Who Can Cut a Dovetail?

[schmeky]

I am in the final phases of modifying my Witness .45. I want to replace the front sight, which is cast and machined integral with the slide. The existing front sight is to wide for my tastes and I really want a fiber optic style. I want to either mill a .330x65x.070 or a CZ front dovetail which is .206" (or 5mm). The .330 is very common so therefore more probable.

I e-mailed EGW in Pennsylvannia, and they told me Witness Pistols with the "Wonder Finish" have a surface hardening and are difficult to machine. I don't question their call on this, but I have done some small drilling and grinding procedures on this pistol and it was very easy to accomplish with standard high speed cutting tools.

I have already purchased a Dawson Precision .330 sight.

Who can/will do this?

 

[camp_gunner]

Look in your local phone book for a machine shop close to you. Tell them what you want and I'm sure that they can do it. Carbide will cut through just about any steel.

 

[Jim Watson]

I bet Clark could do it. They are in Princeton LA, 85 miles down the road on your side of Shreveport. They charge $65 for a cross dovetail front sight on a 1911, might add a few bucks for another model. Call 'em up and ask.

http://www.clarkcustomguns.com/index.htm

I would not take a gun part to a conventional machine shop, they probably would not have the tooling or experience.

 

[koginam]

Have you thought about doing it yourself? Making a dovetail is taught in the first year of apprenticeship training and is done with a file, I think if you practiced with a few scrape pieces you could do a very good job of it or if you have access to a mill you could do it easier.

 

[Tom S.]

Something to think about: since you say the site in part of the slide and too wide, you will be able to see bare metal on both sides of the sight blade you use to replace the old sight with. Unless your slide is stainless, you will have to do something about this or risk rust.

 

[exospex]

and is done with a file

Certainly not impossible, but highly unlikely.

 

[Jim K]

One has to be pretty good with a file to cut that dovetail straight and true. And if it isn't right, it will look pretty bad.

Go with the milling machine.

Jim