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Old 04-15-2017, 09:25 PM
deyomatic deyomatic is offline
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Advice on trimming front sight? Advice on trimming front sight? Advice on trimming front sight? Advice on trimming front sight? Advice on trimming front sight?  
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Default Advice on trimming front sight?

See below for a pic of the snubbed 1937 Brazilian I acquired. It shoots about a foot low at 25 feet so I made note of where on the sight the top SHOULD be...

If I wanted to trim that down, how would you go about it? We are talking about 1/8" to 1/4" or so...

Bench grinder was one idea but seems like it could go wrong quickly. A friend suggested a file, but I have no idea how I would secure it so that I could use the file. I also thought about using a cutoff wheel with my compressor....

Any thoughts?

Thanks.
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Old 04-15-2017, 09:38 PM
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A mill is what you need to do a nice job on that one.
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Old 04-15-2017, 09:42 PM
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If my hands still worked right, I'd probably hold the gun in one hand and file with the other.
Being very careful to keep it straight and level.
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Old 04-15-2017, 09:43 PM
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Dremel tool, clearly . . .
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Old 04-15-2017, 09:45 PM
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take out the cylinder,put the gun in a padded vice, do the sight math so you have some idea how much to take off(most of us are not equipped to put metal back), tape up the gun(everywhere the file might hit if it slips), and use a file(most of us don't own a mill), finish top of sight with a little cold blue
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Old 04-16-2017, 07:54 AM
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Aim a foot high and leave the sight alone.


Someone had to say it!
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Old 04-16-2017, 08:33 AM
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File it to shape.
Hold the bbld frame less cylinder in the bench vise .
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Old 04-16-2017, 09:18 AM
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Take the grips off use a old piece of belt or other leather as a pad. Wrap it around the grip frame and put in vise. You realy do not need it that super tight as your only hand filing.. Get a good clean file and SLOWLY reduce the top. Only do a few stokes check often(fire it) as it will go down fast. Remember do it slow its faster! A lot faster than rebuilding up the section you ground down.
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Old 04-16-2017, 11:34 AM
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Here is some sight math that may be helpful in making sure you get the sights cut properly............Sight Calculator

I personally might be inclined to 'notch' the sight where it needs to be and paint it in?
Karl
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Old 04-16-2017, 11:43 AM
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Before touching the sight I'd try different bullet weight and velocity ammo at 3,5,and 7 yards.It's a belly gun for defense and not target shooting.

Also have someone else shoot it to see if impact place is the same as you.
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Old 04-16-2017, 11:46 AM
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I agree with Stakeout - try different bullet weights before altering the gun. It has presumably worked for 80 years.
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Old 04-16-2017, 01:20 PM
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Remove the Cylinder and secure in a vise with two pieces of wood on both sides of the Frame for protection. Then use a file. Finish with a finer file and then with progressively higher grit emory cloth. I would shoot the Revolver with your intended load several times along the process to make SURE you don't go too far. Remember....... metal can NOT be put back on.

Last edited by chief38; 04-16-2017 at 01:22 PM.
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Old 04-16-2017, 07:29 PM
deyomatic deyomatic is offline
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We did try a couple of different loads- the standard 230 grain, which was about a foot low, and 200 grain, which was much lower, as expected. I just want to have it in the ballpark...then fine tune at the range.

Other notes: This was originally a 5.5" barrel- someone, sometime, cut it down to 2". The sight appears to have been removed from the 5.5" and just reattached onto the cut down barrel- which is why it is too high.

I was thinking the same with the grip frame in the vise- the good news is that the humidity in Brazil left the grip frame as pitted as can be, so I won't be too worried about marring it up...

I am probably going to hold off...I may have to play with it in Microsoft Paint to see what shape I want it to be, anyway.
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Old 04-16-2017, 09:15 PM
lefty_jake lefty_jake is offline
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Some time ago I decided to file the sights on a pistol, and I learned an interesting lesson from it. I wanted a wider notch in the rear sight on a semi-auto. And since there was no sight with a wider notch available for this gun, I decided to file the existing sight.

I did the work with needle files, and I checked my work every few strokes with a magnifying glass. I did not have a jig or special tools to keep things square, but I checked my work carefully by eye. If I was doing it again I would use a magnifying visor for all of the work.

When I was done, it looked pretty good. It was square and even and it looked good to the naked eye. If you really squinted at it, you could notice that the bottom of the notch had a very sight radius in one corner instead of being completely square. But the radius was very small and barely visible without a magnifying glass, so I decided to stop cutting metal while I was still doing well.

At the range, my first shot with the modified sight was a quick shot from the holster. I drew the pistol, brought it to eye level, and pressed the trigger about as quickly as I could take an aimed shot. And after that first shot, I knew the sight was not cut well enough. I saw the tiny imperfection immediately. I was quite surprised by this, and I am not exaggerating for the sake of a story.

After that, I cleaned up the notch again with needle files, and this time I got it so that it looks very good under 5x magnification. I have been using the sight ever since, and I am happy with the results.

I have taken a few lessons from this story. It is possible to do very acceptable work on sights with a file, but you need to be really serious about it. For some shooters in some conditions, very small imperfections in the sights will be visible.
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Old 04-16-2017, 09:21 PM
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I've done this to a couple of 1911s.Just take your time.Measure twice and cut onceAdvice on trimming front sight?
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Old 04-17-2017, 04:18 PM
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Do the math then paint the sight to see where the top will be. Then shoot the new sight picture without cutting the sight to see if it shoots where you want, then file it down.
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Old 04-17-2017, 04:57 PM
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Go to the range with ammo file and gun. Shoot and file just a little bit....It is very , very easy to remove too much , too fast using any other method. When you get close, go back home and finish dressing the sight , flat and square.
Again...hand file , slowly , shooting it between file strokes !
Trust me ....I've been down this road and when you have gone too far....putting metal back is a lot harder and you don't need to remove near as much sight as you think....a little makes a big difference.
I'm not good at math...file a little and shoot eliminates the mathmatical error's!
Gary

Last edited by gwpercle; 04-17-2017 at 05:00 PM.
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Old 04-17-2017, 08:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoner View Post
take out the cylinder,put the gun in a padded vice, do the sight math so you have some idea how much to take off(most of us are not equipped to put metal back), tape up the gun(everywhere the file might hit if it slips), and use a file(most of us don't own a mill), finish top of sight with a little cold blue
+1 Done it MANY times the secret is MASSIVE layers of tape to protect everything. Need a large flat file so you can lay it on the well taped rear sight as a brace to keep it level.
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Old 04-17-2017, 08:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by deyomatic View Post
See below for a pic of the snubbed 1937 Brazilian I acquired. It shoots about a foot low at 25 feet
Fired off a rest? As people pointed out, hard to put metal back on. I would also shoot sveral ammo weights between 125 and 158 grain to see where they hit before cutting the sights. Hotter loads will hit higher.

Last edited by bountyhunter; 04-17-2017 at 08:19 PM.
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Old 04-17-2017, 08:26 PM
deyomatic deyomatic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bountyhunter View Post
Fired off a rest? As people pointed out, hard to put metal back on. I would also shoot sveral ammo weights between 125 and 158 grain to see where they hit before cutting the sights. Hotter loads will hit higher.
Bounty- it's 45ACP, and I'll most likely just be using 230 grn ball. No rest, but it was SOOOOO low. I just want to get it in the park.
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Old 04-17-2017, 08:39 PM
WR Moore WR Moore is offline
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I've got a chart downstairs based upon the 1911. IIRC, something like 0.005-0.007 of an inch moves the point of impact 1 inch at 25 yards. Check the distance between sights on your pistol and adjust the estimate accordingly (if your sight radius is 3/4 of a 1911, the same cut will move the POI about 1 1/4 inches at 25 yards.)

Sneak up on this, don't just hack off a bunch of front sight and go to the range. One other thing you might do, after you get the height close is to file a ramp on the back side of that half moon. MUCH better sight picture.

Frankly, given that the front attachment for the ejector rod has been removed, I'd strongly suggest finding that another owner unless you get someone highly skilled to add a detent ball to help lock the yoke into alignment.

Last edited by WR Moore; 04-17-2017 at 08:42 PM.
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Old 04-17-2017, 09:37 PM
deyomatic deyomatic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bountyhunter View Post
+1 Done it MANY times the secret is MASSIVE layers of tape to protect everything. Need a large flat file so you can lay it on the well taped rear sight as a brace to keep it level.
What kind of tape? I was thinking of hitting it with some rubbing alcohol first then using duct tape.
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Old 04-17-2017, 09:38 PM
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Quote:
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Frankly, given that the front attachment for the ejector rod has been removed, I'd strongly suggest finding that another owner unless you get someone highly skilled to add a detent ball to help lock the yoke into alignment.
Already done.
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Old 04-19-2017, 12:35 AM
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Quote:
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What kind of tape? I was thinking of hitting it with some rubbing alcohol first then using duct tape.
I use many layers of masking tape topped with Kapton which is very strong tape.
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Old 04-19-2017, 08:00 PM
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Well, gave it a shot today and I'm pleased so far- looks better proportioned to me, anyway. I used about 4 layers of masking tape and a couple of files I had- 15 mins and two applications of Perma Blue later, it looks like this:

It still looks a bit high to me, but should be much closer.

Thanks to all!
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