Guys,

Thanks a bunch. I got it out. It took the judicious use of Kroil, some more coffee for me, and some banging. I wanted to go from left (non-bolt side) to right.

Now trying to get the new/old sight in. Almost there but I'll get it.

Thanks!!

-Steve

Folks,



I recently bought a pre 64 model 70. It had the rear sight removed and the dovetail inlet filled with a Marble' blank.



I bought a 'new' old sight for the rifle and tried to drift out the blank with a brass drift. Couldn't get it to budge much. The bank is rather low and does not allow much purchase for the drift.



Are there any tricks to this, other than using a "BFH"? I don't want to peen things up.



Thanks!!



-Steve

Steve, I'd take the metal out of the stock and chuck it in a padded vice. I'd use a brass punch that is big enough to provide some mass and purchase, plus a hammer to tap it with that has a hard plastic or nylon head, just in case you make a slip. Tap the filler blank out right to left, and then reinstall the sight left to right.

I've had some stubborn ones before myself, but this method has always worked for me, and without suffering any dings, either. I clean up any brass marks with Hoppe's No. 9.....

AD

I always put a couple of layers of masking tape on the firearm, up close against the dovetail. Just in case something slips.

if you don't want to save the blank you can use a small mill and cut a slot in it....almost the total depth...to within .03 or so and it will relieve the tension and you can push it out easily....

You can also do it with a hacksaw too.....use appropriate caution of course.

With a little ingenuity you can fashion a small "c" clamp to do the job. The trick is in the design. Ive got a small one that has an open circle at the solid end and a pin at the screw end. You can shape a small piece of brass tubing to fit the bbl and solder it to the clamp and the use of tape in the right place can also help to prevent buggering things up.

If you are able to fashion a sound, solid design then you can get a tremendous force behind it to remove the blank rather easily.

SCR,

Thanks for the concern. I'm being very careful and just taking my time. I haven't gotten back to it as I had a bunch of errands to run yesterday. I'm going to see if I can tap it in the rest of the way tonight. If it doesn't want to go, then I'll send it to Mark Penrod. I've got to send it to him anyway for another reason.

Take Care,

-Steve

I can not stress the right tool for the right job when it comes to fitting dovetailed sights.

You need the right files to get this new sight to fit properly, not to mention a nylon brush to clean up the dovetail.

You fit dovetails by removing metal from the underside of sight, never from the barrel/slide/ramp. You can do this yourself by placing sandpaper or a mill file on a flat surface and carefully rubbing the underside of the sight on it. Do only a few strokes at a time and then check the fit. When you can slide the dovetail half-way in, you should be able to easily tap it the rest. After zeroing, let some lock-tite flow into the dovetail. All this is assuming that your dovetail is the correct size and angle, just oversized for final fitting.

Most American made firearms have the sight go in and come out on the right. Many European made firearms have the sights go in and come out on the left side. One easy way to tell is to look closely at the dovetail on the sight. The side with a slight shine or scrape mark has already been thru the base, so it entered (and should exit) on the opposite side.