deputy125

does not mean that i will ever attempt it though.........

Was watching one of the shooting shows the other nite......anyways, it had one of those brief "how-to" segment commericals put on by Potterfield of Midway USA. This short info segment was on installing a red insert in the front blade of a revolver.

Now i will tell on myself.......i honestly thought that the way it was done was a notch cut into the sight and then a matching red plastic insert was pressed into the notch........all of course a factory job.

Well, ole' Potterfield showed was cutting the notch with appropriate files, then "bracing" each side of the notch basicly building a trough, and then pouring some type of liquid plastic/goo/resin into the trough up to level................let it cure, remove the trough, and then sand down the hardened plastic till it was a flush fit with the notch......

i never knew............

i do enjoy many of midway USA tips/segments on these shows.........don't know if i would ever attempt them, but his methods and his presentation come across that even a technology-challenged idiot like myself just might attempt a few things in the future...........

of course midway has its own motives............like buying the little nick-nak tools for these little jobs....but what the hey, it actually sort of makes the work look like fun!!!

Machinist

You can machine the slots but it is not hard to file as it does not have to meet a standard if you are going to mold the insert. If you drill a small hole or pit in the bottom of the opening the liquid can be pushed down into it with a paperclip forming a peg so the insert can't slide out the side when hard. You can buy stuff or just use two part epoxy putty and add whatever color Testers type paint you want for the color of your choice. You can even use luminous paint for a night sight that glows in the dark. Pieces of old razor blade or shim stock can be clamped to the sides as a mold. Very little will then have to be removed except from the top surface. After filing, if you back scrape the top surface with a razorblade it kind of "brightens" it. It is a cheap and fairly easy way to improve the sight picture on fixed sight guns with integral front sight blades.

Proper dovetail files are good for making standardized dovetails to fit standard sights but for this you don't have to have special tools. A small fine cut triangular file without much taper will work fine for finishing the slot once you rough it out with the edge of a flat file. These don't have to be very deep and the blade is not wide.

It is easy and cheap to practice on a piece of scrap material before touching a gun, as well.

44s Rock

Thanks guys, might give that a try on my GP100, right now it just has red paint.

tx gun runner

I hate those colored ft sights and ramped sights too . . I take magic marker and blacken them out . I don't do well on target work with them . I love the partridge ft sight

deputy125

i was thinking in the future of doing it to a stainless site...........mike look a tad better than black paint........

tx gun runner

This holds up better then paint but dry to a flat gray and then put the magic marker over it .

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?p ... ber=412198

Cruelshoes

TGR you have more gun knowledge in one fold of your brain than in all my folds combined. Who would have thought to use a lube as a primer for paint.

And why do you like your sights black? Most of us paint our black sight, and you paint your colored sights black. There has got to be something I can learn here.

Machinist

Black sites, especially the flat rear surface of Patridge front sights, gives a sharper and more precise sight picture for target work. Against a white or light background they are the most clear and precise and I used to prefer them for 25 yard bulls eye work. As I get older and do less of that I like the colored insert as I pick it up faster, especially when the background color is dark or mixed. On my best day in the prime of my life I could not shoot like Gunrunner does now but I used to prefer those target sights on my revolvers and still like them for longer barrels and target work. I really like the colored inserts with stainless sight blades as my aging eyes have trouble with gray or silver sights.

sheepdog

...he's been foldin' a lot longer'n most of us, Chaplain!!!

Machinist

As a professional machinist who enjoyed precision work I must say I am amazed at the things Gunrunner has designed and made. As to his shooting results I am just slack jawed in awe. Perhaps the most astounding aspect of that is that he takes for granted that he could shoot at that level on demand. He was running with some very big dogs in several categories and held his own, often with equipment that he designed and built himself. I'm glad the cantankerous old bastard is here. I have learned a lot.

Machinist

There are many folks on this site that are better shooters than me. It's nice for me because I learn from them all. Thanks guys!!

tx gun runner

Here here of my target guns and targets . Remember these were shot last year with a bad arm , old eyes and tight socks . In my younger days the HS I could shoot and keep them all in the "x" ring . It is super hard to do that with ramped and colored ft sight . This works for me and most target shooters , but different people have different eyes and targets like hunters .







If the lighting correct you can do it with any sight .