Gunsmithing Fixing a sight goof. 1911 stuff.

[LRI]

As many already know, the last year has been interesting for me as I got diagnosed with an annoying neuro/autoimmune thing. The lesson: Don't do pistol work while juiced up on 5k mg of roids. lol. -Much, much better now thankfully.

I neglected to comp the tool when cutting for a front sight, and it resulted in a DT that was way, way too wide. A simple job turned into a marathon... To fix it, I modeled the sight provided by the client and widened the dovetail so that it'd fit in the slide correctly.

Wrapped it up Sunday morning. FWIW, I love the new smaller 5-axis trunion I put on a new machine. It makes little jobs like this a snap. So much quicker than having to set up the big UMC750.

Prehard 4140 chromoly:

Took me three tries, but I finally got the "pinch" right on the fit.

Blending the edges to the slide:

All done. Finish sanding with 220 W/D. Now to blast and parkerize.
I'll stick the little fiber optic thingy in it once its all done.

 

[hino895]

Looks great!

 

[iceng]

Came up good. Always a nice feeling knowing you can spend sub $50 on a new one, or spend a whole day prototyping one to "save money". Hah..

*Crys in hourly rate*

 

[LRI]

Came up good. Always a nice feeling knowing you can spend sub $50 on a new one, or spend a whole day prototyping one to "save money". Hah..

*Crys in hourly rate*

It had nothing to do with hourly rates or trying to save anything other than the slide because I'd mistakenly cut the feature too wide. If there'd been an easy button answer I'd of bought one in a second.

 

[iceng]

Yeah, been in that situation more than once.

I always tell people "a good tradesman (or gunsmith) can get himself into trouble, and out of it without it being a hassle".

 

[E. Bryant]

Nice fix, Chad, and I'm glad to hear that you're getting the health issues sorted.

 

[JoshPutman]

Nice fix. Very nice machine work.

As long as the customer is ok with it being way out of spec so no other aftermarket sight will ever fit, you're good to go.

 

[iceng]

 

[JoshPutman]

^^^^^^I run CNC's for a living, and I approve

 

[LuvDog]

It looks like a creative solution and saved the slide. How did the customer react?

When it comes to 1911's, it's tricky. Because a lot of 1911 owners are about aesthetics.

 

[JoshPutman]

In all reality, if the customer balks, it would just be a simple matter of welding the dovetail and milling it again to the correct dimensions.

 

[LRI]

In all reality, if the customer balks, it would just be a simple matter of welding the dovetail and milling it again to the correct dimensions.

That was my initial idea as well. The only reason I didn't was that he wants it parkerized and the weld would surely leave "watermarks" in the finish.

As for the comments about the owner. I get that most people don't "know me." Anyone who does, however, will tell you that two things happen when a mistake happens here: I find a solution, then contact the client and present them with the facts. I've been friends with this gent for well over a decade now. He is one of my very first clients.

In this instance, I think a part of him was silently happy this happened just because he's a curious feller and wanted to see what I'd do to fix it. -I also gave him my 25-year-old Les Baer match 45 to borrow for the events he competed in this summer while I sorted this out.

All better now. Onto the next project...

 

[cas6969]

It looks like a creative solution and saved the slide.

Nooo... should have mounted an RMR up there.

I swear it would, at least theoretically, be more accurate. I want to try it, just maybe not with any gun I currently own.

 

[Maggot]

Came up good. Always a nice feeling knowing you can spend sub $50 on a new one, or spend a whole day prototyping one to "save money". Hah..

*Crys in hourly rate*

I do that all the time. Saving money doesnt always save money, or time, expecially when you have to hire a professional to sort out your fuckups.

 

[iceng]

Nooo... should have mounted an RMR up there.

I swear it would, at least theoretically, be more accurate. I want to try it, just maybe not with any gun I currently own.

Makes recoil weird, because of the weight distribution. Also hot gasses near the glass are smooth-brain-intelligence.