1863 sight install

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IMG_0960.jpegSo I’m happy with the results considering it’s my first time silver soldering. The original press fit brass sight was way too low, so I took it out and tried press fitting a few sights I made from washers, a penny etc… with no success. I decided to try silver soldering after watching a few videos on YouTube. I made the sight from a washer I hacksawed and filed to shape. Did everything the video said to do and voila new sight installed! The sight is wider so I filed the notch in the brass frame wider with a square file. May widen it a bit more at some point but I think it’s ok the way it is. Got to get out and try it one of these days. I removed the bluing and “aged” the steel a bit with a wet rag and a dollop of perm blue paste just wiped on and wiped off right away. I darkens the steel a bit to a nice gray finish. Yes I know I left all the stamping on the barrel, just in case I decide to reblue later and polish the brass back to its old shiny self, just like new. The brass was aged nicely in a pan of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and salt. I just set the gun on a wood block in the pan out of the mix and covered with plastic. Two hours later it looked like this.IMG_0954.jpegIMG_0958.jpegIMG_0959.jpegIMG_0957.jpeg
 
The sight looks great! That brass frame looks really old. If you ever removed those barrel markings, it would fool a lot of people.
I may remove it at some point if I decide to leave it like this. I did remove the writing on a Remington 1858 I “aged”.
 

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I’ll see if I can find it. It was actually about soldering jewelry, but the techniques still apply. I wasn’t sure about the blueing so I removed it before I soldered. I know you have to heat evenly both surfaces to be soldered, plus apply lots of flux and burn off the excess before soldering.
 
the way to get brass to look old is to not use it. the guns that I use every day the brass is shiny like its been pollished. My brass powder flask that is in my loading bag and used every day is shiny. the one sitting on the bench looks old. I suppose the leather polishes it. same thing with a holster.
 

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