Help with bent front sight.....

[kscharlie]

A while back, I obtained a 1953 .22/32 Kit Gun and later discovered the front sight was bent. It appears the gun had been dropped at some point, and landed on the side of the sight, bending it to the right. The sight blade itself is not really bent, but the blade has been moved some out of the channel it sits in. My question is, can I bend the blade back into position without further damage, or should I seek the assistance of a good gunsmith. I have no idea if the sight blade is silver soldered in place or not, so do not know if heat needs to be applied. And I sure do not want to have the sight come completely out of the channel.

Your advice is much appreciated.

 

[armorer951]

Additional photographs of the sight itself would help. Looks from the photo you posted that the barrel may not be indexed properly. I would contact a trusted, professionally trained local gunsmith for an evaluation.

 

[kscharlie]

I think the barrel is indexed OK. Here is a front-on shot that more clearly shows the sight blade with a definite "lean". If you look closely, you can also see where there is a gap between the bottom of the sight blade and the top of the sight channel (on the right side of the pic).

 

[Pisgah]

"I've got 'er in the vise now. Hand me that babbit bar!"

 

[chief38]

Personally (based on what I can see here) I'd give it a go on bending back as it is not that severe. Obviously you risk the chance of completely breaking the joint and having it come off (50% - 50% chance at best). If it does break off you will need to seek a pro GS to re-attach but as I see it, you might get away with bending it back yourself. If you just bring it to a Pro - he might try bending it back too and you never know....... it might actually be OK. Kind of the situation that you almost have nothing to loose by trying. I find that there are times you just luck out and Pro's might try the same procedure too - it all depends on the exact situation which from your picture is a bit hard to tell.

If I did try it I'd use a strong backing plate (steel, covered with something like a waxed paper or card-board to keep it from getting scratched anymore) and start off gently to see how the sight reacts. I'd also have someone assist to hold the gun firm and straight so you can concentrate on what you are doing. I'd start off with using a hard Nylon, Delron or Hard Wood substrate as a "punch" as to limit any damage. Hammer the Nylon and not the front sight.

Obviously I am only looking at a blurred photo and might asses the situation differently if it were in my hands. Your call, but if you don't feel comfortable, then yes seek out a Pro.

PS: If in fact it was braised into a slot, more than likely it will need to be removed and re-braised. Unfortunately, you then open up a can of worms with possible re-finshing which I don't even want to think about. A Pro could possibly avoid refinishing by drilling and pinning it back but he would have to be a very skilled GS to accomplish it perfectly. Silver Solder might be a lower temperature repair option and he might get away unscathed too.

 

[Hondo44]

This is a pretty simple fix:

#1 S&W does not solder or braze any hand ejector sights. They are forged as one piece with the barrel, machined base and blade in on piece and the base is pinned in a mortise in the barrel rib, or the blade is pinned in a mortise (the slot) in the barrel rib.

#2 The Model of 1953 22/32 Kit gun has the last; a blade pinned in the barrel rib. To do any gunsmithing at all, you always need a visual aid to get good information. Try a 5 power glass and you'll see the single pin that holds your sight blade in, which is polished flush with the rib surface.

#3 The sight blade is likely not bent. More likely the thin piece of rib on the right side of the sight has bent outward by the sight blade which has caused both of them to lean to the right and also created the space on the left side of the blade.

#4 Sight down the rib from the muzzle end to see if it is out of line with the rest of the rib all the way to the front of the frame. If it is, that's what you need to bend back to the left. It will straighten the blade at the same time. You can do it the same way as someone described bending the blade above which will also close up the gap on the side. But do not pound on the sight blade.

#5 The key to success is the shape of the 'dolly' you use, the piece that you lay against the rib to nudge it back to the left. I would cut a wedge slice from a lead ingot with about 1/16" wide edge on the skinny end of the wedge, about an inch long and 2" tall. Tape the rib with masking tape to protect the blue finish. Or use a piece of hard nylon if that's easier to obtain.

#6 This will not take as much force as you might think. But you need to tap the lead dolly evenly with a hammer that's at least an inch wide so the force is directed evenly all along the length of the dolly and the bent rib edge. Tap once with someone holding the barrel flat on its left side firmly against a hard surface padded with a thin piece of leather to protect the barrel bluing.

#7 Pick up the gun after each tap and sight down the rib from the muzzle again to check for progress until it and the sight are straight up and down again, and the gap on the left side closes up. If the pin shifts in its hole, reset it flush to the rib surface with the lead dolly.

Please don't hesitate to ask any questions that you might have and let us know how it turns out.

 

[model3sw]

Depending on what blade you need, I may have a spare. About 25 years ago I purchased a supply of NOS Marbles front sights for a variety of the smaller frame to K frame S&Ws from Charles Duffy (RIP).

Not to drift of subject but ... at that time ... I had asked Charles Duffy for a certain style front sight. He explains there are few different bases, for certain models, different heights for different barrel lengths and he had a few different styles.

He sent me a variety of sights, all NOS Marbles in the cellophane wrappers, asking me to choose what I need and send the rest back with a check for the sight I keep. Being overwhelmed with seeing all this NOS, so I did not send any sights back to Charles Duffy, only a check.

 

[kscharlie]

Thanks, Hondo, for the very detailed procedure for straightening the front sight! I did not realize the front sight on this gun was pinned. Getting out my lighted magnifying glass allowed me to see the pin. Dang, the S&W workers who built the older guns were certainly meticulous and did excellent work. The pin is all but invisible when looking with the naked eye.

At any rate, I followed your advice and was able to "remove" about half of the bend. I have halted the "fix" for now until my nerve gets replenished. I was smacking the rib pretty hard, and decided I needed to take a break, before something broke. If I am unable to get any additional bend removed, I will just move the adjustable rear sight more. I would rather do that than risk breaking something.

Thanks again for your help and the continued education.

 

[Protocall_Design]

You can use a Crescent wrench closed down on the sight blade to bend it back. This is a very controlled, gentle type of thing compared to whacking it with something.

 

[Hondo44]

Pretty hard not marking up the sight doing that. Unless it's a huge crescent wrench with jaws the same width as the sight is long, and is padded.

First examine the front edge of the sight. The full front edge is exposed in front including the part in the bottom of the mortise. Do you see a kink in the front edge of the sight. If not it’s not bent.

Is the edge of the rib on the right side straight when you sight down it from the muzzle?

Did the crack on the left side of the blade close up yet?

 

[kscharlie]

Pretty hard not marking up the sight doing that. Unless it's a huge crescent wrench with jaws the same width as the sight is long, and is padded.

I did try this method using a piece of leather to protect the sight. It helped some, but did not completely fix the sight. I stopped trying when I reached a point where I did not want to put any more pressure on the wrench.

First examine the front edge of the sight. The full front edge is exposed in front including the part in the bottom of the mortise. Do you see a kink in the front edge of the sight. If not it’s not bent.

No kink that I could determine, so the sight blade itself is not bent.

Is the edge of the rib on the right side straight when you sight down it from the muzzle?

The edge of the rib appears to be straight. A metal straight edge along the rib seems to lie straight along the rib.

Did the crack on the left side of the blade close up yet?

Not completely.

I have pretty much decided that the hole through the rib and sight blade must have been drilled and pinned crooked from the factory. I just do not want to put more pressure on it than I already have. Have no desire to break the pin or the sight blade or the edge of the rib. It's better than when I started, so I guess I will call it good.

Thanks again for all the help and suggestions. It is sincerely appreciated.

 

[Hondo44]

Is the edge of the rib straight on the left side?

When the sight blade leaned to the right, the bottom of the sight blade may have kicked the left side of the rib outward. If the rib is not straight on the left, I would tap it inward to close the gap.

 

[gman51]

Have you shot the gun yet? Could be a previous owner bent the sight over because the gun was not shooting poa. I have a revolver I had to bend the sight over because it shot 4" to the left. I hate a gun I have to aim way off target to hit the target. No doubt the barrel blade slot was machined off center or the barrel was canted. The barrel didn't look canted though.

 

[PPCSHOOTER]

I'VE STRAIGHTENED MANY A FRONT BLADE, ON DROPPED SERVICE REVOLVERS. I USED FLAT HARDWOOD AND A VICE. I CLAMP THE FRONT SIGHT (UPSIDE DOWN)IN A VICE. USING THE HARDWOOD FLATS TO PROTECT THE SIGHT . IN THAT POSITION IT'S EASY TO SEE THE DEGREE IT'S OFF. THAN I SIMPLY GRABBED THE GRIP FRAME AND PUSHED OR PULLED IT TILL IT WAS INLINE WITH THE FRONT SIGHT. I NEVER TORE OFF A FRONT SIGHT. INCLUDING PINNED ON FRONT SIGHTS. IT'S PRETTY EASY AND FAIRLY SAFE. JP

 

[kscharlie]

Well, it looks like I was right. The hole drilled for the front sight pin is crooked. The milled rib has a "lip" on each side of the rib. On the left side of the rib, the pin is just touching the bottom of the lip. On the right side of the rib, there is approx 1/32" space between the bottom of the lip and the top of the pin. So assuming the rib is properly milled, the hole was drilled at a slight angle, thus causing the sight to lean to the right.

As stated previously, I was able to "bend" things enough to remove about half the tilt. It is better than it was, but I don't think it can be easily corrected any more. I will further adjust the rear sight to compensate. The gun is a hoot to shoot and I am sure it will get shot a lot more in the future.

Thanks for all your help. This is why I love this forum, someone is always willing to share and help out.

 

[Hondo44]

Just some further thoughts:

The hole thru the rib and the sight blade doesn't necessarily make the sight blade crooked. It could be drilled through at a 45 degree angle but the blade is still pinned in place perfectly straight up and down.

More likely the pin has a kink in it from when the blade was pushed over. I would drive out the pin and check it. Or just drive it out
and drive it back in to straighten it. Or install a new pin. You won't be able to polish the pin ends flush with the rib w/o having to re-blue the rib. So what I do in this instance is use a longer pin and dome both ends, leaving 1/32" showing on each side and just use touch blue on the tips of the pin. That's the way the factory did it until about the mid-fifties. I kinda' like that look even more than the flush polished pins.

Early post war pre 1953 22 kit gun:

 

[Triggernosis]

You know what I'd do? I'd send it to Hondo44 and pay him to fix it.