Repair help needed

I'm new and just purchased a used Nexstar 8i SE. While setting it up I found that the head on one of the mounting screws for the finderscope is stripped. The simple solution seems to be to use a screw extractor but to do that, I've got to drill a hole through the damaged screw. Could this result in small metal shavings entering the OTA and possibly landing on the mirror? Or is this unlikely, given the short length of the mounting screw (about 1/4 inch from the top of the head to the bottom of the threads)? I've checked the manual but don't see anything about tube thickness.

Thanks,

Joe

Joe,
Don't drill. There are screw removers at Sears that will remove a screw with a stripped head except for those with the entire X stripped out. Then I would suggest what we did to remove screws from aircraft. Do you have a Dremmel Tool? If so, take the little cutting disc and cut a straight slot across the head of the screw and use a straight slot screw driver to remove it. If not, you can use a hack saw, but be careful not to slip and use a file to start the cut. Put a layer of duct tape all around the screw to protect the surface finish.