What is you guy's technique for peening a loose dovetail

[.36Rooster]

In terms of which tools, and your technique for using them? How do you guys do it? What are the things to be careful for? This old production rifle I've been restoring has loose front and rear sights. It's getting closer to the time I will fire it as I'm (hopefully) about done with the lock internals.

Might as well get the sights snugged up to the point of being useful, as they are quite loose.

 

[bubba.50]

Lay about a 9/16ths socket across the dovetail, give it a light tap with a small hammer. Tap and try, tap and try. Doesn’t take much. And there will be no evidence that you ever did anything.

 

[LawrenceA]

Depends on just how bad it is.
What Bubba said will work for a slightly loose fit.
I use a small tack hammer and slightly and lightly close the dovetail down by peening the edge. Once I have tehn fitted whatever you can do a little more peening to really tightemn it up but you need to make sure the hammer face is nice and smooth (polished preferably) and make sure the face edge does not strike the barrel as it will leave a mark.
If this is not enough then you can use a centre punch to raise the metal on the bottom of the dovetail and if that is not enough you can shim the bottom of the dovetail.
And if that doesn't work your in strife!!!

 

[Winchester97]

I have added a thin layer of epoxy to the underside of the sight base itself, then filed it to fit when dry. You could also use solder as well...basically a secure, semi-permanent shim to build up the thickness.

 

[Ames]

One small piece of tin foil under the sight if it's not too crazy loose.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

I have used a spring loaded center punch on the bottom of the sight with good effect.

 

[rich pierce]

If it is a rear sight that is loose I stretch the sight. I use a cross peen hammer to lengthen it, then flatten the troughs with the flat face of the hammer. A lot can be gained. One can use a very rounded tipped wide chisel as well with great precision to do the peening.

Otherwise I just make new sights.

 

[Vaino]

On a new build, I use a dovetail upsetting chisel { except for the front sight} to raise a molding on both sides of the dovetail which can be peened down for a loose rear sight and the bbl lugs for a tight fit. The molding at the rear sight is then filed to yield a neat molding that yields addt'l depth to a shallow dovetail. The excess moldings at the bbl lugs is filed flush w/ the bbl

I make all the dovetails .035 deep plus the addt'l depth from the moldings at the rear sight dovetail, but the front sight dovetail is .045 deep.

On a finished gun, I'd make new sights in lieu of buggering up the dovetail......Fred

 

[user 48679]

I don't peen anything - instead, I use a BCS (beer can shim) under the sight base.

I cut the BCS a little smaller (all around) than the wide portion of the male dovetail on the bottom of the sight, then slide both the sight & the BCS into the female barrel dovetail together.

If any part or side of the BCS shows, I camo it with a black Sharpie.

 

[Davey Boy]

I don't peen anything - instead, I use a BCS (beer can shim) under the sight base.

I cut the BCS a little smaller (all around) than the wide portion of the male dovetail on the bottom of the sight, then slide both the sight & the BCS into the female barrel dovetail together.

If any part or side of the BCS shows, I camo it with a black Sharpie.

I have the greatest difficulty with acronyms and to see this format OGAA (Oh great another acronym)

You get 5 stars

 

[mooman76]

I use a punch on the flat part of the sight, lightly. It really doesn't take much to keep it in place.

 

[leadhoarder]

Looks like a coke can shim is going to work. The rifle was staring at me while I took a lunch break so I tried foil first but that was too thin. It took me a few tries to get the coke can shim to stay under the sight without coming out the side but I think I got it now. It slid most of the way in towards center. I will try to tap it into the final alignment this evening.

 

[leadhoarder]

Sorry I responded to the wrong thread. This one got me going though!