Front sight alignment Harper's Ferry

[eddillon]

Any suggestions about a surefire way to make sure that the front sight is top dead center?  Rear sight is east-octagonal part of the barrel.  Front part is round.

[JoeG]

 put some inletting black on the top of the barrel . Stand at the muzzle end ,Hold a square (with two hands) on the octagon flat and pull it towards you rapidly .Then do it again with the square on the other side.

The line that you scribe on the barrel should put you darn near center.

I use the same method to find center line for the under lugs. works well if the barrel is short

[smylee grouch]

Brownells sells a little gizmo that will help you out. You can also place the barrel on a flat surface with the oct. section keeping every thing square and then using a square, scrapethe top of the round section near the muzzle on the top. The scraped mark should be close to where you want to be. I hope I didnt confuse you with my method.

[westbj2]

Find a local gunsmith who has one of these fixtures.  Result will  be perfect and take about 5 minutes to do.
http://www.forsterproducts.com/product-category/gunsmithing-tools/universal-sight-mounting-fixture-and-accessories/
Jim

[Pete G.]

Lay a file on a flat tabletop. Clamp the top flat of the barrel facing down on the table with the file under the muzzle end. Drag the file in a fore and aft direction. The marking left on the barrel will be top center.

[David Rase]

Ditto what Pete G. said.  I have used that method many times with excellent results.
David

[B.Habermehl]

Use Pete's method to find top dead center, use two vises to hold the barrel. Be sure the barrel is level across the top flat shim if needed. Lay out your dovetail, carefully saw your pilot cuts a decent bit short of full depth. Using a square file file down to the bottom of your cut, almost. Take a tool bit or piece of key stock set it in your pilot cut and check for level. File down to the depth you want frequently checking your level. Now use as safe edged triangular file to file your dovetails. BJH

[smylee grouch]

I think the method Pete related sounds so much more simple and foolproof than the one I used that I want to say thanks for opening my eyes and taking some frustration out of some future projects.

[chubby]

I use a height gauge to find center of the barrel or use a square head with a center head & scribe a line there always on center! and if you have two barrels the same black them both and slide a scale across the top your good to go!! Chubby