Moving sight on 1911 Government with fixed sights.
- Thread starter Lavan
- Start date
Dfariswheel
New member
The trick is to remove the slide from the frame and put it on a FIRM surface so it doesn't bounce or move and dissipate the force.
I have put a magazine or sheets of newspaper as a pad on a concrete floor for stubborn sights or pins.
Second, use a BIG brass drift. I made mine from 1"x 1/2"x 6" brass bar stock.
A drift that size won't flex or bend and spread the impact force.
It helps if you have someone to help hold the slide steady so it doesn't move or try to roll over when struck.
Years ago someone sold an impact drift with a nice design, so I made my own.
Buy a cheap automatic center punch from a hardware store.
Stone the tip flat and braze a glob of brass to the tip.
Put the point on the sight and press until the automatic punch "fires".
The impact will move the sight.
I have put a magazine or sheets of newspaper as a pad on a concrete floor for stubborn sights or pins.
Second, use a BIG brass drift. I made mine from 1"x 1/2"x 6" brass bar stock.
A drift that size won't flex or bend and spread the impact force.
It helps if you have someone to help hold the slide steady so it doesn't move or try to roll over when struck.
Years ago someone sold an impact drift with a nice design, so I made my own.
Buy a cheap automatic center punch from a hardware store.
Stone the tip flat and braze a glob of brass to the tip.
Put the point on the sight and press until the automatic punch "fires".
The impact will move the sight.
Front or rear sight? Its not unusual for a dovetail front sight to be pinned.
Padding like carpet is not your friend. A good solid vise is an important tool for gunsmith work. The vise needs to have smooth jaws. You can do pretty well with a couple of pieces of aluminum angle set over the jaws as covers.
Put some painters blue tape on the sides of the slide.Position the slide so the sight just barely sticks up above the vise jaws. You might be able to position the slide so your punch can rest on the top of the vise jaw.
Be very aware the slide is not solid. The inside is unsupported. You certainly can crush the slide with the vise.Its unnecessary to clamp hard.
You want to use the back solid jaw of the vise as your anvil. The moving jaw just holds the slide against the back jaw. There is no need for a lot of crush.
You just need the slide against a dead solid anvil.
A lighter weight,higher speed "whacking" well serve more to batter or peen the sight rather than move it. A slower,heavier hammer works better for drifting.
I generally prefer a brass punch,a rectangular bar is best,And I dress the end clean and square.
Before you start,its good to know how far you want to move the sight.
I figure my range to the target in terms of the sight radius, If the range to the target is 100 sight radii,the movement of the sight will be multiplied 100 times on the target.
With a depth mic or calipers you can measure the change.
Padding like carpet is not your friend. A good solid vise is an important tool for gunsmith work. The vise needs to have smooth jaws. You can do pretty well with a couple of pieces of aluminum angle set over the jaws as covers.
Put some painters blue tape on the sides of the slide.Position the slide so the sight just barely sticks up above the vise jaws. You might be able to position the slide so your punch can rest on the top of the vise jaw.
Be very aware the slide is not solid. The inside is unsupported. You certainly can crush the slide with the vise.Its unnecessary to clamp hard.
You want to use the back solid jaw of the vise as your anvil. The moving jaw just holds the slide against the back jaw. There is no need for a lot of crush.
You just need the slide against a dead solid anvil.
A lighter weight,higher speed "whacking" well serve more to batter or peen the sight rather than move it. A slower,heavier hammer works better for drifting.
I generally prefer a brass punch,a rectangular bar is best,And I dress the end clean and square.
Before you start,its good to know how far you want to move the sight.
I figure my range to the target in terms of the sight radius, If the range to the target is 100 sight radii,the movement of the sight will be multiplied 100 times on the target.
With a depth mic or calipers you can measure the change.
That's why I recommended clamp the slide so that flat side is horizontal and not vertical. Had a classmate who clamped a slide (non-1911) with flat sides vertically in the vise and afterward would not slide onto the frame. Oppski. He fixed it (after the instructor made some suggestions to him).
Got a friend with a milling machine/drill press? I'd grind a piece of brass to match the contour of the sight. Put the brass in the quill/chuck and mount the slide in a vise (that is clamped down) and lower the quill (or chuck) and press the sight down. I'd also use a dial indicator to tell you how much it moved.
Got a friend with a milling machine/drill press? I'd grind a piece of brass to match the contour of the sight. Put the brass in the quill/chuck and mount the slide in a vise (that is clamped down) and lower the quill (or chuck) and press the sight down. I'd also use a dial indicator to tell you how much it moved.
We are on the same page,Gary. There is more than one way to skin a cat. The point is not crushing the slide. I doubt our OP has a set of adjustable parallels.
I have some I use for supports,and I typically use the Kurt Angle Loc vise on the mill. Solid! But a very light touch on the vise.
I have some I use for supports,and I typically use the Kurt Angle Loc vise on the mill. Solid! But a very light touch on the vise.
It's actually easier than you are making it. As others have said, clamp it in a solid SMOOTH JAWED vise, put a brass punch on the sight, and hit it with a hammer (16 oz is ideal). If it doesn't move, use heat on the slide. Never had a 1911 sight not come out. I have had to use a steel punch, but they all move sooner or later.
Yes, it did move. You just couldn't tell.
Any kind of padding or cushion has give and absorbs part of the energy of the blow. The slide doesn't seem to move to our eyes or in our hands, but it does, enough to lessen the force delivered.
Even "hard" wood does this, and surprisingly, so does concrete to a small degree. Not something we can really sense, but you can tell it happens by the difference in the effect.
I use an old 6" drill press vise, a short-handled 8 oz hammer and a piece of hexagonal aluminum stock for a drift. For vise jaw padding, I close the vise snug on a folded section of Coke carton and trim to fit. Haven't lost a battle with a dovetailed sight yet; though I have bolted the vise down to a steel table and used a little bigger hammer on occasion. The worst was a Citadel slide with their Novak knock-offs ceracoated in.
The importance of absolutely securing the slide cannot be overstated.
The importance of absolutely securing the slide cannot be overstated.
Dfariswheel
New member
There's an old mechanics saying.....
"Don't force it, use a bigger hammer".
"Don't force it, use a bigger hammer".