've found have been so worth the effort.
Going to investigate the specs on those pellets, as in materials used to generate spark when they're smashed between the hammer and nipple, and how they were stamped.