Where to place rear sight?

[Rusnapperhead]

Spent afternoon on endmill machine. Broke one dovetail bit. Was able to get dovetails cut and close now. Still needs some fine tuning to fit. Still have to cut/mill remaining of sight.


Col. what part still looks too thick? How much wood to leave along barrel sides? Is there a dimension is should be working towards?

 

[Spikebuck]

How much wood to leave along barrel sides? Is there a dimension is should be working towards?

1/16" is one recommendation from Mike Brooks.

I run mine right up there to the barrel with almost no "flat" edge. Here's a couple of examples.

Decided to edit and add a couple of my Brook's Early Colonial...you can see how thin his top edges get as well. Mike is a highly respected builder.

This shows full barrel length from the top:

Here you can see how it transitions from the lock and sideplate to the barrel from above:

And just forward of that:

 

[Col. Batguano]

What Spikebuck said. You can bring it almost to a knife edge, or about 1/32". The varnish coats will round the knife edge a lot. In Spike's pictures it looks like his maximum width for the wood is < 1/8" out from the barrel flat, which contributes to a svelte looking forearm. One little trick you can do to emphasize the outward flare of the muzzle (with swamped barrels) is to use say .100" total width (out from the flat) in the waist section, and make it say .150" at the muzzle

It also looks like you've got about 75% side barrel flat coverage. Is that "correct" for the style gun you are building? I wouldn't worry about taking the additional wood off affecting your balance point. Your hand is about 4" or so wide. At most it MAY move 1/8"-1/4".

 

[William Lincoln]

Use the right files. It looks like you cut too wide because you might have
lacked a smooth side/edge. Brownells has a perfect set for dovetails.
Solder will fix the sight in place and ruin the dovetail drift adjustment.

 

[ZUG]

Skill is what' s required to make good dovetails in wood or metal and practice is what gives you skill. The tools will help make the job go easer but it's the skill that makes the perfect dovetail. Practice, practice, practice and don't rely on fixtures to make your dovetails perfect

 

[Rifleman1776]

Use the right files. It looks like you cut too wide because you might have
lacked a smooth side/edge. Brownells has a perfect set for dovetails.
Solder will fix the sight in place and ruin the dovetail drift adjustment.

Absolutely correct. Cutting dovetails is not difficult. I have limited skills and have done it. I ground one side of a triangle file smooth, cut slots with a hacksaw and went at it. Just judging by eye I deliberately cut undersize then opened slowly until the sight fit with some friction.

 

[Rusnapperhead]

Spent some time with end mill and bandsaw. It fits and now need to file and shape the sight.

also plan to file/sand sides to 1/16” wood to barrel.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I put mine over the rear entry pipe because with my 73 year old eyes I need it as far down the barrel as I can get it without the placement looking abnormal. This happens to the balance point of my rifle as well, I keep hearing how this placement will be a problem carrying a rifle, bunk!

I have never found this to be the case, I hold a rifle cradled in my hand when I carry it, I don't try to squeeze it to death. On the rifle in question I have carried it through the woods for so many years that the finish is a much lighter shade around the entry pipe and I have yet to hurt my hand in the process..

 

[Rusnapperhead]

Yes; I have 53 year old eyes; placed the sight a little further forward for this.

completed a little sight filing; how is that!

 

[Rusnapperhead]

I’m down to about 1/16” now. What do you think about it now?

 

[Col. Batguano]

It looks much better don't you think?

I would hold off on thinning it any further (yeah it can get thinner--stain and varnish is going to thicken it at the very end) until you are getting ready for your final fitting, sanding and whiskering prior to staining. Go much further now and it will get pretty fragile and prone to cracking when you grab it. You are only going to insert, remove and insert the barrel about a bazillion more times before you're ready for that stage. Trust me, it happens.

What about the side flat coverage? It's still buried pretty deep. Is a 3/4 depth coverage correct for your school of gun? Lancasters are generally around 50%, and Lehighs between 1/4 and 1/3. Your lock is where it's going to be, but you can have the wood "swoop" up to it forward of the lock, or even have it step up there. Lessened barrel flat coverage markedly contributes to a svelte looking and graceful appearance.

 

[oldwood]

Built myself a target gun for competition when younger and still shooting when I hit 40 yrs. old. Moved rear sight up to put rear sight back in focus. Another season , and gave up . Had to go buy corrective lenses to get back in the game , then couple years ago, peep sight , good to go again. Just do it.........oldwood

 

[Rusnapperhead]

So I lowered the wood closer to mid level of my swamped barrel. After this I had to reshape the thickness back to 1/16”. Comments...
Getting ready to sand out nicks and such in my barrel.
Also experimenting with different finishes. Really liked the tannic acid and aqua fortis combination. Little worried about scorching my carving when applying heat.
Trying tannic acid and magic maple on sample board today

 

[Col. Batguano]

It looks much better. Certainly slimmer. What do YOU think? Check out the originals in your school (and well done builds here and on other sites) to see what amount of coverage they use. Pay particular attention to how they handle the transition zone at the breech. Both the left side and the right side coming in to the lock. Just look carefully at that one feature (as well as the overall coverage).

If you are using a swamped barrel, the line from the breech to the muzzle is straight, (remember to pin the barrel in there and anchor down the breech when you draw your line) which will mean the coverage amount will vary slightly (if you choose a proportion other than 50%). The ONLY place you can see for sure what the ratio is is at the muzzle.