Staked Front Sight This is the way I install a staked front sight in my shop. I start with all the tools that you see in (Fig 1). You can acquire the front sight staking tool from Brownells, it goes for about $24.00. The first step in replacing your front sight is to remove your old sight. Go ahead and put your slide in a padded bench vise with sight pointing towards ceiling, I will grab the front sight with a pair of vise-grips, Dont grab it all the way down against the slide but about 3/4 of the way down and then rock the vise grips side to side without letting the pliers mar your slide. Usually the front sight will fall off with the stem still inside the slide, I then punch out what's left of the stem from the top of the slide with a punch. Next, place Slide in your vise upside down, and get out your dremel tool with a 1/8 round burr. What you are attempting to do is open up the area inside the slide, under the front sight hole, for the sight post to swage into. Don't go overboard here, just slightly relieve the hole opening so that the tennon will have room to expand. The next step is to check to see if you got the right sized front sight. There are two front sight tennon sizes. The narrow tennon is .82 wide, and the wide tennon is the width of the front sight, at .125. Most of the more modern guns will use the wide tennon so go ahead and attempt to install the sight on your slide and see if it fits flush with the slide. You may have to tap it with a soft sided hammer. If it doesn't fit, you may have to open up the hole, or take down the tennon slightly with a needle file, until sight will go in tightly. Next, degrease the hole with some carb cleaner, blow dry, and get out your red loctite 271 and liberally coat the front sight tennon and hole in your slide. Tap your sight into place and ensure sight is all the way flush with the slide. Put your slide in a vise as in (Fig 2). It is extremly important that the slide is vised with the sight all the way flush with the bottom of the vise. I use paper, or a 5x7 index card to keep from scratching sides of slide. If the sight tennon is too tall, I file it down until it looks like (Fig 2). You don't want it too tall, just slightly taller than the slide itself. All you have to do now is to put the front sight staking tool in slide, with bit end against the front sight tennon, and strike staking tool until tennon expands. Don't use a light hammer, nor be afraid to really hit it. Next, with a dremel clean up slide and ensure tennon is flush with slide, and that your barrel bushing will not hang up on it; refer to (Fig 4). Good luck

  

Blindhogg