Installing front and rear sites

[duca]

Hi all, when finishing a new rifle barrel I install my sites after it is browned or blued. Just wondering how you guys do it. I figure treating the dove tails with finish and oil will prevent any nasties under there.

Anthony

[Chocktaw Brave]

I haven’t got that far yet, but it would make sense to me to remove them and brown the barrel.
Same with under lugs if they are the dovetail type.

[borderdogs]

Hi Duca,
Check out Herbs tutorial on the subject in Tutorial Forum on metal shaping on this site:

Cutting Sight Slots by Hand and Fitting Sights
Rob

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I cut my dovetails for sights during the rifle build and install them before finishing, to test for sight picture and tuning them so they will be close when I take the rifle to the range for sighting in.  I remove the sights and plug prior to browning/bluing, but not the barrel tenons...I brown right over them using a Q tip to get solution into the corners if I have used iron...I often use brass or even copper to make my barrel tenons.

[flehto]

It's so easy to brown a  bbl w/ the sights off.....if installed, they're an obstruction. I only brown  5 flats but all flats for  a short length  at the muzzle. Shown below is a handy fixture I use when applying the solution. A tight fitting dowel is used in the bore on the muzzle end.....Fred

[FALout]

I always leave the barrel tenons on once installed/drilled for pins.  I can only imagine the issues that will come from removing them such as putting them back in the same location or or turning them around direction wise.  I don’t usually brown/blue the bottom flat(s) anyway.

[kutter]

Sights I fit up, polish, etc, Then remove for bbl finish.
I blue or brown the sights as needed as separate pieces and then re-install on the completed gun.
A dab of grease in the dovetail when re-installed makes everything go together easy.
They shouldn't take gorilla effort to assemble but enough to keep them in place.
That way any tweaking while sighting in won't damge anything.

No one likes to see marks around the sight bases that look like a rock was used to make adjustments.

Bbl tenons I leave in place and never (re)moved once installed.
No need to as far as I'm concerned. I want them to stay put so the cross pin lines up nicely.
I often soft solder the dovetailed tenons in place so they aren't going anywhere.
Lately I have been just soft soldering the tenons flat base right onto the flat of the bbl,,no dovetail cut at all.

[Chocktaw Brave]

I wasn’t really thinking of the possibility of mixing up the under lugs, makes sense to leave them alone once installed.

[G_T]

I engraved an arrow pointing forward, and a number, hidden under each. Figured that might come in handy sometime. But I admit to being sorely tempted to just solder them!

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Parts that appear to be so similar that one could confuse which dovetail they need to return to, get a file nick on the 'drive-in' side.  An example:  the two barrel slides on a Hawken halfstocked rifle...rear slide gets one nick from a safesided triangular file, and the forward slide gets two, always on the top.