# Taller front sight



## thomasr (Dec 17, 2012)

Just came into possession of an old Taurus .22 revolver...possibly an early model 94.  At 20 feet it shoots about 12" high!!!  It looks like the front blade sight has been filed off...the metal on top is in the white and not very even.  Other than that the piece is in very good shape.  I looked on Numrich parts and it appears that the front sight by itself is not replaceable.  How could I go about making the front sight taller in this case?  Appreciate any help or guidance.


----------



## williamt (Dec 17, 2012)

If it is just a shooter not a show peice you could try roughing up the blade and building it up with some of JP's weld then re shaping it. you redneck fix all


----------



## thomasr (Dec 17, 2012)

Thanks, I had considered that but was a little concerned about the durability of it and how well it would bond to that small a surface.  I've used JB weld before but not in this fashion.


----------



## SASS249 (Dec 19, 2012)

I have an Uberti Colt clone that was about like that in terms of needing a taller front sight.  Here is what I did.

1) Went to the range and made a temporary front sight out of electrical tape.  Made sure it was really tall.  Shot the gun from the bench and slowly trimmed down the tape until I had a front sight that hit POA.  Now I knew how tall the new sight should be.

3) I filed off the existing front sight until it was even.  Did not take it down all the way, just enough to get a fair base.

4) I made a front sight extension from some coin silver, I just cut it out of a Silver half dollar.  You could use any metal you want though.  I made sure it was somewhat oversized.

5) I then silver soldered the extension onto the existing sight base.

6) Back to the range to get the height right, then just shape the sight as you want it.

I did this on a nickel plated gun, using heat sink paste to protect the areas I did not want to get hot.  I made this repair over 20 years ago.  Since then I have shot close to 10,000 rounds of 45 colt out of that gun and the sight is still in place and the nickel plating is fine.

Silver solder is not hard to use and can give you a strong bond.


----------



## thomasr (Dec 19, 2012)

SASS249 said:


> I have an Uberti Colt clone that was about like that in terms of needing a taller front sight.  Here is what I did.
> 
> 1) Went to the range and made a temporary front sight out of electrical tape.  Made sure it was really tall.  Shot the gun from the bench and slowly trimmed down the tape until I had a front sight that hit POA.  Now I knew how tall the new sight should be.
> 
> ...



Mmmm...interesting.  By today's prices that's an expensive front sight you have there.  I'm not familiar with soldering with silver.  Where do you get it?  Will it bond with regular steel ?  Not sure I want to use silver...the front sight will be worth more than the whole pistol.  Do you use the same soldering principles as with acid core soldering?


----------



## SASS249 (Dec 19, 2012)

Silver soldering is a useful skill and easy to do.  Similar to acid core soldering.  Silver solder can be bought most places, along with silver solder paste, which is the flux you use.  If you can not find it at a big box store check a hobby store, like Michael's.  I have not bought any in forever since one spool lasts a long time.  If you have trouble finding it drop me a PM with an address and I will mail you plenty to make a few joins.

You basically just clean your pieces you wish to join, apply heat (for small parts like we are talking a propane torch is fine).  Silver solder melts at a higher heat than does lead acid solder.  Get your pieces pretty hot, add flux, add heat and let the solder flow into the joint.  It is really strong.

Here is a video showing the process 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2wYgQtPg4g

Yes it works well on steel.  I used the coin because if you look at a lot of old colt revolvers it was not that uncommon to find a sight modified using a coin.  At today's prices you are right this would have been expensive.  Silver was around $7.00/ ounce when I did this.


----------



## thomasr (Dec 19, 2012)

Thank you very much!  I'm going to look into this more.


----------

