Rear Sight Install

[Bob Rearley]

Gentlemen,
Back to work on a Martin Sheetz gun I started a year ago.  I will soon be ready to install the rear sight.  The original sight was installed like many with the rear  set into the v of the dovetail cut into the barrel and the front is set into a similar v with a significant lip of barrel raised and peened down over the front of the sight base.  I have used a cold chisel as well as the tool sold by TOW made for that purpose.  I am only able to raise a small bur,  I seem to be doing something wrong.  Trying to hammer this TOW tool resting on the barrel seems nearly impossible. 
Thanks in advance. The 75 year old apprentice.
Bob

[rich pierce]

Bob, that TOW tool is not that much fun. I sharpened mine and got a half decent result. But it’s not easy to keep it lined up and really smack it. A cold chisel works better for me.

[smylee grouch]

I have had some luck making an under sized under cut first then use the chisel.

[Lucky R A]

Bob,
        This can be easily accomplished just using a sharp hardware store cold chisel. Just sit the one angle of the blade down on the bottom of your dovetail and smack the chisel with a hammer.  If you do not start a burr to raise up,  hit it again and harder.  I sometimes start from one side of the dovetail and work my way across.  Most barrels are made out of rather soft steel.  Green Mountain and Ed Rayl barrels being the hardest to raise a burr.  I am 80 years old and done this for many years, so you can do it youngin.

[Bob Rearley]

Thank you all.  I have a scrap section of barrel I'll take at shot at first
Bob

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Lucky Ra's advice is golden.  Make sure your cold chisel is sharp.  I start by laying the down bevel against the rectangular slot I've made, starting at an outside corner.  I use a 3# short sledge hammer to strike the chisel.  Then I go to the opposite corner and do the same.  The third strike is with the chisel in the centre of the slot. I continue with this until I have raised a considerable amount of barrel steel up above the barrel's surface.  I finish the dovetail with a safe triangular file.  When the sight fits the dovetail, I remove it, and file the side angled flats of the barrel smooth, and then file the top of the raised metal flat, but leave a good lump of barrel steel above the flat.  This type of sight slot is most useful for tightening up a sight slot if the sight becomes a little loose.
I'd post a picture, but our site isn't allowing this now for some reason.

[Dave B]

I have thought that if one was to narrow up the width of a hac saw blade. Remove the curf from the one side of the blade and cut in to already squared relife for the sight base about an 1/8" now come at it with the cold chisel  clean up with the triangle file that has one face ground smooth it would allow a larger hump of metal to be raised more easily.

[StevenV]

Hello Bob here are some pics of how I install rear sight. The chisel is an older 1/2" Sears Craftsman that I ground my two angles onto. Careful when measuring the length of the "box/cavity/ or what ever you want to call it". It is not the total length of the sight base but rather the distance between the two angles. I can draw this if you would like. I hit square /center , not one edge other edge then middle. This doesn't mean my way is the only way it's just how I do it.  Steve

[Bob Rearley]

Thanks for the pics.  Beautiful work Steven
Bob

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I don't raise the barrel metal for a front sight installation...the blade of the sight needs to sit close to the barrel flat, and the lump would interfere with that...unless I'm missing something.

[Bob Rearley]

Taylor,
When all else fails go to a bigger hammer.  That #3 sledge did the trick.
The old apprentice, Bob

[mikeyfirelock]

I cut my slot the size of the sight base MINUS the length of the bevels, then finish the
Ends of the slot with a small triangular file with a safe side on the bottom.  File till the sight can be tapped into place with a drift.   Takes time but comes out neat without marks on barrel surface. 

As an addendum…..I undercut the ends of the slot with a jewelers saw and then use the safe sided triangular file to finish till the sight base can be tapped into the slot securely.  More work but neat when done.

[kutter]

For very shallow dovetails on a thin wall bbl when doing the under lugs for the bbl pins I will use one occasionaly. It gives some extra dovetail height and strength w/o cutting it very deep by bumping up the metal.
Be careful that you hammer the chisel straight into the wall and not downward at all as that can cause a bulge in the bore if working on a thin walled bbl.

Lately I have just been soldering those in place right on the surface and they are just fine. Ssaves a lot of work.

The use and technique does help with the  sight mounting  if you don't like that final touchy file and fit process w/a safe edge tri-square file.
You can put a slight bevel or lead-in to one side of the dovetail as well with the chisel with some well struck hits. It doesn't take much.

I remove the bunched up metal from the chisel strikes when/if I use it for sight dovetails. Front sight about demands it so the blade sits down. The rear sight just seems to look  better to me w/o the dirt bank of metal pushed up in front and back of the sight base.

[wmrike]

Steven - That's a really nice photo sequence.

[flehto]

I've used the TOW upsetting  dovetail chisel for all the rear  sight attacments w/o a problem, After the hacksaw use, the remaining steel is removed w/ a chisel and  the  bottom of the slot is filed smooth. Then  the 2 dovetailed surfaces are filed in and then the dovetail surfaces are widened w/ the dovetail chisel w/ the attendant raised steel. One end of the dovtail is wider for the start of the fit for the  rear sight and gradually the rear sight is pounded in using a hard piece of maple, . a fairly tight fit is achieved but the fit still allows adjustment. The  dovetail chisel isn't used for the front sight....just a triangular one side safe file is used......Fred

[Jim Kibler]

Nice work.  The only suggestion I would have is to file off the upset metal on the 45 degree flats.  This makes for a cleaner look in my view.

Jim

[Not English]

I do as Mike does. I think it makes a much neater dovetail. I use a hack saw to cut slots as in the photos but mine are cut in multiple directions. I use the hacksaw teeth as a depth gauge when cutting the slots.

[okawbow]

Nice work.  The only suggestion I would have is to file off the upset metal on the 45 degree flats.  This makes for a cleaner look in my view.

Jim

I see the upset metal, if well done, as a mark of craftsmanship. Most of the original rifles I have handled have this feature. The upset lip, takes a measure of skill, and is probably faster than using a file. The extra metal also can be tapped down if the sight is a little loose.