I just finished putting a new sight blade with windage screw and a new elevation nut on the rear sight on my Model 629-1. This is a tricky job for someone with stiff, partially numb fingers and poor eyesight. I suggest anyone with these old age issues have extra springs, plungers, and retainer rings on hand before you start. It did come out nice though. I need to go sight it back in now.

I haven't done that yet, but plan to in the near future to add a W/O rear sight. Any suggestions for staking the windage screw (tools and technique)?

I worked as a tool and die maker for many years before retiring and I had a selection af hardened center punches. The one I used was probably ground to about a 60 degree included angle with a little radius on the end. The first one I tried had a sharp point and hit the bottom of the hole in the screw before it flared it. I just placed the sight assemble on a piece of brass with the adjustment end down and tapped the punch a couple of times. It doesn't take much and is obvious when it's flared enough. I didn't have the split nut driver for the nut and didn't need it. It was pretty easy to screw on using only one side of the slot.

I hear you. I did the same for my 25-2 some time back. It took me several weeks to work up the courage to do it. Luckily, my gun survived.

There is a very simply way to prevent the need for you to spend hours on your hands and knees looking to tiny springs, parts, screws, etc. from guns and other mechanical devices when they are being worked on, (ask me how I know).

You can make up a cardboard box (preferably with a white colored inside) and cut two holes for your hands to go through on the sides. Use a piece if plastic wrap or plexi-glass over the top and you now have a captive space to work on your gun so that when the parts go flying, they can't fly out of the box. The white interior of the box makes it easier to find the small parts. Once you have removed those tiny elusive parts, you can remove the gun from your box and continue normal bench top work on it.

Of course this will take all the fun and excitement of spending hours on your hands & knees away, but I'll bet you could possibly handle that.



Chief38

An old gunsmith gave me a great idea for the ideal staking tool for S&W sight nuts... the core out of an armor piercing .30 cal round. I just stripped the jacket off of it and stuck the hardened steel core in my special tools drawer and never looked back. Cheap too!

Froggie