View Full Version : How does Bubba install a GI front sight?
I want to change the front sight on my 1911A1 but don't want to spend the money on the correct tool. Anyone know a good way to Bubba it? I don't care about scratches or light marring, I will duracoat it afterwards. And it is a Rock Island so don't panic that I am ruining a gun...LOL
Why not take it to a smith that has the correct tool?
He will want money......obviously you missed the importance of my Bubba reference :) It has been my experience that the wrong tool and the right technique can get the intended result. But, wrong tool and wrong technique just results in more cost in the long run. I don't want to experiment on this one as the sight aint dirt cheap and I am sure there is a better way to do it than just hitting it with a big hammer.
Richard H Brown Jr
05-08-2013, 09:52
Down load this: http://www.restigouchegunclub.com/Firearm%20user%20manuals/The_Colt_.45_Automatic_-_A_Shop_Manual_Vol.1_by_Kuhnhausen.pdf Kuhnhausen's Shop Manual fot the 1911 series pistols.
Page 37 shows how to remove and replace the front sight. You will need the front sight staking tool.
RHB
m1ashooter
05-09-2013, 01:12
Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfzl8jqZ4Bg
A true bubba would use super glue or epoxy.:banana100:
Hecklerusp45
05-09-2013, 06:58
no, bubba would use a bench grinder then a hot glue gun.
chuckindenver
05-09-2013, 07:40
i have the correct tool...your right, i would want money to install it,,,it would be done right, and likely not come loose.
FYI: said tool set was over 200.00
anything worth doing, is worth doing right once...rather then half arsed 3 times.
i have the correct tool...your right, i would want money to install it,,,it would be done right, and likely not come loose.
FYI: said tool set was over 200.00
anything worth doing, is worth doing right once...rather then half arsed 3 times.
Chuck, you have nailed exactly why I asked. There are allot of things I have done where people sell a tool and I use a different common tool to do the same job with the same result. I want to make sure it can be done right before I try it three times then have to pay someone who has the $200 tool....LOL
no, bubba would use a bench grinder then a hot glue gun.
You are probably right....LOL I am thinking a light application of epoxy isn't a bad idea.....after I make it as secure as possible.
Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfzl8jqZ4Bg
ROFLMAO his desktop looks like my coffee table. Not sure what I will do when the Fiance gets back to the states, she is easygoing but WILL NOT allow me to keep a vice on the coffee table...LOL
OK, I think the vice grip thing will be the way to go. I'm ok with slow or a little harder to do.
m1ashooter
05-09-2013, 01:09
I would think you could silver soder it on also?
Nick Riviezzo
05-09-2013, 03:46
Aw heck, just weld the sight on. You're going to paint the darned thing anyway. Remember life is not like a box of chocolates. Life is like a bottle of pickled jalapenos. What you pick today, will have consequences tomorrow."If you ain't got the time[or the where-with-all ]to do it right, when will you have time to do it again?". JM not so HO. Nick
blah blah blah, spend the money, Oh lordy lord pay a gunsmith....LOL
I asked to see if it could be done right without the high dollar tool. If I wasn't concerned about doing it right I would have taken a hammer to it already....LOL The fact is, most specialized tools are unnecessary but very convenient. For example, $20 barrel removal tools for the CZ-52 works great, but only 5% better than any other metal rod that size.
Welding actually sounds like a great idea.....as long as I never intend to change the sight again. :D
Dave Waits
05-14-2013, 04:05
Guam;
Use a Dremel ands a 1/8th" Ballcutter to remove the old tenon in the slide dish as shown.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii180/retmsgt123/IMG_0212.jpg (http://s264.photobucket.com/user/retmsgt123/media/IMG_0212.jpg.html)
Next, use a 1/16th,longnose punch to punch the old sight out.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii180/retmsgt123/IMG_0213.jpg (http://s264.photobucket.com/user/retmsgt123/media/IMG_0213.jpg.html)
Clean up and square the tenon hole,insert the new sight, make sure it is running straight, trim off all the tenon that sticks out above the slide dishout, rest the slide upside down on a steel surface to support the blade and Whack the tenon with a 1/8th." longnose punch. I showed the punch and sight hanging over for clarity on where you strike.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii180/retmsgt123/IMG_0214.jpg (http://s264.photobucket.com/user/retmsgt123/media/IMG_0214.jpg.html)
After the initial strike,move the punchnose around and strike the tenon, spreading it out. Then file off anything sticking out that could interfere with the bushing and you are done.
Clear and concise, very helpful. Thanks.
Dave, Thanks. This is what I was thinking of doing originally but wanted someone else to verify it was a valid idea before I tried it. New sights are on the way. We will see what happens.
Two local "gunsmiths" worked on my SA 1911A1. Both times the new sight came off. I then sent the slide to Novak and had a dove tail front sight put on.
Well, will probably finish this tomorrow. I am 600 file strokes into fitting the rear sight and think I am about 400 away from getting it fit. Will have to find my dremel bits too. May be more cost effective to go buy a new set I have no idea where I put those bits.....LOL
Found one cone shaped stone bit which worked really well. Stayed up way past my bedtime but I got the sights replaced and coated the dots in Duraglo and flourescent yellow front dot. Can't wait to go to the range and see how much worse I shoot with upgraded sights....LOL
Thanks for the advice and photos. I peened it and then epoxied it too. It might stay in place.
Ok, after several trips to the range and hundreds of rounds of ammo the front sight is still tight. Makes me a little concerned about the "Gunsmiths" that replaced them and then they came off.
Why dick around with it? Any thing worth doing is worth doing right. Send it off to Novak to have the slide milled and new sights installed.
http://novaksights.com/products/sights/index.html
Dave Waits
10-05-2013, 10:06
Oyaji, if you're going that route why buy cheap Novaks, put a set of these on.
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii180/retmsgt123/6f7d9921-06fa-4e39-a903-0d67aa72a0e8_zps77c36327.jpg (http://s264.photobucket.com/user/retmsgt123/media/6f7d9921-06fa-4e39-a903-0d67aa72a0e8_zps77c36327.jpg.html)
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii180/retmsgt123/PA050006_zps5b06caa5.jpg (http://s264.photobucket.com/user/retmsgt123/media/PA050006_zps5b06caa5.jpg.html)
Why dick around with it? Any thing worth doing is worth doing right. Send it off to Novak to have the slide milled and new sights installed.
I invested $25 and some time in mine and had it done in one evening. Care to qoute price and turnaround on having Novak mill and install?
Col. Colt
10-11-2013, 09:38
Installed tightly, the tenon sight is superior to the dovetailed front - which can move - and looks better and is cheaper to boot. Dovetailed front sights belong on Kentucky rifles and Brown Bess Muskets - where they originated. Not modern handguns. :) CC
Dave Waits
10-14-2013, 08:47
Colonel, most of the better dovetail front-sights, like the Kensight on my Rock, are pinned once windage is settled. Mine is rock-solid sir.
Col. Colt
10-14-2013, 11:42
Pinned does indeed work, if you must have a dovetailed front. I think John Moses Browning made the right choice. He had not heard of the United Autoworkers Union, apparently....
But all the extra work to install a dovetail is totally unnecessary, if the tenon style is done right - which it was on over a million US Military M1911s, and hundreds of thousands of civilian 1911s.
Why cut a larger chunk out of the front of the slide, locate the sight, then drill and pin it? Even if the tenon was not done correctly initially (and if it is a Colt it is under warranty - free fix), it is still easier and cheaper to correctly replace it than to do a bunch of machine work. And the tenon front sight looks like it grew there, and cannot move - no pinning required. More elegant, more "modern". CC
Col. I agree. What point is there to a dovetailed front. Unless you plan on replacing the front sight often there is no benefit. You can adjust windage from the rear sight so the front dovetail is unnecessary.
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