restoration/repair question

[Rich]

A new shooter at the club I belong to bought a Navy Arms Harper's Ferry rifle. It has a .54 barrel. Round barrel at the muzzle. The rifle had fiber optic sights. He removed them and now has no front sight. The barrel has a round bottom slot for a small blade front sight. The interior of the slot is browned like the barrel so I don't think it was soldered.  How was the front blade originally installed? Is it just a tight fit or soldered. 

[Dave B]

Rich it sounds like it was just swagged in place. I have run across this on some sights. The blade is held in by friction from the two buttress sections clamping together on it. I have one that is missing a blade as well(front sight) I have gone to soldering them in place along with riveting through the base of the sight. I even made a little punch jig to slide the copper base into and punch through it so there is a little rectangular hole through the base plate to peen the blades base stud over on tuther side.

[Acer Saccharum]

I think you guys are talking about two different sight styles. Pictures clear up a whole bunch of confusion.

[Rich]

The slot in the barrel is parallel with the bore, about 1/8 inch wide, about a half inch long. I tend to agree that the blade was simply peened in because the interior of the slot is browned and there is no indication of solder. The fiber optic sight was put on with a screw. Thanks for the input.

[Dave B]

You are right Acer I was thinking of a normal sight base vs a grove cut into the barrel its self. I would use naval jelly to remove the brown and solder in a blade using silver bearing solder.