How to attach a front sight to the barrel?

[Super-Dave]

I want to buy the Official mossberg ghost ring sight kit, and attach it to my mossberg 500.

I have looked around for gunsmiths that can annodize the steel front blade to the barrel, No one around here can do it.

SO I was wondering if JD weld should be the answer or what?

What would you do in this situation?

[hogdogs]

Asking for a smith to anodize it on isn't going net results I reckon. That is the coloring process for aluminum. You need to ask if they can solder/braze sights on. That is getting hard to find as most smiths are becoming "parts changer" techs like auto mechanics... Not all can do more than that.
Brent

[Super-Dave]

The brazing is what I meant. I have found none here so far that can do it.

I have been told that silver soldering will not hold, is this true?

[hogdogs]

I do not know what alloys to use for various situations. Nor the prep involved in a proper job.
Brent

[Super-Dave]

Hogdog you are supposed to know it all, You have been here long enough.

[Dfariswheel]

A good epoxy bond might hold, depending on how it's done.
As example, the Wilson sight is epoxied on over the factory Remington bead sight and base unit.

Unless the Mossberg unit fits over a front bead, it probably wouldn't hold forever.
One other choice might be the new Loctite "Black Max" bonder Brownell's sell.
It's a form of super glue mixed in a rubbery bonder.
Brownell's sell it specifically for bonding shotgun sights.

You "can' do silver brazing at home, but this will require refinishing the barrel, since the red heat will ruin the finish.

You can also soft solder the sight on using the "sweating" method. Soft solder will hold pretty well, much better than epoxy. but not as well as brazing.

My suggestion: Contact Mossberg about installing the sights for you. It's their gun, they should do a great job cheap and all you have to send is the barrel, unless you also want them to install the rear too.

[Lee Lapin]

What would you do in this situation?

I'd get a gunsmith to silver solder it on. Nothing else is worth messing with IMNSHO.

Otherwise I'd buy a Mossberg with the factory sights already on it, and not bother about changing the one on hand. Sell it if money is tight, otherwise keep it.

YMMV either way,

lpl

[Superhouse 15]

I have a local welding shop braze them on for like $10. The first place I picked out of the phone book did it. The only thing they ask is that we mark the sight so that it's straight, they don't want to be responsible for a crooked one, and that seems fair to me.

[hogdogs]

Super, The only risk is the need for either a heat sink paste or actual heat sink devices. this way the heat will be concentrated in the small area. Less metal affected by the high heat if using other than brass...
Or at least that is my impression, I could be 100% wrong about this.
Brent

[ThomasT]

Go to your local hobby shop and they sell a low temp silver solder with flux. I used this for a gun repair that didn't work. The gun was worn out and this was a desperation attempt to save it.

I tried to remove the peice of metal I soldeded on and could not melt it off. I had to grind it off. This little kit came in a clear plastic tube and at the time cost around $6 bucks.

[Dfariswheel]

That's not "silver solder", it's a soft solder with about 3% silver added to prevent the solder from tarnishing, and to add a little strength.
It's used by model train hobbyist.

Real "low temp" silver solder is silver braze, and the lowest temp type melts around 1100 degrees.
The silver-BEARING soft solders melt with an ordinary soldering iron.
It does work for attaching sights by the old "sweating" method, and can form a fairly strong bond, but not up to the strength of a true silver brazed joint.

[AJG]

Funny that no-body has even mentioned to ensure that the sight is centerlined on the barrel. Getting it on is only one part of the process. The alignment is the important part.

[azredhawk44]

You mean a hose clamp with a brass tack pushed through it isn't good enough for you?

[BigJimP]

now redhawk - I was thinking the same thing ---- but you finally said it ...( only I didn't think the thumb tack would work / just use 2 hose clamps ..).

[Dfariswheel]

Funny that no-body has even mentioned to ensure that the sight is centerlined on the barrel. Getting it on is only one part of the process. The alignment is the important part.

That's one of gunsmithings more "interesting" jobs.
You looked at it and looked at it until it looked right, then had someone else look. He always said it was off. You didn't but then doubted yourself.

[Slopemeno]

Yeah, I've passed stuff like that around. One guy looks at it, squints...passes it on.

[Scorch]

Shotgun beads are threaded for a reason, folks. First, you drill a hole in the barrel, then thread it, then screw the bead in. That's the way you do it, unless the shotgun has a rib, in which case you drill a hole, drill a crossing hole for a pin, then pin the sight in.

You can epoxy them, soft solder them, or even arc weld them if you want, but most factory guns are either drilled and threaded or pinned.

[Superhouse 15]

The front sight for the ghost ring setup is not a threaded bead. It's a post front sight on a base and the whole thing must be brazed or welded in place, it's not as simple as re-threading a bead.

http://www.mossberg.com/cgi-bin/comm...ategory%3DSIGH

[smoakingun]

Check to make sure that the factory bead is threaded, if it is, take it out and use that hole as your mark to center the sight. Silver solder is best for attaching the sight to the barrel if the new sight is not threaded, and is made of steel. I can't say the same for all alloys.