Building up the front sight

B

Branko

New member
I may have been a little overzealous with the file on one of my revolvers. Now I need to add about 0.04" to the front sight to bring the POI just a tad lower.

Would soft solder and black paint work, or would it be too fragile? I've been thinking about epoxy, too - would you prefer it over solder?

In the end I'll probably order a new sight but it'll take a few weeks to arrive.
 
Hold lower,or shoot farther ! :D
Often a change in load will make a difference.Lighter bullet/faster velocity,maybe.
If you can buy and replace the sight easily,seems like a good idea to be patient.
I won't say you cannot make the solder work,but it won't be durable.A drip of your solder flux will strip off the bluing.If the gun has a ramp or sight base on the barrel,it is probably soldered on.A little too much heat,and it may fall off.

If you must do domething,perhaps,in a mill,you could precisely center a small hole in the top of the blade,and set in something resembling a small rivet,a tap in fit? Maybe some strong loc-tite?Or maybe a slot,file a little bit of dovetail into it,fit an insert,and peen it to lock it in?
 
Go get some JB-Weld "SteelStik"
http://www.jbweld.com/products/steelstik-epoxy-putty-stick

- Clean the top of the sight w/ alcohol or acetone(nail polish remover).
- Mash up a slice of the SteelStik until uniform gray color
- Roll a thin piece of the mixed epoxy into a small tube and lay/press it onto the sight top edge. Let it relax/harden overnight
- Next day file the sides flush w/ the sight sides, and then re-file the top edge to desired height.

You will not believe how tough that material is. It's now served to permanently raise the sight
on my Russian S&W #3 New model by more than a 1/10th of an inch.
 
Good points regarding the dangers of soldering. Thanks for the warning.

Opted for a thin layer of epoxy and a layer of matte black paint over it which seems about enough. Shouldn't cause trouble and I'll see if it did the job tommorow at the range.

Edit: leather holster wore the paint (acrylic) off. Epoxy stayed on. Will try to file the epoxy to a rough surface and reapply the paint.
 
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Ten sheets of 20 pound Bond paper is 40 thou thick. Not a lot.
Paint is measured in mils. One mils being 1 thou. Paint is usually 3-4 mils thick. Not 40. snicker.
The SteelStik would be easiest to apply then file to size. Personally, I'd just aim a tad lower.
 
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