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Military Firearm Restoration Corner

Banded Ramp Front Sights


Ron J

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I want to try out a NECG banded ramp front sight. They say they can be stretched by forcing onto the barrel. This leaves me wondering 2 things. Just how much will they stretch - or how close should the barrel diameter be seeing as how it is tapered and the band ID isn't? Also, once this is done, wouldn't there be no clearance for solder or epoxy? These are a little pricy for experiments!!!

Thanks, Ron

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Thanks. Wow, 1/2 the length of the barrel. How were you moving it? A sleeve? The set screw under the insert is for a drilled and tapped barrel, correct? So no solder or epoxy?

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Betcha he meant 1/2" of travel along the lenth of the barrel.

 

The daring amateur could heat it up cherry red and drive it where he wanted it.

 

But those damn things are so expensive that it almost takes the fun out of it

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sometimes I'm just brain dead

 

It's only sometimes for you? What's your secret?

 

My last almost fatal brain fart was single feeding a heavily-modified (by ham-fisted me) 1911 that wasn't feeding from the magazine. Yes, I dropped one in the chamber, just happened to point it down range, and yes, dropped the slide. KApow! Fortunately for me it somehow went into battery before it touched off. The firing pin had wedged under a loose firing pin stop and was sticking out, which explains why it wouldn't feed from the magazine - Browning was smart, unlike me.

 

I'm pushing 50 and still learning that if it isn't working right STOP and frickin' figure it out. There's a reason.

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I'm pushing 50 and still learning that if it isn't working right STOP and frickin' figure it out. There's a reason.

 

Nah, come on Ken, just get a bigger hammer. That's what the rest of us rifle cranks do. That's we build rifles out of steel - they're hard to break and if you do you can weld'em back. :P

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just get a bigger hammer

 

And/or a bigger wrench. Did I tell you guys about the time I took a barrel off a Winchester 94 with the action closed? We should probably start another thread about blunders to avoid.

 

Hey walnut - do you have a shot-out barrel that you can use as a mandrel?

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i've heard that if you peen it with a small hammer while its on the barrel it will expand it enough to slide it farther down. that wouldn't work it it was already to small to fit over the barrel. then file & sand any marks out

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DT, nothing the right size, but a mandrel could be made on the lathe. I should have explained this better up front. The barrel is a new Shilen .416 cal. We turned it down a little. Anyway, we are trying to figure out which one to buy and how to install. I'm thinking once it starts on it has to be pushed up (stretched) far enough so there's no gap by the small end of the barrel.

Wow - thank God on that 1911. One time we were shooting Marlin levers. My brother was shooting a .44 mag - me a .30-30. His gun went off but sounded odd. We let it sit for a while then tried to open the lever. It opened hard. The action was full of powder but the bullet was out of the case. The primer had fired, but the powder didn't burn. We shook it out and started to chamber another. It wouldn't go in. The bullet was in the start of the rifling and another wouldn't fit. I don't know why, other than the sound, that we thought the bullet had left and didn't look. Good thing it wasn't an inch down the barrel. Factory ammunition, by the way. Ya know, that blunder post is a good idea. I'm sure even the most experienced will learn something new.

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i've heard that if you peen it with a small hammer while its on the barrel it will expand it enough to slide it farther down. that wouldn't work it it was already to small to fit over the barrel. then file & sand any marks out

 

This is the way I fit them. Use a old barrel as a mandrel and peen the band with a smooth face hammer. No need to heat it . Just do it cold.Do not be scared to hit it. This will displace steel and stretch the band. You can go expand to the next NECG size easily. You will need to polish out the hammer marks If I had a sight kicking around that needed to expand a lot I would turn a aluminum bar to match the barrel taper and perhaps 10 thou smaller than where you want the band to sit. Split the band on the bottom and clamp to the aluminum bar and weld. Clean up the weld and it as above.

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