Got my front sight. Now to find a smith I trust

[1sailor]

After waiting forever Midway finally got in some .278" front sights. Now that I've got the new sight though I'm worried about having it installed. I have a like new model 27-3 with an 8 3/8" barrel. The man I bought it from bought it new and never shot it. He kept it in the house but his wife didn't allow loaded firearms in the house and this thing just sat. Came to me with everything they come with new and was virtually new in the box. A beautiful pistol but I don't think I trust any of our local guys to drive out the old pin, drill, and drive in the new pin without damaging anything. I know it's a simple job but I know if it came back to me with a gouge in it I'll be super pissed off as well as bummed out. So now I guess begins the long task of "asking around". Sooner or later someone reliable will turn up I'm sure. Just hurry up and wait I guess.

 

[OKFC05]

Maybe you could put your location in your profile to facilitate getting info from nearby forum members?

 

[Zipdog]

Install it yourself. That way you don't have to pay someone to mess it up.

 

[1sailor]

I don't have any of the proper equipment for doing the job. Using a hand drill and holding the pistol steady between my boots while I try to hold the drill straight ain't gonna happen. It really needs to be locked down securely in a drill press.

 

[L-2]

Pin punch set: 8 Piece Pin Punch Set
The smallest sized punch fits.

Ball Peen Hammer Set - 5 Ball Peen Hammers
The 8 or 12 ounce hammers will work fine.

A "rotary" tool:
Shop Dremel 3000 Series 28-Piece Variable Speed Multipurpose Rotary Tool Kit with Hard Case at Lowes.com

I couldn't tell what bits come with these tools. Use a diamond bit like this:
Dremel 7103 Diamond Wheel Point - Ace Tool

These are just suggested sources for these tools. You may also need a new sight-roll-pin if you can't reuse the original pin.

You can hold the sight down with one hand and drill right through the barrel's existing sight holes, at least to start/mark the hole in the new front sight; just be careful.

 

[AveragEd]

So again, where are you located? I have a great local gunsmith I would recommend but he may not be "local" to you so I won't go into the details.

Ed