Front sight moving in dovetail. Use of a soldering iron and commonplace solder?

[DavidC]

I had a troublesome range day earlier in the week when I found the front sight on a rifle, after having a wandering group, was loose enough that I could shift it by hand when it was in place. I still needed to drive it out with a punch, but there was maybe 1/16" of side-side play in the sight while it was sitting in the dovetail. Would the best fix for something like this be as simple as shimming with a piece of paper or flat silver wire to give it some extra squeeze in that dovetail?

I have a second rifle with a sight that I need to adjust (a Parker-Enfield replica from the 1970's) that I've replaced the front sight on because the non-adjustable sights were far off for windage. Since this gun will have a dedicated bullet and powder load I was wondering about soldering the sight in place to prevent it from being able to become loose over time.

Would the low (410 F) tin-copper-selenium solder used for copper pipe fitting work for this? I was thinking of using a soldering iron to heat the sight/barrel dovetail just enough to melt a bit of solder to hold the two in place. Is that low temp. and the use of a soldering iron rather than a torch going to be alright for the health of the barrel?

Thanks for looking, good luck out there this this season!

[alacran]

Home Depot carries a soldering paste called solder-it. It is low temp and very easy to use. However I would probably take a square graver or a punch and upset the steel in the dove tail to make tiny "teeth". That probably will solve the problem.

[rich pierce]

Home Depot carries a soldering paste called solder-it. It is low temp and very easy to use. However I would probably take a square graver or a punch and upset the steel in the dove tail to make tiny "teeth". That probably will solve the problem.

I like that solution snd it has worked for me. Depending on how the blade and base of the front sight are attached to each other, the heat of soldering it in place could loosen the blade.

[MeliusCreekTrapper]

Can you stake the dovetail a bit down onto the sight base?

[bnewberry]

Use a punch to dimple the sight or dovetail for more contact between them.

[smylee grouch]

There are different ways to fix this. Some already mentioned and others. You could lay front sight on an anvil and stretch the base by one whack on each side slightly stretching it for and aft. If sight is not a two piece affair you could TIN the bottom of the base with soft solder and re install it.

[Jim Kibler]

I suggest using a vise with flat-top jaws.  Insert the blade and tighten such that it's about ready to clamp on the blade.  Peen the bottom of the site base to stretch.

Jim

[Dphariss]

I had a troublesome range day earlier in the week when I found the front sight on a rifle, after having a wandering group, was loose enough that I could shift it by hand when it was in place. I still needed to drive it out with a punch, but there was maybe 1/16" of side-side play in the sight while it was sitting in the dovetail. Would the best fix for something like this be as simple as shimming with a piece of paper or flat silver wire to give it some extra squeeze in that dovetail?

I have a second rifle with a sight that I need to adjust (a Parker-Enfield replica from the 1970's) that I've replaced the front sight on because the non-adjustable sights were far off for windage. Since this gun will have a dedicated bullet and powder load I was wondering about soldering the sight in place to prevent it from being able to become loose over time.

Would the low (410 F) tin-copper-selenium solder used for copper pipe fitting work for this? I was thinking of using a soldering iron to heat the sight/barrel dovetail just enough to melt a bit of solder to hold the two in place. Is that low temp. and the use of a soldering iron rather than a torch going to be alright for the health of the barrel?

Thanks for looking, good luck out there this this season!

Take the sight out and with a smooth faced light hammer and a SMOOTH hard surface as a base. I would use one of my mill vises laying the sight blade in the small gap in the jaws. Pean the sight base slightly on each side of the blade. It only needs a thousandth or less so BE CAREFUL. The other option is to raise metal in the  bottom of the dove tail with 3-4 light center punch strikes (least desirable). Finally you can take a small screw driver and when the sight is properly centered to put the ball at point of aim. Stake the front sight like this on a rifle a friend of mine made back in the 1970s.

[Scota4570]

Staking the barrel look awful to me.  I would never do it.  I would not buy a gun that was staked. 

Work on the sight as suggested.

If that is not an option putting a piece of paper, or shim stock,  under the sight will tighten it up and not modify anything or look bad.  A dab of Loctite on the paper will lock it in place. 

[Paul from KY]

you could either buy or make a sight with a slightly oversized dovetail and file it to fit... no peening or soldering required.

[Gaeckle]

Peen the bottom of the sight base, light taps should do it, don't get carried away

[bptactical]

What? No LocTite?*






* runs rapidly away

[Steeltrap]

Decades ago, the first compound of Loctite was discovered. It was the chemical created when the hunter shot a squirrel, and didn’t skin it until it was cold. 

[AMartin]

Just install a new sight with a wider base ...

[kutter]

For a dovetail base that is a little loose in the bbl slot... Clean the bottom of the sight base with a piece of sand paper.
Then flux it and 'Tin' the surface with some soft solder (Lead/Tin or the newer Tin/Silver..it doesn't matter)
The idea is to build up the surface a few .ooo"

Then when you drive the sight back into the bbl slot, it will have a tighter fit as the extra material on the bottom of the sight pushes the sight upwards against the dovetailed sides to tighten it in place.

If you want to go one step further and lock the above sight into place once you have it sighted in...
Do the above tinning to the sight blade. Then also clean the bbl dovetail out nice and clean. Don't remove any metal, just clean the surface
so it will accept solder when the time comes.

Place a small amt of solder flux (I use plain paste flux (plumbing) onto the bbl dovetail surface.
Take that sight base that is tinned and drive it into place.

At the range do your sighting in. You can still move the sight back and forth for windage till satisfied.

When it's where you want it, leave it there and back home gently heat the end of the bbl at the sight to allow the tinned solder to flow betw the sight and the bbl. It's already fluxed so no extra will be necessary.

To prevent any solder from spreading out from the joint (which shouldn't happen if you only tinned the sight surface anyway) and sticking to the bbl and/or sight..you can take a common #2 pencil and scribble the metal surfaces around the sight and bbl with the 'lead pencil'. The graphite coating will keep any excess solder that comes out of the joint from sticking to the coated metal. It'll just roll off.

[smylee grouch]

  Kinda like old # 5. 

[Flint62Smoothie]

What? No LocTite?*

I’ll admit to it! I dimple the dovetail plus use LokTite!

[Maven]

I like the Loctite suggestion or kutter's.  However, if left to my own devices, i.e., prior to reading this thread, I'd have used JB Weld and have acetone, lacquer thinner, or isopropyl alcohol and a rag handy.  JBW, is tough, if nothing else.

[TDM]

I like to make one dovetail stake, tightens and serves as a witness mark. Oversized socket tapped on the dovetail helps. For extra slop, .005” brass or copper works well.