JB Weld front sight?

[joeboleo1]

Tried new smoothbore for first time the other day and sfter getting home an "accident" occured and the sight was whacked, knocking it off the barrel. My problem is the barrel is now finished. I was told I could try a dab of JB Weld on the sight instead of trying to solder the sight onto a now finished barrel. Any experiences with doing this? Ideas? Would this be a bad thing? Appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.

 

[BrownBear]

Nothing lost in trying it, but I'm guessing with time, heat and jarring it's likely to come loose again sooner or later.

Only thing "close" I've done was monkeying with the bayonet lug "sight" on my Bess for accuracy trials with RB. I added black pigment to some 5 minute epoxy, then put a dab on top of the lug and shaped that with a file once it set. I never had any trouble with it coming off till I wanted it off, but it wasn't supporting the weight of a sight.

 

Joe,
I think it would work with a caveat. It might only be a temporary fix. First you will have to get the barrel "perfectly clean", meaning down to bare metal before putting the JB on. I believe it will hold, until you get cleaning solvents, oil and other residue on it. I am not certain how impervious to chemicals JB is. I have also used high strength epoxies as a "temporary" fix for attaching sights when I wanted to try different locations on the barrel. It's a crap shoot but the worst that will happen is that it doesn't hold.
Mark :idunno:

 

[59sharps]

I've used it on top of a front sigth to bild it up. and on a rear sight to move the notch. but never to hold one on. sights I did 5 years ago are still holding up I've used all kinds of solvents on it. would as stated have to take the are down to bare mtl and rough it up a little.
Other option to think about is dovetail it and have a sight made to fit flush shape to barrel and finish the sight. I had one done that you have to look real hard to see it

 

[Golfswithwolves]

If you are concerned with historical correctness, I do not believe that JB Weld fits in with this :wink: . You would probably be best off from all angles though by reattaching the proper sight in its original manner, even if the finish of the barrel is hurt a bit.

 

[Dave K]

Well, if you finished the barrel once, you can do it again. I am becoming very good at redoing my dammits again and again. I know when I try to let the little things slide, I always get disgusted with my laziness and redo it. I have never regretted it yet.

 

[Shine]

ive used it, it works jb weld is in the same catagory as duct tape and bailing wire.It holds the world together.

 

[Birddog6]

:slap: Don't you EVEN JBWeld that sight back on !! :cursing:

That being said, fix it right, you did it once, now do it again........ :wink:

Keith Lisle

 

[joeboleo1]

Ha , That's what I've been thinking! Guess I did it once, now do it again. Imagine barrel won't be too bad to fix. Oh well, goes with the learning curve I guess. :idunno:

 

[J.D.]

I can only assume that there are remnants of solder on the barrel and sight.

If you have to clean the parts to use J.B.Weld, why not just go ahead and resolder the sight?

Just tin the sight with powdered solder and flux, just enough to cover the sight base. Do the same with the barrel, then put 'em together and add heat. Not too much heat, but enough to melt the solder.

The two pieces should stick together when the heat is right. And you are done.

The solder won't stick to the finish on the barrel, so there should be little to no clean up.

God bless

 

[sbhg]

I needed a taller front sight for my super blackhawk, so I fab'd a small piece of steel for the sight, added a thin film of 50/50 solder to both pcs. after cleaning and fluxing and then sweatted them together.
Worked great.
Is that how you guys attach those sights?

 

[sbhg]

I needed a taller front sight for my super blackhawk, so I fab'd a small piece of steel for the sight, added a thin film of 50/50 solder to both pcs. after cleaning and fluxing and then sweatted them together.
Worked great.
Is that how you guys attach those sights?

 

[smoothy]

I'm sure if it happened to you that it happened back in the day and that similar repairs were somewhat common. I'd fix it the same as they would have done it back then and the gun will retain its authenticity with added character to boot. Good luck whichever way you go.

 

[J.D.]

I needed a taller front sight for my super blackhawk, so I fab'd a small piece of steel for the sight, added a thin film of 50/50 solder to both pcs. after cleaning and fluxing and then sweatted them together.
Worked great.
Is that how you guys attach those sights?

Pretty much. Easy ain't it? :wink:

 

[59sharps]

well if he plans on JB oviously he is
1] not concerned w/ historical correctness.
2]or it will not be seen so who would know but
him.
3] I know others are. But I'm personaly not concerned w/ historical correctness when I have to use it. or when I modify a sight on my muskets pistols 1860 henry to get them to impact where needed staying w/in NSSA rules. after all I use sight black and sight orange on them.

 

[blafen]

I have JB welded the front sight onto one of my pistols and it has held up to being knocked around hauled through brush and it is still working fine.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

If your sight got knocked off it must not have been very well soldered in the first place. If you have a sight with a large base, contoured to match the barrel and well soldered it could not be removed in one piece with a cold chisel.
So maybe you'd get a better job with JB Weld. I disagree with the premise that you have to remove the old solder down to bare metal. JB will adhere to solder just fine. What you MUST do is clean with acetone or brake cleaner to remove any trace of oil or solder flux. Get both surfaces clean, smear JB on both and clamp together for 24 Hours. Rubber bands serve very well for clamping.
I once JB Welded a scope mount onto a .50 caliber rifle and even with a 24 ounce scope it withstood recoil and stayed put until I applied heat to remove it.

 

[Darkgael]

Try Loctite 380 - Black Max Adhesive.
Brownell's sells it, as does Amazon. Amazon is cheaper. It is used for attaching sights to shotgun barrels.
I have used it. It works. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=6139/Product/BLACK_MAX_ADHESIVE
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=loctite+380&tag=googhydr-20

Pete

 

[J.D.]

well if he plans on JB oviously he is
1] not concerned w/ historical correctness.
2]or it will not be seen so who would know but
him.
3] I know others are. But I'm personaly not concerned w/ historical correctness when I have to use it.

IMHO, this issue is not about historical correctness. It's about doing the job right, instead of doing half way. IMHO, gluing anything to any gun is a halfa$$ short cut, and not a good job.

I will admit that there is a small learning curve to soldering, but that isn't an excuse to take shortcuts, and IMHO, anything other than a permanent fix is a shortcut.

God bless

 

[varsity07840]

well if he plans on JB oviously he is
1] not concerned w/ historical correctness.
2]or it will not be seen so who would know but
him.
3] I know others are. But I'm personaly not concerned w/ historical correctness when I have to use it. or when I modify a sight on my muskets pistols 1860 henry to get them to impact where needed staying w/in NSSA rules. after all I use sight black and sight orange on them.

I used epoxy as a base for a front sight blade that had to be offset from the original blade on a rifled 1842 Musket. The sight on a '42 is part of the front barrel band and usually causes windage problems because it can easily be moved.
I put some shims between the band and the forend to keep it tight, then epoxied a thich blade to the appropriate side of the original sight and filed it for windage until it shot center. After I got it where I wanted it, I used more to build up the base and filed and sanded it to shape it. It does the trick and doesn't look too bad. Not h/c, but funtional, especialy since I hunt with it now and then. A little heat and some solvent and the whole thing can be removed without a trace. I did a similar fix on a '63 musket, but that time I used solder to put a taller Richmond type sight with a pinched base behind the original, and kept heating it and moving it for windage until I got it right. Heat and careful cleaning of the solder brings it back to original form. Muskets can be a PIA when it comes to sight adjustment.

Duane


Duane