Loose front sight on a ramp

[Treeman72]

I have a front sight issue with my 94ae again. The front sight sits in a dovetail on a ramp. The ramp has a very shallow screw that works loose sometimes. What kind of loctite should I use for that? And do you apply it to the threads in the screw or just put it in the hole?

With the loose dovetail, should I try a beer can shim or attempt to hammer something down? Not much of a tinkerer, so any advice is welcome.

For equipment, I have a work bench vice, hammer, and brass punch. What would be the best way to set this up? Vice on the receiver? Support the rifle on the ground with wood and blankets?

[rogn]

Not knowing your gunsmithing limits, Id recommend using the shim under the sight and you should use a blue Locktite( so it will come apart when you want it to). I wonld use the Loctite on the shim and overall as well. Wipe off the excess. Another thread stabilizer is "Pliobond", its a rubber cement that is good to keep threads in place.

[Hobie]

Not knowing your gunsmithing limits, Id recommend using the shim under the sight and you should use a blue Locktite( so it will come apart when you want it to). I wonld use the Loctite on the shim and overall as well. Wipe off the excess. Another thread stabilizer is "Pliobond", its a rubber cement that is good to keep threads in place.

You can use your wife's nail polish ILO the Loctite but otherwise that's how it is done.

[Pete44ru]

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I would suggest:

1) Clamping the barrel, just to the rear of the front sight ramp, in the padded (thick leather strips) jaws of a bench vise. (support the buttstock)

2) Remove the sight blade, and then the ramp from the barrel.

3) Degrease: the underside of the ramp, the barrel top where the ramp reposes, the threads inside the ramp attaching screw's hole, and the threads of the ramp attaching screw.

4) Using blue (colored) LocTite (usually found in a red-colored plastic bottle), place a drop in the threaded hole, a drop on the screw thread, and smear a bit on the ramp's underside.

5) Install the ramp on the barrel, tightening the screw manually; then rap the screw head sharply, using a flat-faced drift & heavy hammer (support the muzzle from the blow). Retighten the screw (usually an additional 1/8 turn, +/-) to set the screw threads.

6) Install the front sight blade in the ramp, ONLY when the ramp's supported from any drifting blows, or using a sight pusher tool (the best practice). If using a BCS, barely start the shim from the same side (loading port) as the sight blade & move them in together. Trim the shim in place, or camo (Black Sharpie), any part of the shim visible after installation.

FWIW: the cost of a sight pusher tool (Williams) is recovered by avoiding just a single gunsmith visit to change a sight blade; so If you're ever going to do it again sometime, you'll be dollars ahead by buying one now (If you don't already have one).


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[Treeman72]

I like the looks of that tool. Can use on my 9422M as well. Do you use the tool with the ramp on or removed from the rifle?

[Pete44ru]

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There's no need to remove the ramp to use the sight pusher tool - I just clamp the rifle in a padded vise as above - usually @ the receiver, since there's no drifting/pounding involved.




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