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Old January 12, 2006, 07:30 AM   #1
Herr trigger
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Join Date: December 30, 2005
Location: Florida
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Changing 1911 front sight

I recently purchaced a mint Colt series 70 government. Only problem is that the previous owner for whatever reason installed a high profile front blade and left the original low rear sight. The easy solution would be to put an adjustable rear sight on it, but I would rather return the gun to it's original condition. I have ordered a new sight from Colt. What is the correct procedure to remove and replace the staked in front sight. Thanks
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Old January 12, 2006, 01:23 PM   #2
hIPSHOT33
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Its not to hard to get the front sihgt off . use a dremel with a small bit and grind the base of the sight from the inside of the slide .carful not to take the meat away from the slide . after it comes off its not a big job to install the new sight ,But you will need a staking tool . You can get one from Brownell for around $25.00 . A good tool to have around if you shoot a lot of 1911 typ guns .
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Old January 12, 2006, 08:00 PM   #3
Dfariswheel
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Here's the actual process:

As above grind away as much of the rivet inside the slide as possible.
Put the slide on a padded bench block with the sight over the edge.
Use a punch to carefully tap the old sight out until it either falls free, or can be gripped with a pair of Vise-Grips and pulled out.

Clean up the sight area.

Determine whether you have the old style narrow sight tenon, or the new style wide.
The wide tenon is the same width as the sight.

Use a 1/4" Dremel carbide ball cutter to cut a small shallow "crater" or countersink around the sight's hole in the INSIDE of the slide.
This countersink gives the new sight's rivet a place to flow, so that later there's enough left to hold the sight.

Test fit the sight's tenon to the slide.

Use a solvent like acetone to degrease the slide and sight.
Apply a coat of Loctite Red to both sight and slide.

Fit the sight in place, rest it on a brass padded bench block and use the riveting tool to flair the sight tenon, making sure to flow the rivet down into the countersink you ground.

During riveting, make sure the sight remains level.

After firmly riveting the sight, use a Dremel tool with rubber abrasive tips to grind away JUST enough rivet to allow it to clear the barrel bushing.
DO NOT allow the sight or slide to get hot during grinding.

Once the rivet is flush enough to clear the bushing, allow to stand for 24 hours for the Loctite to cure, then use hot soapy water to clean off the excess.
Touch up with cold blue if desired, and apply a good rust proofing lube to prevent rust.

The "Secret" is the countersink in the slide to give the rivet room to flow.
Many people just rivet the tenon over the flush slide, and when they grind off the excess to clear the barrel bushing, they grind off most of the rivet from the curved slide surface.

Without enough rivet, the sight soon loosens up.
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Old January 12, 2006, 11:40 PM   #4
Herr trigger
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Thanks

Thanks thats just the info that I needed to do the job properly
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