Replacing just the brass 'gold' bead on a front sight...?

[AJMD429]

The little brass bead fell out of a front sight - I think it was a 1/16".

Does anyone sell the beads separately, or do you just have to make a new one from a brass screw or something?

If it's too much of a pain-in-the-but, I suppose I can always get a new front sight of the same height.

[Mescalero]

You can buy brass stock from dealers, you will probably wind up with more than you can ever use.

[BenT]

I have a selection of brass rod stock that was purchased from a hardware store. 3/32 is the smallest i have. I cut off a small piece and JB weld it to the sight. Then slowly file it to the right size and black magic marker any JB weld that is showing.

[pokey]

BenT beat me to it.
a well stocked hardware store should have brass rod of varying diameters.

[GonnePhishin]

Couldn't you just glue a bb onto the post?

[harry]

Bet you have an old key laying around, side cutters and JB + file.
Harry

[flightsimmer]

A welding shop will probably give you a small piece of scrap brazing rod for free.

[AJMD429]

Thanks for all the responses. I kinda hoped Brownell's sold 12-packs of assorted pre-shaped beads for $1.99, complete with 'tail' to fit in the hollow part of the sight base...

I guess I'll actually have to work to fix it. . . such a rough life it is. . .

I think I have a piece of brazing-rod in the barn, actually...

(of course finding it may be the most time-consuming part of the project... )

[rjohns94]

What is JB weld?

[Pete44ru]

JB Weld is an epoxy glue.

FWIW, home repairs usually are fragile enough to quickly get legs, and disappear - since the originals had two diameters, the major diameter, which is the viewable bead size, and a very small minor diameter which slides into a horizontal hole in the top of the sight blade, foor securing the bead.

.

[COSteve]

Deleted

[awp101]

What is JB weld?

JB Weld is a miracle adhesive on par with duct tape. My first car was a 72 Plymouth Valiant with a radiator that had more JB Weld holding the radiator together than factory welds...

[M. M. Wright]

I have an old buddy who told me about having a jeweler friend set a diamond in the face of his front sight instead of a gold bead. Says any light at all and it just sparkles. Now I gotta try it.

[KCSO]

If it is the crimp in kind you can just use a brass escuetcheon pin, trim the shank to length and push it in and re crimp and you have a perfect rounded bead.

[AJMD429]

I have an old buddy who told me about having a jeweler friend set a diamond in the face of his front sight instead of a gold bead. Says any light at all and it just sparkles. Now I gotta try it.

Sounds pretty interesting! Even one of those zirconium fake ones would probably work just fine.

[adirondakjack]

Start a new post hailing Manatee. He assembles and sells the grabber sights, using just the kind of beaded post you're talking about.

[vancelw]

What is JB weld?

My heart skipped a beat! I had no idea that anyone could not know what JB Weld is
I may have to start a thread called, "Things I have rigged with JB Weld." It would be a long list.
It's not as easy to apply as duct tape, baling wire, or super glue, but it pretty versatile.

That opened my eyes and made my day

[rjohns94]

Sorry. Didn't know.

[vancelw]

Sorry. Didn't know.

Watch your mailbox. I'm gonna send you some. If you're smart you'll throw it away without trying it.
It's like crack! You'll love it, and you cant afford it.

Great stuff. No need to apologize because we failed to spread the word in a timely manner.

[octagon]

Doc AJ: Hobby shops that cater to model train buffs, RC car guys etc, will usually carry a wider selection of round stock than will a hardware store. Here is a handy trick for cutting small round stock down to size yourself:

Take a piece of slightly oversized round stock and chuck it up in your variable speed dremil tool. Now, clamp the dremil tool to a workbench or put it in a padded vice. Using a fine file such as a number 4 or 6 cut file, you can now cut the stock to exact size using the dremil as a micro lathe and a dial caliper. Polish the round stock while still in the dremil using fine sand paper (600 or finer). I have made a lot of pieces using this method especially making taller sights for cap and ball percussion revolvers. I prefer bronze stock to brass as it is harder and does not load up my fine files (Grobet Files). This technique is really easy and I know you to be a handy guy from your past posts.

[AJMD429]

If it is the crimp in kind you can just use a brass escuetcheon pin, trim the shank to length and push it in and re crimp and you have a perfect rounded bead.

Did just that - worked very well. Added a tiny bit of JB-Weld just for insurance...

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