Author Topic: Rear sight dovetail depth  (Read 996 times)

Offline Nhgrants

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Rear sight dovetail depth
« on: December 23, 2019, 03:44:21 AM »
On a Colerain octagon to round 54 cal barrel, I filed the rear sight dove in the barrel.
The depth turned out to be about 0.055 inches.   What is a normal dovetail depth?
Thanks

Offline Stophel

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Re: Rear sight dovetail depth
« Reply #1 on: December 23, 2019, 04:18:40 AM »
I don't know, I just saw 'em and file 'em til they are right!  I've never measured them!   ;D

Actually, I have one here that I'm redoing.  It has a sight notch (the dovetail is not raised...yet) that is.... .055" deep.   ;)  I did this one like 20 years ago.  If I were doing it now starting from scratch, I think I'd make it a little shallower, but it's fine.
When a reenactor says "They didn't write everything down"   what that really means is: "I'm too lazy to look for documentation."

Offline John Shaw

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Re: Rear sight dovetail depth
« Reply #2 on: December 23, 2019, 04:53:37 AM »
Modern type sights, Lyman, Marbles, etc. usually have about a .080 or .090 base. Your dovetail depth depends entirely on the base of the sight you're going to use.

JS

Offline David Rase

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Re: Rear sight dovetail depth
« Reply #3 on: December 23, 2019, 07:35:46 AM »
About .030" deep is all I go.
David

Offline flehto

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Re: Rear sight dovetail depth
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2019, 04:48:04 PM »
On nearly all my builds for the rear sight,  the  grove depth  from the top surface of the bbl is .035. Then I use the chisel to raise the steel on both sides and file each into a molding  w/ a  total   resultant depth of .06/.07. ...Fred