Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Loose dovetail

Try using two ball peen hammers. Put one hammer on the edge of the dovetail and strike it with the other hammer gently.
You do this little by little, don't try to do it with one big swing of the hammer.
whelennut

UHhhhh, I've owned the hammer pictured above for over 20 years,....

BELIEVE me I've not screwed anything up with it,....during that time.

it's the one I use for "Moving Metal",....and Yes, I'll peen around a dovetail, too.

Nonetheless, I'll hold with the proposal that a THIN shim can be invisible, and bomb proof reliable, in some applications

Good thread, Good to know that the "Anti Metal Molestation Society" waxes strong.

GTC

Gunsmithing by Roy F. Dulap (2nd Edition 1963, p407):

"Tightening a loose sight in a slot can be done in several ways, the best of which is by peening down the edges of the barrel slot. This can be done either directly by a steel hammer, or by a hammer and a large driftpunch. To prevent undesired damage to the slot, take an old sight and make it into a dovetail blank, using just the portion to fill the slot and place it in the slot when peening. Peening makes for a neater finished job than tightening by shims or a centerpunch.

To tighten by a centerpunch, which is possible sometimes when the sight is just a little loose, use a manual punch and hammer to make deep marks from left to right across the slot, in a double line, the deeper impressions being to the left. The punch extrudes a little metal up around each detent, which serves to bottom the sight."

.....and on a slim barrel will also push dimples down into the bore.

Play with some old takeoff barrels and pin gauges, prove it to yourself.

No disrespect to Old Roy, intended or inveyed, either.

GTC

I take it Old Roy expected people reading his book to use common sense. With any gunsmithing operation one should think it through before attempting. (And still you get surprised on occasion and get another "learning opportunity" fixing it!)

Useful method for rear sights and sights on heavy barrels like black powder. I reserve it for sights that are almost, just about there, tight and use an automatic center punch because 1) it's easier and 2) better to control the force of the strike.

If you bend the lips of the dovetail they will only touch
the sight in a small area. Use a thin shim, it wont take
much to do the job and you haven't damaged anything.
Good luck1

Thanks, I didn't want to peen rear sight notch on Marlin 27S.
Nathan