I can't truly disagree with a single word 4k2022 has spoken, but the bottom line is if you want to really learn about these guns, how they're put together, and how they work, it costs money. It doesn't cost as much as the guns, but it ain't cheap!
Cup Tip Punch----just one of them, $18---the set is $101---and these prices are from a 10-12 year old catalog----the little brass hammer is $15 to $20. 30 some odd years ago when I decided I wanted to be equipped to work (play) with these guns, my FIRST order to Brownells was over $500.
Have I saved any money by having these tools and learning how to use them? Nope----not a dime----and that's because I've never fixed anything----just take 'em apart and put 'em back together. Fixing stuff is for experts. Experts get paid for their time-----AND for knowing what to do!!
And besides that, I've never bought a gun that needed fixing, or even might need fixing.
Speaking of tools for sights, the pre-war sights have teeny, tiny little screws that hold them on the gun----and adjust the sight. The set of Jeweler screwdrivers I got from Brownells cost the better part of $100---30 something years ago---and they're a pain in the butt to use because you can't hold on to them with your hands---only your fingers. Lowes is your salvation!! The Kobalt set of Precision Screwdrivers (#0525844) is probably around $20-$25 now-----$12 when I got mine. The set is 10 tools---2 of which you're going to use on those sight screws. You may or may not find a use for the other eight in the set. Now the price of this set (even now) suggests they're junk. They're not----and you can hold on to them with your whole hand---instead of your fingers.
All this is fun----and worthwhile---if you enjoy it. It's work otherwise.
Ralph Tremaine
And a word to the wise about the little bitty screws that hold the sights on pre-war guns. They are not even remotely inclined to come loose! You can take each gun to your gunsmith, and he'll unstick 'em-----in about 10 minutes and $25-$30 per screw. OR----you can do this: Remove the grips, and place the gun (grip frame) in a padded vise----with the muzzle lower than the rear sight. Elevate the rear sight so as to expose the groove in the top strap where the sight sits. Pour some of your favorite screw unsticker juice (Kroil's the best.) into the groove, and go play with your children's mother. During your absence, the juice is going to run down the groove and have DIRECT access to the stuck threads. While it may very well take longer than your play time, the screw will come unstuck in short order ------a damn sight shorter than if you were pouring the juice on the top of the screw for several days. Oh, and if you were to ask your gunsmith how he does that so quickly, he'd tell you, "It's amazing what a little heat will do!" If you were then so brain dead stupid as to ask, "How much heat, and where?", it's time to duck and run!!
