blacklabbob
Member
I have a 625 and a 627 with pinned gold bead front sights. I wish to replace them with fiber optics. Does any know what size roll pin punch to use to drive out the pin?
Pinned sight replacement
- Thread starter blacklabbob
- Start date
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9mmsubgun-m11
Member
0.055" will work. I made my own out of a hardened retaining pin.
fomcco
Member
.055" is the pin diameter, but I prefer a slightly under-size punch. I got a .039 X 2" replaceable pin punch from Brownells, stock no. 080507239. It has a very long shank that worked OK at first but eventually broke. The remaining stub worked better. They also sell replacement pins.
OP
blacklabbob
Member
Thanks gents. I've a Brownel's catalog.
Kernel Crittenden
US Veteran, Absent Comrade
The S&W specific pin punch sold by Brownells is a 0.040", IINM. The customer reviews are not very laudatory.
I've been using a 1.2 mm metric punch I found on eBay. That equates to 0.047". Works fine and is plenty undersized.
Some guys will use the shank of a drill bit held in a adjustable pin vice. Wire gauge No. 55 is the perfect size.
I've been using a 1.2 mm metric punch I found on eBay. That equates to 0.047". Works fine and is plenty undersized.
Some guys will use the shank of a drill bit held in a adjustable pin vice. Wire gauge No. 55 is the perfect size.
I hope SAW comes up with a better way. There are some available.
fomcco
Member
A slightly larger pin punch would be good because the .039" shank is very fragile. But I haven't been able to find any other pin punch smaller than 1/16" (.0625) or 2mm (.079").
No. 55 drill bits are a little larger than I would like at .052", but can work, I expect, if you're careful.
Some other notes:
You will need No. 54 (.055") drill bits to drill the new sight. These tiny drill bits are also very fragile. You can expect to go through several of them.
You may have to do some fitting to get the base of the new sight into the slot on the barrel. I carved out a slot on a piece of wood to hold the sight upside down so that I could file just the base.
Drill the new sight slowly from both sides to get the hole straight and avoid breaking an excessive number of drill bits.
Blue threadlock on the pin will keep it in place.
