Cut down dovetail possible?

[DocRock]

I have a non-standard very narrow dovetail front blade sight on my octagonal barrel 1870s Mauserbuchsen







I would really like a Lyman 17 globe sight on the front. Is there a reason that the dovetail on the Lyman sight cannot be cut down/re-shaped to fit the barrel dovetail slot?

 

[PRD1]

There is no mechanical reason it cannot be done. A good man with files could do it that way, though it would be a LOT of work. Or, it could be set up in a milling machine and done, though you would need proper tooling to produce the correct dovetail angle of the original slot in the barrel. You would need to pay attention to the overall height of the original front sight, if the new one is to work with the original rear, and getting one of the Lyman 17's that low might not be possible. In either case, altering the Lyman sight is a better option than altering the original dovetail in the barrel.

PRD1 - mhb - MIke

 

[herrwalther]

According to Google, the Lyman sight is 3/8" dovetail. Depending on the barrel dovetail you may not want to use needle files and go with something larger. Yes it can be done with the tools and time. I have worked on dovetails that were the wrong width and height for where they were going. Endlessly frustrating but doable.

 

[DocRock]

Thanks. I have no intention of cutting a wider dovetail in the barrel, so the Lyman dovetail will have to be narrowed or somehow mounted on the existing one.

 

[beag_nut]

Do you, or a friend, have access to a vertical mill? If so, an angle vise is also probably available. In that case it would be relatively simple to measure the dovetail angle of the existing sight and then machine the new sight (not the barrel) to a dimension ever so slightly larger than the dovetail slot, then drift the new sight into place. Elementary machine shop practice.

 

[Flintshooter]

I have muzzleloaders that I’ve changed sights on several times, experimenting with different styles and sight pictures. I always fit the sight to the dovetail instead of the dovetail to the sight.

 

[lord frith]

Do you, or a friend, have access to a vertical mill? If so, an angle vise is also probably available. In that case it would be relatively simple to measure the dovetail angle of the existing sight and then machine the new sight (not the barrel) to a dimension ever so slightly larger than the dovetail slot, then drift the new sight into place. Elementary machine shop practice.

Remember, when filing dovetails, to kill the correct side of your file,
Stephen

 

[DocRock]

So, in the end, it needed a dovetail cutting after all. The very adjustable front bead was flat cut and way too shallow. Lyman 17 on now.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Very neat lookin' rifle.

 

[Stan Rosen]

Looks a nice job, no apparent gaps, or rolling edges. Very cool rifle.